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layers and they’ll get tougher the older I get.”
    He gave her another heart-stopping smile, eyes gazing steadily into hers. “Now that I’ve proven I’m dragon, I don’t suppose you can prove this is Earth?”
    She snorted and said, “Nope, not unless you want to go back home with me. Either way, I’ve got to get home.” She headed toward the small trail behind Tyler. “If blue bushes and dragons popped up all around the country Uncle Keith will be worried sick about me.”
    “What about your mom and dad?”
    “Dad died when I was four. Mom cashed-in dad’s life insurance, dumped me on Uncle Keith’s doorstep, and disappeared for nearly ten years.” Ignoring the dull pain her words caused, she told him about the one good thing that came from her mom’s cold actions. “It took years, but after proving she abandoned me, Uncle Keith adopted me. He treats me just like his own daughter, Alyssa. I know he’ll start hunting for me, and when he finds the dead vampire, he’ll totally flip-out.”
    Close on her heels, Tyler followed her. “You didn’t kill Lester. The bloodsucker was gone when I went through the meadow.”
    “Oh,” she said, sighing in relief. “I was afraid I’d killed him.” Vampire or not, she really didn’t want to kill anyone.
    She glanced up at him, wondering how far he would follow her. Not that she was complaining. A dragon would be handy to have around if she stumbled across another vampire.
    She didn’t understand what was going on in the world, but if weird things appeared everywhere, there would be chaos. Yep, no doubt about it, people would totally freak-out.
    She must have made a sound, because he asked what was wrong.
    “Just thinking,” she said, waving her hand at the outlandish blue bush to her right. “Do you have any clue what’s going on?”
    “I wish,” he said with an abundance of exasperation. He pointed to the sky peeking through the trees. “Whoever heard of a blue sky this time of year?”
    Emma’s mouth dropped open and she blurted, “You don’t have a blue sky?”
    Tyler chuckled and a line of worry creased his forehead. “Not in late spring with so much faerie dust in the air. Depending on the variety, faerie dust is purplish-black, sometimes purplish-red. Either way, the dust gives the sky a purple caste.”
    “Faerie dust?” she asked, snorting as she laughed.
    He raised an eyebrow in question, making her laugh even harder.
    “I hate to admit it, but maybe I am on Earth or maybe a new version of Earth. From what little I’ve seen of the forest, it looks like Tuatha Dé Danann somehow meshed with Earth.”
    “Meshed?” Emma grinned, enjoying teasing the gorgeous teen. “I guess that’s as good a word as anything. But if that’s Earth’s sky then I’d guess the people and plants and things from your world were somehow transported to Earth.”
    He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked nearly sick. “If this happened everywhere, people will panic. The Enforcers will have people from every small village and town converging on Capital City.”
    “Well, if they’re anything like the people of Earth I can guarantee you’ll have a bunch of them screaming the world is coming to an end. I suppose if the sky suddenly turned purple, I might’ve freaked and screamed the same thing.” She chuckled, looking up at him with a sheepish look covering her face. “Well, I guess I did freak out.”
    Tyler growled.
    She jerked to a halt. Glaring at his chest, she leaned forward, cocking her head a bit to the side as she listened to him. An odd feeling of wonder filled her. “I’ve heard of people growling, but you really growl?”
    “I’m dragon.”
    “This is going to take some getting used to. People will either want to be your best friend or kill you out of fear.”
    For a few minutes, they walked in silence. With every step, his face grew darker. “If the people of Earth don’t believe in dragons will our sudden appearance make them