25. Two Hearts
~ GRACE ~
He caught himself before he continued, but I’d already flinched. I was confused by his sudden anger. I’d thought we were getting somewhere.
I couldn’t deny that what he described was a risk—my father, in particular, would be quick to accuse. But he assumed I wouldn’t tell the truth, or be heard. Then again, I’d assumed I would never be found. I hadn’t thought of the fact that I’d disappeared so soon after Bren.
If my parents heard of our friendship, they’d make that connection very quickly, I was sure.
I closed my eyes and prayed that somehow, some way, God would keep their eyes off Vosgaarde. Or that Breckon would simply give up, and even if my parents found me, they could be convinced to leave me there. Surely, no one expected me to return home with a dragon?
I couldn’t go back.
I couldn’t.
I looked down at the land passing under us, so far away the tallest guardians of the forest seemed like blades of grass. And the mountain peaks, so distant, suddenly felt as if I could reach out and touch them.
Koa made a strange sound—a croon? She attempted to soothe me?
My heart swelled with gratitude. She was such a sweet soul.
‘I chose well,’ she murmured in my head. ‘Do not fear, Firebird. What comes, we meet together.’
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, turning my head slightly, though I didn’t meet his eyes.
“I’m sorry if you’re dragged into my troubles.
But I’m telling you the truth: I never plotted to catch you, or cause you difficulty with powerful men.
And I will defend you in the event that I’m ever discovered.
” I did glance at him then, wondering if he would lose his temper again.
But strangely, his face looked tight and pained.
He sighed and shook his head. “There’s no point harping on.
We can’t change it now. But please, Grace, is there anything else I should be aware of?
When we land in Vosgaarde, I’ll be expected to debrief my superior officers, and offer them everything I know about where you’ve come from, how you were Chosen, and whether family need to be notified.
There are many details. Is there anything else I should know? ”
I shook my head, but hunched my shoulders against the images in my head of being denied access and dragged back home and—
‘They will not have you.’ Koa’s words were so simple, but emphatic.
I smiled at her and some of that weight lifted from my shoulders.
“There’s nothing else,” I said honestly. “I’ll answer their questions and pray that they’re willing to let me stay. Koa says she won’t let them take me.”
Voski huffed. “Our dragons are very protective. She means what she says.”
That made me smile. ‘Thank you, Koa,’ I sent genuinely. ‘I’m so grateful for you—I’ll do anything I can to stay with you.’
‘They will not take you,’ she repeated. Kham shook his head like a dog, and I wondered if he agreed with her, or not. ‘My mate protects you also,’ she said, her tone faltering. ‘Do not worry.’
“She says Kham would protect me, too,” I breathed, stunned.
Behind me, Voski tensed, and I waited for him to grow angry with me again. But to my relief he didn’t. I suspected he was having words with his dragon in the link.
And the longer we went, without changing course, without Voski snarling at me, the more my hope grew.
Later, in the evening, we landed. I was growing better at the dismount, but my muscles were so tired, and my joints stiff, that once we reached solid ground, I tottered for the first half hour.
“Roll your shoulders and hips. Stretch. Lunge. Do anything you can to flex your joints. The stiffness will pass eventually. But not quickly.”
I nodded, then tottered off to the trees. But I passed Koa on the way and she extended her snout. It was such a joy when she reached for me, I had to stop and hold her face and thank her again for choosing me.
‘You’ve changed my life. You’ve given me my dreams. Thank you,’ I told her sincerely. ‘I’ll do everything I can to honor you.’
Koa blew a heavy breath from flared nostrils and nudged me in the chest the way a horse would. If the horse was the size of the stable building. ‘You honor me good,’ she sent. I laughed and rubbed the top of her nose as I would with a horse, and she chirped and fluttered her wings.
“They like their eye ridges being scratched—and around the base of their horns, as well. It’s an area their scales dry and shed,” Voski said from behind me.
It startled me and I jerked to look, as Koa growled.
To my surprise, Voski didn’t get angry or disdainful with her. His hair fell over his eyes as he dropped his chin. His shoulders rolled forward as he gave a half-bow, dropping his hands to his sides, but open and slack.
“I haven’t greeted you appropriately, Koa, and I apologize. It was an oversight I should have corrected days ago. My dragon heralds you as his mate, and we welcome you together.”
His throat bobbed. I gathered the words meant a lot more to him than they seemed on the surface and made a mental note to ask her later.
‘His words are right. I protect you. He should as well.’
My heart trilled. “She said you’re saying the right thing. And she protects me.” I frowned, wondering if I should add the last piece, but as Voski straightened his brows rose. He shot a look at his dragon. But didn’t speak.
“Thank you, Koa,” he said tightly, his eyes darting back and forth to his dragon. “I’ll leave you two. Grace, we have a couple hours. You can sleep if you wish to.”
Then he turned on his heel and strode back to his dragon. Even though he didn’t say anything, I sensed unease and self-doubt in him.
I frowned. ‘Is he worried you don’t accept him?’ I asked Koa. ‘He seems upset.’
‘He is sad.’
I looked back to Koa, surprised. ‘Sad? Not the word I would have chosen,’ I said dryly.
She gave a low, frustrated rumble. ‘I learn your speaking,’ she sent after a moment. ‘But sad is true. He uses angry for sad.’
Oh. Oh. Surprised by her insight, I looked back at Voski, who’d walked to his dragon’s side. They turned away and walked into the forest together.
‘Does he know you told me that?’
‘Kham chooses what he knows,’ she said, with utmost confidence.
My heart ached. Whenever she spoke of her mate, warmth and surety swelled in her. I was so pleased that she was happy, but I envied her that sense of safety and delight.
‘I don’t think he’s only angry because he’s sad,’ I said gently. ‘He’s often angry about my choices. Not his.’
Koa tossed her head and gave a whistle, then shook it like a dog or horse would when dispatching a fly.
‘Kham explains… He was hurt. I do not understand all. He is… harmed by humans who live like Grace?’ Then she sent an image, little more than a flash. But in it, a boy in dirty clothes knelt in front of a grand woman in a gown, with an imperious air. There was a great deal of fear in that boy.
I swallowed hard and felt like I understood. He’d been hurt by nobles when he was young? That’s why he assumed I was selfish and uncaring?
He must have been a servant, or a stableboy to a cruel family. That would explain a lot.
I looked over my shoulder again, but they’d disappeared into the shadows of the larger trees.
I didn’t doubt what she’d shown me was true, but I was certain Voski didn’t want me to know it. ‘Thank you,’ I sent to her, reaching up to scratch where the bone and skin protruded to protect her eyes. She groaned happily and tilted her head so I could reach it more easily. ‘I understand.’
‘True, I hope. Your words limit me. But I learn. Kham teaches me.’
I smiled at the mental image of dragons schooling each other in English. ‘I had many classes for that when I was younger.’
‘Classes?’
‘A time just for teaching and learning.’
‘Yes. Classes. Kham classes me.’
I giggled. ‘You were right the first time. He’s teaching you—but don’t let the words worry you. I like the way you talk, Koa.’
A rush of love and warmth poured over me from the bond. ‘Your heart happy makes my heart happy,’ she sent with a low rumble of joy. ‘The Creator made you for me.’
‘And you for me.’ Tears pricked my eyes and made me swallow, but I couldn’t stop beaming.
Even if my heart ached that Voski had fled once again. Even if I hated that everything I said or did seemed to make him angry—or at least, suspicious—I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.
Koa was a gift. I wouldn’t give her up. Ever.
‘No matter what, Koa, if I’m harming you, you tell me. If I’m doing it wrong, you show me. I’ll do everything I can to be right for you. I don’t know what it will mean to become a Furyknight, but I know you can be a fighter, and I’ll do anything I can to earn my place with you.’
‘No need. It is yours. The Creator made us for together,’ she sent emphatically. ‘We face mountains with shoulders side to side.’
“Yes,” I breathed as she dropped her head against my chest, blowing breath over my feet and scattering the dirt. I leaned my cheek on the broad flat between her eyes and hugged her face. “I’ll meet every obstacle with you, Koa. You’re my life now. And I’m so, so happy that’s true.”
She chirped and nudged me, and the warmth and ache in my chest grew.
I didn’t know why I could feel such love and certainty, and yet still have this hollow in my chest. But I knew for sure that she was the source of my joy. And I wasn’t ever giving her up.
Not for anyone.