Page 36 of Ancient Promises
Truthfully, though, he hoped that his brother’s behavior was just sour grapes and he was posturing for no reason other than to cause trouble.
He wasn’t sure he had that kind of luck, but hope sprang eternal.
“Okay, well, there’s a really good Italian place nearby if you’re in the mood for pasta,” she said. “And kind of in the same vein but a little different is a woodfired pizza place in Venire, which is about thirty minutes from here. The first time I ate there, it made me want to get an outdoor pizza oven so I could make my own.”
He hummed. “That sounds really great. I’ve never had woodfired pizza.”
“It’s a casual place, so we don’t have to dress up. Then maybe we can come back to town and grab a drink at the bar.”
He nodded and stabbed a large piece of waffle. “So tell me your story, Diem.”
“First,” she said, “we should talk about living arrangements.”
“Right, we both have roommates. But you’re the only one with a real place. I’m just living with Breaker because he’s a nice male and was happy to open his home to a stranger.”
“Arely won’t mind moving out, but I’m not sure there’s a place for her that’s open right now. I haven’t talked to her since everything blew up last night.”
“She works at the school?” he asked.
“Yep.”
She told him about volunteering at the library and donating books.
His dragon was intrigued. He’d grown up loving libraries, and whenever he’d traveled, he liked to check out the local ones.
“Oh, I forgot about that book you were interested in,” she said.
“The map one?”
“Yeah, why did you want it? Do you like old maps?”
He hadn’t told her about his treasure. As a bookseller, she would understand. If she volunteered at a children’s school library, then surely she loved books as well.
“I like old books. Any books really, but old ones are my favorite. The older the better. I…have a storage unit.”
She frowned. “A storage unit of what?”
“Books.” He paused and then said, “They’re my treasure.” At her curious look, he explained, “All dragons are hoarders, but each dragon’s treasure is unique. My father collected watercolor paintings. He didn’t care if the artist was famous or not, he simply loved them.” Eivross had managed to tuck one away before Zihndyr set the collection on fire after their father’s death. The last painting was among the books in the unit.
“That’s neat. How old are dragons when they start to hoard?”
“Around the time we shift. I was able to get my wings when I was thirteen, which is pretty early, but my full shift didn’t come until I was sixteen. I was out with my father and saw a bookstore and couldn’t help myself. My father said he knew that my hoarding was going to require a very large library, but we never had a chance to build one together. Zihndyr killed him a few years later, and I hadn’t quite filled up the library in my room yet.”
“I’m sorry you lost your father,” she said. She reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze.
She was such a kind and compassionate female.
“But anyway,” he said, “my dragon smelled the old book when I was in your store and I had to find it. I would definitely like to buy it.”
“You can just have it.”
“Absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. “I won’t make you lose money.”
“I won’t. I’m pretty sure the book came in from an estate sale. Realtors in the area know that I will buy books that don’t get sold in estate sales, and most people don’t care about the books their relatives have saved over the years. I like old recipe books. I do sell books online, and people will ask me to look out for certain types of books, but mostly I stock what the people in town like, which are true crime, cozy mysteries, and romances.”
He put down his fork and took a sip of coffee. “Now, tell me the rest of your story. When we sat down you were talking about your father and then we got distracted.”
As she continued on in telling the story of her life, he marveled at the life she’d had. Even though she’d been abandoned by her mother for being a hybrid, she had a wonderful father who was willing to give up everything so she wouldn’t be alone.