For the first time, Cas looked over at him. Yes, she wasn’t the only one who’d had innocent people die because of choices she had made. She should blame him for his past every bit as much as she blamed herself for hers, but she never had.
“Why can you accept faults in others that you can’t accept in yourself?” he asked softly, barely aware that he had spoken the words aloud.
“I don’t know,” she whispered back, her green eyes glistening with moisture. “It’s a flaw.”
He scooted closer. This time, he spread his arms to hug her without hesitating. She squinted her eyes shut and leaned into him, burying her face in his shoulder.
“It’s a strength.” He kissed her neck, then rested his face against her hair. “If you don’t let it kill you.”
“I’m afraid,” she said into his shoulder. “I’m afraid it’ll happen again. I’m afraid I made a mistake. But I can’t take it back. I don’t want anyone else to have to live with this.”
He stroked the back of her head. “How about I come up with some mighty dragon-slaying concoction that doesn’t kill friends and that will make it so you don’t have to take that sword out of its box?”
“I’d appreciate that.” For the first time, her voice held a hint of hope.
He closed his eyes, praying he could do what he was promising. He did not want to disappoint her, or see her hurt again.
“Good,” he whispered. “I’ve missed being appreciated by you.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just come by and murmur approvingly at my formulas now and then.”
She snorted and leaned back enough to look at his face. Some of those tears had made their way to her cheeks, leaving wet lines. Seeing that made his throat constrict with emotion, made him wish he could fix everything for her, but at least she wore a slight smile now.
“Even the strange glowing goos?” she asked.
“Especially them.”
“All right.”
He told himself to release her, that he needed to get back to work, so that he would have a dragon-slaying concoction by the time they found the dragon. But it had been weeks since she had smiled up at him like this.
“Cas, I—”
She slid her hand around to the back of his neck and leaned closer to kiss him. At first, he was so surprised that he merely sat there with his lips hanging open. But his body reacted even if his mind had forgotten what to do. He kissed her back, pulling her into his lap before he thought better of it. Having her arms around him, the warmth of her body against his, filled him with heat and desire. For the first time in a long time, she kissed him ardently, with passion he’d forgotten she had.
He might have happily pulled her back onto the bed with him, but his mind started working again, and he realized that her passion was because he had promised her a way to avoid the horrible fate she’d been expecting out here. If he came up with something and she didn’t have to touch that sword, then he would deserve this, but not before then, not when he wasn’t sure there was time to make anything. Maybe he had been foolish to speak so quickly, to get her hopes up. He hadn’t expected it to lead to this, to something he’d forgotten just how much he wanted.
A timer dinged on the other side of the lab. If it hadn’t, he might have found it impossible to pull himself away. But he had to check the results. For her.
“Cas,” he whispered, forcing himself to remove his lips from hers.
“Mm?” Her fingers had drifted higher, and they curled into his scalp, sending shivers of delight through him.
“I want this—you—but I have to get back to work. Otherwise…”
She lowered her hands to his shoulders and leaned back. “I understand. Do you need any help?”
“I don’t think so.” Belatedly, he remembered that he had originally lured her back to his lab under the pretext of wanting advice.
One of her eyebrows twitched. “So you just wanted to check up on me?”
“I’ve been worried about you.”
“Thanks.”
His own brows did some twitching. He hadn’t expected her to actually appreciate it, or that she would admit it if she did. She so rarely shared her feelings.
“You’re welcome.” He slid a hand through her soft hair again, then eased her aside and stood to check on his experiments.
“Tolemek?” Cas asked softly.
“Yes?”
“Do you mind if I stay here? The sword is in my cabin.” Her lips twisted with displeasure.
“If you don’t have any work you have to do, I expect you to stay here. How else would you murmur approvingly at my goos?”
She smiled again, and his heart soared. He had wondered if she would ever be able to do that again.
“Good,” she said.
• • • • •
Ridge couldn’t see the dragons anymore, but he did not allow himself to feel any relief, lest it be premature. Tylie, back in Duck’s flier after quick apologies and an even quicker stop to pick her up, had promised him she would look for caves where they might hide. They were following the rocky cliffs and steep slopes of the Blades now, heading north and further east as he led them in the direction of the mines. Had the visibility been better, he might have seen Galmok Mountain in the distance, but they were still a couple of peaks away and flying slowly. Duck’s battered craft could barely manage enough speed to keep them aloft. Ridge hoped the engineer he had worked with at the outpost was still stationed there.
There are a few caves on the southern face of that mountain up ahead, General Ridge. Tylie spoke quietly and tentatively into his mind.
He had never communicated with anyone except Jaxi and Sardelle this way, but he might as well get used to random voices in his head if he was going to spend so much time with budding magic users. Sooner or later, Tolemek would probably butt in too.
He looked back at Sardelle. Her eyes were closed, and he couldn’t tell if she was sleeping—or unconscious.
She’s not drooling, Jaxi informed him. Just a light doze.
Jaxi sounded tired enough to doze—and drool—herself.
Possibly so, but that would take creating condensation from the air, and that sounds like too much work right now. I suggest this cave. Jaxi flashed an image into his mind of a steep, scree-littered slope up ahead.
Ridge recognized the spot. He didn’t know these mountains as well as the coast back home, but he had still flown through them on his way into and out of the mining outpost.
Are you sure it’s necessary? Ridge asked. We’re less than twenty miles to the outpost.
It’s necessary, Jaxi said.
The dragon?
He beat up Phelistoth, left him for dead, and he’s gaining ground on us again. I can sense him at the edge of my range.
“Follow me, Duck,” Ridge said. “We’re going to investigate a cave.”
A long moment passed before Duck responded with a subdued, “Oh.”
I guess he figured out why, Ridge thought. He hadn’t wanted to say too much over the crystal, where Tylie could hear. Maybe she already knew Phelistoth had lost the battle, but if not, Ridge didn’t want to be the one to tell her.
I think he’ll recover eventually, Jaxi said. If the gold doesn’t go back for him. Dragons are good at healing themselves. Even if they don’t use their magic, their wounds regenerate quickly. It’s another reason why they’re so tough to kill.
As if Ridge and Duck had even been able to pierce the gold dragon’s scales. He’d felt utterly useless out there, and he’d been cursing himself since the dragon first appeared in the sky. Why hadn’t he demanded better weapons to take along? There had to be a weapon out there that would do something. After all, Angulus had a secret facility making bombs or rockets or whatever it was. But no, Ridge and everyone else had assumed that the ship that had a dragon-slaying sword and was actually looking for the dragon would be the one to find it. Why had he not suspected that he and Duck might chance across it? He hoped his m
essage had gotten through to someone who had been able to relay it to General Ort.
The cave came into view, a slit in the rock-covered mountainside. Ridge would have to fly sideways to enter it. Does it open up inside? he asked, hoping either Jaxi or Tylie was still monitoring him. So long as they didn’t monitor his mind at other, less mission-oriented times.
Such as when you and Sardelle are cloistered in your private room together? Jaxi asked.
Yes.
You’re noisy enough in there that it doesn’t take a telepath to figure out what you’re doing.
We are not noisy. Now, can you show me the cave interior, please?
Whatever the general wants.
Jaxi shared a picture of the inside. The floor wasn’t level, but with the thrusters, he thought they could land two fliers. Probably. It would be tricky.
“We’re going in there, Duck. It won’t be an easy landing. Let me go in first.”
“Yes, sir, but you should know… I can see the dragon.”
Ridge grimaced and glanced back. The mountainside was coming up quickly, so he couldn’t take the time for a long look, but it was enough. The rain had stopped, and the sun was dropping toward the horizon below the clouds. Its red rays gleamed on the dragon’s golden scales. The creature did not appear injured, at least not in any way that Ridge could see from here. There weren’t any hitches in his powerful wing beats.
“Understood,” he said, and tilted sideways for the approach.
Sardelle groaned.
“Headache?” he asked as they arrowed for the narrow cave entrance.
“Yes,” she said, her voice croaking.
If she was talking instead of speaking telepathically, Ridge guessed it was because her head hurt too much to contemplate magic.
Good guess, Jaxi informed him.
“We’ll land soon, and you can rest.” Maybe. Ridge glanced back at the dragon again—it was flying fast and gaining on them quickly. “I’m heading in, Duck. Keep me updated on the dragon.”
“Yes, sir.”
His flier glided between the walls of the entrance. He cut the power to the propeller, though that was risky before the thrusters had been activated. He couldn’t do that until they were upright again.
The inner chamber—and the back wall—came up quickly. He tilted the craft as he pulled the nose up, flicking the switches that ignited the thrusters. The energy crystal glowed as the power demand increased, and white light pulsed, illuminating the cave. Their forward momentum stopped a few feet from the back wall. There wasn’t room to turn around or be choosy about landing spots. He just hoped Duck would be able to avoid him. The cave wasn’t much wider than the wingspan of his flier.
“I’m in, Duck,” Ridge said, “but I’m taking up a lot of space.”
“Yes, sir. That’s what generals do.”
“Hope you’re not implying that I’ve gained weight since my promotion.” Ridge unbuckled his harness and stood in the cockpit. “I don’t spend that many hours at a desk.”
“Actually, I was thinking that you’ve been forgetting some meals,” Sardelle said. “You need to let your mother fatten you up a bit.”
“If Mom had her way, I’d be as round as that gray cat of hers.”
“Which one?”
“All of them.”
“Coming in, sir,” Duck said, his voice tense.
Ridge hopped down from the cockpit, hoping he wasn’t about to witness a crash. “Where’s the dragon, Jaxi?”
The cave darkened as Duck’s flier streaked into it. He was coming too fast. Ridge didn’t need to see Duck’s and Tylie’s bulging eyes to know that.
“Sardelle,” he blurted, wanting to tell her to jump down—or to do something magical to stop the crash—but there wasn’t time for either.
Duck yanked up on his flight stick so hard that the tail of his flier scraped the floor of the cave. The wheels and thrusters filled Ridge’s vision as the belly of the craft lifted toward him. Flames scorched the air in front of the cave entrance, but he was too busy skittering backward and lifting an arm to shield his face from the heat pouring out of the thrusters to notice.
The heat vanished abruptly, though the light remained. Ridge moved his arm so he could open an eye. The thruster jets were striking an invisible barrier, light and flame bending in midair. Then the thrusters went out, and the craft clunked to the ground. It was only inches from Ridge’s flier.
He rubbed his face, aware of how close they had come to destroying both fliers and having to find a way to walk to the outpost, which might not be possible. These mountains were about as hospitable as that dragon, especially at this elevation.
“Thank you, Sardelle, Jaxi, or whoever stopped that crash,” Ridge said. They would have to physically lift the fliers and rotate them around in order to fly out, but that was better than walking.
You’re welcome, Jaxi thought.
The flames that had been blocking the view beyond the cave disappeared. Ridge imagined the dragon swinging around to make an attempt at flying inside or perhaps Morishtomaric might stand on the perch and roast them with flames. Ridge grimaced, feeling very trapped. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone along with Jaxi’s suggestion. Maybe they should have kept going and tried to reach the outpost before the dragon caught them.
He hopped up and pulled his rifle out of the cockpit. It wouldn’t do a thing against Morishtomaric, but he felt better with it in his hands. Sardelle slid down beside him, her face grave as she turned toward the entrance. Duck was helping Tylie down while also staring at the entrance. She gasped in pain.
Remembering her fall, Ridge ran over to help. She’d been clubbed by a multitude of branches before Sardelle had managed to stop her descent.
To his surprise, she lurched toward him as soon as Duck lowered her from the cockpit. Her arms went around his shoulders, her legs curling up to her stomach, and Ridge nearly pitched over, surprised by her weight. After a moment, she dropped her legs to the ground, but did not otherwise release him. She cried into his shoulder, whether because she was in pain or because she thought her dragon had just died, he didn’t know.
“Uhm.” He struggled to get an arm free and hand his rifle to Duck, who seemed as surprised as he was. Then he attempted to pat her back consolingly, all too aware that he didn’t have any experience with kids or how to comfort them. True, she was a little old for weeping inconsolably in a father’s arms, and this wasn’t exactly a good time for it, but he didn’t know what else to do.
“Are there any women that you don’t get, sir?” Duck smiled as he accepted the rifle, but it was a quick gesture. He focused on the cave entrance.
“Nobody’s getting anybody.” Ridge knew it had been a joke, but he scowled anyway at the idea that anyone would “get” Tylie. She was too young for that, in mind if not in body. “Is our crotchety friend still out there, Sardelle?”
“Yes.” She came up behind him and rested a hand on his back.
Ridge wondered if he could foist Tylie on her. Women were good at comforting people, weren’t they? “Tylie, Jaxi said Phelistoth was still alive and could probably heal himself.”
She sobbed. “He didn’t want to fight,” she said, the words barely distinguishable. “He came for me. Why’d he do that? And why won’t he leave me alone?”
Ridge assumed the second he was the gold dragon, but it was hard to decipher anything Tylie said.
“What’s he doing?” Duck fingered the trigger on Ridge’s rifle as he watched the cave entrance. “He can’t fit in here, right?”
Ridge wasn’t so sure about that. It would be a tight fit, but unlike a flier, a dragon could fold its wings into its body. He eyed the sides of the cave, gauging whether there was any place for them to hide if Morishtomaric decided to pour in flames and turn this place into an oven.
“If he can’t, he could shape-shift into human form,” Sardelle said.
Ridge groaned. He had forgotten about that. “I don’t suppose dragons are any easier to kill if t
hey’ve changed into humans?”
I actually don’t know the answer to that. Jaxi sounded shocked that there was a hole in her knowledge base.
Not shocked. Just surprised.
Surprised it wasn’t covered in your dragon romance novels?
Jaxi glowered amazingly well, considering she had neither eyes nor a face.
“I don’t know, either,” Sardelle said. “I’m sure he would still be formidable.”
The entrance darkened, something outside blocking out the daylight. Ridge pried Tylie’s arms from around his neck and set her down, though it wasn’t easy to get her to let go. Bruises and bloody scrapes marked her face, and he grimaced, feeling like a poor mission leader for letting her get hurt.
“Go hide behind the flier, please,” he told her. He wished he had somewhere better to tell her to hide. That dragon fire could probably melt the fliers if Sardelle couldn’t shield them, and he didn’t know if she had the strength left to do so.
Tylie hid behind him.
Ridge grimaced again, wondering how he’d been designated the protector. He felt far too inept to take that role, but he put himself between her and the cave entrance.
You liked her ladybug, Jaxi suggested.
Is that why? I didn’t like it. I just told her to take it to the woods.
I’m just guessing. I can’t read her at all. She took quickly to guarding her thoughts.
A rumble came from somewhere above them. The ground shook.
“What now?” Ridge groaned, remembering the earthquakes in the king’s secret facility. According to Angulus, those had been caused by Morishtomaric’s pain. Ridge doubted the dragon was in any kind of pain this time.
Above them, deep within the rock, snaps sounded.
“Get back,” Sardelle whispered. Her hand shifted to his arm, and she tugged him toward the back wall.
Trusting her, Ridge said, “You heard her, Duck.”
He swooped Tylie over his shoulder and ran to the deepest part of the cave. Duck and Sardelle crowded into an alcove with them. The ground pitched, and Duck almost fell onto him. More rocks snapped, and a roar came from above them, or maybe from outside. The noise filled the cave, and it was too hard to tell.