“Ragnar, don’t be a fool. You can’t just stand outside during the Elding.” I shook my head at him, scarcely believing his words. Surely he didn’t expect me to kick him out of his own bloody wagon during a storm.
The tension in his face tightened the muscles around his eyes. “There’s something about me you need to know, although I’m sure you’ve guessed that by now.”
“Yes, Ulrika’s sneaky comments gave that away,” I said slowly. “But what does that have to do with any of this?”
He came closer, his flames dancing up his arms. “Because of what I am, and the magic I carry within me. Storms can be brutal to the others, but they don’t hurt me. Not anymore.”
I furrowed my brow, trying to make sense of his words. “Storms hurt the others? The only person I’ve ever met that had trouble with storms is Daella, and that’s only because she’s half-orc, and…” Realization thundered into me. The fire. The scent. The suggestion in Ulrika’s words. “Wait, are you part orc? Why didn’t you just say so?”
But even as I voiced the question, I knew that it couldn’t be true. It made little sense. If he had orc in his blood, he’d have a sensitivity to fresh water, just as Daella did. It wouldn’t explain his ability to conjure fire from thin air, either. Orcs could not do that.
So then what was he saying?
“I am not orc,” he said quietly. “I was once something else that, like orcs, have a sensitivity to rainfall. But not anymore.”
I searched his gaze and whispered, “What are you?”
He took my hand in his and pressed my palm against his chest. The mad beat of his heart pounded through me like a drumbeat, an old familiar rhythm.Thump, thump-thump-thump, thump, thump-thump-thump.It was not the steady heartbeat of the folk. But I had heard it before.
Sleeping near Reykur on those cold nights.
My lungs ceased to breathe. Shaking my head, I did not dare say it aloud. It was impossible.
“You can’t be,” I said, my voice as soft as a feather in the air.
“I was once a dragon, Lilia. My brother and I both were. A group of orcs found us after Isveig killed the rest of our family. They wanted to save us, so they took us to a pool of water hidden in the mountains, much like the one Ulrika guards. They begged the gods to protect us from the conquering emperor. And the gods answered. Galdur magic transformed me into…whatever I am now. I’m not an elf, but I look like one, and I no longer have scales. The rain does not harm me.”
He held up his arms, the impossible fire raging across his indestructible body. Awed, I lifted my hand to feel the heat of him again, understanding now why he’d always felt so achingly familiar. But the flames suddenly died, and he stepped back.
“So now you understand,” he said. “Warm yourself up in those blankets. I’ll be outside.”
He turned away from me. His boots thunked against the wood. Undoing the ties that held the burlap in place, he took a breath, as if bracing himself for the coming onslaught of wind and rain. He might be immune to its effects, but that didn’t mean he would enjoy it.
“Stay,” I said.
Heaving a sigh, he shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about me. I promise you, Lilia, it’s fine.”
Clearing my throat, I steadied my voice. “I’m not worried. I just want you to stay.”
His hand fell to his side, leaving the ties where they were. As he turned, a new flame took shape inside me, burning so hotly that I forgot about my wet clothes, my tangled hair, and what little room we could share inside this space. I just wanted him to touch me, to feel me, to take me in his impossible arms.
“You’re not…disgusted by what I am?” he asked in a tight voice.
“Disgusted?” Shaking my head, I rushed toward him and slid my hands up the length of his chest, resting them on his shoulders. “How could I possibly be disgusted by you?”
“I am a dragon,” he said, grinding out the words. “Most people would think I’m a monster.”
“You are Ragnar,” I breathed. “And that is all that matters to me.”
He slid his hands around my backside and lifted me into his arms. And then he kissed me.
25
LILIA
The kiss was more feverish this time, like a dam had cracked opened inside him. All the pent-up emotions he hid from the world were rushing out of him and into me. I welcomed the flood. Wrapping my legs around him, I kissed him back, matching his intensity. He groaned as he stumbled forward and slammed me against the side of the wagon. The rough interior bit into my back, but I barely felt it.
His lips skimmed my jaw, leaving a trail of sparks to my ear. With his breath hot on my skin, I shuddered. He nipped at my neck, his teeth grazing me, and everything within me fell apart against him.
