Oaths (Dragon Blood, Book 8)

by Lindsay Buroker

  An image of his mother’s house flashed through his mind, followed by one of Angulus in his office.

  “You went to see your mother?” she asked.

  “Yes. I’m still working on convincing her that magic exists and that you’re wonderful, and that we’re not playing an elaborate prank on her.”

  “Oh.” That wasn’t quite the reaction Sardelle had expected from Fern, but it did seem more natural for her—for anyone who had spent seventy years not believing in magic—than a rush to find rope to hang witches.

  “We’ll get it straightened out.” Ridge came around the couch, offering his arms. “I have a plan.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “Not at all. Everything will go forward without a hitch. The wedding will be lovely. Mom will be there to hug us and wish us well.”

  Sardelle could tell from his surface thoughts and emotions that he wasn’t entirely positive that would be the case, but whatever this plan was, he seemed hopeful. She stepped into his arms for a hug, happy to rest her head and the day’s disappointments on his shoulder.

  “Any luck with Tolemek’s lab?” he asked.

  “There were a couple of clues, but no luck finding him yet. We’re not sure the kidnappers are Dakrovian, but they seemed to have at least done their shopping there before coming over. We checked the harbor, but neither Jaxi nor I could sense Tolemek’s presence there. Cas went off to check the airfield, though I’m not sure if she’ll find anyone there at night to question. She’s determined though. Understandably so.”

  “Yes. I’d search night and day if you were missing.”

  “Thank you.” She leaned into him, enjoying the hug, and not wanting to step away.

  “I assume you’d do the same for me,” he said in a leading tone.

  She grinned and thought about pointing out she already had done that. Recently. But he seemed in the mood for levity, so she asked, “Who’s left in the world who would bother kidnapping you?”

  “Lots of people. I’m a very important person these days, you know. I’m integral to the operation of the army, and I know lots of secrets. They would pay a lot to get me back.”

  “Is that true? You told me all you do is get General Chason coffee at your staff meetings.”

  “I do, but I hear secrets while I’m pouring it.”

  “I suspect most of your enemies would rather shoot you than kidnap you.”

  “To keep me from being mouthy?”

  “Precisely.”

  “That’s possibly true. I guess me being dead would obviate the need for you to search night and day for me. Would you at least use your powerful magics to utterly annihilate the bastard who killed me?”

  “I definitely would. And Jaxi would help.”

  Naturally, Jaxi spoke into their minds. I am much better at utter annihilation than Sardelle.

  I’m afraid I can’t deny that, Sardelle said, switching to telepathy.

  “I feel better now,” Ridge said, “knowing that two sorceresses would be eager to slay my killer.”

  As you should, Jaxi thought. It’s an honor that not many people earn.

  Ridge released Sardelle. “Were you searching for Tolemek all this time? Why don’t you relax—” he waved to the couch, “—and I’ll make something to eat.”

  “I would like that. I’ll light some lamps.”

  “For a romantic evening at home? It didn’t escape my notice that the house is dragon- and student-free tonight. Is Tylie looking for Tolemek?”

  “Yes. With Phelistoth’s help, maybe she’ll have luck finding him. She has more of a link to him than I do, so she might be able to sense him from farther away than I can.” Sardelle almost told Ridge about that moment when she thought she’d sensed Tolemek in the harbor, but she suspected her mind had been playing tricks on her. She almost hoped it had, since she’d seemed to sense him under the water. She hated to imagine someone killing him and dumping his body over the side of a ship.

  “I suppose it’s not right to get romantic when a friend is missing.” Ridge moved into the kitchen and lit the lamps in there.

  “That’s not going to stop you from trying, is it?” she called through the doorway.

  “Absolutely not.”

  Sardelle snorted softly.

  “Before I left, I did send out word to Wolf Squadron. They’ll go out tomorrow to fly up and down the coast and search for any suspicious ships. Or suspicious anything. From the air is my preferred way to search.”

  “Good. There’s only so much area that Tylie and Phelistoth can cover.”

  Sardelle hung Jaxi on the rack next to the fireplace and headed for the kitchen. She would happily let him prepare something, but sitting on that couch wasn’t her idea of relaxing.

  If you’re not careful, you’ll fall through one of the bullet holes, Jaxi said.

  My butt is large enough that I doubt I’m in danger of that.

  Soon, it’ll be larger. Are you going to tell Ridge about Ridge Junior tonight?

  I don’t think he’s going to lobby for a child to share his name. Also, I’m not sure butts get bigger during pregnancy. Other things, perhaps.

  Sardelle considered Jaxi’s question. Would this be a good time to tell him about the baby? They would have privacy, assuming Bhrava Saruth didn’t show up, but their friend was missing and Ridge’s mother was distraught. It worried Sardelle that he hadn’t been able to toss a few jokes, give his mom a hug, and bring her around. She’d always suspected her magical career would be more of a sticking point for Fern than Ridge had assumed.

  Everything gets bigger. Trust me.

  I know you don’t speak from personal experience, Jaxi.

  No, but I witnessed two of my handlers giving birth. Several times. Their butts got bigger when they were pregnant. Every time. And things went downhill from there.

  You’re truly making me look forward to my experience as a mother.

  Just promise me, you won’t hang me on the wall with nothing to do for fifteen years while they’re growing up. That happened once. It was intolerable. Just because you’re a mother doesn’t mean you have to stop hurling fireballs and incinerating people.

  I’ll keep that in mind.

  The kitchen was still warm from the summer sun that had streamed through the windows that afternoon. Ridge had removed his cap, draped his uniform jacket over the back of a chair, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Seeing his bare, muscled arms made her think that romance wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. After dinner. Thus far, he’d stirred embers to life in the cook stove, retrieved a skillet from the rack, and scrounged a can of beans from the cupboard.

  “Will we be having more than beans?” Sardelle slid into one of the chairs at the table, content to watch him prepare their dinner, even if it would likely be a limited offering. Ridge had spent most of his adult life eating meals in the mess hall or the Officers’ Club, and it was a foregone conclusion that he’d never had to cook for himself when he’d lived with his mother.

  “We’ll soon find out.” Ridge headed for the icebox. “I suppose it depends on how many dragons have been through since the last time I went to the butcher shop and the cheesemonger.”

  “The cheese, I can alas attest, met a premature end. This morning, I saw Phelistoth cruise through with a wedge in his hand before he headed out to nap in the sunbeam.”

  “Being a dragon is a demanding job, isn’t it? Hah, I see slabs of…” He pulled out a brown bundle, opened it, and sniffed. “Pork chops. Excellent.”

  “I believe there are some vegetables in there too.”

  “Yes, and if we leave them alone, they’ll still be there tomorrow.” He flashed her a grin. “I like to contribute to vegetable conservation efforts.”

  “Are you truly forty-one years old? And a general? It’s hard to imagine such a mature individual not interested in eating his vegetables.” Sardelle shook her head and left her seat at the table to see what they had. The dragons never touched the greens—they seemed to
share Ridge’s dietary preferences of meat, cheese, and sweets.

  “I just don’t want to deprive tomorrow’s vegetable eaters of sustenance.”

  “Uh huh. Scoot over. Your mother brought over some carrots, zucchini, and green beans.” She grabbed the veggies and made a mental note to use her magic to refreeze the ice block later. The ice man had stopped coming by the house after glimpsing a dragon flying over the pond one morning.

  “We already have vegetables.” Ridge held up the bean can.

  “Those are swimming in bacon fat and maple syrup.”

  “Which makes them the perfect vegetable.”

  She stuck an elbow in his ribs as she navigated past him to grab a knife and the cutting board. He squeezed her before grabbing another pan and throwing some more wood in the stove.

  “It actually feels strange with nobody else in the house,” Ridge said as Sardelle set to work on cutting the stems off the beans and slicing the carrots. “I’ve gotten used to Tylie being here most of the time. And her dragon.”

  Thinking of Jaxi’s comment, Sardelle wondered if this would be a good time to mention that someone else would be there with them full-time soon. She wasn’t sure why she was having a hard time bringing this up. Because they hadn’t planned it together, she supposed. And Ridge hadn’t been exuberant when she’d brought up the idea of children before.

  “Ridge?” She paused, then cleared her throat. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Should I be worried that you sound nervous about it?”

  “I’m not sure. I am nervous. But it’s because I’m concerned about what your reaction will be, rather than because I don’t want the thing I have.”

  “That was vague. If one of my lieutenants came in talking like that, I’d be positive he crashed his flier.”

  “The only thing I ever fly is a dragon.”

  “I saw that dragon today. He didn’t appear recently crashed. He hugged me.”

  “While in dragon form or human form?”

  “Human form. But he was wearing a dress, so I would have found it less alarming if he’d hugged me as a dragon.”

  Sardelle smiled but didn’t inquire further on Bhrava Saruth’s clothing choices. She needed to blurt out her news before she lost her nerve.

  “Sardelle?” Ridge turned from the pork chops starting to sizzle in the skillet. He took her hands and turned her to face him. “I’m easy to talk to, aren’t I? What’s going on?”

  “You are,” she agreed, gazing into his eyes. If she hadn’t had the ability to sense a person’s emotions, their real emotions, she might not have been worried. She was positive he would smile and be supportive. She just wasn’t positive his first genuine response would be pleasure.

  He lifted his eyebrows.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said. “It wasn’t intentional. If it had been, I would have at least waited until after the wedding, and of course asked you if you were ready. But I must not have been diligent enough one night with my precautions. Possibly, it was a futile hope to believe I could thwart a dragon’s blessing forever.” She could hear her voice and how rapidly she was speaking and forced herself to stop talking, especially since Ridge seemed to have stopped hearing anything after the first couple of words.

  “Pregnant?” he whispered and looked down, as if the evidence would already be on display.

  “Pregnant.” She was tempted to lock down her senses so she wouldn’t be aware of his first reaction, but she couldn’t make herself do it. She wanted to know what he felt, and she hoped… she wouldn’t be disappointed.

  He kept gaping for a few seconds, stunned by the news, but once he recovered, a goofy smile spread across his face. “That’s much better than a crash.”

  “Is it?”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “I do, but I wasn’t sure if you would think so. If you believed you were ready for this. I know you’re busy at work right now and—”

  He stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug, kissing her temple before burying his face in her hair. “Much better,” he said.

  She sensed contentment from him. Pleased contentment. And a bit of relief that she hadn’t had bad news.

  She hugged him back, fiercely. Relieved he didn’t consider this bad news.

  They clung to each other in silence for a long moment before Ridge drew back, only enough so he could grip her hands again and gaze into her eyes. “I should have told you before, but I got distracted by having my memory stolen and that whole sorceress-in-the-castle event. Back when I was in the middle of crashing…” He pointed his chin in the direction of Galmok Mountain. “One of my last thoughts, what I thought would be my last thoughts before I died, was regret that I hadn’t told you I was honored that you wanted to have my children. I know I’m busy, but I’ll try to be less busy and come home to see if you need anything. Now and after.” He looked down at her stomach again. “Did it just start? How long—er, do you know?”

  “It’s recent,” she said. “I think it may have been the night of your proposal.”

  He grinned. “Technically, that was your proposal.”

  “Only because you were taking forever with yours.”

  “I wanted it to be perfect.”

  Perfectly terrifying, she thought, remembering having dinner and sex on a stone arch a thousand feet above Crazy Canyon. But she caught herself returning his grin, pleased he’d enjoyed the night and pleased he wasn’t horrified by this new development.

  Ridge’s grin faded as another thought came to his mind, followed by a sense of determination.

  “I need to talk to the king tomorrow,” he said with resolve.

  “About my pregnancy?”

  “No. I have a favor I need to ask him. But actually…” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Can I tell him you’re going to have a baby? That may sway him in case my charisma doesn’t.”

  “Charisma? I don’t think he sees you as charismatic.”

  “Unfortunately, I know this. If only he were a twenty-year-old soldier with a love for beer. I can always win those types over.”

  “I’d be alarmed if such a man were ruling the nation.”

  “You don’t think he would be delightfully enthusiastic?” Ridge asked.

  “Not delightfully so, no.”

  “Angulus was young when his father died. I forget the exact age, but in his twenties.”

  “I suspect he was a similar man in his twenties as he is now.”

  “Possibly so. He didn’t invite me in to chat often then. Oddly.” Ridge extricated one of his arms and leaned back to flip the pork chops.

  Sardelle supposed she should return to cutting vegetables if she intended for there to be anything green with their meal. “You can tell him if you want. In my day, a pregnancy wouldn’t have been a secret for very long. Any healer—and many sorcerers in other disciplines as well—would notice the extra aura early on.”

  “Do you still miss those days?” He shifted back and wrapped both arms around her again as the scent of their cooking dinner filled the kitchen.

  She smiled, appreciating his warmth. With Ridge so busy at work, they didn’t get as many quiet nights like this as she would have liked. “I do. And I miss the people. Though I have started appreciating some modern conveniences.”

  “Personally, I couldn’t imagine living in a world without fliers.”

  “The main modern convenience I was thinking of is the widespread availability of indoor plumbing.”

  “Toilets aren’t nearly as enjoyable as fliers.”

  “We may have to agree to disagree there.”

  “Goodness, you’re a strange woman.” His eyes crinkled, and he bent his head to kiss her.

  She kissed him back, and they might have gone on doing that, but one of their stomachs growled, and they broke apart with a laugh.

  Ridge checked the pork chops while Sardelle returned to cutting vegetables.

  “Airships aren’t bad either,” Ridge said. “Did you have t
hose in your time?”

  “We did not. Just sailing ships. We also didn’t have steam carriages, locomotives, dragons, or anything besides horses and horse-drawn wagons really.”

  “No submarines either, I suppose.” He tossed a grin over his shoulder at her. “Have you been on one of those?”

  “A submarine?” Sardelle asked, not familiar with the term.

  “They’re as claustrophobic as a casket, and I hear they smell like dirty socks after a few days with cooped up soldiers who have no way to bathe out there. But Angulus thinks they’ll prove as important to warfare and defending the country as my fliers. If you can imagine that. He approved development of the prototypes about ten years ago, and the naval shipyard in Church Rock is building a bunch of them now. I think there are four or five out patrolling the coast at any given time. I got to ride in one a couple of years ago and share my thoughts on whether there was a way for them to attack airships and fliers. Not likely, but they could take out regular steam and sailing ships without being seen. Quite the engineering marvels. Almost as good as toilets.” He removed the skillet from the stove. “Oh, forgot to warm up the beans.”

  Sardelle was staring at his back and didn’t respond. He’d formed an image of the craft—a type of long cylindrical underwater boat—in his mind as he’d been speaking, so she’d gotten the gist. She thought of the harbor, out by the breakwater where she’d thought she’d sensed someone. Tolemek. But then there’d been nothing there. Nothing on the surface.

  “Do other nations have these submarines?” Sardelle asked.

  “I believe the Cofah are working on some of their own but aren’t quite as far along as we are. I’m not sure about any smaller countries. It’s possible. There are spies everywhere, so it’s hard to keep military secrets a secret for long.”

  I didn’t sense an underwater boat out there, Jaxi said.

  Neither did I, but I sensed… something. Someone. Under water. Briefly. We know Tolemek’s kidnappers either have a shaman with them or have access to someone who can make magical items. What if they have one of these underwater boats and, when they sensed me searching for Tolemek, camouflaged it? That could explain why I only glimpsed something. It sounds like such a craft would be easy to hide from the port authorities too.