“You let me think we were married.” Accusation shimmered in her voice. Irritation. Gwenyth lifted her chin as she blasted him with her outrage.
“She has courage,”his dragon stated with pride.“We could snap her like a twig.”
“You couldn’t remember anything, and when you mentioned our marriage, I decided not to disabuse you of the situation. The knowledge comforted you.”
“And the betrothal?”
Leo couldn’t read her expression, although her mood still screamed irked. His dragon remained silent, so Leo gave Gwenyth more truth. “I’d met with my parents. They issued their orders and left before I could refuse. Telus, The Organized, who was also present at the meeting, never gave me a chance to speak either. As the youngest and the runt, my brothers bullied me while my parents ignored my presence. Now that I’m useful, my parents issue commands and expect me to jump. I left the castle in a mood, intending to go home. But I was agitated, furious with my parents, and I flew over the sea to settle my mind with exercise. That’s when we found you. You almost died.”
“So that part is true.” Gwenyth frowned. “You saved me.”
“Yes.”
“But you’d never met me before?”
“No. It is my belief you came from the mainland.”
Her eyes flashed, and eagerness lifted her expression. “So we can go to the mainland and discover where I came from. My name.”
Leo shook his head. “You don’t understand. Once dragons played in the skies over the mainland, but the humans feared us. Whenever the opportunity arose, they’d kill our kind. To save our species, we withdrew to the Dragon Isles. The remaining dragons cut a deal with the druids who live on Smoking Isle. The magic-men conjured a spell to keep humans from seeing our territory. An invisible barrier separates the isles from the mainland, so we cannot trespass either.”
Gwenyth blinked. She frowned. “If that’s the case, then how did I get here?”
He shrugged. “Most days, we can sense the mainland, but it is invisible. Yesterday, the protective barrier was absent, and I flew along the mainland coast. You were in a tin box. You spotted me before the tin box jumped over the cliff and toppled into the sea. I plucked you out and brought you to my home. While I was cutting you from the box, the barrier reformed. We almost didn’t make it back.”
Gwenyth nodded. “You’ve told me everything?”
“I swear, my lodestone. That is the absolute truth.”
“Thank you.” Gwenyth tugged her hands free of his and marched off.
“Where are you going?”
“I must think.”
“Don’t let her leave,”his dragon ordered.
Gwenyth halted. “Is it safe for me to walk in the meadow?”
“If you stay within sight of my home.”
“No! She mustn’t leave.”
“I wish to walk.”
The wolf-pup jumped at Gwenyth.
“Can I take Jenny with me?”
“Jenny?”
“The pup.”
Leo gestured at the door. “You will find steps at the end of the path. If you require me, shout. Do not overexert yourself.”
“I won’t.” Gwenyth ushered Jenny outside and left.
“You shouldn’t have let her leave,”his dragon snapped and stomped his foot hard against Leo’s ribs. Leo grunted and pressed his fingers against the throbbing spot.
