by E. L. Todd
What kind of name is Bridge? She looked at Rush again. Does he build bridges?
Uh, no. He’s a scholar.
Talc turned her head and settled her gaze on Cora. I want the elf.
She’s unavailable.
I want her.
She’s already fused with Ashe.
Ashe, King of Dragons, is here?
Yes.
I still want her.
Rush released a sigh. “She wants you.”
“Me?” Cora asked. “But I have Ashe.”
“I know…but that’s what she wants.”
Cora regarded Talc. “I’m flattered by the request, but I have Ashe. I’m the only one he’ll fuse with.”
She released a growl.
“You saw what I did with Queen Megora,” Cora said. “Trust me, if Bridge gives you trouble, we won’t allow it—not that he would. You’ve got two dragons on your side.”
Talc looked at the stars once again. Wish I could fly again…
You will. Rush felt the heartbreak in his chest, a pain he understood like he experienced it himself. Soon enough.
34
Just You
“Wow…this is weird.” Bridge swayed on the spot, as if he was suddenly too heavy to be supported by his legs. “Oh geez, she’s loud. Really loud.” He planted his palm on his forehead, giving a grimace. “I feel sick.”
“You always feel sick.” Rush supported his friend, giving him a pat on the back. “Just give it a second.”
He bent over at the waist, catching his breath like he’d run across Anastille and back.
Lilac rolled her eyes. “Pathetic.”
Let’s do what I taught you.
You taught me a lot of things.
Connect all our minds.
As in, all three dragons?
Yes.
Wow, that’s a lot. She focused her mind and brought them all together. Talc?
Her feminine voice was distinctly different from Flare’s and Ashe’s, and it had a lot more punch. Yes, I’m here. Fused with a man whose mother decided to name him after the most unremarkable man-made structure in existence. Even Moat would have been preferable…
Flare released a chuckle. He’s one of the good ones, Talc.
I don’t care if he is. He’s unworthy of my mind.
Ashe’s deep voice came forth. No man is worthy of our minds. But it’s a necessary sacrifice for what we’re trying to achieve—freedom for all dragons. We’re lucky enough that some humans challenge the Wuzurk that sits on the throne, that they believe we deserve to roam the land that belongs to us.
Ashe, King of Dragons. It is an honor to feel your mind again.
And yours as well.
I’m sorry…this is super weird. Who’s talking?
You’ll get used to it, Bridge.
Soon, it’ll feel so second nature that you’ll wonder how it wasn’t always like this.
I guess I’ll have to take your word for it…
“What’s the plan now?” Lilac took a seat on one of the boulders, her legs crossed, the hilt of her dagger sticking out of her pocket. “I can’t wait to get off this mountain and sleep on some grass again.”
“We could return to the Hideaway and wait for Captain Hurricane,” Liam said. “He could ferry us back to Mist Isle.”
“We do have three dragons…” Zane took a seat beside Lilac on the rock. “Couldn’t we lure him out into the open and ambush him?”
The emptiness of Rush’s gaze passed when he came back to the conversation. “You heard all those thuds. He’s searching for me with a whole fleet. He means business. I say we return to Mathilda and question her again. She’ll probably be a lot more receptive to Cora.”
“Actually…there’s something I wanted to ask.” Cora crossed her arms over her chest, a bit cold with the sun gone and the hard breeze at this elevation. “My village is on the way. Could we stop by?”
“Did you forget something at home or…?” Lilac cocked an eyebrow.
Rush studied her face, understanding her intentions without having to ask. “Let’s do it.”
“Thank you.” Cora gave a subtle nod. “Dorian knows a lot more than he told me…and I want to know what it is.”
“You recognize it?” Rush walked beside her in the lead, the sun at their backs.
The hills led to a lake, the water still, the bank untouched as if man had never set foot there. “Yep. The first time you saw me naked.”
He grinned. “Yep. A memory I still hold very dear in my heart.”
She gave a chuckle as she continued her pace. “I bet you do.”
He waggled his eyebrows.
“But for the record, that never would have happened if I’d known who you really were.”
“I did turn around, you know.”
“After you stared for a good five seconds.”
He gave another grin, handsome and playful. “I’m a man, alright? If there are tits…I’m gonna look.”
She gave him a playful smack.
He gave another chuckle. “Ah, good memories.”
“It’s crazy to think that’s how all of this started…”
“It’s like it was meant to happen, huh?” He grinned down at her as he walked beside her, his eyes playful but also deep.
“Yeah, does seem that way.”
They stopped to hydrate and refill their canteens. After a short break, they continued up the hills until they spotted the village down below. Only a few hundred people lived there, so there was no fence around the exterior, farmlands around the perimeter.
This is where you grew up?
Yep.
It doesn’t suit you.
It never suited me. “So, I guess I’ll go in while you guys wait here.”
Rush dropped his bow and shield along with his pack. He left his sword on his hip. “I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll be fine on my own—”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What about the others?”
“Now that we’ve got Talc, we can keep in contact.” He moved forward. “Come on, I didn’t make the best first impression on Dorian. Showed way too much teeth for a first encounter.”
“You would have made a worse impression as you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Ha.”
Lilac shifted her gaze between them. “You guys are the weirdest couple I’ve ever seen. All you do is tease each other back and forth, but I haven’t even seen you hold hands.”
Cora studied Lilac before she turned her gaze on Rush.
His charming smile was long gone, along with the playfulness in his eyes. “Come on, let’s get going.” He moved down the hill for the village, not waiting to see if Cora was beside him or not.
Cora stared at Lilac for a few seconds before she went after him.
As if nothing had happened, Rush kept his eyes straight ahead, focused on their objective.
She stared at the side of his face.
He never met her look.
“So, you told her?”
He released an angry sigh. “No.”
“Really? Because it seems like she knows full well—”
“I didn’t tell her.” He halted, giving her his hostile stare.
“If that’s true, why does she think we’re a couple? You told Bridge, and he told her—”
“That’s not what happened either.”
“Really? Because it seems like you were bragging about everything that happened on that island…” She marched ahead, wishing he wouldn’t follow this time.
I warned you, Cora.
Stay out of this. She threw up her mind, shutting him out.
Rush snatched her by the arm and yanked her back. “I would never do that. You know that. Come on, you know me.” He slammed his hand into his chest, making a distinct thump against his hardness. “You know how I feel about you—”
“Then why won’t you just tell me why she knows? If there’s nothing to hide, then you would just tell me. But you do have
something to hide…from me.” Her eyes shifted back and forth as they bored into his, angry that she was left in the dark by the one person she shared everything with. When she didn’t get an answer, she twisted out his grasp and marched on.
“Alright, I’ll tell you.” He came after her, matching her stride again. “She came on to me, so I told her there was someone else. I never said who that someone else was, but she figured out it was you.”
Her stride slowed, as well as the adrenaline in her heart.
“I didn’t tell you because…I didn’t want to make things weird between you guys.”
Cora stopped altogether and faced him. “She and I both deserve more credit than that. You’re a gorgeous man, and I don’t blame her for going for it. I would have done the same thing.”
His cocky smile didn’t move on to his face, and his eyes retained their seriousness. He inhaled a deep breath and let it slowly leave his lungs, his jaw still tight. “I didn’t tell anyone what happened between us. That was just for us. Bridge asked a couple questions because he knows how I feel about you, so I told him you turned me down.” He drew another slow breath, a pause before he continued. “But for the sake of full transparency…Lilac and I did have a thing in the past. It was a few years ago. Just physical. Didn’t mean anything to me.”
She tried not to picture them together, to let the monster of jealousy raise its ugly head. “I don’t blame her for still wanting you… I would too.”
His eyes gave a slight look of relief.
She dropped her gaze, her heart aching the way it used to. “I’m sorry that I got so upset…”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t give you more credit.”
“I don’t even care if you told anyone. I just… You said you wouldn’t, so I felt betrayed.”
“I would never share something that personal with anyone—not even Bridge. Yes, I’ve talked about the women who come and go once in a while, but I respect you too much to make that a point of conversation. Even if we were still together…I still wouldn’t talk about it. That time together…meant the world to me.”
She dropped her gaze again because the sincerity in his beautiful eyes was just too much. “It meant the world to me too…” After a breath, she lifted her gaze, having the courage to meet the stare that filled her dreams. Blue eyes, both hard and soft, penetrated deep into her soul, read her soul like words on a page, played like music from the harp. “It’s been really hard for me.”
He swallowed, his eyes dropping momentarily. “Yeah…it’s been hard for me too.”
“I normally talk to you about everything…but I can’t do that now. Not with Ashe. Callon. Anyone, really. I’ve been so busy in Eden Star that it’s helped me not to think about it, but during those quiet times…it gets to me.”
He gave a long nod. “It gets to me too…all the time.”
She stared into his eyes and saw the same pain that she felt in her heart. Some things were better left unsaid, but they somehow came pouring out when she least expected it. Everything had been sealed behind her heart, but it came flooding out like water through a broken dam. “I want to be the bigger person and say you should be with her if that’s what you want, but…I don’t think I could handle seeing you with someone else. At least, not right now.”
His eyes narrowed on her face, a twinge of surprise in the corners. “I don’t want her.”
Her breaths grew heavy; her entire body grew heavy.
“Just you.”
The butcher’s shop was still on the corner. Chickens that escaped their coops were in the middle of the road, trying to escape one of the dogs that came sniffing around. It was broad daylight, so people were out and about, and it didn’t take them long to notice Cora and the armed man beside her.
“People like to stare, huh?” Rush gave a wave.
“Nothing has changed around here…”
A group of girls stood on the porch of a house, most of them holding babies and toddlers in their arms, watching Cora go by.
Rush waved to them too.
One of the girls smiled and waved back enthusiastically.
“Stop flirting.”
“Not flirting. Being sarcastic.”
“Well, you’re a really good-looking guy, so you’re giving them false hope.”
“You’ve said that like five times since this morning.” He grinned. “It’s been a great day.”
She approached the house where she grew up, the blue shutters, the windows slightly covered by the white curtains. The front door was made of deep mahogany, a dark wood with a thickness that made it impenetrable to the blade of an ax. After a breath, she knocked.
“Nice place.”
“Dorian built it himself.”
“Now it’s even nicer.”
Footsteps sounded before the door swung open. She didn’t expect Dorian to be home, but she’d wanted to try first before she went to the shop and was seen by even more people. His look was instantly annoyed, as if he expected a solicitor of some kind. Then it was full of shock, like he couldn’t believe his own eyes. “Cora…?”
Her eyes immediately watered at the sight of him, of his sun-weathered face, his blue eyes that contrasted against his graying hair. His skin was like leather from being outside so much, but he was still lean and strong.
She moved into his chest and gripped him tightly.
He gripped her back, his chin on her shoulder, his arms holding her like a father who didn’t want to let go of a child. “Sweetheart…” He pulled her inside and ignored Rush as if he wasn’t standing there.
When she pulled away, she saw that the house was exactly as she remembered it, the same blue couches and coffee table, the staircase with the paintings on the walls. It smelled the same. It felt the same. It was no longer home, but it still felt like the home that she remembered. “I’m sorry to drop by like this—”
“Never be sorry.” He squeezed her arms. “You’re always welcome here. Always.”
She smiled before she turned to Rush. “Dorian, this is Rush…my friend.”
Rush extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Dorian took his hand. “Likewise. But none of that sir stuff…”
“Of course.” Rush cleared his throat.
Dorian opened the swinging door that led to the kitchen. “Come on. I’ll make us something to eat, and we’ll catch up.”
“It’s been mayhem since I left.” Cora left her mug on the counter, most of the tea already sitting in her belly. “So much has happened. That was a really rough draft, but basically the gist of the whole thing…”
Rush looked down into his mug, tilting it from side to side but not taking a drink.
Dorian sat across from Cora and glanced at Rush. “Can I get you something else?”
“Maybe something stronger…if you’re offering.” He set the mug aside.
He chuckled then grabbed a decanter of amber liquid. “All yours.”
Rush poured his tea into Cora’s mug before he filled his with the strong stuff. “You’re too kind.”
Dorian returned to his seat. “That’s one tall tale. You stabbed a Shaman and fled for safety…and ended up in the company of the general of the empire, three dragons, and a couple scholars.” He poured himself a glass of scotch after Rush was finished with the bottle. “I want to say I’m surprised…but the most unlikely things have always followed you wherever you go.”
“Yeah, it seems that way.” She stared into her mug.
Rush threw his head back and took a drink. “Yes… That’s the stuff.”
“I’m glad that you stopped by,” Dorian said. “It’s almost been a year.”
Cora’s eyes lifted to meet his. “What…really?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Her eyes dropped back to her tea, not realizing she had spent so much time in both Eden Star and Mist Isle. Everything had happened in a blink of an eye, so it felt so much shorter than that.
Rush nudged her in the side. “L
ooks like our one-year anniversary is coming up.”
Dorian shifted his eyes between them.
Cora laughed off the joke. “Well…there’s also something I wanted to ask you.”
With his cup between his hands on the table, Dorian watched her with relaxed shoulders, as if he expected to field questions about the town.
“The night I was left at the gate… What happened?”
Once the subject had been broached, his carefree gaze immediately intensified into something more. Lines formed on his face. Eye contact was severed when he looked away. The distress was like blobs of bold ink from a quill onto the page.
“And please don’t tell me you don’t remember…because I know you do.”
His gaze was focused out the back window, as if expecting someone to pass by. “When you left, some of the king’s men came to interrogate me and your brothers. I told them you were abandoned in the village, and the only reason I took care of you was because I took pity on you. I must have been convincing because they left without provocation—and have never returned.”
“Good.”
“I hope they don’t realize you’ve returned…and come back after you’re gone.”
“We’ll be careful,” she said quickly. “I would never want to put any of you at risk.”
He nodded. “Good. Because it’s also in the best interest of everything you’re fighting for.”
Ashe’s voice returned, connecting with her mind now that the barrier was gone. He’s a man of secrets.
“What do you mean by that?” Cora whispered, looking at him in a whole new light.
Dorian dropped his gaze into his scotch. “When I was young, naïve, optimistic…whatever you want to call it…” There was no inflection of affection in his voice, no joy in his eyes. Everything about him was different. “I joined an alliance of mercenaries who wanted to overthrow King Lux. We all had our reasons…the untimely death of my father was mine. It was about revenge more than anything else.”
At least these are good secrets.
“Common sense eventually prevailed. I would either die young for this hopeless endeavor, or I could live a long and fulfilling life away from the Empire. I chose the latter. I disassociated myself from the cause and settled down with a family instead. I haven’t regretted the choice—especially since they’re all dead now.”
