"A warmth, like my favorite duvet. Wrapping me up in your heat and kindness." A myriad of emotions flicker over his normally unflappable expression. "It makes me feel less cranky, less angry. Until someone pisses me off again."
My heart swells at his admission. For my ancient, grumpy dragon to admit I make him feel warm...
I take hold of his hand and start guiding us toward the road. "Each of you feels different."
Diaval gives my hand a squeeze. "How so?"
"Torben is strong, silent. He's a constant stream of love and reassurance. An almost possessiveness to his tether." I draw in a breath, examining the next threads. "Khal is playful, and so is his bond. It's a lighthearted, almost constant stream of joy."
Smirking, I can't help but chuckle.
"Easton is almost unsure of what he feels. There are moments of jealousy, then possessiveness. He definitely loves me. He just doesn't know how to handle it. I think he scares himself."
"Scares himself?" Diaval stops us and moves me to stand before him.
"He will always resurrect. Me? If I die..." I search Diaval's features for understanding. "He dies with me. Mortality is frightening to someone who has lived and died a thousand times. Death has not been a reality for him until me."
Guilt consumes me as the reality hits.
I am the reason Easton will meet his final death.
Diaval's eyes flare as he stares at me. His hand goes flat to his chest as realization hits him. He reaches out and pulls me to him hard, crushing me to his chest. He envelops me in his warmth and bathes me in his scent of chamomile, soothing something rough in me. It takes the sour edge off the pain rising in my chest.
"It's a rough transition for any of us. I'd rather not say how many years I've lived. But it is a damn long time." He presses his lipsto my forehead, his breath washing over my scalp. "I won't die because you die, love."
"That's good to know." I kiss his throat.
"There will never be another after you. Dragons mate for life, like wolves do. I'll shift to my dragon never to walk the earth as a man again."
His admission makes my chest tighten. I think about his monstrous shift looming over the world for eternity—alone, grieving, never human again.
The weight of what I mean to him settles over me like a mantle.
We turn and start walking again, leaving the heaviness of our conversation behind us.
As we reach the road,I look both ways, still not hearing tires.
"When do you think they'll get here?" My attention turns down the road in the direction they'd come from.
"Approximately thirty minutes." His eyes flick up to the position of the sun, then down the road. "If they continue driving at the speed they were when we passed over them."
I can tell his dragon is doing the calculations. The occasional flicker of slitted pupils tells me he's close to the surface.
Looking around, I see an apple tree and walk over toward it. I hear the rustle of leaves behind me as Diaval follows.
Using my claws, I climb the tree and start picking apples, dropping them down to him.
"Wolves don't climb trees." He chuckles, looking up at me as he catches the apples.
Glancing around, I realize I'm probably fifteen feet off the ground. "I've always climbed trees as a kid. Wolf or not, I know how to climb."
When I finish grabbing the last of the good apples, I climb down. Landing on my feet, I move to sit on the ground under the tree.
"Snack time while we wait for the others." I bite into one of the apples.
Diaval looks around, finds a rock to sit on, and starts eating too. After shifting and flying as far and fast as he did, I know he needs to refuel. Diaval always waits for me to eat first, forsaking his own hunger.
This time I outthink him by eating before he tells me to.
