Core by Teshelle Combs Page A

red dragon harming a human without reason or commission is against red dragon law. And since Cameron and I are pescetarians, none of my family will be eating any of yours tonight.”
    Miriam nodded, though she didn’t seem to relax at all. She was sitting so straight in the armchair it was impossible for her to be comfortable. “So if Ava is Cale’s rider, she has to light his blood on fire so he can become a giant lizard?”
    “That’s one way of thinking of it, yes. The two of them must go to his tribe’s birthplace and find their dragonstones as a rite of passage. Then, they must earn consent from the red council. When it’s all done, they will be bonded together for life. It is a well-known procedure, though finding a rider has become a rare phenomenon.”
    “Mmmhmm….” Miriam nodded her head slowly. “So a road trip, then?”
    “Exactly. We’ve had the funds for the journey set aside since Cale was born. They can leave as soon as they’d like.”
    “Sweet,” Ava said. “Cale didn’t mention the perks. Free trip to… Where are we going?”
    “Peru.”
    “Cale?” Ava said, looking to him. But he was still gawking at the fire. She used one of the sofa cushions to smack him in the head. He snapped out of it and blinked at her. “Peru?” she asked.
    “Sorry it’s so far,” he said. “It won’t make you change your mind, will it?”
    A slow smile spread across her face. “A free trip to South America? No, it won’t make me change my mind.”
    “I bet the dance will,” Cameron said, smirking from across the room, half hidden behind his laptop.
    Ava sat up in the sofa. “Dance? What Dance? Karma you forgot to tell me about any dance.”
    Karma stared at Cameron, giving him what Ava suspected to be a sharp, scolding look, though to Ava it seemed like her features were unchanged. Blue splotches crept onto Cameron’s cheeks, though his expression was as stoic as his mother’s.  Blue blood,  Ava thought,  it makes his blush a different color .
    “I did not forget,” Karma said. “I was simply saving that piece of information. I didn’t think it was a good time to share it.”
    “Why do you get to decide what information to keep from me? If it’s about me, I want to know.”
    “I did not mean to offend, only to inform strategically.”
    Ava’s impatience flared, replacing her curiosity, and Cale touched her shoe, resting his hand on it like he wasn’t even thinking about it. “It’s just a red dragon tradition, Ava. It doesn’t really affect the pact,” he explained. “It’s so our herd can meet you.”
    His herd.  Ava tried to recall all Karma had taught her. Every dragon had a nest, his family. Nests belonged to a herd, and herds made up tribes. Tribes were collected into one of the five races.  His herd is going to meet me?  That meant his entire community.
    “And we have to dance in front of them?” Ava squirmed in her seat. She was a fighter, not a dancer.
    Karma sighed, disappeared into the kitchen, and returned with a bucket of water. She threw it onto the flames and steam flooded the house. She opened the sliding door to let it out as the reds protested.
    “What was that for?” Mac asked. He sat down in Karma’s seat and pulled her onto his lap. “You ruined the show.”
    Karma seemed to relax in Mac’s embrace, though she didn’t smile or kiss his cheek. “Ava wants to know about the dance, and I won’t do the explanation justice.”
    “I forgo t about the dance,” Rory said, shouting for no reason. “When is it going to be?”
    Mac grinn ed. “Tomorrow night. I already sent word.”
    Karma studied her husband. “That seems unreasonably soon.”
    Mac pulled her closer to him and planted a sloppy kiss on her neck. She blushed blue and pushed him away.
    “We’re excited, Karma,” Mac said. “Let us be excited.”
    She cleared her throat, still composed. “Of course. This is red dragon business. I don’t expect to empathize.”
    Mac lifted her and