Helping Rynne replace the stopper and threading his chain through the eyelet, he watched her slip the vial over her head. With a smile, he took her arm to guide her back toward their waiting horses, a thought hitting him as they approached.
“How old are you, my lady?”
He knew it was an odd question to be asking at that time, and he almost laughed when she hesitated to answer. She finally shrugged.
“Twenty and one. Why?”
“Mmm… just wondering. “Did your father happen to leave a gift that you were to open at a certain age?”
When she squinted, he knew he was right.
“How did you know?” Her voice was laced with quiet concern.
“Just a guess. What age did he…”
“Twenty and five, but…”
“Shhh. It’s of no consequence now. I’ll explain everything when we reach Honorcrest.” He silenced another protest with a finger to her pursed lips before helping her up into the saddle.
Four years. In four years, she would join him in transformation and together they could take to the skies. He wondered what she would think when she realized just how special she was. No wonder the Driagaran had been after her. It wasn’t for the potion. They’d wanted her. Lady dragons were born only once or twice in a thousand-year period. She was rare. And she was his. Their children, their empire, combined with Kensey’s and hopefully Brantley’s… there would be no stopping them. Perhaps they could even defeat the Driagaran once and for all.
He sighed. It was a nice dream. Almost as nice as the one Fate had given him, he thought, looking up at the scowling lady.
The feel of a hand on his arm had him turning to where Conall stood smiling at him. When he frowned, his old friend and second in command laughed.
“You realize she has traveled through time.”
Still frowning, Brendan nodded, his head bobbing up and down slowly as he tried to figure out what that had to do with anything.
Raising his brows, Conall put his hands up as if to say you’ve got to be kidding. “Old friend. She has traveled through time. She has already been twenty-five.” When Brendan still didn’t respond, Conall rolled his eyes and tapped his hand against his own shoulder, precisely where the mark of the feather was upon the lady.
Brendan’s mouth fell open with understanding. Because she had traveled through time, passing her twenty-fifth birthday, her transformation had already begun. It’s why she had the mark of the feather scale. There would be no waiting four years. They needed only to get to Honorcrest where she could put on the ring her father had left her.
“What are you not telling me?” she demanded as he hauled himself up into the saddle of his destrier.
Brendan sucked in a deep breath that he exhaled slowly before he bit his bottom lip, holding it between his teeth. He closed his eyes for a split second. She’d know everything soon enough. Perhaps after seeing his men and the others transform, she’d be more willing to believe. He glanced at Conall, his old friend, nodding before giving the command that had the men spreading out a bit more to give the two the ability to talk in private.
Rynne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was no way she could be part dragon without knowing it. Absolutely no way.
Her insides went queasy. Had Shama not told her mother that Rynne’s spirit animal was a dragon? And what of Mordrin? Had the old witch not mumbled something about seeing her dragon form when she’d found the old witch the day she’d traveled into the future?
She rubbed her shoulder where the blue feather-like scale was—the mark that had fitted perfectly against Brendan’s when they’d… she swallowed hard, looking away, sure her cheeks were burning at the thought of the two of them pressed so tightly together. The mark on her shoulder was blue where his was black. Did that mean she would be a black dragon since her mark had so perfectly matched his scales when he’d transformed?
No, no, no. She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. Dragons didn’t exist and she certainly wasn’t one.
Her chin fell to her chest, the weight of the truth on her shoulders. She knew what he was saying was the truth. She’d seen him and the others change from men to beasts and back to their human forms. Freaks of nature, she thought. Everything she’d tried to disavow, all that she had scoffed at…
Stop!
Rynne knew she’d had the visions as a child because her inner self knew her reality.
She thought of Brendan’s transformation. It had looked painful. How was she to ever willingly submit her body to such brutality? She glanced at him. He seemed none the worse. In fact, he seemed almost euphoric. And the other men… they’d all transformed effortlessly. Perhaps it was just the first time.
Dear God, she thought. This couldn’t be happening.
Brendan sensed Rynne’s inner battle. He’d known his whole life what he was and the transformation had still been a shock. He’d known better than to fight it, but his concern for the lady’s wellbeing and what she would think hadn’t helped. He wished he could assure her, to find the way to lessen her fears.
He reached for her hand when he saw the moisture forming on her long lashes.
“Share your thoughts with me, my lady.”
At first, she shook her head, then sucked in a deep breath. Her words were shaky when she spoke.
“Why did they not tell me? My father… he must have known.”
Brendan thought for a moment, shrugging. He could only guess.
“I’m assuming they did so to keep you safe. Perhaps they felt like hiding your identity would help hide you.”
“I can’t believe I never knew… My own father was a dragon.” Her eyes going big, she turned to him. “And my mother?”
Shaking his head, Brendan told her that wasn’t very likely since she dragons were so rare.
“So… Kensey… He’ll not have a dragon mate?”
Brendan could feel her sadness when he shook his head. The likelihood that her brother or Brantley would end up with true dragon mates was almost inconceivable, though their wives would have the same immortality afforded to their husbands. He told her again that she dragons were born only once or twice a century.
When one side of her mouth raised in a half smile, Brendan’s brows shot up, making her laugh.
“I suppose their mates could always travel from the past or the future,” she told him.
He supposed she could be right. Stranger things had happened. Was he not staring at one?
Nodding, he motioned her to follow and spurred his horse into a gallop. They had one more night before them and he wanted to make sure they spent it as far within the borders of Wolfdenreve as possible. With a little luck, they would reach Honorcrest by midday the following afternoon.
Chapter 11
Brendan paced around the guestroom at Honorcrest for the thousandth time, willing his heartbeat to slow. He wiped his palms down his sides again, taking a deep breath and counting to ten. He growled at himself, shaking out his arms before marching to the door and throwing it open.
Just get it done, he chided himself. The longer he waited to approach the lady, the more nervous he got. Even telling himself there was no way she would say no, he couldn’t tamp down the fear he might hear that two-letter word. She’d been through a great deal and had fled to her room just after she’d administered the potion to Kensey and had seen that her brother was going to be all right.
The Lady Willowthorne had told him to give Rynne time, but after he’d rushed to get Kensey’s blessing, he had waited as long as he could. Three days. She hadn’t even come out for her brother’s first flight. He’d looked for her at her window the first day the two of them took to the sky, but there’d been no hint of even a shadow behind the glass.
He hung his head. Perhaps he’d been wrong and all that he believed she had felt when they’d made love had been one-sided. Maybe the fact that he was certain Fate had brought them together made no difference to her.
Willing his feet to move fa
ster, he trudged down the hallway toward the family wing. Either way, he had to ask. He needed to know her intent for the future.
Rynne’s back was to him when he pushed open the door after she’d bid him to enter. Her head was down, and he could tell by the position of her arms that she held something in front of her. Closing the door, he took several steps toward her, stopping when she slowly turned toward him and he saw the tiny box in her hand. The sadness in her blue eyes tore at his heart like a cold, steel blade.
“I’ve been trying to bring myself to open it.” She tried to smile. Her lips quivering, she choked back a sob instead. “What if the same thing happens to me that happened to Kensey?” She thrust the box down on the table beside her and spun away, wrapping her arms around herself. “I want to be with you, but I can’t do this,” she told him as he crossed the last few steps and caught her to him, her back pressed against his chest.
“Oh, love,” he whispered in her ear as she melted against him. He kissed her cheek, her neck, the spot on her shoulder where the feathery image lay. “You are who you are with or without that ring. And if you’re not ready to put it on, then you shouldn’t.” He took her hands in his when she turned around and pressed kisses to her knuckles before continuing. “Perhaps someday… Until then, I will be your strength, the one who watches over the skies above your head, doing all that I can to keep you safe and make you happy… If you’ll let me.”
When Rynne’s eyes rounded, he smiled and took her face in his hands, brushing his lips across hers. “Did you not think I meant what I said during the night in my castle?” When she sighed, he laughed. “I would have you for all time, my lady, whether you submit to being a dragon or not. I think I have known from the moment you slogged out of my pond that there was no way I would ever let you go.”
“Oh, Brendan…” she pushed her arms up around his neck, kissing him with the fervor of a love-starved whelp. “You’re truly going to marry me?”
He laughed. “When we get back to Locktonhurst, I have another ring for you. It belonged to my mother, and my grandmother before her.”
Rynne squealed, then sobered, pressing herself more firmly against him.
“Since we have already made this commitment, is there any reason we must wait?”
Brendan almost choked when she lifted a brow, the huskiness of her voice nearly taking his breath away, letting him know she wasn’t talking about hastening the ceremony.
“It was almost unbearable to endure having you next to me those nights we slept in the forest, knowing I had to endure being robbed of your touch,” she told him as she started toward her bed. “I began to believe that night in your castle must have been just a dream.”
“It was a dream,” he mumbled, his mouth coming down hard on hers.
Sleeping next to her without being able to slake his desires had been a task that was quite nearly beyond monumental. Now that she had agreed to be his wife and Kensey had given consent, it would be even more impossible. In his eyes, they were already united. The ceremony would take place only so that mankind could witness their union.
Chapter 12
A day later and almost an hour behind the time they’d planned to depart, Rynne finally entered the courtyard where Brendan and his men waited.
Though tight, Brendan still offered her a smile before he turned to address Conall. He was trying to be understanding, knowing how difficult it was for her to leave her family again so soon, but she’d never traveled with disgruntled, restless men who were far too ready to get home. Their patience would last only so long.
A dainty throat clearing from just behind him had Brendan turning from Conall to his wife-to-be. He raised a brow and she sighed loudly.
“How long would it take to get to Locktonhurst as the dragon flies?” she asked him.
Brendan sucked in a breath and started to speak before clamping his mouth shut. Narrowing his eyes, he looked back at his second in command and then at Rynne again. “A day, if that. Why do you ask, my lady?”
Chuckling, she opened her hand to show him the tiny dragon ring that lay in her palm. “I didn’t really enjoy sleeping in the forest or the long days in the saddle.” Her grin spread into a full-blown smile, her laughter ringing out when his mouth fell open.
She sobered when he grabbed her arm and steered her away from the others.
“But what of your fears?” he asked quietly, his head bent close to hers.
“I still have them. But when I saw the joy in both you and my brother when you took to the skies yesterday, and witnessed the euphoria on both of your faces when you transformed back to your human form…” She looked away and then back again. “You said yourself, whether I put the ring on or not, I am who I am… and who I am is a she dragon who has been waiting to be released for a very long time. I can feel her. The unknown is always filled with uncertainty, but, I don’t want to miss out on what could be simply because I’m afraid. What if I hadn’t gone to the old witch that day?” Her laugh was half-hearted. “Believe me, I was scared out of my mind. She could have just as easily turned me into a toad, or worse.” She smiled when Brendan laughed.
“I’m glad you overcame your fear then, otherwise, you may not have ended up in my garden.”
“Your pond, you mean.”
Brendan chuckled, leaning even closer. “I swear I thought you must be a gift from the very gates of Heaven, the way you looked rising from the waters. That white dress outlining every luscious curve.”
When she slapped him on the chest, he feigned hurt and they both laughed.
“You are no gentleman, Brendan MacCailín, Lord of Locktonhurst, keeper of the fiefdom of Karthmere. You are proof that noble blood does not, in fact, make a man honorable.”
Brendan raised a brow and shrugged, the playful smile never leaving his face. “Perhaps it’s the dragon blood.”
Rynne sobered and slowly shook her head. “Perhaps…” She looked down, opening her hand again. “How could I not have known? My own father, and the others living within the grounds of Honorcrest who were… dragons. I scorned the mythical creatures, the very thing I am, even while living amongst them.” She clamped her mouth shut, grinding her teeth together as she blinked furiously, trying to hold back the tears.
Taking hold of her upper arms, Brendan turned her to face him. She leaned into the palm that he placed against her cheek.
“You weren’t supposed to know. But now you do.”
“Now I do,” she echoed softly.
With a deep breath that she blew out loudly, she reached for his hand, turning it palm up and placing the ring in the center.
“You’ll have to help me,” she said, her gaze locked with his.
Brendan wished there was a way he could erase the fear he saw in her blue eyes. He’d waited his whole life for the opportunity to release his dragon, even if he hadn’t imagined it happening quite the way it had. Still, he couldn’t imagine not knowing who he was or living without the mental bond that had developed between himself and his dragon-form throughout the years. What turmoil Rynne must have felt. The inner conflict had to have been nearly unbearable.
And yet… she was strong, capable. She’d overcome the fear of leaving home and facing the old witch to find help for her brother. And when she’d gone through time and surfaced in his pond, even when she found herself at the tip of his sword, she’d raised her chin and pushed on, knowing her survival and her ability to get back to Honorcrest were Kensey’s only hope. She hadn’t backed down. She’d shown her bravery in all things; even in overcoming her hesitation to put on the ring.
With a smile, Brendan reached up and pulled the chain over his head, holding it so that the vial dangled between them.
Her eyes widening, mouth opened, Rynne cocked her head.
“You left this at Kensey’s bedside,” he told her.
Rynne nodded, her eyes fixed on the filled vial.
“It seems to be magic, just like you.”
When she frowned, Brendan chuck
led and leaned in to kiss her.
“The Raven Witch sent a message. It’s not what’s in the vial, love. It’s you. She told me you are the restorer of life and health, not the liquid. Once you’re wearing the ring you’ll have your full powers, but even now, because you went forward in time, you’ve reached the age of readiness, you’re already able to heal. That’s why you had to go into the future, to activate your transformation early so that you could heal your brother.”
The way her eyes darted about, Brendan could tell she was trying to put all the pieces together.
“And when I tossed my coin into the fountain, I wished to go home… I did… to your home.”
Brendan nodded. “To our home. The future you already knew exactly where you belonged.”
Throwing her arms around his neck, she stood on her tiptoes, pressing feverish kisses against his lips. Brendan laughed at the way her cheeks reddened when she pulled away to hear the whoops from his men.
“Come on, Lady Katrynne. Let’s make this she dragon thing official.”
He led her to the center of the courtyard, motioning for the men to keep the horses back and holding out his hand for hers. As soon as she lifted it, he began to slip the gold dragon ring onto her finger.
“Relax,” he told her when he saw her starting to tense. “I’ll be right there by your side.”
She nodded. “I have faith in you.”
Brendan smiled. “As I do in you, my lady.” Pushing the ring the rest of the way, he lifted both of her hands to kiss her fingers. “We take this leap together,” he told her just before she began to transform into the most beautiful ebony dragon he had ever seen.
A single blue feather-scale blazed across her left shoulder. It perfectly matched the black one on his right shoulder when he morphed into his beast. Lowering his head, he dropped to one front knee, his other leg extended forward in a salute to the woman who was perfectly matched to him in both human and dragon form.
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