Maiden Flight

by S. A. Barton

Chapter Three

  The dragon tried not to gloat as his mind sought out that of his partner. “Lady Adora has agreed to come with us for a short visit to the Lair. She wants to see my mother, and I told her Kelzy was far too old and decrepit to fly all this way out to see her.”

  Gareth burst into laughter and sent his thoughts back to the dragon as all knights were trained to do. “Kelzy will singe your hide for even suggesting that she’s too old to fly this short a distance. Your mother is one of our finest fighters, Kel, and by dragon reckoning, she’s still quite young.”

  “You know that and I know that, but Lady Adora doesn’t. You should be thanking me for getting her to agree so easily to come along. These females belong at the Lair, Gareth. You know that as well as I do. We need them.”

  “You’re right, Kel.” Gareth sighed. “I’ve only just met her, but I know in my heart, Belora is mine. And her mother seems a treasure. We don’t have enough healers at our new Lair if it comes to war. There are so few women who can deal well with dragons and knights alike. We need every one.”

  “These two are special. My mother saw the light in Adora as a child, so clearly that she still talks of her to this day. Belora is the same. If she consents to be your mate, you will be truly blessed.”

  “Don’t you think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself? First we have to see if she can live at the Lair.”

  “But you want her.”

  “Of course I want her. But don’t forget, she must choose me, Kel. Without her trust and her love, it will never work.”

  “The Mother of All would not put her in our path only to take her away. She is not so cruel.”

  Later, after a quick flight from Adora’s house in the woods to the new Lair, Kelvan alighted on the ledge carved out from the stone face of the cliff for just that purpose. It was wide enough for several dragons to take off and land on at any one time and there was one already there, waiting for them.

  “Kelzy.” Adora whispered in a choked voice as she caught sight of the waiting blue-green dragon.

  Belora squeezed her mother’s hand and they shared a smile as Kelvan came to a complete stop. Gareth jumped down first, helping the women down. Adora strode directly to the waiting dragon and made a deep bow before her.

  “Lady Kelzy, it is so good to see you again.”

  “Adora? Is it really you?” The huge dragon stepped closer, all formality forgotten as she lowered her head to the human’s height. “Adora, my child.” The dragon’s voice was so gentle in her mind. “Give us a hug, dear.”

  The woman threw herself at the dragon, her arms wrapping tightly around her thick neck, weeping openly. The dragon did something then that dragons seldom did. She wrapped her great wings around the woman, encasing her in their magical warmth as Adora clung to her long lost childhood friend.

  Kelzy knew she was overly emotional for a dragon and unusually fond of her human friends, but the little woman hugging her so tightly was the closest thing she had to a daughter. Kelzy had missed her terribly during those years they’d been separated. Finding her again so unexpectedly was a miracle.

  “Mama Kelzy, I’ve missed you so,” Adora whispered.

  Kelzy crooned in her mind, soothing the woman’s fears and basking in the joy of having the child of her heart near once more. She knew the others were watching them but didn’t care. Kelzy had always been her own dragon and she didn’t care for those that would comment on her uncharacteristic display. Adora was special. She always had been. Losing track of the small human girl had been one of the saddest things that had ever happened to Kelzy and finding her again was a gift from the Mother of All.

  When Adora finally gathered her emotions and stepped back, Kelzy let her go with joy in her heart. Her gaze turned to her grown son and his partner. She did a double take when she spotted a younger human woman with the same light around her as Adora. This was Adora’s child and, if she wasn’t much mistaken, her light was already affecting the broad-shouldered knight at her side. Kelzy felt an extreme satisfaction. Her boy would have Adora’s child as his partner’s mate. It all suddenly made sense.

  “You have a beautiful daughter,” Kelzy told her. “She will make a fine addition to our community.”

  Adora reached back and motioned her daughter closer. “My daughter, Belora.”

  Belora made her bow prettily and said all the right words, impressing the dragon and no doubt making her mother proud.

  “And where is your man?” Kelzy wanted to know. Surely the girl had a father lurking about somewhere. Kelzy wasn’t certain any human man was worthy of her Adora, but she’d put up with him for her sake.

  “I’m a widow. Have been for many years. We live simply, in the forest.”

  No mate was worse than a bad mate, and Kelzy didn’t like the idea of Adora being all alone. She deserved happiness and a loving family of her own. Kelzy would fix that, if it was within her power.

  “That will not do. You must stay here, with us. I have need of you, Adora. There is much work to be done and so few to do it.”

  “I—”

  “Don’t answer now. Come see how we live here and learn a bit of our ways and needs. Then, if you still feel like living all alone in your forest, I will take you back myself.”

  Adora smiled up at the dragon, love shining in her eyes, but started as she looked just past the dragon’s tall shoulder. Kelzy turned her head to see what had startled her long lost daughter and puffed a small cloud of smoke in wry amusement.

  “Don’t let his looks frighten you, dear. This is Jared, my partner. Be nice, Jared, this girl is as a daughter to me.” Kelzy was speaking to the minds of both humans, linking them just slightly.

  Adora was startled by the feeling of the knight’s curiosity. It reached her through the small, mental link formed by the dragon. She had never experienced such a thing before and it was surprising.

  “I’m honored to meet you, Madam.”

  The knight’s rich, baritone voice caught Adora off guard, warming her insides in a way they hadn’t been warmed in too many years. The man was striking. Older than she, he had a jagged scar running down one cheek, all too close to his eye, though the silvery blue depths of his irises remained unhurt and stunningly alert. His hair was dark with light streaks of silver near his temples that only made him appear more dangerous somehow. She got the impression that this man seldom smiled but was competent and deadly in his chosen profession as a warrior.

  A tall man, he was muscular in a lithe sort of way, but solid and all too handsome for his own good. The only relief was that he didn’t seem to be aware of his rugged appeal, or if he was, he disdained such things in favor of more sober pursuits. He seemed very serious and almost grim, but Adora saw a sadness in his eyes that called to the sorrow in her own soul. Instinctively, her heart went out to him, though he gave no indication of wanting or needing any sort of sympathy or even camaraderie.

  “The honor is mine, Sir Jared.” Adora realized belatedly that she was staring rather rudely and made her curtsey quickly, averting her gaze to the ground while she felt her cheeks flame.

  “Honestly, Jared, make an effort. You’re frightening the poor child.” Kelzy’s teasing voice was just a bit exasperated in both of their minds and Adora had to stifle a giggle.

  Jared was humbled by the woman’s beauty. Her green eyes were luminous as she raised them once more to his. Though Kelzy insisted on referring to her as a girl, there was no doubt in his mind that this was a woman. She had the rounded curves he enjoyed and a sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him that set his teeth on edge.

  He was a widower and the loss of his wife many years before had been hard on him. Since then, he had found pleasure where he could, but had no desire to marry again or become involved in anything remotely long-term.

  But here was a woman who was already close to his dragon partner—the only female he allowed in his life. Undoubtedly Kelzy would want this woman nearby. Their relationship pre-dated his own with the dragon a
nd was obviously as close, or perhaps even closer, than the relationship between he and Kelzy, bonded as they were. This woman would most likely be underfoot and he couldn’t ignore her.

  His heart didn’t want to ignore her, and that’s what unsettled him most. It had been a very long time indeed since a woman had such an impact on him. The echo of emotion he felt through the link with Kelzy when the dragon spoke to them both was the oddest phenomenon he had ever experienced.

  He wondered idly if mated knights had this sort of non-verbal feedback through the link with their dragons. He hadn’t been partnered with Kelzy during his marriage, so he had never experienced it for himself. In fact, it had been his wife’s death that brought Kelzy to him. His pain had drawn the dragon from her own sorrow over the loss of her first knight partner and they had bonded as they helped each other through the emotional upheaval of losing someone they loved.

  “Kelzy has told me many stories about you as a child. I know she missed you greatly.” He remembered his manners with a little nudge from the flat of Kelzy’s sharp front talon against his calf.

  “No more than I missed her.”

  The woman glowed. There was no other word for it. Her goodness and light shone in her eyes and around her curved womanly body in a way that made him want to move closer.

  “Adora, you will stay in our suite. It is quite obvious my son’s knight and your girl wish to be alone together.” Kelzy’s satisfied tone had both Adora and Jared looking back at Gareth and Belora, who were currently locked at the lips. “We have plenty of room and I suspect we’ll talk long into the night. I want to know everything that’s happened to you since last we saw each other. And I want to know all about your daughter too, since I have little doubt she will soon be part of my son’s human family.”

  The woman’s soft gaze went from her little girl, to Kelzy, then to Jared. He knew she waited for him to second the invitation, since it was his suite too. Jared could do no less than step forward, even though his internal alarms warned him about getting too involved. This soft woman could well break what little was left of his heart.

  “You should stay with us. There’s plenty of room, as Kelzy says.”

  He thought he detected relief and a spark of interest in her expression, but dared not read too much into it. He was a confirmed bachelor now. He didn’t need love in his life. It made him soft. It made him weak. It made him hurt.

  Kelzy was the only female he needed. At least she wasn’t likely to die and leave him alone and in pain.

  “Thank you,” Adora answered softly. “I’d be honored to stay with you.”

  Her answer made his heart skip a beat, no matter how hard he tried not to let it.

  “Let’s leave them for a bit,” Kelzy suggested. “We have so many years to catch up on.”

  They left the younger couple and headed for Kelzy’s suite. Jared escorted her, though it was obvious to Adora that he was careful to maintain a certain distance. The man alarmed her a bit, but she thought there was a deep sensitivity in him and her sixth sense about people was seldom wrong. This man had been hurt badly in his life and the gruff exterior was probably all for show. Besides, she reasoned, Mama Kelzy was an excellent judge of character and the dragon chose the knight, not the other way around.

  Adora was amazed to learn that the dragons had warm sand pits in their suites heated from below somehow. Their human partners had built rooms for themselves around the sand wallows. Each single dragon or mated dragon pair had their own wallow which was divided from the rest of the Lair by a ring of rooms that made up their suite. The knights and their mate would live in the suite with their dragons, some having guest rooms attached as well as utility and storage rooms.

  The arrangement appeared quite cozy and served both the knights and their dragon partners well, but Adora noticed quickly, as they walked through the halls, that there were far fewer women in the Lair than men. The dragons seemed to be about fifty percent female and fifty percent male and all partnered with male knights, but there were few mated dragons and only those mated pairs seemed to have mated knights.

  Adora intended to ask about it, but all the wondrous things she was learning and seeing for the first time quickly sidetracked her. As they passed a huge steaming chamber, Jared told her the pools within were heated, as the wallows were, from the earth beneath, and the water had a fragrant mineral quality she had never before encountered.

  Since it was already past time for the evening meal, Jared volunteered to go to the kitchens and bring something back for Adora while she freshened up from the flight. Kelzy sat down for a good roll in her heated sand wallow and both females were content for the moment.

  An hour later, Jared found Adora, now changed out of her traveling clothes and wearing a simple nightgown, cuddled up under Kelzy’s wing. She slept soundly in the dragon’s warm wallow with her.

  It was unheard of. Shocking. Yet somehow it softened his heart to see this strong woman tucked up like a child against the side of the kindest dragon Jared had ever known.

  “Don’t wake her.” Kelzy said softly in his mind. “She’s had a hard time of it.”

  “You really weren’t kidding when you said she was like a daughter to you, were you?” Jared spoke mind to mind with Kelzy to avoid making noise that might wake the small woman sleeping so peacefully next to the huge dragon.

  “She could be no closer to my heart if she were a dragonet. This girl has the purest heart of any human I’ve ever known. Don’t you see the light from her soul? It’s in everything she touches, in all that she does. The Mother of All had blessed her as a child and I’m gratified to see that her heart has never wavered. It’s as pure today as it was when she was little.”

  “Her daughter has that glow too,” he agreed absently as he watched the small woman sleep.

  “Then you do see it! I knew you, of all the knights here, would.” Kelzy reached out with one smooth talon and touched his booted foot gently. She was very demonstrative for a dragon and often shocked the others with her displays of emotion. Jared shuddered to think what the others would say if they saw her sharing her wallow with a human. There had already been talk about her allowing the human to hug her.

  “She’s special, Jared. You must help me convince her to come live here with us. We need her. The Lair needs her and her daughter or the Mother of All would not have put them in my son’s path.”

  “I will, of course, help in whatever way I can, Kelzy, but you should know I’m not looking for a wife.”

  “Did I say anything about you marrying her? Honestly, Jared. What makes you think I’d even think you were good enough for her? I won’t let my girl consort with just any knight. So you’d better warn off your lusty friends.”

  “Methinks you protest a bit too much, Kelz.” Jared had to stifle a chuckle as he walked away from the odd pair snuggled in the warm sand.