“Sure, I’ll humor you.” Koth shook his head in confusion but then he took a bite, like he wanted to humor Easton, then his whole expression changed to shock. His purple eyes went wide. He nodded and made a grunting sound. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Mhhhmmm. My God. That’s good,” he mumbled as he chewed.

Emersyn carried a new plate of chicken and sat it down in the seat across from me next to Kessler, which was next to Tenn. “Elan said you liked yours with hot sauce, and yes, I have the brand you like. Sit.” She sat the bottle of hot sauce next to the plate.

Koth sighed. “He warned you I was coming.”

Em winked.

Kessler pulled the chair out next to him, which Koth took right away. He grabbed the bottle of hot sauce and drenched the chicken in his hand with it. He took a bite and moaned. We all laughed and nodded in agreement. That girl fried a mean chicken.

“Em, can I have some of his hot sauce?”

“No, Easton. You like spicy food, but he’s a fire-breathing dragon. You’re not the same.” She smacked the back of his head playfully. “Eat your chicken and shut up.”

“I tried.” Easton shrugged, then his blue eyes sparkled at something behind me. “Hey, Silas!!

Silas? The dragon that carried me? I craned my neck around to see what he looked like in human form, and I had to say, the human vibe matched the dragon vibe. Sure, he had tan skin and black hair and not light-gray scales, but it just matched. And the yellow eyes were identical.

He nodded to the table, then turned to his King and arched an eyebrow. “Koth?”

Koth just held up a piece of chicken.

Silas sighed and put his hands on his hips. “You called me down here to eat chicken?”

Koth nodded. Silas rolled his eyes, then walked over and snatched the food from Koth’s hand. He took a bite and immediately sank down into the chair next to Koth, reaching for the hot sauce as they continued to eat.

Tenn stared at them blankly. “Really, Em, you couldn’t have waited until he told me what happened to Tegan first?”

Em cringed. “Sorry, the laws of physics cease to apply to my kitchen, so the food cooks faster when I’m nervous.”

Tenn glanced to Dream-Deacon, then grimaced. “Sorry, Em. Thank you for cooking for us. Will you please sit and join us?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Is that an order?”

“Yes,” Tim, Constance, and Tenn said at the same time.

She huffed and sat next to Dream-Deacon, who smiled down at her. “I’m all right, Butterberry.”

“I’ll believe that when your physical body is sitting here,” she grumbled.

Hunter cleared his throat and used a chicken to point at the dragons. “So, Koth, you were saying?”