Page 30 of The Naga Maverick’s Determined Mate

His tail flicked the flap open just enough to give those youngsters a glance at the two of us, then he swooped down and planted a kiss on me. I giggled, catching on, and tilted my head to receive another. The tent flap dropped when his forked tongue slipped out to tangle with my own, our audience forgotten, and passion rising between us.

I let him sweep me away, wrapping me up in his warmth, his nearness. The promise he offered that I’d be safe and happy for the rest of my life, with him at my side, I felt like I could face anything. Strong, whole, and myself once again.

The top furs on his nest were a little dusty so he shoved those away, quickly throwing down the furs from our pack of supplies. Then we were lost to the world for a while, swept into passion, and that was followed by dreams. I did not have nightmares anymore, or if I did, they were soothed by the warmth and weight of my mate’s coils sprawled over my legs.

In the morning, Zsekhet rushed to pack what he wanted to keep and then went around camp to give away what he no longer needed. I stayed with Sesethul, perched on the dragon’s paw, shaded by a giant wing. The dragon had placed his head next to my feet, one slitted, golden eye gazing at me with what almost felt like that kind of loving, loyal look a golden retriever might give you.

I couldn’t believe how silly I’d once been to fear this beast would eat me, and now look at me. Reaching out, I stroked my hands over his wide nose and grinned when that made him slide his nictitating eyelids shut over his large eye. Very gently for such a giant beast, he pressed his nose closer, snuffling my hand, then my legs, and up against my chest. His head was bigger than I was, it was an intense experience but I loved it. A dragon hug or kiss, it was kind of like a fantasy come true.

“Ses seems to like you,” a male voice announced from nearby. The dragon didn’t stop the gentle press of his nose against my chest, which made me feel like he didn’t consider this Naga a threat. When I glanced over my shoulder, I recognized the older, grizzled-looking male as Arakash. I’d learned from Zsekhet that this male had been his trainer, and in some way, a stand-in for a dad when his parents had perished in the attack.

Next to Arakash hovered a female Naga with a jaunty, cheerful smile on her face, her hair a shimmering gold with black streaks. She looked vaguely familiar, her expression open and curious. The leather apron around her hips and a hammer dangling from a loop gave her away as the goldsmith that so eagerly had greeted us yesterday. The one who thought my eyes looked like the sky.

I nodded unsure what they wanted of me but not feeling threatened yet. It was hard to feel threatened when you had a dragon next to you the size of an airplane who’d readily come to your defense.

“I know you can understand us,” the male continued, slithering a little closer so that he could duck into the shade Ses’ wing provided. “So I wanted to ask you to take good care of Zsekhet. He’s… like a son to me. And he’s a good male, with a soft heart.” When Arakash called Zsekhet’s heart soft, the female next to him started to laugh, her grin wide and infectious.

“Ah, that’s precious. Zsekhet can take care of himself!” she announced. She dared to slither much closer than the male had, coming to a stop right next to the long black dragon claws. Ses was no longer nuzzling me, his golden eye focused on this female though his posture remained relaxed. I took my cues from him.

Tapping my fist over my chest, I hoped I conveyed consent and understanding when I nodded at the older man. Then I flicked my eyes up at the female and met her grin with one of my own. She smirked, and then she dug her hand into the pockets of her apron and withdrew a long golden chain. “I noticed Zsekhet wasn’t wearing one like this anymore,” she said, her golden gaze dropping to the simple but elegant gold bangle around my wrist. “So I made a replacement.”

She dropped the chain in my lap, spinning around to leave. “You could come visit. Or we might?” I offered to her back, cursing the fact that they wouldn’t be able to understand me. The female glanced over her shoulder, giving me a nod as if she had, and then she rushed away.

“That’s Zsekhet’s baby sister,” Arakash offered gently as an explanation. “And once upon a time, she—and everyone else—believed that Zsekhet’s sigils would light for Alshara, the Queen.” Cold washed over me for a long moment, but I shook off the feeling. Now I better understood the Queen’s responses, how she’d fought down more aggressive urges, and I found I respected her all the more for it.

I wasn’t sure why he was giving me this information, maybe he wanted me to know how much Zsekhet was giving up to be with me. Maybe he wanted me to change his mind about where we lived, or convince me to leave Zsekhet. When the male slithered a little closer, I held my breath, fear skittering up my spine. Then Ses curled his head a little closer on his long, thick neck, effectively putting his maw between me and the male and I relaxed again.

“But I can see how happy he is, how much lighter. Customarily, the father of a female about to receive the gate’s blessing gives her this, but since you are alone… I thought. Well here!” He dropped a small pouch in my lap on top of the golden chain, and with a slightly awkward shrug and bow, he turned and slithered back into the camp.

I stared at the little pouch, which was filled with fragrant herbs of some kind. Frankincense? Myrrh? Something exotic and lovely. I was extremely touched by how thoughtful this was, and how loved my mate was by his old teacher, and even his sister. Zsekhet was right, his Clan was far more welcoming than any of the others. I found I genuinely meant my earlier offer, I’d be open to visiting this place so Zsekhet could see his friends and family here.

When I pictured this enthusiastic Naga female, his sister apparently, visiting Haven, I couldn’t help but smile. I barely knew her, but I was certain she’d get a kick out of everything there. “What are you smiling about, my flame-haired one?” Zsekhet drawled from nearby.

I rose, wordlessly holding out both gifts. His gaze dropped to my hand, his gaze shimmering when he reached out to finger the gold chain. I remembered noticing that he’d worn one around his middle just like it, but it had been gone for a long time. Repurposed to make my bangle.

“You need to invite your family to visit us. They need to know they are welcome to see you whenever they want.” I helped him tighten the chain around his middle, where it settled just above the leather belt around his hips. “And you should have told me you have a sister! What’s her name?”

“I will, we will tell them before we leave. Her name is Merish,” he said but his eyes were on the pouch I still held. “Did Arakash give you a father’s hope?” he touched a fingertip to the soft, worn leather. It was an old pouch, clearly one kept for a long time though it was well cared for. “I can’t believe he had this. Come on, we’ll head for the gate now.”

As he swung me up onto Sesethul’s back, I could tell he was a little choked up with emotion. It meant a lot to him to discover just how much his old teacher, his father figure, was condoning his mating to me. When he explained to me what this ‘Father’s hope’ meant. I felt myself blushing, seriously? A pouch of fertility herbs?

I tried to pretend that Arakash hadn’t been thinking about the two of us having babies, even if that was cute as much as it was awkward. Zsekhet was directing Sesethul across the oasis, the dragon skimming over the giant lake so closely that his claws splashed through the water. When he rose, I realized the clever dragon had pulled several huge fish from the water, and he eagerly gobbled those up.

“The oasis is fed by many underground rivers, it is always teeming with fish. Which feed the dragons, and us.” No wonder they could sustain a community like this in such an otherwise barren place, this oasis provided them with all the food they needed. And the ruins across the lake allowed them to dig for Relics and technology to re-purpose.

I was drinking in my fill of the strange, foreign shapes of the buildings. The desert had encroached on them, covering many parts of the ruins with a layer of sand but several buildings closest to the lake, where trees grew in abundance, were still very visible. Only the roofs were covered by a layer of white sand.

My heart started racing with excitement when I realized at least some of the buildings were the same dome shape as that of the greenhouse at Artek’s home. Covered by layers of sand, it looked like they might be fully intact. Was this the answer to locating the crowning piece? The upper section of the dome that Corin wasn’t sure we could source back near Ahoshaga?

I pointed at it eagerly, explaining the possibilities to Zsekhet and he laughed, “Sure, we’ll look at that after. Okay? You can explore the ruins as much as you want.” With that promise hanging over me, I almost couldn’t wait to leap off Ses’ back and enter the building we’d landed in front. This one was square, with a large flat roof, sand washed up in big drifts against the side, though the large entrance was brushed clean.

When we left Ses to sun himself against the side of the building, I was bouncing on my toes for a better look inside. Almost too excited to wait for Zsekhet to light a lantern for me to light the way. Once we entered, the mosaic-covered walls took my breath away with their brightness, the colors unfaded by the test of time. Crystals of many colors were embedded in the ceiling, crystals that I knew should be able to glow.

Zsekhet saw me look at them and offered a rueful smile, “Much knowledge was also lost in the attack on Serqethos twenty years ago. When the Queen died and many of our people were lost, we did not have time to care for the ruins, and now the lights are always dim.” Dim? They were completely powered down, which made me think that this ‘gate’ Zsekhet was taking me to, was also not going to work. It was just a hunch, but I figured that it was their name for some relic from the past.

“The Queen is the one who knows how to operate the gate. But Alshara was a baby when she was orphaned, that knowledge too is gone now.” And yet, this gate had remained important to their people, important enough to keep going to it for blessings, even when it no longer worked. Confirming my suspicion that it was some kind of technology from the past.

When we left the hallway through a slightly smaller door at the end, I stared in surprise at the sight that greeted me.