“Good.” I hesitate for a moment. “Has she … Has she asked for me?”
Lenka pats my hand, her warmth mirroring my own. “She’s better. That’s all we could hope for. The rest will come with time.”
I shrug it off, doing my best not to appear crestfallen. Larellin has been recovering nicely, the wound on her leg healing over the past week. I’ve been in and out, working with my brothers to secure the keep against any unwanted intrusions from Sela as well as maintaining our borders. But my mind has been elsewhere during the long flights. I find myself wondering about the mortal, worrying for her to a degree that verges on alarming.I’ve never cared for another like this. Only my brothers and the few friends we’ve made here in Oblivion over the eons. But a mortal? I’ve never gotten close to one. Larellin is something new, and my feelings for her, as confusing as they are, are stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced.
“Go on, Sire. See to her.” Lenka gives me a kindly smile and descends the stairs.
I roll my shoulders and swipe a hand through my wavy hair, doing my best to tame the strands that are, as far as I’ve ever known, untamable.
“Good afternoon,” I say stiffly as I walk in.
She’s mid-chew, a piece of bread in her hand. “Hi,” she says around it.
“How are you feeling?” I walk around the bed and sit in the wooden chair, still slightly toasty from Lenka’s presence.
“Much better.” She swallows and folds her hand in her lap. “I walked without my crutch yesterday,” she offers. “But Lenka scolded me for it.” She rolls her eyes.
“As she should.” I lean forward, breathing in her honeysuckle scent. “You need rest.”
“I’m done resting.” She tucks her shiny dark locks behind her ears. “Being cooped up in here is driving me batty.”
I glance at the windows.
“Ugh! I don’t mean I’m going to jump again. I just mean I need to move around. I’m not used to this.”
“Not used to what?”
“This!” She gestures around the room. “Sitting in bed all day. Someone else taking care of me. Someone else emptying my chamber pot and bringing me food and?—”
“You had no servants?” I ask.
She gawks at me, her pink lips open. “Ofcoursenot!”
I suppose I don’t know much about her village or how she lived before she came here. I’ve never been interested in how the mortals live. They shun and hate anything they don’t understand. But perhaps Larellin could be different. “Tell me about your home.”
She frowns, a slight wrinkle forming between her dark eyebrows. Beautiful. I’ve never seen a creature like her.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.” I sit back and rest my hands on my thighs.
She follows the movement, her gaze tracing up my body. Her eyes flicker the slightest bit when she gets to my chest. Then she meets my gaze. “Stop smirking like that.” She wrinkles her nose.
I’m smirking? Yes, I suppose I am. Her attention on me makes my blood heat, but I attempt to school my features.
“Anyway.” She pushes her tray to the side and reclines back against the pillows. Her pale skin no longer has a deathly pallor, just hints of pink and rose beneath the alabaster. “In Raingreen, I lived with my mother. Well, and my father, but he …” She looks away, her lips pressing into a tight line. Pain. I recognize it because I carry the same.
“He’s passed into the eternal?” I ask.
She cocks her head to the side a little and considers me. “That makes death sound almost … nice.”
“Death is just another sky to explore.” I shrug.
Her deep brown eyes narrow slightly. “Sure, but only if you can fly.” She flaps her arms a little. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not part dragon like you.”
I do smirk this time. “Oh, pet, I’malldragon.”
“Ugh! What does that even mean? Never mind.” She clasps her hands together. “As I was saying, I lived with my parents in the outer village. My mother mended clothes. I did the same and also worked in the priory gardens.”
