“I see.” Aaron paused. “And what about you? Why are you still here? Don’t you have classes to teach?”
“I’ve been waiting for you. There are some things we need to discuss.”
Aaron leaned back in his seat. “Master Former Hunter,” he said, glancing at Scott, “can you please excuse us?” Scott glanced at Lleland, then nodded and slid off the bench.
“Well?” Aaron said when Scott was gone.
“I’m ready to give you my oath,” Lleland said.
Zach leaned forward with a grin. “It’s about time!”
“Why now?” Aaron said. Lleland glanced at Max. “You can speak freely,” Aaron said. “Max already knows everything.”
“I know what I am,” Lleland said. “A dragon. And I’d like to take Lydia as my wife.”
Aaron laughed. “Well, if nothing else, that certainly tells me you’ve accepted what you’ve become. And Lydia has agreed?”
“If I give you my oath,” Lleland said.
“You understand what that means? You’ll give me your blood and submit yourself to me. I’ll be your Master.”
“I understand.”
“And you understand that Lydia can’t bear children,” Aaron said.
Lleland nodded. “I do.”
“And you can accept that?”
“I love your daughter, Aaron. Before I knew what she was, I loved her. I’ll admit I lost my way for a while, but there’s nothing I want more in this life than to spend it with Lydia.”
“Even if it means forgoing your human form entirely?”
“Even then.”
Aaron nodded slowly. “Very well. I told you once that Lydia wouldn’t be foolish enough to accept you, but you’re no longer the man you were.” He paused. “You’ll be welcomed into the clan not only as another dragon, but also as my son.”
Pleasure spread through Lleland as he met Aaron’s gaze. “Thank you,” he said.
“We’ll do the oath tonight,” Aaron said. He stood and turned to Max. “Keira and Anna will be wondering what’s become of us.”
“You go ahead,” Zach said. “I’ll bring Lleland.”
Aaron nodded and strode out of the room, but Max paused to look at Lleland. “You may be a new dragon and not very powerful,” he said, “but as the one who’s won Lydia’s heart, you have my admiration.” He slapped Lleland across the back with a grin, then followed Aaron out.
“So you’re finally ready to be a dragon?” Zach said when they were alone.
“I am.”
“Have you had human flesh?”
Lleland grimaced. “No. Nor do I intend to.”
Zach’s eyebrows pulled together. “You’ll have to eventually.”
“I don’t think so. Since I wasn’t born this way, perhaps I don’t have the same needs as you.”
“Perhaps.” Zach’s tone sounded doubtful.
Scott was loitering outside the inn, slapping his arms to stay warm beneath his cloak when Zach and Lleland emerged a short while later.
“Well?” he said when he caught sight of Lleland.
“I’m going back to Storbrook, and you’re going home.”
“I could come with you,” he said hopefully, then raised his eyebrows when both Zach and Lleland gave a resounding no. “It was just a suggestion,” he said. “But clearly I’m not wanted.”
“No,” Zach said. “You’re not!”
“I’ll see you back in Civitas,” Lleland said. “Go home to your wife. And tell her you love her.”
Lleland and Zach walked into the hall at Storbrook an hour later. Aaron and Max were seated at one of the tables scattered around the hall, while servants bustled in and out of the room. Keira sat next to Aaron, and a woman Lleland did not recognize sat beside Max. Her hand was on the table, and he played with her fingers as he talked with Aaron and Keira. Lydia sat next to her, their heads bent together in close conversation. Keira looked up as the two men entered the room.
“Lleland! How wonderful to see you again!”
“Mistress,” Lleland said.
“Call me Keira,” she said, “since you are going to be part of our family. I cannot tell you how delighted I am to welcome you as my son.”
Lleland smiled and glanced at Lydia. Her face was still bent toward the other woman, but she was smiling, and he could smell her pleasure. “Thank you, Keira,” he said, returning his attention to her.
“Lleland, this is my sister, Anna,” she said, nodding at the other woman. She looked up from her conversation with Lydia and smiled. “And I believe you’ve already met her husband Max?”
“So you’re Lleland,” Anna said. “I feel as though I already know you!”
“Anna!” Lydia murmured.
“I can see why you’re so taken with him,” she said. “He’s very pleasing to look at!”
Lydia groaned as Max turned to his wife with his eyebrows raised. “You should take Anna home to your brood, Max,” Lydia said.
He looked at Lydia with a grin. “My sister is quite happy to watch our brood for a few weeks. Besides, I don’t want to miss seeing you brought to heel, and Anna will forget all about your young man when I get her alone later.”
Lydia laughed. “You should know by now, Uncle Max, that I’ll never be brought to heel.”
He nodded solemnly. “I know. Which is why I already feel unlimited admiration for your betrothed. He’s either a fool or the bravest man I know.”
“That’s what we said about you once,” Aaron said with a laugh. “In fact, we still wonder about your sanity at times!”
Max grinned and placed his arm around Anna as she glared at Aaron. He brought his lips close to her ear. “Still my little shrew,” Lleland heard him say.
Aaron laughed and turned to Lleland. “You can give me your oath later tonight,” he said. He glanced at Zach. “Perhaps you want to tell him what to expect.”
Zach nodded. “Yes. Let’s go, Lleland.”
With one more glance in Lydia’s direction, Lleland followed Zach from the hall. “Where’re we going?” he asked.
“Hunting.”
Lleland stopped. “Why?”
“You need to be at your strongest when you give your oath. And it’ll give me a chance to explain what it entails.”
Lleland nodded. “Very well. Let’s go.” He followed Zach into one of the chambers, and a few minutes later they were soaring from the castle over the deep forest below. Snow weighted the branches of conifers, and ice clung to the ground.
“There,” said Zach, changing direction and nosing downward. “A herd of deer.” He hung back slightly, allowing Lleland to pass him. He could see the animals in a snowy clearing below, and could smell their scent through the frigid air. They were still unaware of the danger above as Lleland dived towards them. He picked out a young female and increased his speed. One of the other deer glanced up and signaled an alarm as it started bounding from the clearing, but it was too late. Lleland slammed into his target and wrapped his jaws around its neck. Blood gushed into his mouth and he swallowed the hot liquid. Zach landed a few feet away, a larger doe in his jaws, and with a growl Lleland turned away, swinging his kill with him as he hunched over his meal. Using his talons he ripped open the creature’s chest, then buried his snout in the warm flesh as he tore off large mouthfuls of meat. His tongue cleaned the last remains from the bones, then he fell back on his haunches and looked at Zach, who was cleaning his talons.
“Sorry,” he said.
Zach shrugged. “You’re a dragon, Lleland. It’s what dragons do.”
“Tell me what happens when I give my oath,” Lleland said.
“You’re binding yourself to the Dragon Master.”
“Binding? I thought I was just pledging my allegiance.”
“The tie of blood is stronger than your word. You’ll have a connection with the Master that will only be severed by death, or if you submit to a different master.”
“I thought Lydia was the only one I would bond with.”
/> “The mating bond is different because it goes both ways, and your feelings for her are different. When you bind yourself to the Master, although you both drink the other’s blood, the bond goes one way. You bind yourself in submission, but he’s not bound to you. When he drinks your blood, it is to signify that your life is in his hands. If you disobey him, he can demand a renewal of your oath. But only after you’ve been soundly beaten in a fight.”
“Have you had to fight him?”
Zach grinned. “The Master’s my father! I had plenty of chances to disobey him growing up, and he beat me into submission each time!”
Lleland sprang into the gray sky and spread his wings. He was deep in thought as he skimmed the trees. Zach was silent as he flew behind. Lleland banked slightly and looked at Zach. “How’s the oath given?” he asked.
“You’ll each spill your blood into a chalice, then give it to the other to drink. Once he’s had your blood, you’ll offer him your fealty as your Master. From that time on, you will be subordinate to him, and he will command your loyalty. When you greet him, it must be with deference. You can follow our lead, but you’ll know what to do quite naturally.”
Lleland dived into a steep valley then surged up the other side. The air rushed past him, lifting his wings. Flames crackled and snapped within him.
“Are you ready to give your oath?” Zach asked as they crested a summit.
Lleland turned to look at him. “Yes.”
“Then let’s go home,” he said.
Lleland smiled. “Yes,” he said, “home.”
Chapter 41
Lydia knocked on the door of Lleland’s chamber a short while after he arrived back with Zach. “Let’s go for a walk,” she said. He followed her down the stairs and out into the courtyard. Snow had started falling, large soft flakes that melted as soon as they touched his skin.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Do you remember when you first arrived here? We climbed the cliff with the funnel.”
“I couldn’t believe how easily you managed to walk along the ledge,” he said. “I should have realized then that there was something not right about you.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Not right?”
“Actually, very right! Is that where you’re taking me?”
“Yes. We can talk without anyone overhearing us there.”
“Hmm, I like that idea,” he said. He followed her as she led the way across the garden and to the small wooden door recessed into the wall. Lydia pushed it open and a blast of cold wind swirled her hair around her face. Her scent filled his nose, and he reached for her hand, but she stepped through the door and onto the rocky ledge beyond before he touched her. “We could just fly,” he said, following her onto the ledge.
“We could. But I wanted to remind you of the first time I brought you here. I think you were rather fearful of falling!”
“Can you blame me? I would have died.”
“I would have caught you.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know that!”
“Would you have felt better if you had?”
Lleland glanced at the panoramic vista spreading before them. “No,” he said softly. He could feel Lydia’s eyes on him.
“Are you unhappy, Lleland?” she asked.
He turned to her with a smile. “No,” he said, “I’m very, very happy.” He brushed his fingers against her lips, catching his breath when a few wisps of flame escaped her mouth and curled around his hand. She stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked along the ledge as Lleland followed. The cold wind rushed around them and Lleland held out his arms to keep his balance, but he had no fear of falling, and easily kept pace with Lydia. They reached the place where the mountain ridge joined the ledge of the wall and jumped down.
They gained the cliff easily after that and Lydia led Lleland to the crack in the rock. He eyed it with resignation and sat down on the ground to squirm through on his back after Lydia. When he rose to his feet, Lydia was pulling on a pair of breeches beneath her gown. He watched with a smile as she loosened the laces of her gown and shrugged it off her shoulders, then tucked her chemise into her breeches. “You’re not protesting my impropriety,” she said with a laugh.
“I didn’t know better last time,” he said. “But I wouldn’t dream of provoking a dragon!” Lleland glanced up at the funnel. “So you think I can get up there?” he said.
“Certainly,” she said. “Just jump.”
“Jump? I told you before I can’t jump that high.”
“Like this,” she said. She bent her knees slightly, then propelled herself upwards, stretching out her arms and securing herself against the funnel walls. She glanced down at him with a grin.
“I can do that?” he said.
“Try.”
She scurried upwards a few feet as he bent his knees as she had done. He drew in a deep breath and pushed himself off the ground. His arms shot out and he pressed his palms against the wall, securing himself so he didn’t fall back to the ground. He looked up at her, a few feet higher than him in the tunnel, and laughed. She smiled back and scampered up the wall. It became narrower the further up they went, and at the very top Lleland had to lift his hands above his head and pull himself up.
Lydia was already on her feet and had walked to the edge, her posture pensive when Lleland pushed himself up. Snow covered the ground, and Lleland could see puddles of water where she had walked. He watched her for a moment. The wind whipped strands of hair around her face, and lifted the loose fabric of her chemise from her shoulders. He walked over to her.
“What’s wrong?” he said.
She turned to him. “You’re swearing your allegiance to a dragon clan this evening. Are you really ready to do that?”
“It’s what I’ve become,” he said. He lifted a wisp of hair from her face. “If I don’t do this, I’ll never belong anywhere.”
“But does it make you happy?”
He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. “Being with you makes me happy,” he said.
She pulled herself out of his arms and turned away. “That’s not enough,” she said. “You can never undo your oath. If something happens to me, you’ll still be bound to my father.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently turned her around. “I know that,” he said. “I confess I wouldn’t have chosen this path, but now that I’m here, I find myself quite content to remain upon it. You know how I railed and fought against what fate had given me, but I see now that I have been granted far more than I could ever have imagined.”
“So you really want to be a dragon?”
“Yes, with you at my side.” He brought his hand to her neck and his lips to hers. He could feel her warm breath in his mouth and could taste her scent, and he deepened the kiss. He pulled away slightly. “We should be married as soon as possible.”
“Tomorrow?”
He smiled. “Is that the soonest?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
“Then tomorrow.” He wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her again. He could feel her smiling. She turned in his arms, and they stood at the edge of the cliff and stared out at the snow-covered peaks. “You’re right,” he said, “it isn’t that high.”
She smiled. “As I told you before, it’s just a matter of perspective.”
“I didn’t believe you then,” he said, “but now that I’m aware of what you are, I know better than to question you. I’d hate to see what kind of terrible monster you can turn into.”
She turned back around in his arms and met his gaze with eyebrows raised. “Really?” she said.
“No,” he whispered. “I can’t wait to see the monster, and I’m anxious to know the dragon in every possible way.” Her eyes started blazing, and he stared into them as the flames mounted within his belly. He traced her lips with his fingers, then replaced them with his mouth as his hands gripped her waist. He could taste the flames in her mouth and he pulled her closer as her b
urning fingers seared his skull and lit a path down his back.
Supper was served in the hall as usual that evening. The mood was festive, and when the last of the dishes were cleared away, one of the servants brought out a fiddle and started scraping a tune. The tables were pushed to the walls to clear the center of the hall, and a circle quickly formed.
“Come,” Lydia said, pulling Lleland to his feet. Her hand was warm in his, and he squeezed it as they took their places within the circle of dancers. The music was lively and the dancers laughed as they swung their way around the hall. Finally Fritz put his instrument aside, and the maids started clearing away. Lleland and Lydia took a seat at the table with the others.
“So, Lleland,” Max said, taking a seat across from him, “I hear you’re a scholar.”
“That’s right,” Lleland said.
“And you’re a bit of a traveler as well, since you journeyed, on foot, all the way to Storbrook.”
“I don’t want all my knowledge to be from books,” Lleland said. “I want to experience the country for myself.”
“The whole world is at your feet now,” Max said.
Lleland smiled. “I suppose it is. Have you traveled much?”
“Oh, here and there. I marched with King Alfred when he invaded Terranton.”
Lleland frowned. “I didn’t think dragons concerned themselves with human affairs.”
Max laughed. “We don’t. Aaron sent me to watch over Anna.”
Anna, in conversation with Keira, turned at the sound of her name. “Aaron sent you, did he?”
“Of course! And you know how I have to obey my Master, as much as it pains me to do so!”
She leaned forward on the table and stared into her husband’s eyes. “If I recall correctly, there wasn’t much pain involved.”
He gazed back. “The pain was watching you with the stablehand.”
Aaron cleared his throat, and Max dragged his gaze away. “My apologies, Lleland. You were telling me you wanted to expand your travels.”
“Should the opportunity come along, certainly.”
The hall had emptied, and apart from the dragons and their spouses, only Thomas remained. Aaron turned to him. “Do you have the chalice?”
dragon archives 05 - forever a dragon Page 29
