CHAPTER 39
Sakura
Holding her skirt as high as she dared, Sakura raced after her weapon-smith. She didn’t want to trip, but she also didn’t want to reveal too much of her legs.
However, even if she didn’t have to bear real scorn from the magically created individuals in this version of Hartford, the little dragon would feel very real pain until they escaped the magic. Sakura couldn’t slow Keenan down while Cherry was still in the hands of her kidnappers.
Her kidnappers. And Sakura had told Keenan that because it was an illusion and Cherry was a dragon, there was no need for concern.
Keenan tore around the corner without stopping. Sakura didn’t know how he knew which way to go, or if he did. She didn’t suggest they split up to cover both directions. That was how she’d lost Hugh. And what would she do if she were the one to find the ruffian? Talk him out of kidnapping a dragon?
Her eyes drifted up to Keenan, with his one arm and empty sheath. What more could he do in his current condition?
Sakura’s earrings knocked against her jaw as she panted for breath. She had never spent much time in active pursuits. But she couldn’t slow Keenan down. He was already running slower than she knew he could, although that may have been because of his arm.
Sliding to a stop, he drew his dagger, his eyes fixed down a narrow opening she hadn’t even noticed. He stepped forward, the same danger that had worried her in the tunnel now visible in the stiff yet fluid set of his shoulders.
“Put the dragon down,” he commanded as Sakura came to a panting halt beside him. “Then step away, and don’t let me catch you near her again.”
The man standing near the end of the alley dropped Cherry, but it looked like a combination of surprise and the little dragon’s struggles rather than compliance.
When Keenan kept moving, the man knelt and whipped out his knife.
He set it across the dragon’s neck and grabbed her head to hold her still.
“One more step, and she dies,” the man threatened.
Keenan stopped. “You won’t hurt her. She’s no good to you dead.”
“I would make more if she’s alive,” the kidnapper smirked. “But I know people who will pay either way. A dragon is a dragon.”
Sakura set a light hand on Keenan’s shoulder. She could feel the tension in his muscles.
“You harm her, and it will be the last thing you ever do,” he snarled.
The man laughed. “And who will stop me? You?” His eyes skimmed Keenan’s sling. “I saw you fighting the others. You’re no threat to me.”
“Then where are they?” Keenan challenged. “Because here I am to bother you, and your friends aren’t here to help this time.”
The man shifted his weight. “I found it first. You’ve no claim to steal it nor punish me for treating it how I want.”
Sakura gave Keenan’s shoulder a warning squeeze and stepped forward, holding out her hands to show that she was no threat.
“I suggest a deal.” Keenan frowned at her, but she ignored him.
“Since you did not, in fact, find the dragon first, what if we work together? The dragon lives, we all make a tidy sum, and Keenan doesn’t hunt you down for damaging our goods. ”
“P—Sakura,” Keenan hissed.
The man stood and folded his arms across his chest. “You must be the brains of the team.”
Lowering her hands, Sakura smiled and took another slow step forward. “But brawn is necessary as well, is it not?”
She turned her head to raise an eyebrow at Keenan. The muscles along his jaw stood out, but he stabbed his dagger into the sheath meant for his sword and followed her.
“So, what do you think?” she asked. “Is the deal acceptable?”
The man pursed his lips. “We split the take fifty-fifty. I have the dragon.”
“Sixty-forty,” Sakura returned, keeping her eyes fixed on him as she and Keenan drew nearer. “There are two of us, and the money will do you no good if Keenan strikes you down for stealing our score.”
“But I have to split my portion with my two friends,” he argued back. “So you’re still getting the better end of the deal.”
“You mean the men you left in the alley?” Keenan cut in, his voice cold.
“Good point,” the man chortled. “There’s no point going back for them; the guard will have found them by now if anyone reported the ruckus.
” He uncrossed his arms, setting his hands on his waist and pulling his shoulders back in a competent stance.
“Forty-five, fifty-five then – split the difference.”
They were directly in front of him now. Cherry squirmed at their feet, her mouth tied shut but her betrayed eyes looking up at them.
Keenan’s gaze slid over to Sakura. “What do you think?”
“After that negotiation?” Sakura smiled, but it was sharp. “I think he deserves his reward.”
She extended her right hand to the man, hoping a thief would honor the custom. He reached forward to shake on the deal.
And as soon as his hand was trapped in hers, Keenan’s fist flashed. He followed it up with a leg sweep, dropping the man to the ground.
The man wheezed and tried to sit up, but Keenan stomped forward and set one of his boots on the man’s chest. He held out his dagger to Sakura. “Free Cherry, but be careful not to hurt her. Those bonds are tight.”
“You’re—letting it loose?” the kidnapper gasped out. “But why? Do you know how hard it was to catch?”
Sakura knelt and began working Keenan’s blade under the ropes. She smiled as Keenan growled back, “She, not it. And I don’t suffer kidnappers, whether their victims are human or not.”
The rope snapped, and Sakura quickly unwound it from the little dragon’s mouth. Cherry looked up at her with liquid eyes while Sakura moved on to her wrists. “You were going to sell me?”
“It was just a ruse,” Sakura assured her. “He wouldn’t have let us close enough to help you otherwise.”
The sound of pounding boots behind them made Sakura swing around. But instead of the unsavory characters they had left in the first alley, a sandy-blonde head over a Daric royal guard’s jerkin appeared next to them.
“Where have you been?” Keenan asked roughly. “You were supposed to be with the—with Sakura.”
“It was her idea to split up,” Keenan’s friend protested as he slowed to a walk. “You’re the one who took off on your own and got yourself into trouble. Again.”
“What makes you think I was in trouble?”
Hugh pulled a sword out of his belt and tossed it to Keenan. Even with his left hand, Keenan caught it with ease. Sakura looked back down at Cherry’s bonds, blushing to think what the result would have been if she had been the one trying to catch it.
“Found that in an obscure location with two groaning ruffians.” The guard shrugged. “I can’t imagine you would leave it behind willingly.”
Keenan sighed. “I may have overextended myself a little.”
Hugh gave Sakura a commiserating look. “He did something dumb again, didn’t he?”
“Do your job and take this idiot off my hands,” Keenan grumbled. “He and his buddies tried to make off with Cherry.”
“The dragon?” Hugh asked. Keenan stepped off the kidnapper, and Hugh hauled the man to his feet, twisting one arm behind his back.
“Naughty, naughty,” the guard said cheerfully.
“You shouldn’t steal from people. And I’ve never seen a case involving a talking animal, but I’m sure King Phillip will consider it worse than a normal pet. ”
“I’m not a pet!” Cherry protested, wriggling in her bonds. “I am a companion and guide! And my mother, Mamoru, guards the tinderbox. We dragons are not pets.”
“Of course not,” Sakura soothed. “Now hold still before I accidentally cut you.”
When the last bit of rope was cleared away, the little dragon bounced to her feet. She snorted, and a few wisps of smoke puffed out of her nostrils. “I do not have a high opinion of humans right now,” she huffed. “If not for you two and Oliver, I would tell my mother to roast the entire lot.”
“I thought we were the strangest humans you’d ever met?”
Cherry tipped her head to the side. “I am no longer so sure. But you are still the nicest.”
They stood. Hugh steered his prisoner back to the road, and Keenan cleared his throat. “If you wouldn’t mind, I need help with something.” He lifted his sword, not quite meeting her eyes. “I might be able to manage it with just my right hand, but not my left.”
She tried to bite back a smile, but she could feel the corners of her lips pulling up. “You can get yourself into trouble, but not out of it?”
He grimaced. “Don’t you start. Hugh is quite enough already.”
“From the sound of it, he has a reason.” Stepping forward, she took the sword from him, lingering over the contact before he released the hilt. “I’ve heard you make a habit of doing things like this.”
“I don’t—” He sighed as she tried to work out how to sheathe the sword while facing him. “It just happens.”
Giving up on the notion, she stepped behind him and brought her right hand around his side while attempting to steady the sheath with her left. He yelped and put his hand on her arm. “Careful! That’s real – don’t stab me with it!”
He tugged her back to his front. “How about I handle the angle on the sheath, and you just worry about the sword?”
“If you insist.” She turned sideways to him and lifted it again, trying to keep the tip high enough. She set her left hand on his shoulder and leaned against him for support.
A quiet grunt of pain escaped him. Realizing she was leaning against his injured arm, she quickly straightened. “My apologies.”
He shook his head, but his voice was tight. “It’s all right. But maybe if you move farther to the left.”
She scooted over as suggested. Setting her shoulder against his chest, she raised the sword, but it wavered too much in her weak grip, even with one hand wrapped around the other.
“That’s not a two-handed sword. You’ll probably do better if you hold the blade.” He sounded amused as he gently pried her left hand off the hilt. “Just make sure to stay away from the edges.”
The warmth from his hand lingered as she pinched the flat of the blade. It was simple mechanics; she should have thought of it from the start. “You are correct. It may not be a lever meant to lift, but the position of the fulcrum still affects the ease of positioning. Thank you.”
Once the point was stabilized, the rest was easy. Too bad that now the sword was resting at his hip again, they would need to go.
When something brushed the top of her head, she looked up, surprised to find Keenan’s nose only a few inches from her face. His eyes slowly opened, the amusement from earlier transformed to something sweeter. Sakura felt her breath catch.
“You’re incredible, Princess,” he murmured, the backs of his fingers skimming lightly along her jaw. “Don’t let anyone make you feel like you are less just because you don’t fit their expectations.”
“Because I can sheathe a sword on someone else’s hip?” It was difficult to keep her voice light when he was looking at her like that.
“Because of everything,” he whispered.
His fingers slid across her cheek, heating her neck, then threaded through her hair. Yesterday’s style had long since drooped, and he pulled it the rest of the way down, teasing the strands apart.
Sakura’s hand found his chest. Leaning into him, she pushed up onto her toes and tilted her chin up. Perhaps it was too forward for a perfect princess, but she didn’t care. A perfect princess wouldn’t be half in a weapon-smith’s arms in the first place.
Keenan buried his fingers in her hair, and then his face dipped closer, his breath caressing her lips. Sakura closed her eyes in anticipation.
“Nice, but still strange,” a creaky voice cut in. “Shouldn’t we be finding the human who thinks dragons are pets?”
Sakura sighed. She liked the little dragon, but Cherry’s timing left a lot to be desired.
Dropping his hand, Keenan cleared his throat as he straightened. “You’re right, we need to go.”
Silently berating herself for her disappointment, Sakura stepped back so Cherry could return to her perch on Keenan’s shoulder.
Logic dictated that they should free themselves from the illusion rather than allowing emotion to distract them.
It was necessary to regain the use of Keenan’s arm and continue their quest. Therefore, it was a good thing Cherry had interrupted.
Even if Keenan had been about to kiss her.
She gave herself a mental shake. Something had inspired him to ignore the barrier between them. If it had happened once, it could happen again. When the situation was a little less urgent.
She took a step toward the alley entrance, but a large hand drew her back. Turning, she saw a smile on her weapon-smith’s face, half hidden by the dragon on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to lose you,” he said, tugging her to his side. “As you’ve seen, this isn’t the safest part of Hartford.”
Sakura arched an eyebrow. “My dashing hero, who fights off all attackers with one hand tied behind his back.”
“And don’t you forget it.” His face was completely blocked by Cherry now, but she could hear the grin in his voice. “Now, shall we find the way out of Hartford?”
As they re-entered the street, he laced his fingers through hers. Sakura bit her lip, but the smile crept out anyway.
Perhaps inspiring him to be affectionate wouldn’t be as hard as she’d thought.