by Bianca D’Arc
Somewhere along the line, Hrardorr had gotten better. Oh, he was still grieving for his last knight and angry about losing his sight, but he’d stepped up and fought when he was needed. He’d defended this island and brought new and powerful allies to bear in the sea dragon colony. None of that would have been possible without him.
Seth thought once again how much he admired Hrardorr. How much he…loved the big blind dragon.
“All right, dear. I won’t interfere, but you must realize that, if she’s involved with a knight, it might only be a matter of time before his dragon finds her mate, and then…”
“Yes, Mother. I’m well aware of what that would mean,” Seth assured her. They all knew what that would mean. It had been something sitting there in the back of Seth’s mind for a long time now.
Livia was still awake when Seth finally arrived in her room later that evening. She had deliberately retired early, right after dinner, to give Seth some time alone with his folks. She knew they probably wanted to catch up on all the things he’d been involved in since leaving home so abruptly. It had been an eventful few weeks for someone who essentially saw his parents every day in the normal course of business.
In a way, she envied him that close family. Livia was all on her own for the most part, her father living a very separate life from hers. He was on the high seas most of the time. And then, when he did come home, all hell broke loose. It hadn’t been at all the way she’d dreamed of his homecoming. Instead of open arms and fatherly care, he’d been raging at the men he’d found with his daughter, imprisoning her in the house or the office with all kinds of strictures on her movements.
He’d been more her jailer than her father, much to her disappointment. That’s one reason she’d fled and come here to help the gryphons and people of Gryphon Isle. Not only had it been the right thing to do at the time, but it got her away from her father and his ridiculous rules.
When she’d been younger, she would have given anything for her father to come home. Now, though, it was clear he still saw the child when he looked at her, and not the grown woman she had become.
Although…that may have started to change a bit. She’d had a good talk with him before he’d left Gryphon Isle on the pirate Fisk’s trail. He’d told her things about her mother that she hadn’t known. He’d opened up as he never had before. And he’d almost seemed resigned to the fact that she was no longer the little girl he’d left behind.
Not that he was ready to welcome Seth and Gowan into the family with no reservations, but at least they seemed to have agreed not to discuss it. They’d stayed on safer topics, talking about the past and the present, but not really touching on the future. That seemed to be the best for now.
Hopefully, when her father returned—if he returned after facing down Fisk—they would be in an even better place emotionally to get to know each other better after all that time apart. She wanted to understand what motivated her father, now that she knew he wasn’t just a callous man thinking only of himself. He’d stayed away for her protection. To keep her safe. She knew that meant he cared for her more deeply than she ever imagined. That thought comforted her.
But what comforted her even more was Seth’s presence. He opened the door quietly, as if afraid to wake her.
“It’s all right. I’m still awake,” she told him, sitting up in the bed, the fluffy white covers spilling down around her. “How did it go with your parents?”
“Don’t you mean how was the interrogation?” Seth laughed quietly as he unbuttoned his cuffs, moving closer to the bed.
“That bad?” She moved closer to him as he sat on the edge of the bed to pull off his boots.
“No. Not really.” He sighed heavily. “My mother just reminded me of a few things. In particular, that I’m not a knight and probably never will be, and that you—with your ability to bespeak dragons—are most likely destined for a knight pair.”
“Not if my father has anything to say about it,” she muttered, slipping her hands around his shoulders from behind and resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Forget it, Seth. All of that doesn’t matter right now. It may never matter. We can only live for today and let the future take care of itself.”
Seth laid his hands over hers on his chest. “I guess you’re right. Still, it doesn’t make what my mother said any less true.”
“Forget it,” she counseled, leaning in to nibble on his earlobe. “How about I make you forget it? At least for tonight.”
Seth turned in her arms, wrapping her in his embrace. He could always count on Livia to make him feel better. Not just in the physical sense, but emotionally as well. She was a balm to his soul in so many ways.
“I’d like that,” he whispered against her lips just before taking them with his own. The kiss started out soft and gentle and quickly escalated into something tempestuous.
She pushed at his shoulders to remove his shirt, kissing him all the while. She was in a lacy white nightgown she’d purchased at the market in town, looking gorgeous and demure. He loved that he could turn her into a tigress in bed.
He’d been living a dream these past days, sharing every night with Livia as if they were in a true relationship. As if they were an old married couple, coming home to each other every night after a day’s work. It was a fantasy, he knew, but one that he wished fervently could somehow come true, even though nothing had really changed in the circumstances that kept them apart.
She pounced on him as soon as his shirt was off, taking him down onto the mattress, her hands on his shoulders. She straddled him, the soft white fabric of her nightgown spilling around him as she gazed down at him, smiling.
“Let me make you forget all your troubles, dear Seth,” she whispered, stroking his hair back from his forehead.
She rose up, her core pressed against his hardening shaft and slowly…exquisitely…pulled the lacy froth of cotton and silk that was her nightgown up over her head, baring her luscious body inch by inch. His hands followed the progression of the cloth, pausing to cup her breasts as she freed herself from the nightgown and tossed it aside.
He had learned her body over these past days, becoming an expert in exactly what she liked. He squeezed her flesh, rubbing his thumbs over the hard points of her nipples, loving the way she made little sounds when he touched her just right. She was so responsive to him.
She squirmed on him, using her talented hands to lower his pants enough so that she could free his shaft, grasping him, turning the tables and making him gasp with pleasure. If he’d learned her body, she’d done the same to him.
She stroked him gently, bringing him right to the edge of insanity before rising up and seating herself over him. She guided his hardness into her soft sheath, moaning as she took him.
His Livia knew what she wanted, and right now, he was it. She took all of him, swallowing him whole and making him never want to leave the warm welcome of her lithe body. Her gaze met his, and a special knowing passed between them. He’d never felt closer to any other being than he was to Livia in this moment. Any moment, really, when they joined.
Every time was special and made him feel things he’d never experienced before. Things he would probably never feel again with any other woman. Livia was unique. She was, most likely, the great love of his life.
All coherent thought fled as she began to move on him, taking him infinitesimally deeper, straining against him as if she wanted to merge her flesh with his and never part. He wanted that, too, impossible as it all was.
Livia climbed high and fast, loving the feel of Seth inside her. She’d grown familiar with his body over the past few days, but she thought she’d never get used to this feeling. This fullness. This complete sensation of belonging.
There was something missing, still. Gowan wasn’t here. But, for now, it was all right. Seth’s heart and soul was with her, as well as his hard body. They were learning each other in ways they never had gotten the chance to do before, and she was getting a glimpse of what life could be
like spent with a man she loved.
And she did love Seth. As much as she loved Gowan. Somehow, there didn’t seem a contradiction in that, and she wasn’t questioning it. Not now, at least.
She rode Seth until her limbs began to tremble, and her excitement pushed her to a small climax. She cried out, clutching his shoulders as he rolled them. Seth took over when she lost the pace, picking it up again, harder and faster than before. She lay under him as he took command, powering into her body with hard strokes that stole her breath and drove her passion impossibly higher.
Her core trembled in fulfillment even as he reached downward, pushing at the little button that made her cry out. Climax overtook her again and again, blurring together into one long, glorious feeling of ecstasy.
Finally, she felt him join her in that place only they shared. His body clenched, his muscles bunching beneath her fingertips, his hardness pushing tight up into her body as he came.
She might’ve passed out for a brief moment, so intense was the pleasure he brought her. And afterward, Seth held her in his arms as if he never wanted to let her go, cuddling her close, making her feel wanted and cherished…and loved.
Whatever the outcome, she would never forget this time with him. She fell asleep, replete, in his arms.
Hours later, deep in the night, Livia’s dreams grew troubled. Battle and fire and dragons ruled her mindscape in a cacophony of light and sound. Color and tumult. Blood and fighting. Swords flashing, reflecting the flames of dragon fire.
And there was Seth, riding on Hrardorr’s back. Not only that, but they were riding into battle. Together.
Livia woke with a start to find herself in bed. The hour was late. Or very early, depending on how you looked at it. The darkest part of the night, just before dawn began. And Seth was there, lying next to her on the wide bed.
Her breathing, which had been ragged and fast when she woke, her heart pounding from the dream, began to settle. All was right with her world. At least for this little space of time. Seth was beside her, not riding into battle on Hrardorr’s back.
The image replayed in her mind and stilled her momentarily. Had it been a glimpse of the future? Gryffid had warned her that the prophetic dreams she’d been having occasionally might get stronger. Was this one of those?
Because, if so, it sure looked like Seth was Hrardorr’s knight.
Of course, that could easily be her subconscious conjuring up her wishes. Not prophecy at all, but something she dearly wished would happen so she could become mate to Seth and Gowan both, forever.
If Seth was a knight and if Hrardorr and Genlitha were mates… Well, it would all work out perfectly. Maybe.
At least, that’s the scenario she’d been thinking about. A lot. It would be no wonder if her subconscious mind brought that into her dreams.
So, was it a prophetic dream or just wishful thinking? She had no idea how to tell them apart, especially in this particular case, where the whole topic roused her emotions very strongly.
Livia sighed and lay back down in the bed, trying to clear her mind and catch just a little bit more sleep before the day began. There would be time to think about this in the morning, though she feared the answer wouldn’t be any clearer to her then.
Flight training for the sea dragons began in earnest the very next day. Seth’s parents were putting the sea dragons through their paces when Livia arrived on the scene. Seth had arrived earlier, to help set up, but Livia had spent an hour in the market, working on filling the hold of her small boat. It was very nearly full now with exotic spices, arts and craftsmanship of the highest quality, and local delicacies that she thought would fetch a high price on the mainland.
Her role on the beach was to keep watch over the younger dragons, especially little Zera, which was a true labor of love. Some of the other sea dragon pairs had brought the youngsters ashore to watch the adults fly in formation, and Livia found herself with her hands full, trying to watch over a half dozen dragonets and young Flurrthith, who had also come to watch.
Luckily, Lady Enid and Lizbet were there to help as well. Between them, the three women were able to keep the younger contingent safe and happy as they watched their elders learning how to fly all over again from the land dragons. From all reports, the sea dragons had good natural instincts for flight, but they overpowered on some of the lesser air currents and lacked a bit in finesse.
But the land dragons soon had them sorted out and learning the way the children of land dragons learned, by running drills. The drills must have seemed very impressive to the young dragonets. Enid even came up with a game that had the little dragons running along the beach in formations that echoed what their parents were doing in the sky.
“You can never start them too young on these drills,” Enid had told Lizbet and Livia with a knowing smile. “And it’ll use up some of their excess energy.”
Livia realized that Seth’s parents—human and dragon—had literally decades of experience training young dragons. After their work that day, it was clear that the older sea dragons had come to respect Seth’s parents and their abilities. Lady Enid confided how much her mates were enjoying the challenge and even hinted at how much this task had reinvigorated the entire family. They’d been living the retirement lifestyle in the Southern Lair a little too long, she said, and welcomed the change into a more active role again.
Things rolled along in a similar fashion for the next few days. The sea dragons were slowly gaining confidence in the air, and the land dragons were forging friendships and camaraderie with their sea-going counterparts. Xanderanth was even trying to learn the basics of swimming from his new mate, and nobody was surprised anymore to see them splash out of the water twined together in a mating flight that took them into the sky, then plunging down into the ocean once more.
At such times, Leo and Lizbet would find themselves running for the nearest private place where they could burn off the excess passion passed on to them from their dragon partners. The others would smile and laugh good-naturedly when either of them ran past, looking for the other, which often happened in a regular Lair when dragons and knights were newly mated. All in all, the nascent Island Lair was beginning to take on the feel of dragon Lairs everywhere, albeit on a much smaller scale.
CHAPTER FOUR
They had all settled into a routine of sorts over the past few days. The other Lair dragons would work with the sea dragons in the air, while Hrardorr worked with a smaller group in the water. Ostensibly, he was training them on what to look for and how to patrol the coast from below, but they were teaching him swimming and diving techniques that helped him hone his skills.
He’d never be as good as some of those sea dragons in the water, but he was much better than his land-based counterparts. He enjoyed working with the sea dragons, and they were all surprised to find that the echolocation method Hrardorr and the sea dragons used to see things underwater existed in the land dragons that chose to try their luck under the waves.
It showed up first with Xanderanth, who followed his new mate into the ocean. He wasn’t the most graceful swimmer, but he had a stocky, muscular build that helped propel him through the water. Little by little, he was learning the nuances of maneuvering in water, and it became apparent that he was able to see things underwater the same way Hrardorr and the sea dragons could…to a lesser extent, but perhaps that could be trained up the way his swimming could.
They had been running experiments with Randor and Alirya, too, and the same held true. All dragons seemed to have some natural ability to discern things in the murky depths where regular eyesight often failed. Hrardorr was pleased by the discovery, as were the sea dragons, since it meant they weren’t so different, after all.
Perversely, Hrardorr also admitted to himself alone that he was a little disgruntled by it too. His sea dragon ancestor had given him special abilities that it turned out…weren’t so special after all. Oh, he could still swim much more adeptly than his land-based friends, but increasingly,
he was feeling less special. Less important. Less needed.
He’d thought he’d been finished as a fighting dragon when he’d lost his eyesight to skith venom, but the ability to see underwater and sabotage the pirate fleet had given him a tiny hope that maybe he could still contribute. But if land dragons could do what he’d done… Well, who would need him anymore?
For the second time that year, Hrardorr felt useless and ready to go hide in a cave for a decade or two. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t see to hunt or feed himself if he holed up in a cave up North.
He might be able to petition Gryffid to allow him to stay in a cave here on Gryphon Isle. Hrardorr could swim out and eat fish for the rest of his life, but they were building a Lair here, and Hrardorr knew he’d never have the solitude that he craved in order to hide away and lick his wounds. He even considered just settling down in a hole somewhere and waiting for the inevitable, but something inside him refused to give up that easily. Some little remnant of his pride, maybe.
Each night, the other land dragons would bed down in the small Lair that was in the midst of being built. The sand wallows were already in, and Gryffid had cast a spell that heated the sands in the wallows to complement the dragons’ own natural warmth. Over time, the stone masons would be building quite a few more suites of rooms around central wallows, providing places for visiting dragons to sleep comfortably. And some of the sea dragons were talking about trying to live on land for a bit, much to Hrardorr’s surprise. Apparently, the warm sands of the wallows appealed to all dragons.
