Chapter Eleven
The tents were small, one-person affairs.
I'd expected the King to have something more lavish, but he rolled out a pallet just like everyone else, and lay down in his small, A-frame tent that barely fit him.
My tent was next to his. With only fabric separating us, it was like sleeping in his bed. Except that I couldn't sleep.
My story-knot comforted me, and I found myself rubbing it as I listened to the soft sounds of men sleeping.
The banked fire popped on occasion, and the calls of night creatures created a lullaby that should have helped me drift off.
I felt more at home than I had in years, out there in the wilderness where I belonged. All I needed was a round bed.
Ah, that was it. The tent was too cramped for me and my wings.
I tried turning onto my belly, and that helped, but my mind still raced.
The Dragon King filled it with his larger-than-life presence.
It had been so long since I wanted something other than freedom.
I treasured the longing even as it built into an ache.
If I had been whole, my mind untarnished, I would have gone to King Raventar, woken him, and led him into the dark embrace of the woods where I would embrace him.
Raven. He had asked me to call him Raven.
What a perfect name for him. Ravens were cunning—the smartest avian in the world, more intelligent than most animals, I'd wager.
They were capable of complex problem solving, including using tools, planning ahead, and understanding cause and effect.
They also had strong social skills like recognizing individuals, complex speech that included mimicry, and even showed empathy.
Baby ravens often stayed with their mothers long into adolescence.
They were also adaptive and could survive in an assortment of habitats.
They hunted in groups and even used deception when needed.
Yes, the Dragon King's name suited him.
I wanted to know more about him. If there hadn't been an audience, I would have offered him all of my stories, no matter how personal or embarrassing, just so I could hear his. But I didn't want to share myself with his guards and the carriage drivers. Only him. And that alone was a miracle.
Sighing, I crawled out of my tent and stood to stretch my wings.
I needed to honor this sacred place in my own way.
Carefully crossing the campsite, I went to the edge of the cliff, far enough away from the sleeping men so I wouldn't wake them.
My musical offering had been spinning through my mind as I tried to sleep, so it came instantly to my lips.
It was a song that we Lelurra sang when landing in a place that was strong in our memories.
Respect given, nothing asked for. It was an offering that could be accepted or rejected, but either way, it was made with an honest heart.
Gaze on the stars, I smiled, but then I turned to face the standing stones.
This wasn't a song for the sky, but for the land.
Still, it held the air within it—a gentle breeze.
It was what I was—a child of the sky. But I also walked the earth.
My voice slipped softly from me, whispering through the night. Quiet, but powerful.
“I know not your names,
ancient fire, elder stone.
But I feel your truth.
It calls me down to you.
I make no mark, no claim,
There is no hunger in my hands.
Only this breath, the magic in me.
I lay it at your feet, to keep or discard.
My breath, my song, is yours.”
This was what I had wanted to give Raventar, not only this place.
I hoped he might hear my song in his sleep and be comforted by it.
If only I were brave enough to sing to him while he was awake, those piercing eyes focused on me.
But this was good for now. It made me feel as if I were a part of his traditions.
With the story-knot clutched in my hand, I accepted the Dragon King's welcome in the best way I knew how.
He wouldn't know, but his kingdom would.
His ancestors would. And I hoped they approved of my gift.
My song ended, and I felt acceptance. The land had taken my offering, following its king's example. Were it not for King Raventar, my breath would have been let go, not absorbed into the stones. I knew it. He had opened the way for me.
An echoing crack brought my head around to face the cliff. It was distant but too sharp to have been an animal. Animals tread more softly. They knew their environments. So, what had made that sound? I peered across the dark forest and saw it. A glow of firelight. There was another camp out there.
Suddenly chilled, I drew my wings around me. My instinct was to fly away, but I couldn't. Trapped on the ground, all I could do was run. But I wouldn't do that. Not without him.
I turned to look back at the King and found him standing behind me.
With a yip, I stumbled back, my heel meeting open air.
Another cry left me, this one full of terror.
But the Dragon King had me. His strong hands gripped my waist and yanked me back onto firm ground.
My palms went to his broad, bare chest, and my startled gaze went to his eyes. They were as wide as mine.
“Dear Gods,” he whispered. “I almost lost you.”
I wanted to glance over my shoulder at the fall I'd nearly taken, but I couldn't look away from him. “I could have died. From a fall.” I grimaced, my heart slowing down. “How humiliating.”
The Dragon King burst into soft, surprised laughter, but then he looked down at my hands, splayed on his skin.
I followed his gaze, my fingertips tingling with the heat of him.
My bones ached to move against him. I wanted to feel the muscles tightening all over his body.
My breath grew rapid. The sensation of his hands on my waist became holy.
I felt as if standing on that cliff, with the King keeping me safe, was a prelude of what was to come. Perhaps even a premonition.
“Eliel, may I hold you tighter?” The King leaned his head down to mine, his cheek a breath away from my forehead.
As my answer, I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his waist. With a soft sound of relief, Raven's hands slid back to move up and lodge beneath my wings.
He enveloped me in his strength, but I needed more.
I folded my wings around him. Much to my amazement, my broken wing didn't ache.
It felt perfect, as if it had been waiting to envelope this man.
I sighed and lay my head on his chest.
“Thank you for trusting me,” he whispered.
I spoke into his skin, “Thank you for being so patient with me.”
“I will wait a century for you, Eliel. Two centuries. A thousand years. Whatever you need.”
I lifted my head and whispered, “Why?”
Raventar met my gaze, and something shifted in his eyes. There was another presence in him. His dragon? Were Dragons split in two? Perhaps that was why they could give pieces of their souls to their mates.
The voice that came from the Dragon King was deeper than usual, rising from his chest with a rumble, and I knew both beast and man spoke to me. “You know why.”
“I don't. Please, tell me. If you leave it unsaid, my doubts will destroy it.”
“Very well, my foundling. I will speak the truth. But only if you promise to be brave enough to hear it. Are you ready for that?”
I didn't hesitate. “Yes. I won't be afraid. Tell me.”
That shared stare started to glow, and his words felt like a vow.
“They say that a Dragon knows even before they bed their mate.
There is something different about the one they're meant to be with.
Something that draws the Dragon. I am drawn to you, Eliel.
I know you're meant to be mine. That is why I will wait for as long as it takes.
I've already waited centuries for you. A few more won't matter.”
My hands clenched, fingertips clawing into the muscles of his back, and the King groaned, arching into me.
Between us, his manhood thickened, but it didn't scare me.
I had promised to be brave, and I was. I felt more than brave—confident.
Raven had spoken his truth, and I believed him.
My right hand came forward, along his side, up his stomach, over his extended chest, and along the column of his throat.
The King, his head thrown back, bent forward, into my touch, and opened his eyes. “Kiss me?”
I lifted my head and was lost.
Fire met Air inside us, my magic feeding his.
We created an inferno together. It sparked in his chest and thundered into mine.
I had never felt so alive. So aflame with passion.
Swept up in a windstorm of desire. This was what I had sought my entire life.
This wild sense of rightness. Raventar freed me to feel desire again.
He magnified it inside me. My flesh filled with need and pressed into his thigh.
Dear Gods, I was erect! I couldn't remember the last time I had been aroused like this.
The King groaned into my mouth, his tongue twisting with mine.
Back and forth, giving and taking, conquering only to ask for my mastery.
But then Raventar pulled back, gasping. “I can't go on. Any further, and I will take you to my tent, lay you down, and make love to you.”
My breath shuddered out of me. “I want that, but I . . .”
“I know.” He stroked my hair soothingly. “It's all right, Eliel. I don't want to ruin our progress. I will wait as long as you need. I just have to stop now.”
I knew what he was asking. I had to be the one to move away. Gathering my strength, I did. I let go, uncurled my wings, and slipped to the side. Once the cool air hit my skin, my mind cleared, and I remembered what I'd seen.
“Oh!” I spun back to Raven and took his hand without thinking. “Look!” I pointed toward the fire I'd seen earlier. “I was on my way to wake you when you stepped up behind me. Your Majesty, I think we're being followed.”
The King's brow wrinkled as he stared across the forest below. “It could be hunters.”
“Yes, but what are they hunting?”
He looked at me. “We will stay alert.”
I looked at the glow. “As you say, Your Majesty.”
“Raventar.”
My head jerked his way. I licked my lips. “Raven.”
The Dragon King lifted our joined hands and kissed mine. “Come, my foundling. You need your rest.” He led me back to our tents.
I hesitated before mine.
“What is it?” He let go of my hand to cup my cheek.
“I can't sleep. It's too confining for my wings.”
The King looked at my tent and then at his. “Would you . . . I would . . .” He cleared his throat. “I can combine our tents. It may give us more room. But you would have to sleep in my arms.”
A shiver of excitement ran through me. Encouraged by it, I nodded.
The King pulled up the stakes from the sides of our tents that faced each other and tossed them aside.
Pulling up those same sides, he tied them together with their stake ropes, changing two A-frames into a single tent with a flat roof.
Adjusting the central poles to lean outward, he pulled the roof taut.
Finally, he pushed our two pallets together and drew back the blankets.
Without looking at me, he lay down on his back.
Only then did Raven meet my gaze. “Settle yourself into whatever position is most comfortable. I will lie still until you are arranged.”
“You offer me your body as a cushion again?”
“I will support you in any way you need, Eliel. Now, come here.”
Raven's words shivered through me. After all his patience and gentleness, there was a touch of command in his tone.
Instead of scaring me, it excited me, and my gaze flowed over his bare chest in anticipation.
I wanted to remove my tunic and press my skin to his, but I knew it was too much. It would scare me out of this bravery.
“One touch at a time,” I whispered and bent to crawl into the tent.