UNSEASONAL STORMS OVER DRAGONS INTENSIFY.
The uncharacteristic showers and thunderstorms have pelted Dragons with their wrath for the better part of the last month. Will there be a respite on the horizon?
In unrelated news, Dragons School For Girls Headmistress, the Honorable Magdalene Nox, has been awarded the Governor’s Award in Humanities, celebrating her contribution to education and her unwavering commitment to freedom of speech and thought. In her honor, the Crow’s Tavern will be serving its famed blackberry cocktail, The Nox, for free on Friday night for the first fifty guests.
Watch that space and don’t miss your sweet and tangy chance.
—Crow’s Caw
“The most important power is—”
“Compassion. The whole ‘do no harm’ thing,” Pru interrupted and then bit her lip at her own audacity. Well, shehad plenty of it lately. Yelling at Rhiannon, kissing her. Marking her. And as audacity went, Pru, who had exactly none of it for twenty-eight years, was suddenly full to the brim.
Ceridwen set the book down and looked at Pru expectantly. When only silence was forthcoming, she sighed and took a seat next to her.
“Want to tell me what’s on your mind?”
“Nothing!” Pru said too quickly and almost laughed at herself at how foolish she sounded.
Ceridwen kept her silence, and it was surprisingly comforting. Except Pru didn’t feel like being comforted. She felt like breaking things, shattering mugs and plates and salad bowls. She had done exactly that at home after she had kissed Rhiannon.
The bowl had split in two instead of a million little pieces and that had been decidedly unsatisfying. The mug proved better sport, filling the kitchen with debris. But even that was not enough.
Well, Pru knew exactly what would make her feel better. Heck, she had felt amazing when her mouth was on Rhiannon’s, when their tongues touched and glided over each other’s. When Rhiannon moaned as Pru bit her lips…
“I sense that you are miles away.”
Pru jumped and tumbled off the bench. Then she just sat there in the grass, the afternoon sun bathing her in warmth—and in shame.
“There aren’t that many miles on this island, Ceri.”
“Ah.” Ceridwen said nothing else and simply offered a hand. Pru gave it a long look before bracing herself and then accepting it. But nothing happened. Well, nothing like what had happened with Rhiannon. No storm that felt more hers than Rhiannon’s, no searing heat. No hunger that she expected to consume her whole if she didn’t touch, caress, taste?—
“How about we postpone our lesson for another day and you tell me what is going on. You look troubled.”
Pru got to her feet and dusted her hands on her jeans. Her cardigan lay discarded on the grass. She didn’t pick it up. She wanted to feel the September chill on her skin. She took a few steps and then a few more, putting as much distance between herself and Ceridwen as possible.
“What do you do when something gets out of hand and you’ve crossed a line, Ceri?”
The trademark Crowhart eyebrow lifted regally, and Pru smiled at how similar the sisters were in both looks and reactions.
“Did you hurt anyone? Yourself?”
The genuine, heart-wrenching concern in Ceridwen’s voice tore at Pru’s heart. So alike and so different. How could she explain how that night at Rhiannon’s had felt? That she was beyond certain Rhiannon wanted to get hurt and Pru almost obliged.
“I think I stopped in time.”
It wasn’t a good answer, and she couldn’t really know for sure, but it had never happened to her before, this lack of control, but also this absolute understanding of what she was doing. Nothing of what was happening had ever occurred before, and she felt at a loss of how to proceed.
“I was angry, and I reacted to something in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever reacted before.”
Ceridwen’s face gave nothing away, but she patted the spot Pru had vacated and waited till she obliged.
“I assume we are talking about Rhiannon?”
“How…” Pru trailed off. Why could she not keep her mouth shut?
“Because there are very few people on this island who can make one so angry that they do regrettable things. My sister is perhaps at the very top of the list.”
