“No, you wouldn’t have. But then what would woo you? What do you dream about at night when you are alone?”
His burning gaze slowly raked down her body, and she thought she might combust at the answering heat it produced in her.
“Knowledge,” she admitted. “If there is one thing I value, it is knowledge. My experience in this garden is so limited. Indeed, I cherish my time with you. You always… take me away from this place.”
“Then I will continue to share my stories and pray I further garner your affection.”
Medea paused, squeezing his hand. “What was it you were saying before? I find you utterly distracting.”
He offered her a half smile. “The feeling is mutual.” A pained look crossed his face. “Hera has asked me to go back to Paragon, to look for something she’s lost. I cannot refuse her.”
“You seem reluctant.”
“I am dreading it. I want nothing to do with my sister Eleanor or my younger brother Brynhoff. I fear my siblings will not take kindly to my visit. They will assume I’ve returned for the crown, and they will most definitely attempt to remove the competition.”
Medea’s heart thudded uncomfortably at the implied threat. “Do you mean they might… become violent?”
“There is nothing my sister would like better than to see my head on a pike.”
The awful thought caused Medea’s chest to tighten. She hadn’t experienced much violence and couldn’t imagine such a family. She squeezed his hand and urged him to continue.
“I’m a fair warrior in my world,” he explained. “Neither one of them could defeat me in one-on-one combat, but they have the benefit of each other, not to mention rule over the Obsidian Guard—that’s the royal army of the kingdom of Paragon. I no longer have any standing in the royal court. They could have me executed on a whim.”
The thought filled Medea with the darkest form of dread. “You simply can’t go then,” she blurted.
He barked a hard laugh. “I’m afraid even a dragon must obey a goddess if he wants to avoid a very uncomfortable situation.”
“You mean having your head on a pike here rather than there.” Tears welled in her eyes when he affirmed her suspicions. She couldn’t even think of Tavyss being in such danger. He was her friend, and she absolutely must do something to help him.
“Medea? Medea?”Her sisters called to her from the woods.
“I must go…,” she said. “My sisters will wonder where I am.”
He dropped her hand, looking dejected. “I understand. I’ve taken too much of your time today. Thank you for your kind ear.”
“Don’t be silly. I hope you will be back tomorrow.” She beamed up at him.
“I cannot put off Hera’s mission for long.”
“Tavyss, before you go to Paragon, will you see me again? Tomorrow in the orchard? I may have something that will help you.” Medea squeezed his arm and prayed he’d give the plan that was formulating in her brain a chance before he put himself at risk.
He spread his wings. “You’ve already helped me. Believe me, listening is likely all anyone could do.”
“Please,” she said. “Tomorrow. In the orchard.”
He gave her a dashing smile. “I’d consider it an honor.”
Chapter Six
Although it was risky to delay doing Hera’s bidding, Tavyss decided to wait to go to Paragon, in no small part because of Medea. He doubted she could actually help him in any way with his problem, but he couldn’t say no to another meeting with her. She was a mystery, an enigma. Yesterday he’d discovered shedidhave wings like a nymph, and she’d said she was born in the garden, but she was unlike any creature he’d ever known. Unique. Special.
When he did go to Paragon, if Eleanor and Brynhoff had their murderous way, he might never see her again. He’d make the most of his last hours here and tell her what she meant to him. After, he’d hand himself over to his fate.
The next afternoon, he spread his wings and soared over the orchard, its golden apples sparkling like a galaxy of stars in the sunlight. He smiled when he saw her, but his excitement turned into something more. His body reacted as it never had before, and his mind flashed back to when she was naked, floating on the water. His dragon coiled and chuffed. A gritty inner voice whispered,Mine.
The dragon’s claim surprised him. It was no small thing for a dragon to take an interest in a potential mate. Among his kind, mating bonds were sacred and permanent. Dragons who bonded and somehow lost their mates were known to beg for death rather than live after that holy link was severed.
Which meant, at least to his inner dragon, Medea had become far more than a friend. He wanted her. He could not deny it. For his dragon to wish to bond with her, that was far more serious and more dangerous.
