Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
SERAFINA
“This may sting a bit, so try not to set me on fire,” I said to Alaric, stirring the poultice I’d mixed in a large bowl. “I was unable to collect enough herbs to treat all your wounds, so I’ll do as much as I can.”
“Very well. Proceed,” he commanded with a regal nod.
“Wing back,” I said, and he obeyed my request, partially unfurling his powerful wing, raising it over me.
I stood in the shadow of the leathery canopy and loaded my palm with a generous helping of the pasty mixture. “Steady now. Here we go.”
First touch of the poultice and the dragon flinched, uttering a low curse.
I worked quickly but gently. Warmth from the dragon’s body heated my palm, fragrant herbs filling my senses.
Up close, I noted his black scales actually had a metallic emerald sheen.
I imagined it looked rather spectacular in the sun.
Unfortunately, crimson streaks ran beneath them. Flark.
“What’s wrong?” the dragon asked, picking up on my alarm.
“The infection has spread more than I anticipated.” I slathered on more, and the powerful beast grumbled at the sting.
“Distract me,” he said in a kingly manner, too much like the high ruler for comfort. “Explain to me why you are filthy and singed.”
Once we’d returned from the village, I hadn’t bothered changing my ruined clothes. Instead, I’d scrubbed my hands and forearms, then got to work while Thorne went straight to Alaric. No doubt eager to share all he’d discovered and warn the beast against the slave he’d allowed into his lair.
“Why? What did Thorne say?”
“He’s convinced you were the wendigo’s target.” I tensed at the accusation I picked up in his tone. “Wendigos are attracted to power, feeding on life itself. Did something happen during your trip that could have drawn them to you?”
“Nothing I can think of.” I shivered, sparks tingling in my palms. I flexed my fingers, shaking them out.
“He claims he saw you heal your cat.”
Thorne was a blabbermouth. Infuriating male. I glanced over to where Sebastian rested. I’d refused to leave him behind. Exhausted from his ordeal, he’d cozied up beside the fireplace, resting with his nose tucked beneath his tail.
“Thorne’s mistaken. Sebastian was in shock from the stress of the attack. He merely needed a bit of warming up to rejuvenate him.” The alternative—that I’d done it with magic—was too overwhelming to consider.
Nor was I eager to discuss it with someone I didn’t fully trust. “So, what’s the deal with you and Thorne?” I said, grasping for a change of subject.
“How do you mean?”
“Thorne can breathe fire. Like you. Only, he’s no dragon.”
Alaric’s massive muscles tensed beneath my hand. “Not like me. My flames are far more powerful. And I do not wish to talk about Thorne. I’d much rather talk about me. Surely he shared stories about my many conquests on your journey through Nefarr.”
I smothered a laugh at the dragon’s arrogant yet honest statement. “Not a one.”
“Odd,” Alaric muttered. “No matter. Are you familiar with Carcerem, Kingdom of the Fallen?”
“Only from what I’ve heard in stories. Most of those tales contained warnings about the seductive influences to be found in kingdoms with magic.
” Carcerem being one of those so-called dens of sin and debauchery.
“I’ve little personal knowledge of anything outside of Nefarr.
” Thorne’s accusation that I was uncultured came to mind, grinding my teeth together. Insufferable man.
“Easy,” Alaric snapped when I applied the poultice a bit too hard.
“Sorry. What about Carcerem?”
Alaric’s voice dropped as he told me about a dashing dragon who was captured by an evil king and kept prisoner.
Outrage welled up inside me that any creature would be treated so poorly. At least with Alaric resting before me, I was confident the story had a happy ending.
“Please tell me you fried King Idris’ ass.”
“In spectacular fashion.” Alaric smirked and proceeded to detail how he’d helped the rightful king to raid the castle and burn the evil ruler on his throne.
I wiped my hands on a towel, shivering at the dark menace in his voice. Note to self. Don’t piss off the dragon.
He twisted his head toward me, appraising me with a single green eye. “If you’re finished, perhaps you’d enjoy a bath.”
I turned my nose to my grimy shoulder and sniffed. While all I smelled was herbs and liniment, dirt and grime from the attack covered my limbs. “I’d love one.”
“Follow me.” Alaric set off across the room with surprising ease, given his size. As the dragon passed, Sebastian arched his back and hissed, unaccustomed to the enormous beast.
“Careful of that poultice.” I hurried to keep up as we headed down a massive hallway I’d yet to explore. “Don’t let your wing rub against it.”
After a short stretch, we entered an enormous cavern.
Glowing solar crystals cast a soft, sunny light across the space.
At the center was an underground lake. Water trickled from a spot in the wall, filling the hazy turquoise pool.
I gasped, at once consumed with the need to draw closer yet repelled by the danger.
“What do you think?” Alaric asked, pride in his tone.
“It’s…beautiful.” Heat blazed in my cheeks.
He canted his head. “Why do you not sound happy?”
There was no way around it. May as well confess. “I never learned how to swim.”
His brow furrowed. “So, when I discovered you at the lake—”
“I was on the verge of being eaten or drowning.”
His broad chest puffed. “It was a good thing I was there.”
There he went again, reminding me of how he’d saved me. Though this time, he’d done so with less of a domineering growl. Strangely, the dragon had been far more civil since the bargain we’d struck, the two of us forging an odd sort of truce.
“The pool is shallow and clear near the edge, with a few branches in the deep end,” he explained patiently. “You’ve no cause for concern. I will make sure you remain safe.”
I gazed at it with longing, wanting to believe him, my skin itching for a nice long soak. “Very well.”
“While you get ready, I will heat up your bath.”
Before I could question his intent, the dragon raised his head. Chest glowing with an inner light, he unleashed his flames at the body of water. I gasped, nearly falling back on my ass while steam skated over the surface.
Holy nerf dung. That was a handy trick.
Though filled with trepidation, I sat on a smooth rock near the edge and proceeded to remove everything I wore from the waist down. Dressed in only a filthy oversized shirt, I turned to the dragon. “Okay. I’m ready.”
He shuffled close to the edge. “Step in here. I’ll stay close.”
“Okay.” I dipped a toe, finding the temperature pleasant enough.
Once I’d waded in, the dragon let his tail drop into the pool, forming a barrier between me and the deep end. With Alaric on guard, my tension eased, and I dunked my head under to wet my hair.
I groaned, wiping water from my eyes. “By the goddess, that’s nice.”
The shirt I wore tangled around my arms, the fabric transparent. Now that I was submerged in cloudy water up to my shoulders, modesty was less of a priority.
I shucked off the clingy cloth, twisted it to squeeze out the excess water, then draped it over a rock on the stony bank. Next to the edge was a basket filled with an assortment of soaps and bottles. “May I use this?”
“Go ahead. Myrna delivered them for you this morning.”
The dragon rested his head on his foreleg, averting his eyes. Such a gentleman. My opinion of my scaled captor rose a bit. The gift worked to soften me as well. Then again, perhaps he did it to protect his sensitive nose from my stench.
“Your wounds have barely left a scar,” he said to the wall.
Given the glimpse he’d just stolen? Gentleman?
Ha! I ducked lower in the water, casting him a disapproving glare, before reassessing my situation.
What did it matter if he’d seen far too much of me?
We were completely different species, after all.
Sebastian had seen me undressed more times than I could count.
It wasn’t as if Alaric wore clothing himself.
In fact, he was as naked as I was at the moment.
At the thought of the dragon in a shirt and pants, a chuckle rolled up my chest.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I poured a creamy concoction into my palm and massaged it into my hair, satisfied when it created a rich lather. Delicate floral notes filled my senses, and I groaned.
“You’ve not mentioned your family. Only the shepherd.”
Feeling rather pleased with the dragon and the luxurious bath, I couldn’t see the harm in sharing the truth.
“That’s because I don’t have one other than Speck.
When I was seven, a family found me in the woods alone with no memory of who I was or how I had gotten there.
They took me in for a while, but with so many of their own children to feed, they soon decided to sell me to the high ruler.
” My chest ached at the reminder. It was the second time I’d been abandoned.
“They sold you?” The accusation emerged with a low growl.
His grumble of outrage rolled my eyes to the cavernous ceiling. So sayeth the beast who believed he owned me.
I submerged my head, rinsing the bubbles from my curly locks, then drew the length over my shoulder, squeezing water from the strands.
“Don’t pretend Thorne didn’t tell you he discovered I was a slave.
” No doubt he’d run straight to the dragon with the news, eager to point out how worthless his captive was.
“Dragons do not pretend,” Alaric stated, sounding offended. “Thorne failed to disclose that information.”
“Did he now?” Strange. What game did Thorne play? Did he think to hold it over me and use it at some later date? If so, I’d thwarted his plan.
“And what of the mark on the back of your neck?” Alaric asked, the words stiff, a strange tension creeping into his massive frame.