Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
“That is promising.” The man in front of him smiled, his eyes the purest green he’d ever seen, and he was from the Land of Summer.
Evander finally blinked. “Why were you so upset before? I could feel how worried or angry you were.”
“My mother is here. She disapproves of me keeping you here until you’re fully recovered. She’s from the Land of Summer.”
His brows rose with surprise, which he hoped didn’t show on in his voice. “Really? Who is your mother?”
“Lady Calla of the Flower Mound.”
Good goddess. Everybody in the Land of Summer knew her name. She was royal family blood, and she’d married a dragon.
Now Evander’s mouth dropped open. And yeah, he didn’t look to have fangs in there. “So, wait, you’re one of the Third?”
“I am. I’m Corbin.” Corbin gave Evander a smile. “What are you hungry for? I think we should make something easy this time. Perhaps some vegetable broth or some easy stewed vegetables.” He understood why Corbin would ask that. Most of the fae didn’t eat a lot of meat.
But he was having a craving.
“Do you have any bone broth?”
“I do.” Now Corbin looked a little bit worried. “I’ll see what I can do, and you just stay here.”
“Thanks.” He wanted to tell Corbin he didn’t have to look so scared, that he had eaten plenty of meat before.
He was one of those fae who was descended from the Lord of the Hunt.
And he ate venison and rabbit. But that might make Corbin even more worried if he’d never encountered someone like Evander. So he would just keep his mouth shut.
He looked down at himself, and he was glad to see he hadn’t wasted away while he wasn’t eating or drinking for a year. The dragon magic in this house was doing wonders, he figured.
He listened with his ears and his mind as Corbin moved around in the house, finding him what he’d asked for. This dragon had seen to his every need for a year. It boggled his mind.
It also honored him, and he couldn’t stop himself from the urge to smile, as strange as it was.
Corbin had to feel it too, the bond Evander felt. That was why he hadn’t let the fae take him. They wouldn’t have waited for him to wake. They would have just staked him through the heart to make sure there was no hint of taint or infection he could spread to their people and lands.
I would never let anyone do that to you. I would care for you, protect you, forever.
Thank you, Corbin. I would do the same for you. If anyone hurt Corbin, Evander would hunt them to the ends of the human realm or anywhere beyond, provided he could get there.
He hummed, moving his toes and then his feet, making his blood pump in his body. His muscles felt sore, unused, but not… completely useless. He might not be able to spring up and run with the hunt, but he could walk if need be, he thought.
Do I smell?
Pardon me? He could hear Corbin’s confusion.
I’ve been laying here in this bed for a year. I’m surprised I don’t have moss growing on me.
I’ve been cleaning you, Corbin chuckled softly. I promise I wouldn’t let mold grow on you, although I could make moss happen.
Yes, you are a Flower Mound fae through your mother. I imagine you can grow almost anything.
“I can, yes. My brother Cullen is an illusionist, and Cosmo is a seer. But I got my mother’s green…” Corbin held out a hand, thumb up. “Thumb and everything else.”
Corbin was holding a bowl of soup in one hand with a spoon balanced on the edge. He frowned when he glanced at Evander. “Maybe I should get a straw so you don’t have to sit up. It would be hard to feed you with a spoon while lying down.”
“Or you could help me sit up. I think I would just need some pillows behind me.” He tried to push up with his hands, but his arms shook so hard that he really couldn’t do it by himself. But Corbin looked strong. He could lift him. Evander was sure.
“Don’t wear yourself out.” Corbin set the soup aside on the bedside table and came to lift him, pulling him up to sitting easily and then leaning him against Corbin’s shoulder while Corbin rearranged the pillows behind him to prop him up.
He didn’t have the slightest urge to bite Corbin. Well, maybe nibble, but not in a bite-and-bleed manner. Only in a bite and leave a little bruise sort of way.
Those were two very different things.
Corbin chuckled softly, a sound husky. “Now be nice. I can hear you.”
And that was not a complaint, more a hint of joy.
“Yes, I’m not up to that yet, but I’ll work my way to it.
” He already loved the look of Corbin with his deep green eyes, his wavy green hair, his softer green skin, his wide shoulders, and his big hands.
The hint of dragon scales was something completely new to him as well, and it absolutely made him fascinated.
Corbin smiled as he moved things around and arranged his blanket so that he could put the tray holding the broth over Evander’s lap. “There we go. Now we should be able to get it all in the mouth and not all over you.”
“I approve of that plan. I prefer to be clean.” Although when he was on a hunt, things could get pretty raw. He wasn’t going to mention that to Corbin though. Corbin was of the Flower Mound. He probably wasn’t violent by nature.
Corbin gave him an odd look, one eyebrow winging up, and he felt his cheeks heat a little bit. “What?”
“Plant growth is not a gentle, kind thing. Plants burst through the ground. Plants tear things. Plants twine around things and choke the life out of other plants. Plants can eat animals. I understand you think my mother is a gentle, sweet creature, and so the rest of us must be too, but that’s not the case. And she’s hardly sweet.”
Oh ho!
There was some baggage there, he thought.
He could understand it. fae mothers could be difficult at best. His own, thankfully, was far too consumed with several changelings that she had arranged over the centuries to even notice that he had been gone, no doubt, and time did move differently in the Land of Summer.
“I’m not particularly interested in you being sweet,” he admitted. “Now, yes, but once I’m healed?” His eyes narrowed. “Not interested in sweet.”
“I can live with that.” Corbin gave him an arch kind of grin and then fed him a spoonful of soup. “So that means you need to start getting better pretty quickly. Because I can be impatient.”
He chuckled, utterly tickled at the surety in Corbin’s voice, the teasing laughter.
Thank the goddess this was the one who had rescued him. What if it had been someone else who was simply willing to kill him to be rid of any possible taint. There had been— He swallowed, his mind pushing away the memory of the vampires.
Corbin’s expression softened. “Be at peace. You and Tisi are both safe. Both of you.”
“Tisi. The little pegasus? Is that his name?”
“Yes. My brother and his mate, a unicorn, have adopted him.” Corbin fed him more soup.
Evander gaped. “A dragon and a unicorn?”
“Oh, a fae dragon and a unicorn.” He chuckled. “And they have a baby. You’ll get to meet her soon. Serena is her name, and she’s like a little butterfly dragon. With a horn.”
Holy mother, maiden, and crone! He couldn’t even imagine the combination between a fae, a dragon, and a unicorn producing a baby. But with magic, all things were possible, and he did know that.
“I bet she’s beautiful.”
Corbin beamed at him. “Absolutely. She’s amazing. All the babies are.”
“There are more babies?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Yes. Hawk and my brother Cosmo have them too.”
“But not you?” His heart would break if Corbin was mated.
“No. No, I’m… I haven’t.”
“Oh, good.” Maybe that was wrong of him, but he felt this intense connection. This deep need to be with Corbin that couldn’t be denied.
“Yes. I’m… I’ve found my mate.” I found you.
Yes. And I’m here now. Awake and aware. At least until I finish this broth.
He had a feeling he would be sleeping soon. A real sleep, not an unnatural one.
“The broth will make things so much better, I just know it.”
“It will. I’m just not used to sitting up now. I’ll get better fast now that whatever thrall I was under is done.”
“You needed to recover. Now you can heal.” Corbin searched his eyes, almost reaching for him.
He held out his hand. It shook a little, and the veins still stood out too much, but he wanted to hold Corbin’s hand.
“If I take it, I’ll never let go,” Corbin whispered.
“Then do it now.” He begged Corbin with his eyes, desperate for the touch of his hand.
Corbin slid his hand over Evander’s, twining their fingers together. Evander took a deep breath as if he was being dunked into a deep cold pool, as if he knew that this was the last breath that he might get for a while.
He heard a roar, a sound of victory that echoed in him, and he knew that in the Land of Summer, the Lord of the Hunt was celebrating for him.
Or maybe it was a chorus of dragons making all that noise.
Or both.
Either way, when he slipped into sleep, he was smiling.