by Siobhan Muir
“It’s my mum’s pendant,” she said indignantly.
“Nay, ’tis not your mother’s. ’Tis yours.”
“What? What are you going on about? My mum wore it for her whole life.”
“Aye, she wore it because she didn’t know what it was.” Jonarrion unwrapped the pendant so she could see the intricate Celtic design in the firelight. “This is a clan symbol for one of the families of the ancient Fae, and these pendants are given to every child born of the Fae so they can be claimed by a specific family.”
“Are you saying me mum was Fae?” Isabelle asked skeptically.
“Nay, I’m saying you’re Fae.”
She just stared at him for a moment, obviously waiting for him to laugh, but when he said nothing, her eyes narrowed, and anger filled her expression.
“Have you been listening to village rumors? I’m no more Fae than…than—”
“Did MacClanahan tell you he saw your mother in the copse of trees above the Loch when he was a child?” Jonarrion hoped the baker had mentioned something. He didn’t relish recounting the tale as hearsay. Isabelle would never believe him.
“Aye. Why?”
“According to his story, a Fae male seduced your mother into thinking he was Joseph Andersen, and they conceived you that night. He must have given this to your mother on the occasion of your birth. Do you know where your mother got it?”
“She said my father gave it to her when he found out she was pregnant with me…” Isabelle’s face flickered with too many emotions for Jonarrion to catch. “Wait one moment! If my father truly was a Fae, and he gave the pendant to me mum when I was a bairn, why did he not claim me or take me back to his people? Why leave me and my mum with a man who trusted neither of us?”
Jonarrion shook his head and laid the pendant in her hand. “I cannot tell you, but there may be a good reason to keep you hidden from the other Fae families. Perhaps it was for your protection. As I understand it, the Fae are not particularly accepting of ‘half breeds.’”
“Yet another thing that isn’t my fault. If they don’t care for ‘half breeds,’ perhaps they shouldn’t tup mortals.”
Jonarrion smiled at her vehemence. “That would be the logical perspective, certainly. There’s also the possibility he may have been hiding any child of his from a rival family. Fae politics, particularly among the aristocracy, can be more deadly than the human courts. Some families have no tolerance a’tall for ‘bastards’ of their ‘pure’ blood lines, and they go out of their way to destroy any such child.”
Isabelle sat silently, her hand opening and closing around the pendant. While he understood her anger, he couldn’t help but be grateful the Fae had tupped her mother. I’d never have found my True Bonded Mate. Whoever her Fae father had been, Jonarrion suspected he may have “abandoned” Isabelle and her mother to keep both of them safe, either from purists among his own family or those with whom his family associated. ’Tis my job now, mate. Jonarrion was more than happy to defend this jewel of the Fae lineage with his very body and life.
He allowed his gaze to trace the contours of her face as the light of the fire danced over it, and her eyes glittered like crystals. He wanted to reach out and trail his fingers through the loose strands of her silky hair, flashing flame red in the fire’s glow. The shimmer of forgotten tears marked her cheeks, but they only added to her beauty. The same ethereal quality of her Fae father, combined with her mortal mother’s earthiness, called to him for protection and reverence.
The urge to pull her into his arms once more and kiss her into submission disintegrated when she turned her aquamarine eyes on him and frowned.
“How do you ken all this, Jon Swift? You said you were a child of light, like me. Are you Fae, then, too?”
Jonarrion turned his gaze to the fire and sorted through the explanations, but none could convey the importance of his lineage. How can I tell her I’m a dragon when she thinks a dragon threatened her and her friends?
“Nay, not Fae,” he admitted at last with a shake of his head. “But I’m related to them. Like them, I was bred to protect the Earth from evil in the name of the Mother Goddess.”
“And that’s why you recognized the pendant and have all this knowledge of the Fae.” He nodded.
Hellwinds, you craven lizard. You owe her the truth! Just tell her what and who you are. But he held his silence in the face of her tenuous acceptance of the Fae. I’ll tell her what I truly am when I have her heart, when I’ve made her mine for good. He ignored the flare of unease worming through his chest. The idea smacked of dishonesty and coercion, but he refused to listen to his conscience.
Isabelle looked down at the pendant in her hands and sighed, shaking her head. “That still doesn’t explain why you think you won’t want another woman after having me. You haven’t been with me long enough to ken what your heart and soul needs in a mate. How can you say I am the only one for you?”
Time for some truth.
“The Mother Goddess gave my people a way to recognize our one True Mate.” Jonarrion gathered his courage, taking her hand and lightly rubbing small circles on her palm with the tips of his fingers. “The knowledge comes in the form of the urge to bite our True Mate during a session of loving. Not to hurt our loved one, but to mark them for all others to see they have been claimed by their own True Mate and cannot be claimed by anyone else.”
Isabelle’s expression turned thoughtful. “And you felt this urge with me last night?”
He nodded, trying to gauge her reaction.
She frowned a little. “Why didn’t I feel such an urge?”
“I suspect it is because you’re Fae, and I don’t know if the Goddess gave the Fae such an ability.” He knew a little about the Fae peoples, but not what gifts the Goddess had bestowed upon them. Other than their longevity and the ability to sense disturbance in the energies of the Earth, his knowledge remained incomplete.
“Mayhap ’tis because I’m only half-Fae,” she suggested, her voice derisive.
“I don’t know, sa cherro, but don’t find yourself lacking because you’re only half-Fae. You have the best qualities of both the mortals and the Fae.”
“Oh, do I, now?” A skeptical eyebrow climbed to her hairline.
“Aye, you do.” Jonarrion pulled Isabelle closer to his body and wrapped his arms around her. “You have the courage and strength to make a quick decision, which the Fae cannot do because they prefer to wait out events. But you also have the clarity of mind to see beyond the limitations mortals often place upon their understanding, and are more willing to look outside of the usual perceptions to see the truth of a situation. All these qualities make you very special and unique.”
“Wheesht! Little good it did me in Lochmore Cott.”
Jonarrion stroked one hand down her body and tucked it against her side until the curve of one breast rested on the back of his hand. He ached to fondle the full swell and feel the nipple harden in his fingers, but he didn’t want to push his luck. She leaned against him and let him hold her at the moment, but he suspected she wouldn’t tolerate more until he’d answered all her questions.
“It makes you more beautiful and valuable to me.”
She snorted with amusement. “That’s because you think I’m your True Mate.”
“I do not think. I know you’re my True Bonded Mate.”
She stiffened within his arms. “Bonded? What does that mean?”
He chuckled ruefully, realizing she’d eventually drag out of him every truth before the night succumbed to dawn.
“The True Bond among my people means that once they’ve bitten each other during mating, their essences mingle, and they become stronger. I was told it’s like finding a piece of yourself you didn’t even know was missing. The True Bond allows the mates to know when the other is in danger and needs help.”
“How long does this bond last?”
“For the length of the lives of the mated partners.”
Isabelle dropped her gaze
to the pendant in her hands, stroking the etching gently. “And you’re certain I’m your true mate? Even though I’m Fae?”
“Aye.” He’d never been so sure of anything in his long life. He kissed the top of her head tenderly.
Isabelle fell into silence again as she leaned on his chest, and Jonarrion reveled in her scent and the heat of her body. Contentment rose as his tongue tasted the remains of her luscious cream and recalled the scent of her arousal. His cock stiffened with the memories of the suppleness of the skin on her inner thighs and the texture of the hair just above the hood of her clit. He stifled a groan of lust and tried to focus on the fire or the way the rain fell outside the cave entrance, but the images of her grinding her hips against his face wouldn’t be banished by such tame visions.
Burning desire surged, searing his chest and tightening his muscles. He wanted to take his mate down to the floor, cover her with his body, and slide his aching arousal into her hot, wet core. His cock solidified to granite and pushed at the waist band of his braies. He yearned to slam it into her and bite down on her shoulder, proclaiming her his True Bonded Mate to all other dragons. She was his!
“There is another thing you must know about me before you make a decision about bonding with me.” Jonarrion’s guts clenched in dread, and his cockstand withered.
She snorted with mild humor. “There are a lot o’ things I need to know about you.”
“Aye, well, this is probably the most important thing.” He took a deep breath and moved away so he could kneel, looking her straight in the eyes. “I told you that my people were created by the Goddess to protect the Earth from evil, and we’re similar to the Fae.”
“Aye, you did.”
“We were created especially for fighting demons, creatures from Kilgorrem, the underworld, seeking to destroy the Earth and her many peoples. Demons come in many forms, but all of them create discord and grief, whatever they look like.” He paused and made sure he had her full attention. “The creature destroying your village isn’t a dragon at all. It’s a demon, and I came here to kill it.”
“But no one can defeat the dragon,” Isabelle protested dubiously. “Many have tried already, and none have returned to the village.”
Jonarrion smiled a patient smile. “That’s because none of them had my abilities. I’m made for killing such beasts. And to be sure, it’s not a dragon.”
She frowned and shook her head. “How can it not be a dragon? I have seen it from afar, stealing sheep and the like. It has a big horned head, a long tail, and wings. What is it if not a dragon?”
Jonarrion looked at her a long time, arguing with himself over what he could tell her. He wanted to trust her and offer everything to her, but he’d known her for so little, and his people depended on the camouflage of their human shapes to protect them.
“It’s a demon.”
“But it can blow fire. I have seen it burn fields.”
“Demons are magical creatures.” Jonarrion spread his hands with a shrug. “They can throw fire through a spell, but they cannot breathe fire like a dragon can. In fact, they cannot withstand a dragon’s fyre.”
“Wait just one moment, Jon.” Isabelle held up one palm. “Are you telling me not only is this creature plaguing the village not a dragon, but dragons do exist, just not here?”
“You have it partly right. There’s a demon harming your village and dragons do exist, but there is one here. Dragons were bred for killing demons to protect the Mother Earth from them. Dragons and demons are mortal enemies.”
“There’s a dragon here? Now?”
Jonarrion fell into silence, knowing he’d have to tell Isabelle she’d bedded a dragon, but he dreaded her reaction. What would she do when she realized she’d offered her virginity to the only real dragon in her village? She believed dragons to be murderous beasts that destroyed human habitation. Just like demons have led humans to believe, bloody bastards.
“Aye, there’s a dragon here, but you’re safe from it.”
His guts clenched, and he fisted his hands on his thighs. He wanted to tell her she’d stolen his dragon heart with her tenacity and fire. He wished he could tell her a dragon crouched right there in front of her, and he’d love her until the world had forgotten her name. And that will mean nothing when she reviles you for being the “terrible” beastie you are. Pain seared its way through his body, but he gave her a reassuring smile.
“It won’t harm you. It’s only aim is to kill the demon for which it was bred.”
“But you said you would defeat the dr—er, demon.” Isabelle said the words slowly, her eyes wary and calculating. “How’re you to do that when there’s a dragon present for such a cause?”
“I’ve been chasing demons a long time.” When she didn’t look convinced, he gave a one-shouldered shrug. “A demon killed my brother’s wife and unborn child many years ago. It was over something I’d done because I was young and careless, but to make up for it, I’ve dedicated my life to rid the world of the foul creatures whenever I can.”
Jonarrion’s thoughts returned to O’Rourke like a compass needle. The rage still consumed him when he thought of the events surrounding his sister-by-law’s death. He’d broken into O’Rourke’s home with the intent of killing the human, the loss of Elyiandra and her unborn child consuming Jonarrion with hatred. His brothers managed to get there first, and Setharrion convinced Jon to leave Dublin and never return so there would be peace again. Jonarrion suspected his brother couldn’t face him after Elyiandra’s death.
Jonarrion agreed, but before he left O’Rourke’s, he’d slashed the man across the face with a dagger and said, “If you ever harm another member of my family because your precious daughter Colleen swived me willingly, then no promise I make tonight will ever stop me from killing you and your entire progeny until your name is nothing more than dust. Do you understand me, you fat bastard?”
The man had gibbered an agreement, and Jonarrion left town to wander Ireland and the world in search of forgiveness for his sister-by-law’s death. The worst part came three decades later when his brothers told him O’Rourke had been possessed by a demon determined to destroy a nest of dragons.
“So you will face the demon alone?”
Isabelle’s voice jerked him back into the present.
“Aye, of sorts.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Unease washed over Jonarrion like a bucket of ice water, freezing his insides with fear. How could he make her his mate, bound to him for all their lives, when he hadn’t told her the truth? His mother had often told him truth held more importance than comfort between mates. He’d never had cause to doubt the veracity of her words, but offering Isabelle the next bit of truth could destroy any hope he had of convincing her to be his mate.
Better a long, hard fight to win her than a cowardly retreat, boyo.
“My people were bred to fight demons no matter what glamour they wear.” He sighed and took a deep breath, steeling himself against her reaction. “I’m the dragon.”
Isabelle blinked at him. “You’re the dragon.”
“Aye.”
“A dragon.”
“Aye.”
To his surprise and frustration, she laughed. When he didn’t laugh with her, she stopped. “You’re serious.”
“Aye, I am.” Jonarrion willed her to believe.
“You can’t be a dragon.”
“I can’t?”
“Nay, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because dragons are great scaly beasts with horns and wings and claws and long tails! They blow fire and destroy crops. You’re a man. A strong, beautiful man, aye, but a man naytheless.”
While he enjoyed her compliments, he took no relief from them. He had to press forward with his point.
“Isabelle, I am a dragon, and if I had room here in the cave, I’d show you I do have horns, wings, claws, and a long tail, and I can blow dragonfyre.” Jonarrion waved his hand at the cave. “But I
’m too big for this place. I wear a human disguise so I won’t be challenged and attacked everywhere I go while I search for demons. This disguise helps me blend in among the human people.”
She snorted and shook her head, her smile returning. “I don’t believe you.”
He growled and rocked back on his heels to crouch beside the fire. “Why can you believe in the Fae and that you’re half-Fae, but not that I’m a dragon? Don’t the Fae use glamour to hide who they are among the humans?”
“Aye.”
“Why would dragons be any different?”
“Because dragons don’t care for humans! They’re big, scaly beasts that burn and pillage. They don’t have families or loved ones. They’re jest beasts.”
Fury at her ignorance flooded through his system, but it couldn’t quite drown out the hurt her words engendered. Jonarrion rose in one smooth motion, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Hadn’t he loved her? Hadn’t he had to leave his family because he’d gotten his brother’s wife and unborn child killed? He cared for his family and the humans among whom he lived, despite the demon’s easy manipulation of them.
“You’re wrong, Isabelle.” Grateful the growl in his voice hid the aching pain, Jonarrion retreated to stand beside the entrance, his shoulder turned toward the meager light of the fire to present the smallest target.
Only she’s not flinging physical arrows. Her words hurt just as much.
“Dragons are not just scaly beasts without care. We are children of fire, born to defend the Earth from demons at the Goddess’s behest. We do have loved ones and families, and we care about them deeply.” He closed his eyes, and his claws dug into his palms. The pain barely registered against the agony of her disbelief. “Just as we care about our True Bonded Mates.”
Despair erupted in his chest, and his arousal dwindled to nothing. Isabelle couldn’t believe, and the truth stabbed him like a demon dagger. If she continued to hold on to her ignorance, he couldn’t bond with her. Their connection had to be made in truth and honesty, but he couldn’t force her to see it no matter how much desperation tore through him.
