‘He seems to be growing much faster than the others. I mean, I know he started off much bigger, but the gap seems to be widening.’
As I spoke, Arthur jumped onto another hatchling with a fierce growl and wrestled him to the ground. The two of them rolled around for a second, but Arthur emerged from the tussle on top. He wrapped his jaws around his opponent’s throat and pinned him to the ground. In no way was it a fair fight. Arthur may have been several weeks the younger, but he was easily twice as big.
I could feel smug satisfaction emanating from Emerald, and Isla had a look on her face that was even more puke-worthy. It wasn’t that I didn’t share their adoration of Arthur, but having it constantly mentally imposed on me by Emerald was beginning to be a strain.
I looked over at Turos. He had a look on his face that I suspected might mimic mine. Pride tinged with a hint of boredom. I mean there was only so long I could watch Arthur play before cabin fever broke out again. Call me a bad Aunt if you will, it’s just the way it was.
Arthur gave the little dragon one more little shake and then sat up. The magnificence of his orange scales was offset by his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth and for a second I was reminded of old Raymond, the Eynsford Village idiot. Emerald let out a loud huff and I banished that thought from my mind.
‘Want to get out of here?’ I jumped as Turos whispered in my ear.
‘Who’s going to take us?’
Lance was lazing beside Emerald, his tail entwined with hers. I doubted very much he would be impressed if we asked him to get us out of there while the offspring of his loins was playing so magnificently.
‘There’s another way. We can go on foot.’
I didn’t ask how long it would take us. I didn’t really care. I was hot and tired and in need of some fresh air, and I could tell by the way Scruffy was staring up at me with pleading eyes that he was too. ‘Lead away,’ I said.
Turos led us to the edge of the cavern and then along the wall for what must have been half of its length before we came across an opening in the stone. I peered into the hole, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light. They didn’t.
‘Do you think you could…you know?’ Turos flourished his hand through the air.
‘Cave in the cavern? Blow up the tunnel?’ I tilted my head to the side and gave him my most whimsical smile.
‘Forget I mentioned it,’ he said. ‘We’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Hold onto the back of my shirt.’
I bent and scooped Scruffy up, holding him close to my body. He wiggled around in my arm and, as I grabbed onto the back of Turos’s shirt, let out a loud wavering fart.
Turos looked over his shoulder at me. ‘Was…that…you?’
I let out a giggle. ‘It was Scruffy. He needs more exercise.’
‘Convenient,’ he said. ‘Blame it on the dog.’ He waved a hand in front of his face. ‘Let’s get going.’
We plunged into a column of darkness. The floor felt smooth under foot, and I was guessing by how easily we moved down the tunnel that the walls were as well.
‘What is this?’ I asked.
‘It’s a lava tube.’
My laugh was cut short as I stumbled in the dark. When I had regained my footing I said, ‘Is that your special name for it?’
He snorted. ‘A lava tube is created by a river of fast flowing lava.’ He stopped walking and I heard him sniff a few times.
‘It wasn’t me,’ I said.
He laughed. ‘I’m looking for the exit.’ He shuffled forward another few steps and sniffed another couple of times.
‘What are you trying to smell?’
‘The ocean.’ He repeated the procedure another couple of times before he said, ‘Ahh, there it is.’ He took a sharp right turn and started to move again, but this time his steps were faster.
‘Hey,’ I said as my foot caught another lump of rock. ‘Blind back here.’
‘Your senses don’t seem to be very good for a faery.’
‘I’m part witch.’
I felt him move as if nodding his head. ‘That explains the farting dog.’
‘He’s not always that bad. I think it’s all the gas from the volcano affecting him.’
‘I think he produced most of it.’
‘Don’t you listen to him boy,’ I said.
The inky blackness of the tunnel started to lighten ahead of us and suddenly I could make out Turos’s outline. It took another five minutes till we made it to the end of the lava tube. We paused on the lip, staring out not into the valley, as I had expected, but over the vast blue of the ocean. A broken path started at the edge of the rock and meandered off down the slope of the mountain.
‘It’s steep in parts,’ Turos said, ‘but there’s a beach down there.’
‘We can swim? In the ocean?’ I had swum in the ocean only a couple of times before and both had been at beaches made of pebbles, not sand, where you’d had to walk out forever just to get the water to reach to your knees. This water promised to be different.
‘Of course. If you’re game.’
I had been living in a virtual sauna for the last week. Even though we had taken sponge baths and changed our clothes, I felt like sweat encrusted my body and clothes. I didn’t care what it was that Turos was eluding to, I was going for a swim.
‘Come on boy,’ I said putting Scruffy down. ‘Last one in’s a rotten egg.’
We didn’t so much race down the mountain as carefully clamber. Occasionally the path disappeared altogether and we were left to navigate our way through loose boulders as we looked for the start of it again.
I caught a glimpse of snowy white sands and increased my pace, trotting down the path ahead of Turos. I could already imagine the feel of the sea closing over me, its cool waters washing away a week of sweat, grime and frustration.
The ground around us began to change. Rock giving way to soil, and grasses to shrubs and then trees. I lost sight of the beach as we plunged down through a stand of palm trees.
Scruffy ran ahead, sniffing at the palms, his tongue hanging out in a happy dog grin. He disappeared into the trees ahead of us, letting out the occasional happy bark.
By the time we made it to the beach, he was already sopping wet and rolling in the powdery sand.
I stopped and pulled my boots off, leaving them on a rock at the edge of the beach. After a moment of contemplation I pulled my trousers off and left them there as well. My shirt hung half way down my thighs and would cover enough to protect my modesty.
I turned to see Turos pulling his shirt off over his head. His olive skin rippled in the sun and his muscles flexed as he scrubbed his large hands through his spiky, white hair.
I peeled my eyes away from his chest and stomach. It wouldn’t do to let him catch me perving at him. But then he unbuttoned his trousers and I found myself blushing and fleeing towards the water, needing to cool off for a totally different reason than before.
I plunged into the crystalline water, its blue-green depths embracing me with cool arms. It felt as good as, if not better than, I had imagined. A few kicks and some quick strokes and I left the shore behind, swimming out till the sandy floor was no longer within my reach. I undid my braid and slid back under the water, watching my hair floating like a million tiny tentacles around my head. A bright fish flashed in front of me, its orange and blue stripes glinting in the sun.
It was no use though. I couldn’t shake the image of Turos out of my head.
I pushed back up out of the water and watched him from the corner of my eye as he strode to the water’s edge, wading in mid-thigh before raising his arms above his head, looking for all the world like an Olympic gymnast as he dived into the water.
He wasn’t naked as I had first feared, but his undergarments left nothing to the imagination and I felt myself breaking out into a fresh round of blushes.
I splashed the water onto my cheeks in an attempt to cool them off, suddenly feeling I was in over my head in more ways than one. I’d only ever kissed one man before the incident in the hallway.
Those thoughts opened the door I’d jammed shut the night Emerald had gone into labour, and thoughts of Aethan flooded in.
I sighed and sunk back under the water. What was he doing right now? Was he so wrapped up in the perfection of Ebony that he had forgotten all about me?
I missed the sight of him. I missed the touch of him. I missed the feel of him. It had been so long since things were simple between us. And now they never would be again. I let the agony in my gut compete with my lungs as they started to burn for air.
Finally, when the need for oxygen overwhelmed my misery, I stroked upwards, taking a breath as my head broke the water. Scruffy was a little white spot in the distance as he inspected the palm trees at the edge of the beach.
I trod water as I turned slowly, scanning the ocean for Turos. There was nothing but blue water stretching into the distance. He hadn’t returned to the beach, and he appeared to have been a strong swimmer. I couldn’t imagine anything happening to the huge warrior.
And then, as my concern was beginning to bloom, something grabbed my ankle.
My shriek echoed through the water, visions of sharks filling my mind. Bubbles blinded me as the surface of the ocean disappeared above my head. I tried to stroke upwards but the creature grabbed my other leg, scaling up my body like a monkey up a ladder till strong arms pinned mine to my sides and Turos’s smiling face appeared before me. He kicked upwards, carrying me with him till our heads broke the water.
I took a deep, gasping breath. ‘Let go.’
He shook his head, that infuriating smile still gracing his face. ‘I know what’s going to happen.’
‘What’s that?’
‘As soon as I let you go, you’re going to punch me.’
My anger ebbed and a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. ‘Well, no-one could accuse you of being a slow learner.’
He trod water as he held me and suddenly I was aware of the movement of his skin brushing over mine. I could feel myself blushing furiously as I looked away.
‘I won’t punch you.’ My voice was soft, but he must have heard me because he loosened his grasp.
‘Promise? Because you punch like a man.’
I let out a snort and nodded my head, still unable to look at him.
My physical reaction to him confused me. I had never felt like this with anyone but Aethan. And even though I knew the theory of why I had to let Aethan go, I was having trouble with the practical part of it. I was still hanging onto a maybe. A what if. But when Turos was this close to me, I had trouble remembering why.
I pushed away from him, treading water as I finally met his eyes. ‘You stopped trying.’
He shrugged one shoulder. ‘I got warned off.’
‘By whom? Isla?’
He smiled. ‘By Lance. He said your heart belonged to someone else.’
I blinked tears out of my eyes and stared towards the shore. ‘It did. I mean it does.’ I sighed. ‘It’s complicated.’
‘Love should never be complicated. It’s the simplest thing in life.’
A laugh escaped my lips and I splashed some water at him. ‘A romantic. I would never have guessed.’
‘There’s some romantic in all of us.’ He waved his hand in the air in a dramatic flourish and then dipped it back into the ocean to splash me back. ‘So this complicated man, is he waiting for you back home?’
I shook my head. ‘If his mother gets his way he’ll be married by now.’
‘His mother gets to say who he will marry? Sounds like a wuss.’
‘It’s a long story. And it’s….’
‘Complicated?’
‘See. You are a fast learner.’
A swishing, splashing noise reached us across the ocean. Turos froze and put his hand in the air in a warning motion. Then, as the black prow of a sailing vessel broke the water around the closest point, he dragged me back under.
This time I didn’t struggle. Instead I followed him as he swam beneath the surface of the water towards the side of the bay. We came up amongst the boulders as the ship sailed fully into view. Sails flapped and sailors scampered over the deck and up the mast.
I didn’t need Turos’s warning finger against his lips to stay silent. A quick glance at the beach eased my fears. Scruffy was almost invisible against the white sand. If I hadn’t known he was there, I doubt I would have noticed him.
‘Who are they?’ I whispered into Turos’s ear.
‘We don’t know.’
My mind raced as I thought. Messengers from his father. Strained looks on his face whenever he returned from seeing Bladimir. ‘This isn’t the first time they’ve been here.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘They’ve never approached this closely.’
Voices called out in a foreign language and sailors leapt to obey.
‘Friendly?’
He shrugged and then pulled me closer to him behind a boulder. ‘They’re stopping.’
It takes a while for a ship that size to come to a stop, and by the time they had, they were across the bay and at the other point. If we stayed very still, I doubted they would notice us from there. I saw Scruffy skulk from his position in the shade up into the protection of the trees.
We watched as a boat was lowered over the side and a rope ladder unfurled. Then sailors scampered down the ladder, all of them with swords strapped to their waists and bows over their shoulder.
Turos let out a hiss as I said, ‘Pirates?’
He shook his head. ‘A few of these ships have been spotted. So unless it’s a group of pirates working together, no.’
Once the boat was full, a bundle of material was thrown to the men below. Oars struck the water and the boat flowed swiftly towards the shore. It was there within minutes and all of the men except the oarsmen jumped into the knee-deep water.
Then the boat returned to the ship and the whole procedure was repeated, until it appeared that only one man remained on board.
‘What’s with the material?’ I whispered.
‘It’s a net.’ Turos spoke through clenched teeth.
‘Surely they don’t think they can catch a dragon with those nets?’ I shook my head. A dragon was far too large for a net held by a dozen men to control them.
‘They aren’t after dragons,’ Turos hissed. ‘They’re after hatchlings.’
My mind flashed back to the cavern. At least a dozen hatchlings had been playing with Arthur when we had left. From what I had seen as we’d flown in and out there was easily another dozen down the other end of the cavern. And while it would be impossible to steal a single hatchling from their mother, in the confusion of a fight, a hatchling could be smuggled out through the lava tubes.
‘Arthur,’ I said, starting to stroke towards the shore.
He grabbed me and pulled me back. ‘They’ll see us if we go now.’
I looked at him and smiled as I said, ‘Good.’
‘Good? We have no weapons. How can that be good?’
‘Watch and learn, big boy.’ There was no way I was letting them anywhere near Arthur. I reached out to Emerald and showed her what we were seeing, sure that Turos was doing the same with Lance. Then I stripped off my shirt, handed it to Turos, and swam to shore.
The sailors had made their way along the point to the sandy beach when they spotted me. I was sitting on a boulder as I combed out my hair with my fingers. I looked up at them, fluttering my eyelids as I waved.
The ones in front stopped. I stifled a smirk as the ones behind ran into the back of them, too busy staring to note the change in pace. They weren’t faeries. But then I didn’t know why I would have expected them to be. We were in a different world and probably the only faeries here were those that had come through with the dragons.
Well, whatever they were they certainly recognised a female form when they saw it. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, I would have been amused by their sudden change of posture. Shoulders went back and chests stuck out and a few of them started shoving each other.
I stood, stretching languidly as I tried to look sexy, but I felt ridiculous standing there in my bra and underpants. They didn’t seem to think I was ridiculous as more shoving broke out. The nets lay forgotten on the ground. And then one man pushed his way to the front and turned on the others, a low feral growl breaking out in his throat.
The others dropped back and no-one contested him as he walked towards me.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeep.
I mean I know that had been the whole point of the exercise. Divide and conquer and all that, but I had never fought before wearing only my underwear, and I was seriously regretting leaving my shirt with Turos.
Holding my hand out to the sailor, I shot a quick glance out to sea. Turos was still where I had told him to stay but the look on his face told me I only had a few seconds before he came to my aid.
I shot him a warning glance and then turned back to the sailor. Bristly, black hair covered his head and his face, flowing down his neck and under his shirt. I was guessing it covered his whole body, but I wasn’t going to let him show me.
He stopped a few metres from me and said something in a gruff voice. I wiggled my fingers at him and smiled suggestively and then I turned and sashayed my way up the beach towards the palms. A quick glance over my shoulder showed he was following.
I quickened my stride as I approached the trees, widening the gap between us. I looked at him over my shoulder, fluttering my eyelids and giggling, before darting into the stand of palms. He seemed to like the challenge, letting out a roar as he chased me.
I was waiting for him, just not where he had expected. He stopped and looked around, confusion on his face. And then I dropped from the trunk of a palm onto his shoulders, wrapping my legs around his neck and twisting to the side.
He threw himself to the side in the direction I had twisted and we fell to the ground. The back of my head cracked against a rock as he rolled, pinning me down with his weight. His eyes were bright with excitement as he lifted back his fist and drove it towards my face. I shifted my head at the last second and his hand ploughed into the rock.
He let out an almighty roar of pain and I grabbed his head and threw him sideways, smacking his head against a boulder with enough force that the fight immediately left him. He slumped to the ground, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the sky.
Scruffy appeared from amongst the palms, rushing over to me and licking my hands as I dragged the sailor off the path. ‘One down,’ I said to him, ‘nineteen to go.’
Was there any chance that they hadn’t heard the noise of our fight?
I could see Turos as I stuck my head back out onto the beach. He had approached as close as he could while remaining unseen. The wait must have been killing him.
A smile crept over my lips at the thought and I used that smile as I messed up my hair and sauntered back to the sailors. The ones at the front knocked arrows to their bows while the ones at the rear drew their swords, and then they spread out, moving as a group up the beach.
Uhhh Ohhh. I guess that was a yes to the question of whether or not they had heard me.
I backed up into the trees, grabbing my pants off the rock as I did. They wouldn’t give me any protection from arrows or swords but I would feel a lot better fighting if I wasn’t worried about flashing certain bits of my anatomy at them.
It only took me a few seconds to slip into them but the first of the attackers rounded the corner as I was doing up the top button. Scruffy growled and lunged at the man’s ankles, and without thinking, I wrapped Scruffy up in an air bubble and tossed him into the air.
The man stared up, a stunned look on his face as he watched Scruffy floating just beyond reach. I ball-kicked him in the face before he could recover, and followed it up with a hook. His head flew to the side and his sword dropped out of his hand as he collapsed to the ground. His eyes were rolling around in his head as I scooped up his sword and stepped over him.
The rest of the group were waiting, spread out across the entrance to the beach. I held my weapon up in a guard position and eyed them. A few of them seemed to know how to hold their swords, and the ones with the bows actually appeared to know how to shoot.
There was a blur of motion behind them and then Turos was upon them. He moved so swiftly I almost didn’t see him as he downed the first archer with one mighty blow of his hammer-like fist. He had taken out two more before they even realised they were being attacked from behind.
Half the group turned towards him at the same time as the rest of them charged me. An arrow flicked towards me, rebounding off the shield I threw into place. I left it there long enough to let the men in the front smack into it.
One of them let out a gurgle and blood flowed out of his mouth as he looked down at the tip of the sword protruding from his chest. The man whose sword it was, let out a snarl, yelling what I was sure were obscenities as he pulled the sword free. His comrade’s body slid sideways down the invisible shield, leaving a smear of blood floating in mid-air.
I shut down the shield and attacked. Leaping over them in a somersault as I swept downwards twice with my sword. My first stroke took an arm off, while my second lodged in the side of one of the men’s neck.
I landed on the far side of the group, grabbed another sword off the ground, and turned to face the closest attacker.
‘Izzy.’ Another sword flew through the air, appearing point first out of my opponent’s chest.
‘Thanks,’ I yelled back as the man collapsed forwards. I stepped onto his back, pulled out the sword and turned to face the rest of the group, a sword twirling from each hand. There were still eleven men standing. They held their weapons and eyed Turos and me warily. ‘Five each?’ I asked.
‘What about the last one?’
‘We can toss for him.’
Coming.
I could tell by the way Turos’s head jerked that he had gotten the same message from Lance.
‘Now where’s the fun in that? Winner takes all.’
Before I could clarify exactly what ‘all’ the winner was going to take, he launched his attack. His swords were blurs as he leapt and struck, and before I could get my mouth shut again, two of his five were bleeding out on the sand.
Dark Sky. The only way I was going to match him would be to cheat. I slammed a barrier down the middle of the beach, separating him and the three men he was in the process of dealing with, from me and the rest of the sailors.
‘Right,’ I said, ‘who’s next?’
I was pretty sure they couldn’t understand me, but they rushed me anyway. I slid my swords into the fastest of them, dodging to the side as his momentum carried him past me. I grabbed him, and swung him around and back into his comrades, plucking my swords back from his chest as he crashed into them. Then I leapt over him, flicking my swords through the carotid arteries of two of the remaining five.
‘Hey.’
I felt Turos banging on my shield but managed to avoid looking at him, even though I really wanted to see the look on his face. That would be a rookie’s mistake which could end up with me dead.
‘Not fair,’ he hollered again.
I spat a piece of hair out of my mouth and beckoned to the three remaining men. They looked at each other and then turned and sprinted towards the boat lying on the shoreline. I waited till they were pushing it into the water before I lowered the shield.
‘You’re letting them get away?’ Turos was beside me in a flash.
‘I’m thinking about it.’ I pushed my wet hair back over my shoulders.
‘But why?’
I turned to look up at Turos. His light-blue eyes blazed into mine. ‘To send a warning?’
He shook his head and raked a frustrated hand through his hair. ‘We’ve already given them fair warning. They keep coming though. And now we know what they want.’
‘Dragons?’
He nodded.
‘Well, okay then.’
A low rumble began behind us, growing in intensity until I could feel it vibrating through my chest. Two dragons soared into view. One sparkled green while the other looked like a piece of night in the brilliant sun-filled sky.
Emerald and Lance, flames shooting out of their mouths, roared as they swept overhead. They were magnificent and scary as all hell, and I would have been peeing myself if they weren’t on my side.
The sailors in the little boat increased the pace of their rowing as they threw fearful glances upwards. I could see the one lone sailor on the ship up the front near the prow. He was fussing around a long metal barrel while shooting fearful glances up into the sky.
‘Well,’ Turos said, ‘I guess that’s that.’
I squeaked as he grabbed my shoulders and backed me up against one of the palms. ‘What’s that?’
Emerald dived down upon the ship, grasping the mast with her front legs. The man let go of the barrel and lunged to the deck. The mast snapped like a twig and she threw it into the ocean before unleashing her fire upon the deck.
‘I win,’ he whispered as he leaned in close, the air from his breath tickling my ear. The tone of his voice left me in no doubt as to what exactly he’d meant by ‘winner takes all’. And then he leaned in even closer, the length of his body pushing into mine and as he leaned down and nipped my ear.
I stiffened against him, my need for him to continue, warring with my need for him to stop. His lips nuzzled along my ear and then I felt the tip of his tongue graze the soft skin there. It took every ounce of self-restraint I had to push him away.
‘Like hell you win.’ I lifted a hand and a bolt of lightning flew out, crackling into the little rowboat and exploding it into tiny pieces. I watched just long enough to make sure there were no survivors.
Lance and Emerald were in the process of finishing off the ship. Tearing it to pieces and barbequing it at the same time.
I looked back at Turos. ‘I win.’
He stared at me with his mouth open wide.
‘Oh what?’ I said. ‘Now you’re speechless?’
He swallowed a couple of times. ‘I’m not speechless. I’m just not sure what to say.’
‘That’s fine,’ I said, grasping his wet shirt in my fists, ‘because I’ve got something else I’d prefer you to do with your mouth.’ I pulled his head down.
I had a moment to admire the beauty of his ice-blue eyes, staring at me with an unnerving intensity, and then his lips were upon me. He licked my neck and nipped my ear, teasing me with his hands and his mouth as they made their way over my body. I squirmed against him, wanting more, needing more.
He moaned and arched against me as my hands slipped over the hardness of his chest. He lifted me up, pushing me back against the palm as I wrapped my legs around him and then his mouth finally found mine. I lost myself within his kiss, my mind arcing up into the sky as fireworks exploded inside my skull.
***
Erhherm. It was the equivalent of a dragon mentally clearing its throat.
Turos’s lips left mine but he didn’t release his hold on me. He looked into my eyes, pinning me against that tree with his gaze as much as his body. And then he shifted back, letting me slide to the ground. Regret and desire fought for dominance in his stare.
I licked my lips and broke the eye contact, looking over to the beach where Emerald and Lance were sitting. Scruffy floated next to them, his tongue hanging out in a doggy grin.
You brought us down here to do your dirty work so you could make out?
I blushed. We killed the ones on shore.
Emerald snorted and shook her head.
‘What’s she saying?’ Turos asked.
‘She’s expressing her displeasure. Lance?’
‘Just gave me a mental high five.’
‘Oh.’ I looked over at him. The urge to take up the kiss where it had left off was almost overwhelming but I had a feeling I would regret it later. I was still totally confused where he was involved, and it wasn’t fair of me to start kissing anyone until I had my emotions sorted out. I was going to blame that one on the adrenaline. ‘We’d better get back.’
He nodded. ‘Isla will be worried.’
Scooping up my shirt from where he had dropped it, I dragged the heavy, wet material over my head. Then I watched out of the corner of my eye as he struggled into his clothing. Dark Sky, his body was perfect. My fingers itched to explore it.
I pushed all thoughts of kissing him out of my mind and walked over to Emerald. The tip of the ship jutted above the waterline, wisps of smoke curling off it. I climbed onto Emerald’s neck, grabbing Scruffy out of the air and tucking him safely in front of me.
We were silent as we flew up the side of the mountain. We breached the top, the two dragons tucking in tight to race each other down the other side into the valley. For a brief moment I set my worries aside – Santanas, Galanta, Aethan, the invaders, being stuck in a foreign land, my confusion over my feelings toward Turos – I forgot all about them, revelling instead in the feel of the wind whipping by as the ground rushed past at break-neck speed.
We pulled out of the dive and headed straight up to circle over the city. Turos waved an arm at me and then he and Lance headed towards the buildings while Emerald turned toward the entry to the breeding cavern.
Isla was standing with her hands on her hips when we returned. I was guessing by the smooth path amongst the rock-strewn ground that she had been pacing. ‘What happened? Where’s Lance and Turos?’
‘I’m guessing they’ve gone to report to King Bladimir. And we got attacked.’ I slid off Emerald’s neck and set Scruffy down on the ground.
‘You’re okay?’ Her gaze swept over me, searching for injuries.
‘Oh please.’ I said. ‘There was only, what, twenty of them.’
‘One of these days your cockiness is going to get knocked right out of you.’
‘Well, today was not that day.’
She closed the gap between us and grasped my chin in her hand, turning my head from side-to-side as she stared at it. ‘What happened to your face? If I didn’t know differently I’d say you got very thoroughly kissed.’
‘Ahhh.’ I squirmed and pulled my head out of her grip.
‘Izzy?’ Her voice was full of delighted shock.
‘What?’
‘Did Turos finally get around to kissing you?’
‘Look,’ I said, struggling to maintain a self-important voice. ‘That’s not important. What is important is that we were attacked. By dragon hunters. And it’s not the first time they’ve come sniffing around.’ Where was my cockiness when I needed it the most?
‘He did.’ She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down. ‘Dark Sky, was it good? Cause he looks like he knows how to kiss a girl senseless. And with those big hands of his….’ She stopped talking and took a deep sigh. Her eyes had a far off look as she said, ‘I love a man with big hands.’
‘It’s not important right now.’ I was floundering for ways to change the subject.
‘Oh…Yes…It…Is.’ She poked me in the chest in time with each word. ‘It can’t always be about saving the world. Sometimes it has to be about us.’
‘Really? ‘Cause I thought….’ My mouth flopped open and shut while I thought about that, because as far as I was concerned I was in this highfaluting emotional mess exactly because we had to save the world and not think about personal matters.
I let out a huff and decided to braid my hair. It was easier than thinking about everything else.
She joined me on the cavern floor a few minutes later. Arthur was fast asleep in an orange pile of scales, his little rumbles a cross between cute and annoying. Scruffy joined him, turning circles a few times before pressing his back against the hatchling.
Without easing his snores, one of Arthur’s wings popped out and scooped Scruffy in closer, till he was hugged against Arthur’s chest like a teddy bear. As Scruffy closed his eyes and snuggled in even closer to the little dragon, I decided Arthur’s snores were far more cute than annoying.
‘Aren’t they adorable,’ Isla sighed. She pulled her knees up to her chest as she watched them. ‘I keep thinking I couldn’t love the little fella anymore and then he does something like that.’
‘What kid doesn’t want a little dog?’
‘To eat?’ A smile flashed over her face and she slapped my leg. ‘Just kidding. Believe me, he has no intentions of eating Scruffy.’
I let out my breath and took up braiding my hair again. The water and fighting had put some serious snarls into it.
‘Do you think this is what it feels like?’
I looked over at her. ‘You’re going to have to give me more information than that.’
‘To, you know…have a baby? This love, it’s more intense than I could ever have imagined.’
I was going to tell her that I was only eighteen, and what would I know about having a baby, but the look on her face stopped me.
Crystalline tears stood poised in her eyes and her face was absolutely still. I could feel sadness radiating off her, and I reminded myself that although she only ever showed us the surface, her emotional pool was rich and deep.
She had wanted more than she had. She had wanted a husband and children, but fate and circumstance had stripped that all away.
So instead, I reached over and took her hand. ‘I’m sure this is exactly what it feels like,’ I said.