A lump the size of my fist lodged in my throat, but I swallowed past it.
“The girl that loved to spend long summer days up in a tree, reading book after book. The girl who struggled to learn to draw under her mother’s cruel tutelage, only to surpass her in skill. The girl who walked across fields, her beagle puppy at her heels.”
“Sniffles?” she said in wonder.
“Sniffles.” I nodded. “He was white with brown ears and a black?—”
“Patch over one eye.” Her slow blink made me think she understood. That fact she wasn’t running from the den screaming had a small spark of hope flaring to life.
“He was your best friend, following you everywhere when you went for long rambles, right up until he died of old age.”
A little snort, then her eyes growing shiny let me know that things weren’t going as well as I’d hoped. A single tear rolled free, and I followed its fall obsessively.
Like I did everything else.
I was right. Fern felt like my visions were intrusive. The drawings repelled her, and why not? Who would be happy being observed their entire life by an invisible presence? No one, that’s who. My abilities had my own family shrinking back, so why not?—?
“You had… visions of me?” she asked.
“I’m sorry.” Backing up felt good, right. Get distance, that’s what my heart demanded. This was about to blow up and me with it, so I needed to get as far away as possible. “If I could’ve stopped it, I?—”
“You saw me?” She didn’t wait for an answer, flipping through the pages now. “Gods, that was when I first learn to ride. That was the ball where no man wanted to dance with me…?” Fern looked up at me sharply. “You saw me.”
“Couldn’t do anything else,” I croaked out, my entire body tense. Just get this out, I thought, then go. “Vision after visionand every single one of them was of you. I watched you, obsessed over you…”
My eyes fell closed.
Dain—!
Just let me get this out, brother,I told my dragon.Then we can go.
“Loved you.” If I didn’t open my eyes I could say it. “With every beat of my heart. With every fibre of my being. Fern, for so long you were the only bright part of my life, and gods damn me, I couldn’t stop from warming myself on your glow.”
Turning on my heel saved me from seeing her reaction.Just make for the doorway, I thought furiously.Get on Argent’s back and…
So why was I turning around. Her stricken expression was a knife stabbed directly into my heart, but I lent into the pain, rushing back to Fern.
“Fuck it…” I growled, grabbing her shoulders and yanking her closer only to stare into her eyes. If this was the last night I’d spend in my girl’s presence.
I’d steal the kiss I’d longed for since the moment we walked into the keep.
My mouth came crashing down on hers, moving by instinct. Her muffled cry was swallowed down by me as I deepened the kiss. Gods, she was so soft and small and I needed her so damn badly. Perhaps that’s why my arms wrapped around her. Lest she try to pull away, but instead her hands went up and smoothed across my chest. Her lips parted, letting me in, and that was the point I was lost.
“Only you.” I ended up mumbling the words against her lips, not her neck. “Gods, Fern, all there is is you.”
“How touching.” We jerked apart in time to see the general come walking into the den. He slow clapped as he approached the two of us, then came to a stop, riders at his back. “It appears my intelligence was correct. The silver rider was going to kidnap the Lady Fern, forcing her and her dragon, Auren, to follow them out of the keep.”
Noise from the outside world came flooding back in.Dragons were roaring, men shouting, and I was moving. Placing my body in front of Fern’s, I made clear they’d have to get through me to get to my girl.
“No one is kidnapping—” I growled.
“Take this Dain to the stockade,” the general said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “And someone else can escort the lady back to her room. I’ll need a few trustworthy riders stationed outside her suite to ‘ensure her safety.’”
Brother, they have Lance as well as Kael and Lorien,Argent told me.I tried to tell you.
Don’t worry, lad, I replied, right before I drew my sword free.We’ll fight?—
“No!” Fern rushed into the space between the general and me, then held up her hands. “No, don’t get into fight over me. You can’t be hurt, Dain.” There wasn’t much she could say to stop me, but that was it. Her hand clutching at mine was a far more effective deterrent than this general. “You can’t.”
