Cherish This Bond

Two days later, Gavin still hadn't found a way to manage the stress, nor had he come up with a perfect design for the Stress-Relief Port at the end of Rupert's Shield Charm.

He had drawn more than a dozen designs in his diary and run a few rough experiments, but every version stalled at the rear connection point—

Either it was too brittle and shattered at a touch;

Or it was too rigid to release the stress, causing the entire structure to burst from within when an impact exceeded its threshold.

He closed the diary and decided to set the problem aside.

Sometimes, a problem solved itself if you left it alone long enough.

Alaric Rowle arrived on the third morning.

He appeared at the entrance to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary's administration building in dark gray formal robes, a silver family crest pinned to his collar. His hair was combed neatly back, and he carried a black Dragon Hide briefcase.

A young witch in a black suit followed him. She was the Rowle Family's legal representative, whom Alaric had mentioned in his letter.

Andrew Marcus was leafing through a duty roster at the front desk when he heard the door. He looked up and saw the crest on Alaric's collar first, then the thickness of the legal representative's briefcase.

His expression went through several changes—

From more trouble to someone important to the stiff politeness of a man whose self-preservation instincts had kicked in.

"Mr. Rowle—" he began. He knew this man.

Alaric set his briefcase on the front desk and spoke in a gentle tone, though every syllable seemed nailed to the counter.

"I was spending time with my daughter when I received a letter saying that the person who saved her life—"

He paused and smiled at