Chapter 20
Keira stood in the castle courtyard and looked up at the man standing before her. Almost a week had passed since her marriage to Aaron, and this was the first of the guests to arrive for the binding ceremony. She’d expected the other dragons to share Aaron’s golden coloring, but this man had flaming red hair, while his eyes were a dark, sapphire blue. He was taller and heavier-set than Aaron, but like him, his skin glowed with light golden color. He raised a fist and placed it over his heart as Aaron strode towards him.
“Favian!” Aaron said. He grasped the man’s hand in his own and pulled him close as he thumped his back, then turned his attention to the pretty, petite woman standing at Favian’s side. “Cathryn! Welcome to Storbrook.” Aaron grabbed Keira’s hand and drew her closer. “Keira, this is Favian and Cathryn.” Aaron glanced around as Keira greeted them with a smile.
“Where are Bronwyn and Will?” he asked, but the words were barely out of his mouth when Keira saw two small forms hurtling towards them. Taking a quick step backwards, she narrowly avoided being knocked over as the two children flung themselves at Aaron. The combined force knocked him off balance and he tumbled to the ground as shrieks of “Uncle Aaron” rang through the air.
“Urgh, you monsters,” Aaron growled in mock ferocity. The children climbed onto his chest and wrapped their legs around his waist as he playfully wrestled with them in the dirt. He looked up and met Keira’s eye with a grin.
“Will! Bronwyn!” Cathryn’s words cut through the air, laden with horror and embarrassment at the antics of her offspring. “You’re behaving like a pair of beasts in front of your new aunt,” she scolded. “Get up now. And Aaron!” She swung a ferocious look at the man lying prone in the dust. “You should be equally ashamed, behaving like a lunatic.”
Aaron pushed himself to his feet, ruffling the children’s hair, the grin never leaving his face as he reached over to Cathryn and pulled her into an embrace.
“It’s wonderful to see you again, Cathryn,” he said. “It didn’t seem quite like you until you started yelling at me.”
Cathryn pulled away with a mock scowl which quickly turned into a laugh.
“You really are a monster, Aaron,” she said. “I’m not sure what Keira saw in you, but it’s a good thing you acted so quickly, before she saw how truly dreadful you are.”
“I know,” said Aaron, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “A monster most terrible. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to lock her in one of the turrets as soon as you all leave. That way, I can have my wicked way with her whenever I please.” He grinned at Keira as the heat rushed to her cheeks.
“Hmph,” was Cathryn’s response. “I suspect that you can have your wicked –”
“So, Aaron,” Favian dropped his arm over Aaron’s shoulder. “Who else can we expect to see over the course of the next few days?”
“Will Uncle Aaron really lock Aunty in a turret, Mama?” asked the little girl. Cathryn glanced around, surprise suffusing her features when she saw her children a few feet away. She blushed, but held her hand out to her daughter. Favian was saying something to Aaron, and they started to wander away, but not before Aaron threw Keira a quick wink.
Keira smiled to herself as she turned to examine the children. Bronwyn was a girl of around five or six with big brown eyes, her gaze solemn and intense. Brown pigtails, splashed with coppery tones, hung down the sides of her face, and bits of grass and twigs were tangled in her hair after her romp on the ground. Her brother, older by a couple of years, stood beside her, his height and size suggesting that he would have the big build of his father.
“No, silly,” he responded, answering the question addressed to their mother. “Uncle Aaron is just teasing. He’d never lock someone in the tower unless they’d been really naughty.” He stopped and turned an appraising look on Keira. “Have you been naughty, Aunty?”
Cathryn gasped in horror, but Keira burst out laughing.
“Are you Will?” she asked, smiling when he nodded. “Well, I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance, Will. I’ll try very hard to not be naughty. I really don’t want to be locked in the tower. What about you? Will you be good while you are visiting us?”
“Well,” responded the boy doubtfully, “I can try.” A small frown furrowed his forehead, before suddenly smoothing out as he grinned. “But Uncle Aaron won’t lock me in the tower, even if I am naughty. Isn’t that right, Mama?” he asked, turning to his mother.
Cathryn looked at him sternly for a moment, although a smile tugged at her lips. “Well, that depends. The Master can’t allow dragons to do whatever they want.”
Will nodded solemnly. “I’m a dragon, you know,” he said to Keira. “At least, I will be one day.”
“Me too, me too,” shouted Bronwyn.
Will gave her a look of withering scorn. “You’re just a little girl. I’ll be a dragon long before you.”
“Now, now, children,” said Cathryn. “Run off and play while I talk with Aunt Keira.”
Needing no further encouragement, the two children took off across the courtyard, chasing a frightened chicken before veering towards the gardens. Cathryn watched them indulgently for a moment, then turned back to Keira with a grin.
“They can be little monsters, but I do love them. Now, believe it or not, this is my first visit to Storbrook Castle, so I’m most eager for a tour. I was so pleased when I heard Aaron had finally found someone, and now that I’ve met you, I think we’re going to be wonderful friends.” Pulling Keira’s arm through her own, she led Keira across the courtyard and through the door.
Storbrook Castle was a hive of activity over the next few days as more dragons and their mates continued to arrive. Most of the guests arrived late at night, gliding undetected through the dark night sky and arriving through one of the large windows above the sheer rock face.
“We’re not going to have someone fly into our chambers in the middle of the night, are we?” Keira had asked Aaron worriedly when the first guests started arriving.
“No, my sweet,” Aaron replied with a snort. “They know better than to come uninvited into their Master’s personal chambers. Just in case, Thomas has marked the different rooms so each guest knows where to go.”
Owain and Margaret, Favian’s parents, were the next guests to arrive. Owain was Aaron’s uncle, and also one of five clan elders who served as advisors to the Master. As both an elder and surrogate father, Owain would perform the blood-binding ceremony.
As Owain stepped into Aaron’s presence, he dropped to his knee and placed his right hand in a fist over his heart.
“Master,” he said, his eyes on the ground.
“Welcome, Owain,” Aaron replied with a nod. Owain rose to his feet and gave his nephew an appraising look then clasped him around the shoulders and pulled him forward into an embrace.
“It’s good to see you, Aaron.”
“And you. Let me introduce my wife, Keira.”
Owain turned to Keira. “So this is the girl,” he said. “She’s quite a beauty, Aaron, and she must be quite an extraordinary women to have won your heart.”
“She is, indeed,” replied Aaron, reaching out to grasp her hand.
Owain nodded, then startled Keira by pulling her into an enveloping hug. From the corner of her eye she could see Aaron laughing, until he gently pried her out of Owain’s arms.
“Careful uncle, she hasn’t had dragon blood yet.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Owain said.
Margaret stepped forward with a gentle smile and grasped Keira’s hands in her own.
“If Owain seems a bit overwhelming, it’s because he despaired of Aaron ever finding someone to love! We are delighted to welcome you into the family, my dear.”
“Thank you,” Keira said.
More guests continued to arrive. Favian’s sister, Ayleth, came with her human husband in tow. She was beautiful, and carried herself with regal gra
ce and a cool assurance, and like the other dragons, her skin glowed as though lit from within. She nodded at Keira when Aaron introduced them, but offered no warm words of welcome.
In complete contrast to Ayleth were Aaron’s aunt Beatrix and her husband James. Beatrix was a warm, matronly woman, and she immediately encircled Keira in a fleshy embrace, pronouncing how wonderful it was that Aaron was finally settling down. She too had the inner glow that seemed to characterize all dragons, and her ease and familiarity made Keira feel part of the family.
Guests continued to arrive over the next few nights. If the servants wondered why people arrived so silently under cover of darkness, Keira never heard any whisperings when she sat with them in the Great Hall for meals. She could only suppose that Thomas had concocted a story that presented at least a passable explanation for the strange nightly activity. Each morning, Aaron would enthusiastically introduce Keira to the latest arrivals, and it was clear from the warm welcome Aaron extended to each new guest that he was very fond of his clan members. In fact, only one guest was met without pleasure.
“Jack arrived last night,” Aaron said one morning. “Although a request to attend was sent to all dragons, he was one guest I was hoping would decline the invitation.”
“Why?” she asked. “Who is he?”
“He’s the son of my father’s cousin, and is the black sheep of the family. Or perhaps I should say black dragon. He runs wild, with no regard for others, either dragon or human.”
“Weren’t you like that for a while?”
Aaron glanced at Keira for a moment before turning away and moving to the window. Leaning his shoulder against the wall, he gazed out at the mountains surrounding the castle.
“It’s not quite the same,” he said. “My behavior was fueled by anger and hurt – not that that makes it right, of course,” he added hurriedly. “But Jack is cruel. He cares for no-one but himself. He flouts the rules whenever possible, and snubs his nose at me.”
“Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“Of course I’ve tried,” he said wearily. “I can banish him, but that won’t keep him away. And when he returns, I’ll be forced to kill him.”
“I see.”
Aaron turned back to face her with a strained smile. “Exactly,” he said. “He’s here for a reason, and the only one I can see for him coming to Storbrook is to force my hand. I don’t doubt that he’ll do something while he’s here to overstep the mark, and I’ll have no choice but to banish him.”
Keira walked over to where Aaron stood and wrapped her arms around him, leaning against his chest as he folded his arms around her.
“You’re a good man, Aaron Drake,” she said. “I know that you feel responsible for each dragon, but it sounds to me like Jack has made his own choices, and must accept the consequences of those. You are not answerable for his actions.”
“You’re right, of course,” he responded. “But it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“You’ll do the right thing, Aaron,” she responded, lifting herself onto her toes to kiss him. “Now, let’s get dressed so that I can meet this dreadful relative.”
Whatever Keira had expected when she met Jack in the hall later that morning, Aaron by her side, it wasn’t the handsome man who greeted her with a flourishing bow and a kiss on the hand. His coloring was dark – jet black hair pulled into a ribbon at the nape of his neck, and silver eyes that flashed when he smiled at her. His high cheekbones and fine features were almost feminine in their beauty, but his eyes were cold, making his smile seem cruel.
“Cousin Keira,” he said softly, leaning towards her so that his breath brushed her face. “It is so wonderful to meet the woman who has tamed this particular dragon. I’ve heard that Aaron is quite smitten.”
“Enough, Jack,” Aaron said, his voice sounding harsh after Jack’s smooth murmur. Placing his arm around Keira’s shoulders, he pulled her close to his side.
“Now, now, Aaron,” Jack responded with an airy wave of his hand. “No need to show your claws. I was just being friendly.”
“Stay away from my wife while you’re here, Jack.”
“You cannot expect me to pass up the chance of getting to know my new relative, can you?” He glanced back at Keira. “She looks like a pretty, young thing.” Aaron’s arm tightened around Keira’s shoulder, and Jack grinned. “So it looks like the rumors are true, Aaron. You have fallen in love! It will be interesting to see how far you’ll go to protect her.”
Aaron frowned. “Come, my sweet,” he said to Keira.
Jack’s voice trailed after them as they walked from the hall. “Don’t worry, Aaron, I have no intention of harming your wife.”
“What was that about?” Keira asked as they rounded the corner.
“Nothing. Just don’t allow yourself to be alone with Jack. He can be charming when he chooses, but his intentions are never honorable.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I can look after myself.”
“I know you can,” he said, “but I’d rather you didn’t find yourself in a situation where you had to.” He kissed her gently. “I have business to attend to with the elders,” he said. He stared at her for a moment, then yanked her into his arms and kissed her deeply. She was panting when he pulled away. “That’s so you don’t forget that you’re mine,” he growled in her ear.
“How could I forget that?”
“It seemed prudent to remind you.”
“Hmm,” she said. “Well then, perhaps you should remind me again – my memory does seem to be a little deficient of late.” He grinned and brushed his lips against hers before walking away.