“You were at risk the moment I brought you to Hissing Isle,” Leo countered. “If anyone learns you’re from the mainland, pandemonium will follow. The humans live here in safety, as did their ancestors. They’re useful since they produce clothing and food. They trade with dragons and are a known entity. Most dragons will assume mainlanders mean to butcher them as they did in the past.”
Gwenyth’s brow furrowed. “Your words resonate with me. The part about killing dragons. It’s as if my brain contains this knowledge. Do you think my memory is returning?”
“Does she have a man?”his dragon demanded.
“Shush. Let me communicate with Gwenyth.”
Leo studied her familiar face: her straight brown hair, her solemn dark brown eyes, and the lush mouth that drew his gaze whenever she tipped her lips into a smile. He fought his sudden rapid breathing, the trace of panic his dragon had communicated. He—they’d known her for such a brief time, but she’d become important to them. Each physical touch soothed his typical restlessness while she fascinated his dragon half. Every instinct told Leo this woman—whatever her actual name—was essential to their wellbeing. Despite the arranged marriages prevalent in the dragon world, he had no wish to follow traditions, nor did he covet the riches a marriage to another wealthy dragon might bring.
Since the day long ago, when his older brothers had beaten him bloody and laughed before they’d run off to play with their friends, he’d embraced his desires. Leo, Champion of the Skies, marched to his personal drummer. Even so, since Gwenyth’s appearance, his drummer had developed a stutter in his beat.
“Have you remembered other parts of your past?” He and his dragon waited in trepidation for her reply.
Her brow wrinkled as she shook her head. “Not a thing. I get flashes, but the second I tug at them, the memory fades. What happens if I never—”
“Worrying won’t fix the problem,” Leo interrupted, not wanting her to complete her sentence. “We travel to the human village and marry. Then we go to the castle. Once I’ve spoken with my parents and canceled the betrothal, we’ll journey to Perfume Isle to visit my friends and investigate the mystery of our meeting. Are you agreeable?”
“A fair plan,” she said, decisive in her agreement. “The truth is you are my sole option. I have no means of support, I’m an unknown quantity, and my memory of my former life is nil. Without you, my chances of survival are low.”
“Did you have to give us a hearty dose of truth?”his dragon grumbled.
An equal amount of irritation, apprehension, and despondency thumped Leo in the chest. They wanted Gwenyth to stay with them, but not for the reasons she’d spelled out with harsh reality. He forced a smile and focused on projecting a calm exterior.
“We will keep you safe,” Leo promised. “Although you are not an obligation. My dragon and I like you, and while our marriage might be fake, we want more. We would court you with a view to a genuine relationship.”
“You’ve known me for two days,” Gwenyth whispered, her eyes big rounds of surprise.
“We are decisive.”
“I can see that.” Gwenyth raised her chin and straightened her shoulders. She stuck out her hand. “I agree with your plan. Let’s do this.”
8 – Flying Attracts Bugs
It was a relief to arrive at the human village. Flying clutched in a dragon’s claws did not lend one dignity. Nope, it was plain scary. Leo had informed her he carried items inside woven bags or sacks, and that was how they transported Jenny since the wolf-pup wasn’t old enough to fend for herself.
Gwenyth vetoed the bag transportation for herself, and Leo had clutched her in his right talon, which was how, according to him, he’d carried her after her rescue. Every bug they passed leaped at her mouth, and her hair flew into her face while terror kept her eyes squeezed shut. Somehow, an airplane seemed safer. Her frantic panic slowed enough for her to recognize she’d remembered something from her past. The instant she tugged the snippet, it dispersed like a puff of Leo’s smoke.
Leo settled onto the ground, and she scrambled from his hold, relieved to have her feet on a solid surface. She swiped the back of her hand over her mouth and pulled a bug free.Eek!
“Not a favored way to travel?” Leo asked, amusement lighting his handsome features once he’d shifted. He pulled on black trews, a shirt, and footwear.
Her head jerked up, and she glowered at him. “Is there an alternative? I think you hit every squadron of flying bugs between your house and the village.”
His sharp canines screamed danger. “I have two ideas we can try, but I must consult Saffron, The Leather Master, first.”
“We should do that ASAP.”
Leo grinned, a mischievous quirk of his lips that enticed her to touch. Before she could act, he crouched to free Jenny. The pup licked him on the face and ran in a circle, sniffing everything in her path. Leo rose and extended his hand to Gwenyth.
Unable to resist, she curled her fingers around his and ambled at his side. Quaint stone cottages hugged the hillside while a salty sea tang rode on the air. Leo led her toward a cobblestone street that sloped down the hill to the sea. Three small boats bobbed in the harbor, sails furled, the vessel’s owners nowhere in view. The rush and retreat of gentle waves on a beach created a pleasing rhythmic hiss.
Jenny trotted at their heels. Several men nodded to Leo, and a woman pushing a baby in a stroller lifted her hand in a wave before she disappeared into a butcher shop.
“Good morning, Mr. Leo,” a girl said.
Her younger brother toddled straight to him and raised his arms for Leo to lift him. “Mister. Mister. Mister!” he cried.
Laughing, Leo situated the boy on his shoulders and eyed his older sister. “Where are you off to today, Marcie?”
