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A dragon. She was a dragon.
Nolan stood at the car rental desk, thinking about dragons, and about Tamryn. A queen, and a dragon.
He’d thought of it the entire way to the airport, during the plane ride to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and now while he waited for the frazzled clerk to find the info for the SUV he needed to rent.
Dragons were a footnote in history, a cautionary tale for shifters who tried to wield too much power. Dragons were an impossibility. They’d been wiped out because of their strength; other shifters had sought to take it for themselves.
Wiped out...no. Tamryn had survived. And others, apparently.
While a part of him was curious to see her in her dragon form, a larger part of him ached that she’d lost everything so quickly and thoroughly. He’d had no idea she had been in that sphere for two centuries. Her wide, violet eyes took in everything around them in quiet observation. She occasionally jumped at loud, mechanical noises, startled. Her hands had gripped the armrests of the airplane seat and her lips had been pressed together, the burn scar as tight as her shoulders. Illary had murmured reassurances to her, and Tamryn had listened while also seeming far away. Reliving her nightmares?
Nolan couldn’t pity her for her troubles. He admired her for her strength.
Even now, she sat on a bench with Illary, waiting while he secured their rental car, and she looked around, observant as ever. If she was afraid or anxious for her betrothed, she didn’t show it. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was attached to him.
But that wasn’t his business.
Her cherry-red hair had earned her several admiring glances from men and women alike. A little girl had even wandered close to her and reached out a hand to touch Tamryn’s hair. The child’s mother had tried to draw her away, but Tamryn smiled and said it was okay.
“What happened to your face?” the girl had asked.
“A dragon breathed fire on me,” Tamryn said.
The kid had looked understandably impressed. Nolan felt a smile grow on his face as he recalled it.
“And, Mr. Marks, here’s your key. Sorry about the wait.” The woman at the counter slid a key across with a copy of the paperwork he’d signed and gave him a triumphant smile.
“Glad you found it,” he said. “Thanks.”
“Of course! I hope you enjoy your stay in Salmon Arm.”
“I appreciate it.” He nodded and headed over to where Tamryn and Illary were waiting. They wouldn’t be staying in Salmon Arm; the vehicle was their fastest option for reaching the forest to the northeast of town.
Illary and Tamryn followed him outside. Tamryn wouldn’t allow him to take her bag for her. She seemed intent on proving that she didn’t need his help. He got the feeling that the title of “queen” bothered her, and he wondered why. Illary, however, happily allowed Nolan to carry her hiking pack along with his own.
He tossed their bags into the back of the SUV. Illary climbed into the back seat. Tamryn moved as if to join her, but Nolan shook his head. “You’re up front with me.”
If she was startled or in any way bothered by his declaration, Tamryn didn’t show it. She climbed in and buckled up.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the wilderness, although Nolan wasn’t surprised. He’d come through Canada on his way to the lower forty-eight from Alaska. It could’ve been that he’d mostly avoided larger cities, but it seemed to him like Canada was mostly wild. Half the time, he’d traveled in his bear form because there were no people to see him in the forests. If he hadn’t been hurting over the loss of Em, he might’ve enjoyed the trip.
Tamryn rubbed her chest, just over her heart. He glanced quickly at her face and saw her eyes held tears.
“What is it?” he asked.
“You’re hurting,” she said. “I’m sorry for whatever happened.”
He felt his mouth open in surprise. Shaking his head, he said, “I’m fine.”
Her smile was one of gentle empathy. “Loss changes us.”
“I’m fine,” he said again, and kept his eyes on the road. The highway was long behind them, and now they trundled along a dirt track, pitted with dips and holes left by time and the elements. Twice, Nolan had to get out of the car to hoist fallen trees from their path. He put them back once he’d driven past them, because they’d keep unwary hikers from driving in after them. Then again, this area didn’t look like it would’ve seen a hiker in a hundred years.
The road ended without fanfare, stopping just short of a lake. Nolan stepped from the car and looked around. He was conscious of Tamryn and Illary doing the same.
“It isn’t my mountains,” Tamryn said, “but it is beautiful.”
“Tell me about your mountains,” Nolan said.
She shook her head.
He wondered if the thought of her old territory was too painful. Or maybe she simply didn’t like him. Or she was mad he hadn’t opened up to her about his loss. Well, he never talked about Emily, and he wasn’t about to start now.
They grabbed their packs from the car. Nolan wanted to help Tamryn with hers, but she scowled at him when he approached. She fumbled with the straps for a brief moment before latching them around her waist.
Other than her ethereal red hair, she looked like a modern outdoorswoman, just waiting for an REI photo shoot. Her clothes showed off her toned frame.
Illary, too, looked ready for adventure, with her black hair up in a braided ponytail and her eyes surveying the lake before them.
Nolan said, “Well, where to?”
“That way.” Illary pointed across the lake.
Too bad they didn’t have a canoe. The edges of the lake stretched far in each direction. Nolan was about to ask if she wanted to go left or right, but she began marching left along the shore, not looking back to see if he and Tamryn were following.
Tamryn hurried after her, so Nolan brought up the rear. The view wasn’t half bad, with Tamryn right in front of him. And when the breeze caught her hair and tugged it toward him, he caught brief whiffs of her airy scent.
As they walked, she didn’t once turn to look back at him.
And he knew this, because as they walked, he was only looking at her.
*
ONCE IT BEGAN TO GET dark, Illary stopped and looked out at the lake. “I hear a sound.”
A faint hum seemed to be growing louder as dusk fell.
“Mosquitoes,” Nolan said. “Quick, let’s set up our tents.”
They scrambled to unpack everything, but there was no way they could get three tents set up in the couple of minutes they had before the pests would arrive. This time of year, the mosquitoes came in swarms.
“One tent,” Nolan said, yanking out his. It wouldn’t be big enough for all three of them, but he could shift into his bear and let the women stay in the tent.
The insects were on them suddenly, biting into their skin.
“Don’t you have some kind of spell you can do to keep them off us?” Nolan asked Illary.
“I’m not that kind of witch,” she said, speaking into her hand to keep bugs from flying into her mouth.
Tamryn and Illary put on long-sleeved shirts to cover more skin, but Nolan was focused on getting the tent set up. Finally, it popped into place and he ushered the women inside. Then he stripped out of his clothes, swatting at the mosquitoes while he did it, and crouched to let his polar bear take over. His thick fur didn’t dissuade all of the pests, but it definitely helped.
He sat still, covering his face with his paws, and listened to the women inside the tent. Their conversation was low, but he heard Illary suggest meditation. Just as clearly, he heard Tamryn refuse.
Once full dark was upon them, the swarm dissipated. Mosquitoes still lingered in the area, but there were fewer of them. Nolan shifted back into his human form, found his pants, and put them on. Then he got to work building a fire.
“What are you doing?” Illary asked, peeking her head out of the tent.
“Making a fire.”
“We have to keep going.”
Beyond her, inside the tent, Tamryn was sitting cross-legged, looking past Nolan to the lake. Nolan jerked his chin toward her. “The queen is tired. We walked all afternoon.”
“We have to find her betrothed,” Illary said.
“Look,” Nolan said, standing up. The fire had finally taken, and he was going to catch a couple of fish to cook over it. Provide a warm meal for Tamryn. “You wanted me here to protect the queen. That’s what I’m doing. She needs to rest, I’m making sure that happens. She needs to eat, I’ll make sure she gets food. She needs a big guy to help fight a battle, that’s also me. So let me do my job.”
Illary blinked at him before smiling beatifically. “I had my doubts about you at first, but you’re the perfect knight.”
He didn’t know about that. “I’ll be back with some fish.”
*
THE DINNER OF FISH cooked over the fire had been small, but Tamryn seemed filled. Illary, too, although Nolan didn’t care quite as much about her comfort. He didn’t trust her. What kind of witch could put a person in a sphere? Tamryn seemed to both admire and be wary of the witch. Illary seemed in control of Tamryn somehow, yet she also deferred to her on several things. Their relationship puzzled him.
“How do you two know each other?” he asked them.
“I served the king and queen,” Illary said. “I knew the danger dragonkind faced, and I had to help.”
Tamryn nodded. “I was still a girl when you came to us. Father was ecstatic. He thought you could magic away the scar on my face.”
“But I refused,” Illary said. “Did that bother you?”
“Not at all,” Tamryn said simply. “The scar made my father sad, but it has never bothered me.”
Nolan wondered what had happened to cause the scar, and why it made her father sad, but he was afraid to pry too much about her past. Still, there was one other thing he needed to know. “How about your fiancé?” he said. “Can you tell me about Charles? I should know what he looks like.”
“He has brown hair, green eyes,” Tamryn said. She sat back on her heels and looked to the other woman. “That’s all I recall. Illary knows him better than I do. I’ve only met him once, and very briefly.”
“Your description is apt,” Illary said. “He’s descended from the Vinsalia line, a clan renowned for its strength of character. The king and queen chose him for you, and the betrothal had the approval and blessing of both the Estrayla and the Vinsalia clans.”
Tamryn nodded, but a faint wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows.
“Come, Your Majesty—”
“Please,” Tamryn said. “Please call me Tamryn.”
She stared up at Illary, who stared back at her. Finally, Illary’s shoulders slumped.
“I will try, but I make no promises, Your Majesty. Tamryn. Come, we shall work on clearing your mind.”
While the two of them practiced meditation or whatever it was they were doing, Nolan took his bag with toothbrush and toothpaste over to the lake’s shore to brush his teeth. Pulling open the zipper, he saw several condoms stuffed in the pouch next to his toothbrush. He snorted, wondering who’d stashed them there. If he had to guess, he’d say Ian.
Didn’t matter, either way. The queen would never let him touch her. She held herself apart and spoke to him only when absolutely necessary.
As he brushed his teeth, he reminded himself that he wasn’t supposed to care.