Chapter 24
Now confined to the rough-walled chamber which she used exclusively for birthing, Taziem was as restless and bored as only a dragon in the last days of pregnancy could be. Hungry dragons weren’t the only ones who kept track of the time, she grumbled to herself. And anyone who said otherwise had never carried a clutch of younglings to term. As she brooded, echoes of an indistinct scrabbling caught her attention. She slanted her head toward the mouth of the chamber and listened intently. The clatter came again. This time, she recognized it as the sound of claws scraping across stone. Her outrage was instant. She roared a warning, then projected an image of teeth and dragon-fire after it.
“Who dares to trespass on my territory?”
Almost shyly, an image unfolded in her mind. It wa
