12. Kiera
TWELVE
KIERA
S tunning.
That’s what he was.
It was worse than I feared. I knew plenty of dragons and I saw them all the time. I’d even briefly seen Jaxus before when they first arrived, but there was too much drama that night to really register how he looked.
I think I’d know this dragon was Jaxus even if I hadn’t watched him shift. He was the color of a gorgeous sunset over the Middle Sea. A sun-kissed golden blush, just like the fae himself. I wanted to reach out and touch him. Run my hands over the metallic-looking scales. But I refrained.
“So?” His rich voice seemed more powerful in my mind when he was in this form. “How do I smell?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t fish for compliments.”
“Oh? There are compliments available? Tell me more,” he teased.
It was bizarre as if his confidence soared in his dragon form. He was usually so reserved.
“You smell fine—for a dragon.”
“Well, thanks.” He preened. “And how do I look?”
How did he—? Was this the same fae who is always so—so— ‘Umm—excuse me—I’m sorry to trouble you.’ This had taken a sharp turn and I didn’t know what to make of it.
“You look—” I paused and then gave in, reaching out to stroke the scales on his flank. They were silky smooth and yet tough. He watched me over his shoulder and I suddenly felt self-conscious and began to pull back my hand. “I’m sorry. I should have asked first.”
He turned on a pinpoint, facing me in a heartbeat. The agility he had to move his bulk so quickly and precisely was incredible. I stepped back, my hand still half extended. Jaxus dipped his mighty head and nuzzled my hand. Showing me without words, he was okay with touch.
His warm breath caressed my hand, and I stared into his eyes in wonder. They glowed against his sunset hues like the dying light of the evening sun. I was speechless.
He huffed into my palm, and his amused voice filled my head. “So, I smell fine, you know, for a dragon at least, and my looks have you mute. You really know how to charm a dragon.”
“I—” I had nothing. Was he flirting? He was flirting. I was sure. I couldn’t see which way was up for a moment, he was a living, breathing paradox.
I flicked his muzzle and he flinched back, his tail whipped across the landing in reaction. The bench that he had set a few feet from the edge, was swiped clean off the landing and plummeted to the ground below.
My hands flew to my mouth as I pictured the children playing in the courtyard. But in a flash of wings and scales, Jaxus was gone. He poured himself over the edge of the landing, and I was left standing there, too afraid to venture to the edge to see what had become of the children. The healer in me was readying for an emergency.
Only seconds passed, but I was ready to run to the healer’s wing to do what I could when Jaxus shot up past the edge, carrying the bench. Then, he flapped his massive wings to lower to a gentle landing, setting the bench down carefully as he did.
“The children?” I gasped.
“Fine. It never even got close to the ground,” he assured.
I heaved a breath of relief. “Thank the Goddess.” Then I took him in. “ And thank you. How did you move so quickly? That was incredible.”
His wings flared slightly. “It wasn’t anything special.”
“I disagree,” I said mind to mind. Wanting him to feel my sincerity. He’d just saved lives. The power and fluidity I’d just witnessed had me wondering what flying with him could be like.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, and I realized I was just staring.
I puffed out a resigned breath. “I was wondering what it would be like to fly with you.” there was no point in lying. I couldn’t mind to mind and I knew he was feeling my emotions, even if he couldn’t hear all of my thoughts.
“It would be like destiny,” he said softly and I shivered, feeling how true his words were by the tightening of the thread of our bond between us.
We were meant to fly, and this was exactly what I had been afraid of. Seeing him like this and wanting it. Because yearning to fulfill our destiny did not erase the fear I’d had forced upon me.
“I’d never let you fall, you know,” he assured, then glanced over to the edge of the landing. “And even if you did, you know I’m a great catch now,” he chuckled.
I frowned. “ Yes, but let’s not even joke about it, okay? ”
“Okay.” He dipped his head to nudge me. “So how about it?”
“How about what?”
“A quick flight. I’ll fly real low and we can just cross the courtyard to the other landing. Ten seconds maximum. So you can see how safe you are with me.”
I stepped back. “Oh, I don’t think so, buddy. You promised!”
“I’m not forcing you. I’m simply offering.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And why do I think you’ll keep on offering every day until I give in?”
“Because I will.” I didn’t think I’d ever seen a dragon grin before, but there it was, his pearly white sharp teeth on full display.
“For the love of the Goddess, why did this have to happen to me?”
“You are truly blessed.”
“Lucky me.”
“How about you just hop on to get a feel? I won’t take off unless you say so. You have my word.”
“I have a tiny trust issue when it comes to dragons—call me crazy,” I deadpanned.
“Kiera, I’ve seen your apothecary. You could kill me with about twenty-seven different things you have just sitting on your shelves. Some of which I can’t even fathom how you procured, by the way. We’ll be having that conversation at some point. But I’m not an idiot. I will keep my arse firmly planted unless you expressly say otherwise.”
I groaned. “Fine.”
“Really?” Jaxus seemed shocked at his victory.
“Yes, really. Let’s get it over with. How do I get on?”
He lowered himself so his belly was pressed to the floor and I looked for a handhold of some kind.
“Just grab on and climb up,” he encouraged.
“I don’t want to hurt you. ”
“You won’t.”
I reached for the spiked scales that ran down the ridge of his neck and took hold, then climbed up the steep incline of his shoulder. When I was almost there, he performed some kind of shrug and boosted me up the last foot so that I could straddle his back in front of his vast wings.
I swore.
“You okay?” his voice in my mind soothing as if he thought he could sweet talk my fears away.
“Not really,” I called out in reply. “It’s pretty high up here already.”
“I haven’t even stood yet.” He laughed. My mind filled with it, adding further insult to my situation.
“I’m well aware,” I bit back through our bond.
“Should I?” he asked cautiously.
“If you feel it’s necessary,” I said through gritted teeth. Closing my eyes against the dizziness already making me feel lightheaded.
“Okay, hold on. It might feel bumpy for a moment.”
“Fabulous,” I snarked, then yelped as he rose. First, his front end, tipping me backwards, then his rear making it feel as though I was thrown forward. I gasped, gripping tight and screwing my eyes shut so I couldn’t see the several feet higher I now was.
Then we were still.
I was breathing hard, but Jaxus was motionless, his solid presence beneath me a reassurance I didn’t quite understand.
“Okay?” he asked tentatively. His voice was soft and smooth in my mind so as not to spook me, I supposed.
“Not exactly.”
“Want to get down?”
I was so warmed by the tenderness of his offer, fully aware how badly he wanted this—no, needed this. Because I was being drawn by the same forces myself. A need to fly. A deep desire to become one with my flyer and fulfill that destiny we’d been gifted. That he would end the experiment so quickly to make me feel comfortable was a kindness I didn’t deserve after shunning him for weeks.
“No, I’m good. I’ll just work on opening my eyes in a moment.”
His rumbling huff of laughter vibrated through me.
“Arse,” I said mind to mind.
“Take your time.”
I opened one eye and then the other, my stomach turning over at just being a few feet from the ground. “Goddess, save me,” I whispered. “Why can’t my destiny be on the ground?”
“The Goddess only tries us with what she knows we can withstand.”
“Hmmm.”
“Have you opened your eyes yet?” he asked.
“Regrettably, yes.”
“And how do you feel?”
“Nauseous!”
“It will pass, just relax,” he soothed. “ We are just standing here, taking in the view—” He paused. “Scratch that. We are just staying here. I’m taking in the view. You’re trying not to, which is fine.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Whether he was trying to or not, he was really good at putting me at ease.
I traced my fingers along the scales on his neck that I’d fixated on to save me from looking out over the courtyard. Jaxus shivered under me, and I stopped.
“Don’t stop. It feels nice.”
Tentatively, I stroked his neck again and marveled at the way his scales shimmered in the light as his shudder rippled his skin beneath them. It felt too intimate and I began to wonder if his neck would be a sensitive place in his fae form, too.
No.
Nope .
I shut that thought down fast. I was not adding that complication to this already twisted dynamic.
Just then, a cry came up from the courtyard, followed by a child’s wail.
“Call a healer!” somebody yelled.
“Jaxus!” I said in alarm.
“On it,” he replied instantly and launched.
I screamed as we lifted and then dove over the platform.
My stomach knotted, my head went light, and then everything went black.
“Kiera, open your eyes. Kiera!”
I blinked, the bright sky above me blinding. A shadow moved over me, and I focused on Jaxus’ now fae face.
“Goddess have mercy, you scared me to death.”
“What happened?” I croaked.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You probably don’t want to know.”
I tried to sit up and my head spun. He didn’t need to tell me I’d passed out. That much I knew. Then I remembered the cry for a healer. “The child?”
“Fine, another healer is here.”
I sighed with relief.
“Are you okay?” He inspected me. “No injuries?”
“Injuries?”
“I had you in a tight grip. I was worried I’d hurt you.”
I decided I needed to sit up so I could let it all sink in. I carefully pushed myself up and was less dizzy this time, though my stomach was still in a knot.
“Tight grip?”
“Yes. You blacked out and slid right off me. ”
I covered my mouth with my hand. My stomach churning and churning.
“I caught you immediately. Don’t worry. I was just worried I’d squeezed you too tight.”
That was it. I couldn’t hold it in. I lost my breakfast all over him, crouched before me.
I was mortified.
I watched in horror as it slid down his bare chest, over his stomach, and it was as it slid down—there, I realized he was completely naked.