Chapter 29
ELENA
Ardruc broke the news about Pyru’s death to me just after dawn, over breakfast in bed—the kind made in the kitchen, not the sort that involved restraints.
He made us bano fruit crepec and coffee and served the meal on his hand-carved Bacorian dishes. Forux got his meal in his regular bowl, but my little arval didn’t seem slighted by not receiving an almost priceless serving dish.
I was very happy to wake pain-free and well rested, but Ardruc was noticeably antsy and even with his red-orange skin, he had shadows under his eyes.
Thankfully, his tension didn’t seem to affect his appetite; his entire plate of food disappeared before I’d finished my first crepec. Then he set his dish aside and wrapped his arms loosely around my middle while I savored my meal.
“Elena,” he said, his lips on my hair. “Whoever sent these mercenaries may send someone else if these men do not return.”
I stabbed a piece of crepec with my fork with more force than was necessary. “Then we need to make it clear doing so would be a very bad idea.”
He sighed. “I offered the mercenaries the choice to leave us alone, but I want to let the planet take them. You were so badly hurt. I almost lost you and they would not have cared.”
“They tried to take you from me. I want revenge too.” I made a face. “Or justice. The line between the two gets blurry, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” He kissed the top of my head. “What should we do? I need your wisdom.”
“Wisdom?” I sputtered. “I haven’t even finished my coffee.”
“My apologies.” He put my mug into my hand. “Your scent changes when you drink coffee. It is a particular kind of contentment with a hint of coffee fragrance blended in. It is very pleasant.” He nuzzled my tousled hair. “I will make it one of my priorities to see you never go without.”
“Oh, that is just shameless bribery, dragon.” I took a long, appreciative drink of the beverage in question. He’d mastered my preferred method of preparation already. “Food, coffee, forehead kisses, and orgasms…you must really want me to be your little mate.”
“I do.” He took my hand and kissed it. “I am not above bribery to ensure you are happy at my side…or at the very least, happy in a lab just down the hall from mine.” He gently bit my fingertips. “I would like to marry you, Elena.”
My coffee went down my windpipe. He took my mug and steadied my plate on my lap as I coughed.
“I am sorry,” he said earnestly. “I should have waited until you finished your meal, but I realized during the night I have asked you to adopt the customs of my homeworld without offering you the same. I have been selfish. I am anxious to remedy the situation.”
Gods above. I wheezed. He rubbed my back.
“How much sleep did you actually get last night?” I croaked finally. “You said you sleep well when we’re together, but instead of resting, you stayed up thinking about our guests outside, the situation on Fortusia, and…” I waved my hand and coughed again. “Proposing marriage over breakfast?”
“I had a much more restless night than I expected.” Ardruc kissed my hair.
His eyes glowed so beautifully in the early morning light.
“But I did sleep well after I researched mating rituals on Fyloria and discovered a way to make myself even more Elena’s dragon.
That is the title and role I treasure most.”
Oh, hells. I hadn’t even finished my coffee and he wanted wisdom and to marry me.
Rumbling in what seemed like a mix of contentment and anticipation, he tucked my head under his chin. “Finish your meal and your coffee,” he murmured. “I will wait.”
Forux gobbled the last of his breakfast, stretched, and lay down next to my leg so he could rest his chin on my shin. He stared at me expectantly, all his ears tipped forward and tails fanned out on the bed.
I ate my crepec, drank my coffee, and thought.
My parents, for all their unusual attitudes, had married in the traditional Fylorian way.
On the rare occasions when they spoke about the experience, my father beamed and my usually reserved mother had softened and smiled in a way I rarely saw otherwise.
I knew about the ritual, of course, but since it was always done privately and I’d never been married, I’d never seen it performed.
The kind of long-distance marriage my parents had was not what I wanted, but I had nothing against the practice.
I’d simply never considered it a likely outcome for myself.
I didn’t live on Fyloria and never planned to settle there, so finding a Fylorian partner didn’t seem probable.
Most other forms of marriage didn’t interest me.
And until Ardruc, I’d never been with anyone I could envision wanting to marry. For Fylorians, marriage was about love, trust, and unwavering support above all. In other words, very much like what Ardruc and I were building together.
I had no doubts whatsoever that Ardruc loved me and I could trust him.
His support would never waver. My only hesitations came from nagging feelings that I didn’t deserve so much devotion, but I understood myself well enough to know those were primarily a result of my complicated relationship with my parents.
No matter which way I analyzed the question, I kept coming back to a simple truth: I wanted Ardruc to be my dragon. That wasn’t an inference, a theory, or a hypothesis—it was a fact. It was the ground beneath my feet.
Once I’d eaten every crumb and drained my mug, I handed my dishes to Ardruc, who set them on the bedside table. And then I sat sideways on his lap and rested my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me.
“Item one,” I said briskly. “We need to contact the Alliance about the Nyvorans and the Vorsa. I’m not sure exactly who at the Alliance to alert to the situation, but I know someone who would know.
I can reach this person via a secure personal communication the Nyvorans can’t access, and they have the clout to get immediate results. ”
Ardruc tilted his head. “Who is this contact?”
I smiled wryly. “Let me come back to that.”
“All right.” He kissed my hair. “Item two?”
“Item two is our guests,” I said. “After spending the night hanging from branches and vines, they’re probably ready to make a deal. I suggest we offer them a third option in addition to the two you said you gave them last night.”
His brow furrowed. “What is this third option?”
“If my plan for addressing item number one goes as planned, I suggest we buy passage from our guests to take us to Fortusia and deliver us to the rendezvous with their client. That may be the only way to know for sure who nearly got us killed.”
Ardruc tucked my head under his chin. “I have never wanted to go back,” he said, his voice quiet.
“I have few good memories of my life on my homeworld, and I did not want to give Pyru an opportunity to retaliate for my escape. But now…now he is gone, and I want answers. I want to put it all behind me for good. If you are with me, I would have the courage to go.”
“You have plenty of courage,” I countered.
“But if you need to borrow some, I’m happy to provide it.
Whoever sent these mercenaries needs to understand you are not coming back—not now, not ever.
And most importantly, you are already claimed by someone who has traveled halfway across Alliance space with you to tell them so.
And that brings me to item number three. ”
I cupped Ardruc’s face as he stared at me in a mix of surprise and wonder. He was so beautiful.
The way he’d looked burned and bruised and the damage to his back and shoulders from landing in the stun net haunted me. I would never forgive the mercenaries for hurting my dragon, but the fault lay with whoever sent them. I looked forward to meeting that person.
“Yes?” Ardruc prompted when the silence stretched out. “Item three?”
“Item three.” I smiled. “I will marry you.”
His pupils blew wide, and his entire body vibrated just as it had on the roof after our first flight when he’d given in to his need for me.
Forux jumped up and ran in circles on the bed, his tails fanned out. I chuckled at my little arval’s excitement.
Before Ardruc could speak, I touched his lips with my fingertip.
“I’ll marry you, but I also want you to know I don’t consider it necessary.
We don’t have to balance Fylorian customs with Fortusian ones.
You are my dragon. You could not be more my dragon than you are.
And I don’t need anything else to tell me so but what’s in my heart.
” I drew his head down for a kiss. “If you are my dragon and I’m your little mate, that’s enough for me. ”
He kissed me hard and for a long time, until my lips felt swollen and I wished we had nothing else to do today but stay in this bed or go back to our forest shelter for more epet mar ele’ana.
“I want to marry you,” he said when the kiss ended.
His all-black eyes gleamed. “I read about the ritual as it is practiced on Fyloria and it is a beautiful way to affirm the strength and protection love provides. I have already imagined you in my arms, in the water, and now I must make that vision a reality.”
And now I pictured Ardruc in the water with me and discovered I wanted that vision to come true too.
“All right, if it will make you happy,” I teased. “We’ll get married.”
“I am already happy,” he said, very seriously. “I will be happy all my days with you at my side.”
I kissed the tip of his nose as he’d done to me yesterday. And it must have tickled because his nose twitched—just enough for him to look ridiculously cute in addition to ridiculously beautiful and sexy.
Ardruc Husiorithae, have mercy on me.
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Should we shower and start the day by addressing item number one?”
“Yes.” He stroked my hair. “Who do you plan to contact to help us with the Nyvorans, little mate? Am I allowed to know?”