Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Begin with patience. If it fails, try intimidation. If that fails, feed them.
-Humaning for Beginners: A Dragon’s Tale of Human Management
DAY FIVE
“Two more days. Only two more days. I won’t think about Taron’s offer to douse him in my flames.
I won’t.” The mantra echoed through my mind as I handled the endless weight of queendom business.
Things I’d put on hold to flirt with a human and show him the delights of my realm.
Review reports from my dragon scouts. Inspect the finalized plan of the new barracks.
Audit the treasury. Hear the concerns of my citizens.
Once the tonic severed the bond between Taron and me, I’d be joining the search for the four dragons of the apocalypse: Cedric, Lorik, Nyla and Councilman Roland. Commander Hoffmann would be secondary objective. That they’d gone silent left me worried. Edgy.
To my increasing annoyance, and perhaps maybe a wee bit of reluctant fascination, Taron followed me the entire day.
He offered no interruptions, no commentary or interference, but he was always right there, behind me, watching, listening.
His gaze remained a constant stream of heat boring into my nape.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t only annoyance I felt.
What thoughts churned behind his unreadable expression? He couldn’t really want to be burned…could he? Not that I was going to ponder the development.
My awareness of Taron expanded, conquering new ground as we settled into my office. While he studied my bookshelves, I tried to focus on the mass of papers scattered across my smoky quartz desktop. Nein. Only the man mattered.
I attempted to center my thoughts as streaks of blush-toned gold shimmered and reflected the glow of a fireplace that was always warm, never hot, and fed by eternal coals. But nein. Still only the man.
Often I lost myself for hours, consumed by memories as I stared at the shelves climbing the walls, crammed with accounts of every dragon battle, glass cases featuring relics from fallen empires and jars of ashes labeled in eight different languages. I tried it… nope, only the man.
I returned my attention to the stack of files and papers before me. A final report on the Firebound Festival.
Taron trailed his fingers along the spine of a heavy tome, looking gorgeous and comforting, and I ached to burn him.
Ugh. Next.
A note from my interim Warden of the Ashkeepers. He’d conducted a thorough questioning of every scribe Franz commanded in the Library of Legends and thankfully discovered no other dissent. I pushed down the flicker of sadness and grief. He’d chosen battle; I’d chosen to survive.
What was Taron thinking right now?
Argh!
The recipe Adelaide and Emma found to combat the Yrnblade bond. I scanned the ingredients for the hundredth–millionth–time, making sure we had missed nothing. I read over the instructions and tapped my finger against the promised results. The breaking of all bonds. Excellent, excellent.
Taron shifted from one foot to the other.
Inhale. Exhale. A log of Cedric’s battle strategies. The false flight retreat. The molten veil–oh, how that man loved a sudden blaze of dragon fire. That and the dragon’s lure, where he’d draw his enemies farther and farther away from safety.
The gingerbread trail. Pair that with the border traps, and we had a recipe for disaster.
A sigh slipped out before I caught it.
“So frustrated,” Taron said, voice low. “Tell me why.”
“I’m not frustrated,” I denied. I wasn’t! I was…argh! I didn’t know what this was. “Maybe a little frustrated.”
He laughed deep in his throat, a rumble that vibrated straight through me, making every inch of me hum.
“Baby, I know you and your moods. I’ve experienced them.
So, when I tell you I recognize a whole lot of frustration, I recognize a whole lot of frustration.
C’mon,” he invited, his grin maddeningly soft. “Tell me about it.”
All right. Why not? “I’m going over my father’s old battle strategies to predict what he might try against us next, and I keep circling back to the crumb trail in particular.
His favorite to deploy no matter who he faces, often using deception to mislead his foes.
” I began to massage my temples. “This whole situation stinks of rotting gingerbread.”
Taron folded his brawny arms over his chest, a muscle jumping along his jaw. “Let’s break it down. First breadcrumb. He and Lorik worked to ensure I acquired the Yrnblade and bonded with you.”
The smallest flicker of doubt surfaced. Only a flicker, and only for a heartbeat. After all, Taron had been working with Lorik. Was he still?
I flattened my palms against the desktop. Nein, I’d come to trust Taron. More than a queen probably should, ja. More than my heart could probably take, but trust I did.
“Second breadcrumb,” I said with another sigh. “They tried to kill you so that I’d be forever crazed.”
He shrugged. “I can’t fault their logic. It’s a good plan.”
Despite myself, the corner of my mouth twitched. Such a dragonish attitude, being unaffected by a death threat.
“And yet…” he prompted.
My gut twisted. “And yet, what?”
“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” he said, voice softer, his amber gaze intent.
Baby, I know you.
Okay, maybe he did know me, because he wasn’t wrong. Maybe it was time to let my actions match my trust of him. “The border traps. Those conveniently discovered snares. The warnings issued. The challenge from Nyla and Rainer. All of that, yet our foes never truly endangered you.”
“I felt fairly endangered on our quest for the ingredients,” he replied with a dry undertone.
“But still you survived.” I pushed to my feet and began to pace the length of my office.
“If Lorik has been hiding in my realm, why not attack us while we gathered those ingredients? While we were injured? I know he claimed to want us to grow feelings, but if the weapon created a bond, then the damage was already done. Which means…”
Understanding flickered over his face, dark and sharp. “The goal was never to kill me.” He canted his head. “Perhaps the goal was to kill you, Olyssa. No, that doesn’t work either.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Let’s break this down, too. Piece by piece.”
“Okay. Lorik and my father bragged about their plan to kill you. The reason? Once you’re dead, the bond will sever, and I’ll go, well, berserk. But you’re alive and healthy, despite ample opportunities to end you. Neither attacked me. So all of their taunts were nothing more than bait?”
“Or the perfect misdirection.”
I nodded slowly, feeling a puzzle piece shift into place. “What if they purposely steered me in the opposite direction of their true desire? But that would mean they want the opposite of what they claim. Both of us alive, our bond unbroken. Which also makes no sense.”
“Or maybe we’re trying to think of any excuse not to drink the tonic, so we can remain bonded.
” A quiet statement before Taron crossed the room, clasped my hand to stop my pacing and drew me close.
“That you trust me enough to discuss life and death matters suggests you’re having as much trouble coming to grips with thoughts of parting as I am. ”
Sighing, I rested my head on his shoulder. “Most people say thank you.”
“We’ve established I’m not most people.” He stroked his fingers along my spine. “Burn me, Lyssa.”
I didn’t bother looking up. “Nein.”
“Yes. Ja. However you want to word it, just agree with me.”
“Why are you so eager to risk your life?” I demanded, glaring at him now. “And don’t tell me it’s because of desire. That’s not enough.” Not even love was enough.
Love. I gulped as the word echoed in my head. A possibility I hadn’t allowed myself to consider. Loving and losing someone else… nein. But here, now, I couldn’t deny I longed for another firebrand to cherish. Someone to soothe and choose me.
Taron’s lids narrowed. “It’s not just desire, though that’s a big factor. I want a chance. A future with you.”
I gulped. “I can’t live among humans. Won’t leave my people. A future means you move here, to my realm.”
A half smile flickered across his lips. “I know. And I’m okay with that.”
“Nein. No.” I shook my head. “I won’t let you do that. You’d have to give up everything. Your home. Your friends. Your profession! Dragons have no need of a dragon mythology professor.”
“I think I’ve proven I’m an aid to you, Lyssa, not a hindrance.
But if we don’t give this a shot, we’ll always wonder.
I don’t know about you, but I’m unwilling to live that way.
” Seduction glimmered in his eyes, and his voice dipped.
“Your fire is burning me anyway. We might as well make it official.”
My breath hitched, possibly doing everything in its power to become reality, weaving a beautiful tale. A future. With Taron. The man I hungered for with every ounce of my being.
“Stay here then, just for a little while,” I offered, quieter now. “Remain human. We’ll break the bond and then…date.”
His brow arched. “And make a split that much harder? If we date, we’ll want more. Why start with an expiration date when we can have forever?”
I licked my lips. “Then I’ll marry you. If you ask. You’ll be my consort, and I’ll be your woman. You can travel between worlds.”
“And let challenges to your crown double?” he demanded. “As long as I’m human, you are in danger.”
He wasn’t wrong. Needing distance, I stepped back. “This conversation is pointless, anyway. I mean, it’s obviously the bond talking. Too much has changed too fast.”
“Maybe you’re right. But I doubt it. I’ve changed. The man I am craves you with every fiber of his being.”
I pressed trembling hands to a fluttering belly. “You’ll revert to your former self,” I said, hoping to convince us both.
But what if he didn’t?
“I won’t,” he assured me, backing me against the desk.
I plopped onto its edge, heart thumping.