Page 14 of Dagger’s Shield

When I did finally fall asleep, my dreams were of being with her in Burgundy.

The sun’s rays were gold across the vines, and Maëlle was beside me on a stone terrace, with a glass of her family’s wine in her hand and a ring on her finger that I’d put there. She was laughing at something I’d said. There was nothing guarded about her, nothing hidden, nothing she was bracing against. She was mine, and more, I was hers. All hers.

I woke, and the weight returned before my eyes were open. Charm was a shield, and I’d hidden behind it for so long that I’d stopped noticing it was there—until a vision showed me what stepping out from behind it felt like.

The dream itself wasn’t the answer—but what was in it was. Her and me together. A woman bringing the man she was about to marry home to meet her family.

I lay in the dark, turning the idea over in my head. The more I did, the better I believed it was.

There was only one problem—how much I wanted it to be true.

5

MAËLLE

The sun shone through the window, waking me. When I opened my eyes, it took me a minute to figure out where I was. I glanced around and remembered coming to Dagger’s camp for a whiskey. I had no idea how many I’d had, but based on my throbbing head, it was more than I should have. I also had no recollection of how I ended up in his bed. Thankfully, I was still fully dressed and it appeared I’d slept alone.

At some point, I must’ve removed my jacket and boots. I sat up, searched for them, and cringed when I didn’t see either. That meant they were in the other room. Where Dagger was. Or probably was. Maybe I’d get lucky, and he would’ve left for the command center already.

Wait. Lucky? I shook my head, went into the bathroom, and splashed cold water on my face.

When I came out, he was sitting at the table, looking at his laptop.

“Good morning,” he said, raising his head.

“Bonjour,” I responded.

“Do you⁠—”

“Before you say anything, I need to apologize. I am mortified about my behavior last night. I should, um, be going.”

He closed his computer and stood. “Will you stay a few minutes? There’s an idea I want to run past you. I’ll make you an espresso if you do.”

I blinked several times. “Pardon?”

“Coffee?”

“Did you not hear me? Did my apology not register at all?” I pointed at the sofa with a blanket and pillow still on it. “I mean, how could you have slept well there?”

“‘Well’ might be overstating it. On the other hand, if you hadn’t been on the other side of that door, I doubt I would have gotten any sleep at all.”

“Why ever not?”

He stepped closer, raised one hand, then lowered it. “Because I knew if you needed anything in the night, you wouldn’t be alone.”

I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it. “Did you mention espresso?” I asked instead.

His eyes lit up, and he motioned for me to follow. “Come see.”

When he went into the kitchen, I trailed behind him, but stopped at the threshold. On the counter was a gleaming and absurdly large Italian-looking machine that barely fit. “It’s huge.”

Dagger grinned. “Why, thank you.”

I shook my head a second time and laughed, wondering why his teasing and innuendo used to make me so uncomfortable and, now, it didn’t. “How long have you had this?”

“Since the week after we arrived.”

My mouth gaped, and I put my hands on my hips. “You’ve had an espresso machine for three weeks, and you neither told me nor offered me a single shot?”