by Hanna Dare
“Aye.” Tris nodded slowly. “People here have strong imaginations.”
Haymon and Ormur both snorted at the same time. Ormur looked a bit put out at having something in common with Haymon. For his part, Haymon only smiled again and picked up his ale.
“I’m not telling anyone to stay or go,” he said as he stood up. “Just something to keep in mind.”
Haymon moved off to another table and Tris turned to Ormur.
“Have you come up with a plan yet?” Ormur asked him.
“I think so, especially now that we don’t have to worry about Marius.” Ormur bared his teeth at the name. “There’s something I wanted to talk to Lily about. Are you all right here?”
Ormur nodded. “I want to keep an eye on that man.” He narrowed his gaze as he looked at Haymon. “I wouldn’t put it past him to start organizing an angry mob.”
“Haymon’s the last person who’d do that,” Tris assured him. “But there are a few others you should watch. Lots of folk get nervous around large owls.”
Ormur rolled his eyes. Tris got up and made his way to the kitchen, but he didn’t find his sister there.
One of the cooks jerked her head toward the back door. “Went outside for some air, she said. But watch out, she’s in a mood.”
He found Lily in the yard between the inn and the stable. Her back was to Tris, but he saw her wipe at her eyes as soon as he called her name.
“Lil? Are you all right?” He came over and looked at her face. “Are you…sad? About Marius?”
“No!” she snapped, rubbing more sharply at the tears on her cheeks. “I’m angry. At him, at myself. I knew it. I knew he wasn’t being entirely honest and I still took him home. I was so stupid. It’s been years since Ma and Papa have said anything about me getting married — which is a relief — but I guess I wanted to show them. Look at me! I can still get someone.”
Tris stared at her. “Did you want to marry Marius? Oh, Lil, I’m so sorry.”
“That’s just it. I didn’t. Not at all. I thought he’d be just a fun fling, like the ones I have in the capital.” She covered her mouth and blushed. “Forget I said that part. I knew he was nothing more than a charmer when he first showed up, but I guess I wanted to be charmed. I should have trusted my instincts. And I should have trusted yours.”
“About what?”
“About what you wanted to do with your life. I was just as bad about pressuring you to decide on something practical.”
“You didn’t pressure me, not really. I mean, look how many times I had to ask you for money.”
Lily shook her head fiercely. “All this, everything I have, started out as a gift. A dragon’s gold. Philip gave it to me so I could make my own choices. You should be able to do the same. I’m angry that I acted like your dreams were childish or foolish.”
Tris made a face. “Well… I was looking for dragons. That does sound kinda silly.”
“But you found one.” She smiled. “He’s— Ormur— he’s—”
Tris winced. “Kinda rude?”
“In love with you. Very much.”
Tris let that certainty warm him. He put an arm around Lily.
She sighed and laid her head against his shoulder. “You can fly off together. It’s magical.”
“I do have a plan to talk to you about.” Tris cleared his throat. “So you need a new spice merchant now.”
Lily lifted her head up sharply and glared like Tris was teasing her.
“No, I’m serious,” Tris said quickly. “You’re always saying spices are so expensive. Why is that?”
Lily folded her arms and frowned. “Well, there’s a status thing that drives up the prices—”
“Aye,” Tris interrupted, “there’s that. But it’s mostly because the spices come from so far away, right? What if they didn’t have to travel by ship or overland by cart?”
Lily gave him a look. “And Ormur wants to get into the cargo business?”
Tris shrugged. “I’ll talk him into it. But it gives us a reason to travel and see more of the world, and it’s a profession Ma and Papa can understand and tell the neighbors about — if you leave out the travel by dragon part. We can work it so I’m back in the valley every few months or so.”
“Tris, that’s a good plan.” Lily smiled. “An actual practical plan.”
“Well, there is a dragon involved. So it’s never going to be that practical.” Tris took a breath and let out the tension he’d been feeling ever since Haymon had sat down. “But I do think it can work.”
They set off before dawn.
His parents insisted on getting up in the dark to make them breakfast, with his mother fretting about Ormur not having a warm coat, until Tris had to remind her that he’d be changing into a dragon.
“He can still catch cold,” she said, then looked at Ormur. “Can you?”
“It hasn’t happened yet, Rose.”
“Where are headed, son?” Tris’s father asked.
“East? Then south. Lily gave me a list of the spices to look for.” Tris was hoping between that and Ormur’s knowledge of geography they’d be all right. The rest they’d figure out as they went.
His father nodded, though Tris knew he’d never thought much about the world beyond the valley. Maybe now he’d start.
His mother shook her head. “I never knew you to take much of an interest in spices or cooking, Tris. I suppose that’s your good influence, Ormur.”
Ormur inclined his head. “The food is much better here than the last place I stayed at. I’ll miss it.”
“We’ll be back soon.” Tris could feel his throat closing up, even though he’d lain awake most of last night in excitement at setting out. He flung his arms around his parents. “Soon, I promise.”
Tris kept turning around to look back at his mother and father as he and Ormur walked down the road.
“We can stay,” Ormur said unexpectedly. “I would not mind. I can fly in the night and walk beside you in the daylight. I like your family, and I don’t want to see you sad.”
Tris took his hand. “It’s sad to say goodbye, but I’m happier to be going. Knowing they’re here and they’re all right is what I needed to leave. I know I’m not making much sense.”
“I have a different idea of attachments now,” Ormur said. “I’m coming to see them as a strength rather than a weakness.”
Tris rubbed at the wetness in his eyes. “It’s so strange. For the longest time I used to leave here carrying only one dream, but now that’s come true. It’s hard to imagine what’s next.”
Ormur stroked Tris’s cheek with warm fingers. “One thing I trust is that you will always dream of something more.”
Tris grinned. “You and me and the whole world before us. I think that’s big enough. I certainly can’t think of anything that’d be better.”
They kissed on the road, in the soft light that only came before dawn. Ormur’s lips were soft and they parted against the pressure of Tris’s mouth. He felt the sweep of Ormur’s tongue across his own, and as their bodies pressed together, Tris could feel the warmth of the amulet he wore against his chest. It seemed to thrum with excitement. Or maybe that was his own heart.
Ormur pulled back and licked his lips. His eyes gleamed gold. “Let’s fly.”
They turned off the main road and climbed up a high path. Tris could smell the familiar scent of grass and mountain breezes. Soon the shepherds would be out with their flocks and the rhythms of a day in the valley would start again. But not for him, not today.
Tris stepped back to give Ormur some room and in an instant a dragon stood before him; shaking out his wings and uncoiling his long tail. He dipped his head for Tris to climb upon his neck.
“Here we go,” Tris said to himself and to Ormur. He stroked silvery scales and felt the warmth and the power of the dragon beneath him.
Tris held on tightly as Ormur tensed the great muscles in his legs and then flung himself up into the sky. As they soared past the mountains, t
he sun rose to greet them and the morning light shone bright on Ormur’s wings.
THE END
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About the author
A writer-for-hire for more than ten years, Hanna Dare now writes what she loves to read: well-written, character-driven stories of men exploring their identities and discovering their own unique kind of happily ever afters... usually through sexytimes. Find Hanna on the internet enjoying pretty pictures, procrastination and caffeinated beverages.
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Visit Hanna at hannadare.com
Books by Hanna Dare
Dragon Hunters, fantasy romance:
The Dragon Hunter’s Son
Chasing Wings
Mind + Machine, science fiction romance:
Machine Metal Magic
The Wayward Prince
Black Sky Morning
Sing Out, new adult romance:
Life in a Nowhere Town
California Schemin’
The Man Who Told the World
Something Like the Real Thing
A Better Man
Chasing Cameron, steamy contemporary novella series:
Confused (at the conference)
Bothered (in the boardroom)
Experienced (in several fields)
Committed (in theory)
