Dragonborne Page 4

  “You’ve pushed yourself too far already. You need to rest.”

  Turning to face her, he was angered by his body’s continued response to her nearness. “If I stay, it won’t be to rest.”

  Gathering her to him, he brought his mouth down on hers with punishing force. He wanted to hurt her, to scare her, to push her away from him irrevocably. But she wrapped her arms around his neck and melted in his arms. Unable to hold his anger, he softened the pressure of the kiss. It wasn’t until he realized he was listening for her soft moans of arousal that he pushed her away from him. “Goodbye, Sophie.”

  He heard her footsteps following him, but did his best to ignore them. He waited for the impending water works and the wailing for forgiveness. But she didn’t beg or plead for his attention, only followed him out into the sanctuary and then out the door.

  “I admit, I should have told you…”

  She slammed into him as he stopped suddenly. Her body was warm against his back, but he was trying hard not to notice. Outside, a large group of villagers had gathered on her front lawn, and they didn’t look as if they were there for tea.

  “Hey! What’s going on?” She started to walk around him, but he pushed her back, keeping his body between her and the people.

  “Sister Sophie?” A tall, gaunt man called her name as he eyed Reuel suspiciously.

  “Would you get out of my way?”

  Despite his best efforts, she managed to make it around him and, arms braced across her chest, addressed the group.

  “What is it now, Naryn?”

  Reuel glared at the man as another growl escaped him. This was the coward that’d shot him down, the man who would have Sophie. A dark, primitive part of him begged to fight the man, vengeance and retribution in one blow. But one glance at Sophie cooled the impulse. She wouldn’t be impressed by violence, especially when it was a dragon challenging a human.

  “I’ve been called to serve as magistrate.”

  “And who’s being judged?” Sophie continued.

  Even Reuel could hear the strain of control in her voice.

  “You are, Sister Sophie.”

  “And what are the charges?”

  “Harboring magic.”

  Reuel’s heart began to beat faster. There was no doubt whose magic she was harboring.

  Sophie took a step towards the group, her shoulders squared. “Since when is harboring magic a crime?”

  A young, tired-looking woman stepped out of the crowd. “Since it started killing our young!”

  “I know you’ve been through a lot since your daughter passed, Lizbet, but it wasn’t my doing. She was sick.” Sophie’s voice had a calm tenor but her aura was aglow with flecks of sorrow. It was the same somber shade when she’d told him about Maria’s son. Her back was straight and her voice steady, but her heart was broken. And just as it did earlier, it called to him to fix it.

  “Maybe you didn’t kill her, but you didn’t save her.”

  Her aura became a shade darker, the transformation painful for him to watch.

  “We did everything we could.” None of her pain was apparent in her voice. A feat Reuel was more than a little in awe of.

  “You saved Maria’s child, why not mine?”

  There was a grumbling of agreement from the crowd that sounded ominous to Reuel’s ears. He knew all too well how fast a group of rational people could deteriorate into a mob.

  “I didn’t save Maria’s child, Reuel did. And since he wasn’t here when…”

  Naryn took another step forward. “And how did Reuel save Maria’s child?”

  Reuel could almost hear Sophie swallow.

  “Lemonbalm.”

  “Lemonbalm doesn’t have any medicinal value, Sophie. We both know that. So how did he heal the child?”

  Sophie remained silent as Naryn took another step towards them.

  “Or are you going to stick with lemonbalm?”

  Reuel saw her straighten her shoulders and lift her chin. “No. You’re right, the lemonbalm didn’t heal him. Reuel used magic to heal him.”

  “See, she’s admitted it. She’s giving shelter to magic!”

  “I didn’t deny harboring magic. I simply questioned it as a crime.”

  Naryn stepped towards them at the words. “So you admit to harboring magic?”

  “Yes, I am harboring the magic that saved Maria’s son. If that’s a crime, then I’m guilty.”

  As a flare of anger sparked in the crowd, Reuel felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. She’d trusted him, saved him, and now she was in the middle of this mess because of him.

  “Since you freely admit to the crime…” Naryn cleared his voice before continuing, “…I have no choice but to sentence you to death.”

  Reuel cursed under his breath. He may not have been born with the judicial magic that’d made his family famous, but he could still see a miscarriage of justice when it was playing out in front of him. And, as much as he needed space from the woman, he couldn’t leave her to die. Not when the only thing she’d done wrong was to have the misfortune of caring for others.

  Closing his eyes, he focused on his magic, focused on his true form. When he heard the collective gasp from the group, he opened his eyes once more. The villagers were staring at him, their mouths hanging open in shock.

  “You have a pestilence in your midst, but I assure you it has nothing to do with Sophie.”

  Naryn took a step back and shook his head, but Reuel didn’t wait for the man to speak. He gently grabbed Sophie in one talon and leapt toward the sky. He soared higher and higher, aiming almost straight towards the sun, until he was certain no arrows could hit him. Then, clutching Sophie to him, he spread his wings to their full width and began to glide on the air currents.

  The open sky welcomed him and the sun shone brightly on his scales, warming his blood as he flew toward the mountains of his home. But the sun had only just reached its zenith when he began to feel the pummeling of small fists on his underbelly. He ignored it for as long as he could, but when he felt her feet swinging into him at full force, he decided it was time to take a small break.

  Landing in a valley meadow, he released her only to watch her pace in the tall grass. Fury radiated off of her in beautiful ripples of blood red and dark purple. He tried not to notice its beauty, but it would be like denying the beauty of the sky right before a storm.

  “What?” Her voice was sharp with anger. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

  “Your aura’s glowing right now. It’s quite lovely.”

  “No! We aren’t doing this.” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him boldly. He’d never seen anything so alluring.

  “Doing what?”

  “I’m angry, Reuel! How could you do that? Scoop me up like a parent with a misbehaving child! Fly me away from my home, from my people!”

  He took a step back—away from the heat of her anger. “Your people were about to kill you, if you hadn’t noticed.”

  “They were upset, but given time they would have seen reason.”

  “Maybe.” He couldn’t believe what she was saying. “But that wouldn’t have brought you back to life.”

  “They’re scared and angry right now, but after I figure out who’s responsible for the plague…”

  He felt sick as he heard the words. “You sound as if you want to go back.”

  “Of course I want to go back. They’re my life.”

  “Can you hear yourself? Can you actually hear what you’re saying? These people turned on you, tried to kill you, for helping heal one of their children.”

  “I know what I’m saying and I know what they did, what they were prepared to do, but that doesn’t change anything. I’m still sworn to serve them.”

  “Does that go for your betrothed as well?” The question was painful, but he had to ask it.

  Her face paled, but a quick shake of her head brought back most of the color to her cheeks. “I serve all the people of the v
illage; I can’t pick and choose between them.”

  It was irritating that she seemed angrier with him than with Naryn. “So you would still bond the man who sentenced you to death?”

  Her glow of anger faded. “No…” She looked away from him, one of her hands seeking out her temple. “Yes…”

  “Which is it?” The question was barely above a whisper.

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to. I mean, I never wanted to, but now I really don’t want to. But it’s not like we’d be together forever. We’d have a couple kids and then go our separate ways. It’s been done before.”

  How could she not be with her mate forever? Why would she mate with a man she couldn’t stand? He’d dreamt of the day he would find someone to bond with. Someone who would accept him, accept his magic. Someone to share not only the rest of his life with but also his soul. And now that woman was standing in front of him, but it was different for her. Everything was apparently different for her. “Don’t.”

  She began rubbing her temple gently. “It’s not my decision. I’ll have to file an appeal with the church.”

  “But if they denied your appeal?”

  “My life isn’t mine, Reuel. I don’t have the luxury of choosing my own fate.”

  “Your fate is the only thing that is yours.”

  “Maybe that’s true for you, but it’s different for me.”

  “It’s not! You’re just too busy hiding behind your church to see it.”

  She sputtered as she stared at him, her mouth agape in disbelief. “You think I’ve chosen this? You think this is the life I would have chosen given options?”

  “You always have options. Right now you could run and never look back.”

  She looked at the distant mountains briefly before bringing her attention back to him. “There are rules.”

  “Only because you chose to follow them.”

  “There are consequences to breaking them.”

  “Are they worse than being bound to a man that condemned you to death?”

  “Yes.” Her voice was sure, but her eyes shifted back to the horizon.

  “Really?”

  “I’d lose everything. I’d be excommunicated.”

  “And you’d find a new life.”

  “Doing what? This is all I know.”

  “There are other communities you could work for, ones that wouldn’t care if you were sanctioned by a church.”

  She looked away from him for a moment. Suddenly her aura shifted back to the heartbreaking blues. “And when I look at their children, do you think I’ll forget the ones I abandoned?” As her eyes found his, he could see the calm determination reflected in their depths. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ve just accepted what life handed me. But this isn’t about that; they’re just children, Reuel, and right now they need me.”

  He could feel the weight of her words pressing down on him. She was indeed a very brave woman. “And what happens to you after you save them?”

  “I don’t know.” Her mouth fluttered slightly as if she were battling to stay in control. “But I do know that if I don’t try to save them, nothing else would ever matter again.”

  He could feel the honesty in her words. “You’d risk everything for their children?”

  “Yes.” She paused as if she was going to say something else, but then shook her head. “Will you fly me back?”

  He didn’t want to. He understood why she felt compelled to return—he’d be heartless not to, but he didn’t want anything to happen to her.

  “I know they don’t trust me and that they somehow blame me for the deaths, but I can live with that because I know they’re wrong. But if I don’t go back, if more children die because I ran, they’d be right. I can’t live with that. Please, just fly me back. That’s all I’m asking.”

  He cursed under his breath. Her argument was hauntingly similar to the one he’d told himself over the years. That it didn’t matter what people thought of him, only what he’d actually done. “Fine, but not until dusk. I’m not going to be shot down twice in one day.”

  “Thank you.”

  She took the three steps that closed the distance between them and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her soft cheek to his scaled one.

  Enveloped in the smell of jasmine, he closed his eyes, savoring the nearness of her. He was quickly becoming used to the desire she stirred in him, but this time it was different. This time there was a depth to it that made him uncomfortable. Backing away from her, he said, “Now, if you don’t mind, I saw a pond just over there. If we’re going to fly to our deaths tonight, I’d like to soak for a bit today.”

  Before she could find something else to argue with him about, he turned and flew off toward the glistening body of water he’d seen from the sky.

  Chapter Five

  Sophie laid down on the soft grass and tried to relax, but her stomach kept doing somersaults and the warm day was making her skin sticky with sweat. Trying to get comfortable, she rolled over again, but it was no use. She wasn’t going to be able to relax. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind insisted on replaying the exchange she’d had with Reuel. Had she been too complacent with her life?

  That question was astoundingly easy to answer—painful, but easy. There had never been locks on the school doors, never any guards posted at the church. She even knew a couple of girls who had left the order, and they hadn’t been hunted down and dragged back to service. Oh sure, the other sisters had hung their heads and talked in hushed tones about how the errant girls were to be pitied and how hard their lives were going to be, but that was it.

  His other question, what she was going to do after she’d saved the children, was more difficult. She wouldn’t marry Naryn, regardless of churches orders. Reuel was right about that. Now that she could see her choices, she’d rather be cast out and alone than married to that man. But what did that leave? Would she be able to make it on her own?

  Unable to obsess about it any longer, she stood and began pacing in the tall grass. She needed to burn some energy, needed to think about something other than her prospective fates, and a swim sounded promising.

  Heading in the direction Reuel had flown off in, she had no problem finding the clear, glistening water. It’s promise of refreshment irresistible.

  She glanced around, but when she didn’t see the dragon, she quickly stripped out of her clothing and dove into the cool water. Relishing the feel of it gliding over her bare skin, she kicked her feet and dove deeper. It wasn’t until her lungs were screaming for air that she relented and swam for the surface.

  “I was beginning to worry about you.”

  She spun toward Reuel’s voice, only to come face to face with him. “You shifted.”

  “The pond’s not exactly dragon-sized.”

  She blushed at the obvious statement. She should have thought of it herself. “I could go. If you wanted privacy, that is.” Her voice was shaky as she spoke, but she blamed it on the act of treading water and talking at the same time.

  “No, I should. I’ve been in the water long enough anyway.”

  She reached out to touch his arm as he swam past, but the spark of electricity that shot between them had her pulling her hand back as if burned.

  He stopped swimming and began treading water just out of reach. “What?”

  Looking into his eyes, she felt her blood heat with memories of the feel of his skin on hers. So much had changed since that moment, but not her desire for him. She wanted to reach out to him again, touch him again, but fear of rejection kept her hand still. “You could stay.”

  “I don’t think it’d be such a good idea. You’re betrothed and there’re no parishioners to save you this time.”

  Embarrassed heat flooded her face, but she wasn’t ready to back down. “I’m not betrothed anymore.”

  “Really? Did you hear back from your church so quickly?”

  She couldn’t blame him for the sharp tone, but it still stung. “No, you were r
ight. I can’t, won’t, marry him.”

  “What about the church, the consequences?”

  “Being married to him would be worse than anything they could do to me.” Saying the words out loud made them real and left her feeling completely alone in the world.

  An expression flickered across his face, but was gone before she could recognize it, replaced by an expression she knew all too well.

  Drawn to his look of hunger, to the promise of companionship—even if it was only temporary—she found herself sliding through the cool water toward him. But he pushed back through the water, staying just out of her reach.

  “You’ve been through a lot in the last couple of hours. I don’t think now’s the time to make rash decisions.”

  The change in his usually bold, aggressive nature gave her pause, but didn’t dissolve her resolution. “Weren’t you the one who said I should take control of my fate?”

  “Yes, but you should give this serious consideration. It’s not a game.”

  “And you aren’t a schoolboy. I remember the warning.” Moving silently through the water, she brought her body mere inches from his. Her heart raced as she gathered the last bit of her courage to say the words that needed to be said. “I think I’ve made it clear what’s being offered this time, but if you want to leave, I won’t stop you.” She was careful not to brush against him as she treaded the water.

  She heard a soft growl before his arm wrapped around her waist and brought her body to his.

  “You should have let me leave.”

  His mouth silenced any reply she might have had. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she let him worry about keeping them above water. The feel of his skin on hers was the only thing that mattered.

  Pulling him to her tightly, she felt his mouth open under hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist, needing to be closer to him, but her weight pulled them down, sending them below the surface of the water. Reuel held her to him tightly though, not breaking the kiss until he brought them to the surface again with a strong kick.

  “I think it’s time for us to get out of the water, together.” His voice was raspy with hunger.