But slowly he learns from the kids as they learn from him and he takes on the role of mentor for both the warrior pups as well as protector and confidante to Dawn.

Poor Stan had his hands full from the first moment he gets to the ranch when Justus tries to follow Randy and almost succeeds. Now, Randy has made him promise to watch over Justus, adoptive son of Tristan and Ushna, as well as Twin Flame to Randy because Randy is going into The Land of the Dead in hopes of getting an agreement to help Tristan during the upcoming battle with Innana We learned what happened between him and Gregori in Starting Fires before he left to get control of himself and become an Ophidian. Where the other half books in the series have been following and showing us more of Gregori and his backstory, this one is about Stan. If you like this series, if the magi interest you as much as Ushna and Tristan, and if you’re looking for a quick read to tide you over until the next novel, then you might enjoy this short tale. Stan would rather face raging monsters than one small shifter child… He passes the trials but still feels as if he is adrift when he returns to Ushna’s home with the task of making sure Justus deals with the loss of his Twin Flame to a different realm. Now he sees only one way to redeem himself, and that is to become an Ophidian. He has been rejected by his old childhood friend Magi Grigori when Grigori ended up with Juan in ’Starting Fires’), and Stan did not take it well. I do have to warn you: as the blurb states, this cannot be read as a stand-alone it won’t make any sense without you having read the other books first. Like all the shorts in this series, it focuses on some of the magi who are secondary characters throughout. Since the next full novel (‘Dragon’s Eye’) will release in a few days, this felt like a nice way to “warm up” for the main event.

I always love returning to Lexi Ander’s world of the ‘Sumeria’s Sons’ series, and this short story offered me exactly such an opportunity.

A Child's Wish by Lexi Ander