dragon archives 03 - loved by a dragon

by Linda K Hopkins

  The door opened and he left the room, dropping the bar against the door behind him.

  Chapter 38

  The hours dragged by as yet another day passed. Keira wondered what Aaron was doing, then pushed the thought away. It was painful to think of Aaron while she lay in her cold prison. She longed to just feel him near her, holding her, but such thoughts were useless. Instead, she turned her attention back to Max and his betrayal. He seemed genuinely concerned about her, but if he hated what Jack was doing why had he aligned himself with the man? She still could not believe he felt the depth of animosity towards Aaron that he described. But no matter how much she thought about it, she could not come up with an answer that made sense. If only he hadn’t drunk Jack’s blood, she could believe it was just an act. But he had. Still, he had done what he could to help her, and for that she was grateful.

  A scratching noise made Keira turn her head, and she jumped to her feet when she saw a rat scurrying along the gutter that ran the length of her cell. The creature turned and stared at her, raising itself on its back paws as it watched her impassively with its beady eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when it dropped down once more and ran through the small gap that led to the next cell. She slid down onto the cold floor against the opposite wall, unwilling, for the moment, to risk another encounter with the rodent. Her eyes closed briefly, but flew open as a bird screeched outside her window. Along with the ocean, the birds provided a continual backdrop of noise, but they usually stayed on the cliffs, not venturing so close to the building. Keira pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders as the cold wind gusted though the open window. The blanket was damp, as was her gown, from the moisture-laden air, and caked in a fine layer of salt. The salt covered her, too, making her itch, and when she licked her lips, she could taste it on her skin.

  Keira dozed a little more before a sound at her door had her turning to watch the gruel being pushed through the door. She had stopped trying to communicate with her jailors, knowing she would get only silence for her efforts. The tepid gruel was thin and watery, pale brown in color. A single slice of limp carrot and a few pieces of cabbage lay at the bottom of the bowl, while a few globules of half-congealed fat floated on the top. She wrinkled her nose in distaste, but forced herself to eat, knowing it was the only nutrition she was going to get. She finished the meal and pushed the bowl away with relief, glad to be done with the torment of eating, before curling herself into a ball on the mattress.

  Her thoughts wandered to her sister, and she wondered how she was faring. At least she was in Max’s care. Despite Max’s words to Jack, she was confident he would do nothing to harm Anna. And at least she was in more comfortable quarters.

  She closed her eyes and imagined that she was in more comfortable quarters, too – that the mattress she was lying on was really made with feathers instead of dirty straw, and that Aaron lay beside her, holding her tight. All she had left was her belief in him and their love. After the first few terrible days, when her mind had betrayed her and her body seemed incapable of the slightest exertion, she had slowly regained her sense of reality. Perhaps it was seeing Max that had wrought the change. Or perhaps it was just his presence that brought Aaron closer. But whatever it was, she had absolutely no doubts about Aaron’s love for her. He might call his love a weakness, but he would never abandon her. However much he might deny it, they shared a bond so deep it could never be severed.

  It took a while for Keira to fall asleep. Despite Max’s tunics and the thin blanket Jack had provided her with, she was still cold. She shivered on the thin mattress, until she finally fell into a restless sleep. Just before dawn she began to dream that she was in a warm bed, with a fire blazing in the grate and warm quilts wrapped around her. She woke slowly, when the cold light of day filtered through the window, and it was only when she was fully awake that she realized she was still cocooned in a blanket of warmth. She opened her eyes a fraction, and then wider when she saw the light that surrounded her. She turned slightly as her name weaved through her mind. The light around her was caressing her, stroking her with warm fingers, and she turned to see a pair of brightly flaming eyes of white staring at her.

  “Aaron?” she said. She stared into his burning gaze, as warm tendrils brushed over her cheeks. She smiled, and some of the tension that lay coiled in her stomach eased slightly. “You’re here,” she whispered.

  “I’m here,” he said. She stared at him, still not quite believing, as tears started spilling down her cheeks. Blazing hands dried them as soon as they fell, while lips of flame brushed against hers. She lay wrapped in his warmth as Aaron slowly took on his human form, his arms steady bands around her as he held her close. His hands stroked her hair, brushing strands of hair from her face.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  She smiled. “I love you too.”

  It wasn’t until footsteps sounded in the passage outside that they pulled away from each other, and Aaron lifted an enquiring eyebrow.

  “They must be bringing dinner,” she whispered. “Stand behind the door.” He moved to where she indicated, his face wrinkling in distaste when he saw the bowl of gruel that was pushed through the slot.

  “What is this?” he said as the footsteps faded away.

  “Dinner,” Keira replied.

  “That is dinner? Oh, Keira, I’m so sorry.” His tone was so serious that Keira laughed, and he looked at her in surprise. “What is so funny?” His question made her laugh even more, and his expression grew even more perplexed when the tears started streaming down her face, the stress of the last few days finding a means of release.

  “Oh, Aaron,” she gasped, “I am imprisoned in a stone cell in a dungeon, and you are worried about the food?” He grinned, unable to resist her laughter, then a moment later was laughing too. Keira sank down to the floor, her back against the wall, holding her sides as the giggles refused to stop, until eventually she was panting for breath. Aaron sat down next to her, watching her as she hiccupped. When she had finally regained some measure of self-control, he pulled the watery gruel towards her.

  “Eat,” he ordered. “You need every bit of nourishment you can get.” He placed his hands around the bowl, then with a slight expression of distaste, blew onto it, making it steam. She sighed when the warm liquid hit her stomach. The gruel had never been more than lukewarm.

  “Why are you wearing Max’s tunic?” Aaron asked as she ate.

  “He gave it to me to keep me warm.” She dropped the spoon in the bowl and turned to him, her expression distressed.

  “Oh, Aaron, I’m so sorry. Max is here,” she said.

  “I know.”

  “He gave his allegiance to Jack.”

  “Oh, I know that.” His tone was relaxed, and Keira frowned.

  “You know he’s –”

  “He hasn’t betrayed me, Keira. I knew he was coming here. It’s a ruse.”

  “But he drank Jack’s blood.”

  “Yes. But Max has been drinking mine every day since we came to the city. There is so much of my blood running through his veins, if he drinks any more he stands in danger of becoming me!” Aaron smiled and ran his fingers over her hand. “It is virtually impossible for him to bond to another dragon.”

  “Oh.” She paused to consider this. “But why was he drinking your blood?”

  “It was his idea, actually. We anticipated that the time might come where he would be more useful on Jack’s side than on mine, but we knew that Jack would demand a blood bond. Drinking my blood was to ensure that his tie with me could not be broken.”

  “So he has been working for you all along?”

  “Yes. Although I think Anna was also a strong motivation.”

  “So he hasn’t been abusing her as he threatened to?”

  Aaron laughed. “Is that what he said? No, I don’t think he would lay a finger on her.”

  Keira nodded with a smile. “I didn’t think he would, either. So how did you find me?”

  “I tracke
d Max. He had already been spreading the word that he might switch his allegiance. Two days after your disappearance, someone contacted him with a message from Jack to meet him in one of the city taverns, and when he offered to support Jack against me, Jack brought him here.”

  Keira pulled away with a look of surprise. “So you’ve known for a few days I was here?”

  “Yes.” He took her hands in his. “I’m sorry. I wanted to give Max time to discover the full extent of Jack’s plans. I couldn’t come any earlier in case I was discovered, which would, of course, give up the game. I knew Jack wouldn’t hurt you, although,” he glanced around the stone cell, “I didn’t think he would throw you in a cold, stone dungeon. There was nothing I wanted more than to storm in here, rescue you, and leave the other dragons to sort things out themselves. When I realized that Jack had taken you and Anna, I was more enraged than I have ever been. Max and a few other dragons had to force me away from the palace before I hurt someone. They dragged me away from the city.” Aaron smiled wryly. “Even then, I managed to burn down a forest and cause an avalanche. After that I hunted, desperate to release my anger on something. On anything that moved. And it wasn’t just Jack I was angry with. I was furious at myself. I had failed to protect you again –”

  “No –”

  “Yes.” Aaron leaned closer, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Keira, you always try and relieve me of blame, but the truth is I failed to protect you and your sister. Jack should never have been able to get anywhere near you.” He placed a finger on her lips when she would have said more. “But I didn’t just fail to protect your physical person. I had also failed you by pulling away from you, trying to deny how much I love you. When Jack took you, all I could think was that you might die not knowing I finally understood that it is our love that completes me.” He smiled. “I knew I would be lost without you. But I also knew something else: Jack needed to pay for what he had done. Now, more than ever, I knew I had to lead the dragons and ensure that Jack never becomes Master. And I realized that Owain was right. I am stronger than my father. I could not walk away from my responsibilities to the clan. So I went back to Drake House and laid my plans.”

  “So what are your plans?”

  “I will know once I’ve had a chance to see Max.”

  “So you are here to rendezvous with Max?”

  “Yes. But I also needed to see you.”

  “And how will you manage to see him?”

  “Like this,” Aaron said, opening his hand. Keira watched as it turned to fiery tendrils that disappeared into his wrist, before becoming solid once more. Her eyes flew up to his.

  “How did you do that?”

  Aaron leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “Owain thought I should work on harnessing my growing power, but when I tried, it seemed that I could do nothing differently.” He turned to look at Keira. “You remember how I controlled the flames?” Keira nodded. “Try as I might, I could not do it again. No matter how long I stared at the flames, willing them to bend to my control, I could not do it. I tried using my mind, I tried using my voice, to the point where I was yelling and screaming like a frustrated child, but all to no avail. It was Owain who suggested what I was doing wrong.” Aaron lifted his hand and trailed his fingers over Keira’s cheeks, the light from the blaze within him glowing on Keira’s skin. “Owain said my strength came from you, and instead of focusing on the flames, I should try focusing on you, on our love. I must confess it took a while to work through all the anger and frustration. I locked myself away in our room and breathed in your scent. I imagined your body lying next to me, and the soft look in your eye when you are satisfied.” Aaron smiled when Keira blushed. “I remembered that night in the caves,” he said softly. “I thought about how I had touched you and caressed you. And then …” He paused.

  “Yes?” Keira prompted.

  “The flames in the grate came alive. I looked at them, and with a flick of my finger, they responded to me. I moved them around the room and made them return to the grate. And I became one with the flame.”

  “Like in the cave?”

  “Yes, but even more. I didn’t just take on a fiery form for a few minutes. I became the flame. I could remain in that state, and even though I could not communicate with others the way I can with you, I could move around undetected by both sight and smell.”

  “So Max won’t be able to hear you?”

  “No, although he is more attuned to me than anyone else, since he has had so much of my blood. But what I have with you is shared with no-one else.” Keira smiled.

  “So that is how you are going to see Max?”

  “Yes. He already knows I’m here because of his bond with me, and will find a way to let me know what is happening. But before I go in search of Max, I want to hold you in my arms a little longer.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her onto his lap, pretending to shiver when her cold legs met with his warmth. “Brrr, you really are in need of warming,” he said, pulling her closer.

  Keira smiled and leaned her head against his chest. “Jack’s crazy, you know. He blames you for the death of his wife.”

  Aaron pulled back in surprise. “He told you that?”

  “Yes. He also blames you and your father for what happened to his father.”

  “Yes, I know that.”

  Keira paused for a moment. “He said you used to be close.”

  “We were good friends, once. He never had much respect for humans, but we got on well. But when May died, and then his father … well, he changed.”

  “He went a little crazy, like his father.”

  “I suppose so. And a crazy dragon is the worst kind to fight against.”

  “He said he was going to kill me. He wants you to feel the pain of losing someone you love.”

  Aaron’s eyes flared in anger as he turned away. “Jack will die because of this.” Keira sat silent for a moment.

  “How?” she said. “How are you going to kill him?”

  “When I know what his plans are, I can lay my own. And when I see him again, I will rip him apart limb by limb.”

  Chapter 39

  Keira watched as flames spread over the floor, heating the stones in every corner except the one she stood in.

  “I saw you with Elise,” she said. “At the ball. She had her hand on your arm.” The flames stopped moving and Keira felt Aaron’s attention turn slowly to her. “You were smiling and laughing.” She paused for a moment. “Jack said she was your mistress.”

  The flames pulled together, and Aaron’s fiery form rose before her. “Keira.” The single word that wound through her mind was tinged with sadness, regret, and admonishment. “Is that the reason you left the hall? Because you saw me with Elise?”

  She looked away. “I was jealous,” she whispered. “You looked so happy to see her. So familiar with her.”

  “Oh, Keira.” Fiery arms reached out on either side of her, trapping her against the wall as blazing eyes stared down at her. “There is no one but you, my sweet,” he said.

  “But you cannot deny she means something to you.”

  Skin and muscle formed around the flame as Aaron slowly gained more form. “She was my lover,” Aaron said, “but it was many years ago. She was widowed, and we were both lonely. She gave me friendship when I needed it, but although we took comfort from each other, she was never more than a friend. She was the one who brought it to an end. She had met someone, and was going to marry him.”

  “Jack said you were devastated when she left,” Keira whispered.

  “She had become a part of my life, and I suppose I felt a sense of loss, but I always knew she and I were never meant to be.”

  “But you still care for her.”

  “I do. As I care for all my friends.” He glanced away for a moment. “In fact, I was telling her about you.” Keira’s eyebrows rose, but she remained silent as he continued. “I was telling her how much I love you. How you have changed my life. She was happy for me.
”

  “Does she know what you are?”

  “No. I told you before, that is a secret I never shared with any other woman.” He shrugged. “She probably suspected I was different from other men, but I never said anything. You are the only one I have shared that with. And you are the only one I want to share my life with. I have never loved anyone the way I love you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, and bringing his lips down to hers, kissed her. Keira could feel the warmth spread through her limbs. He was dissolving once more, but she could still feel his lips on hers. Breaking the kiss she pulled back to look in his eyes. They were burning white, reflecting brightly against her skin. He placed a glowing hand on either side of her face, then pushed his fingers into her hair as she stared at him. His arms were bands of flame, but she could still feel the weight of them around her.

  “How can you do that?” she whispered. She moved her hand over his belly, watching as the flames rolled away, insubstantial once again. She saw him smile before his face dissolved into burning flames that swirled around her.