Chapter 29
Keira’s father lay on the ground in the clearing, his wife crouched beside him. Smithy stood a few feet away, his eyes not leaving the prone figure as the color slowly returned to his skin and his rasping breath steadied. The dragon stood behind Keira as she knelt beside Father and took his hand, smiling when he turned his head towards her.
“Where’s the dragon?” he asked, his eyes seeking out its great form. “Your mother says he spilled his blood over me, healing my wounds.”
Keira nodded. “Dragon blood heals, and he saved your life. He’ll carry us back to Storbrook, where you can rest and recover.”
Mother turned to face Keira, dismay shrouding her features. “Carry us?” she asked in a whisper, casting a furtive glance at Aaron. “That creature may have helped your father, but surely you don’t expect me to go near it. It’s a wild animal. It could turn on us at any time.”
“Mother,” Keira replied patiently, “he’s not going to hurt us. He’s already helped Father – surely that shows that he means us no harm. And I’ll be there, too. You won’t be alone.”
“I’m not sure –” Mother said as Father clasped her hand.
“Jenny,” he said, “Keira’s right. There’s no need to fear the dragon. With all that it’s already done for us, we owe it some trust. Let it take us back to Storbrook.”
Mother dropped her head, nodding her acquiescence. Squaring her shoulders, she stood up and turned to face Smithy.
“Thank you for staying with us,” she said.
“Yes,” Keira said, rising to stand beside her mother. “And please let people know that there is no need to fear the dragon.”
Smithy shot a furtive glance at Aaron before nodding. “I’m sorry for all the trouble we caused, Mistress Keira. And for your injury,” he said, turning to Father. He glanced once more at Aaron, then turned and walked away, disappearing between the trees.
“What do we do with him?” Keira asked, pointing at the reeve lying on the ground. He was slowly regaining consciousness, groaning in pain as his breath rattled through his chest.
“Leave him,” Father said, pushing himself onto his elbows to look at the man. “The others will come back for him eventually. In the meantime, he’s suffering his just desserts.”
“But he could die,” Mother protested.
Father just shrugged. “Perhaps the dragon wants a meal.”
Mother gasped in horror, but Keira saw an amused glint pass between Father and the dragon. Planting her hands on her hips, she shot each of them a glare before turning to her mother.
“He’s not going to eat the reeve,” she said. “Now come, help me get Father on his feet.”
It took a while for Keira to get her parents onto Aaron’s broad back, where they settled behind his neck, Mother shaking with nervousness and Father gasping from exertion. Keira climbed up last of all and positioned herself between Aaron’s spread wings. A few moments later they were in the air as Aaron glided on wind currents which carried them upwards towards the summit of the mountain. Although he flew slower than usual, it didn’t take long for him to reach Storbrook, where he dropped into the courtyard as people scrambled to get out of the way as he landed. Thomas ran out to meet them as Keira slipped off the dragon.
“My father’s been badly injured,” she said to Thomas. “Please arrange for a bedchamber to be prepared, and ensure that my father has all he needs to aid his recovery.”
“Yes, milady,” Thomas responded. He placed a hand on Father’s back and gave him his support as he led him away, while Mother hovered at his other side. Keira watched them go, then turned to face Aaron. Before she had a chance to say anything, he grabbed her in his claws and swung her into the air. He cleared the outer wall and flew out of sight of any observers before transforming in midair and pulling her against his chest. She gasped in surprise, but when his lips met hers, she wound her hands around his neck and hooked her feet around his, pulling him closer. He moaned, a low guttural sound, and slipped his hands beneath her thighs, molding her body to his. His wings beat gently as they hovered in the air, and Keira slid her hands down his back and caressed the place where they broke through his skin. She could feel the powerful muscles just below the surface, flexing beneath her fingers as they moved the enormous appendages through the air.
“You were such a wild creature today,” Keira said when he pulled away.
“Hmm,” he murmured, dropping kisses onto her shoulder. “Were you scared?”
“A little,” admitted Keira. “You looked so ... lethal. For a moment you didn’t look like you at all.”
Aaron pulled away at her words and gazed down into her eyes.
“I’m always me, my sweet.” He drew her back into his arms and rested his chin against the top of her head. “It’s difficult to explain, since you’ll never experience it. Sometimes I have to allow the monster inside me to take control, but I am allowing it. The creature within never trumps who I am. I may allow it to take the reins, but I – the moral, rational, thinking man that I am – am still in ultimate control. There may have been times in my angry past when I allowed the beast to be dominant, but even then I was still in control – I gave the beast the power to do whatever it wanted.”
Aaron sighed in frustration as Keira struggled to understand. “I’m making it sound like there are two creatures warring within me, but that’s not right. I am man and beast at the same time, and together they make me who I am.” He paused and pulled back to look at her. “Is any of this making sense?”
Keira considered for a moment before slowly replying. “Yes, in a way. I think what you’re trying to tell me is that you’re still you, even when you look very ferocious, and you could never hurt me.”
“That’s it.” His face broke into a grin. “I, the man and beast merged into one, love you.”
“And I love you too, my wonderful, scary monster.”
Laughing, Aaron lowered his lips onto hers, kissing her deeply. She could feel his desire pressing against her, and she responded hungrily, fanning the flames of passion as he hurriedly propelled them through the window of their bedchamber.
The sun was already slipping towards the western horizon when Keira rose from the bed and reached for a gown. Aaron watched as he lay over the quilts, and Keira allowed her eyes to wander over his long body in appreciation, before slipping the garment over her head.
“Aaron?” she said as she smoothed down the gown.
“Hmm?”
“Why did it take you so long to get back to the clearing?”
“I need to prepare myself.”
“Prepare yourself, how?”
“You’ve already told me that I appeared more ... wild ... than before,” he said. “When I’m with you, I’m more in touch with my humanity, so I needed to let the dragon out. Also, the longer I stay in human form, the weaker I become. I needed to build my strength.” He rolled onto his side to face her as Keira sat down at the edge of the bed.
“How do you do that?” she asked.
His eyes met hers. “I needed the taste of fresh blood,” he said bluntly.
Keira swallowed as she returned the gaze, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Human blood?”
“No.” He stroked her leg as he spoke. “I tracked and killed a deer in the woods. But I was never far away. Perhaps too far for you to hear me, but never so far that I couldn’t hear you.”
“You stayed near the men even though you were hunting?”
“No,” he said. “I stayed near you even though I was hunting. I would never leave you unprotected. You are my life.”
“Oh. I’m glad,” she whispered. She bent down and kissed him, then pulled away and swatted him with her hand. “Come on, lazy bones. We cannot linger here all day.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back against his chest. “Why not?”
“Because my parents are here,” she said. “I need to ensure my father is comfortable.”
“You s
hould look to your husband’s comfort first,” he whispered in her ear.
She laughed and pulled herself away. “If I tend to your comfort any more, you’ll turn into a very fat, lazy dragon.”
“Fat? With all the exercise you give me, that’s impossible,” he said with a leering grin.
“You’re impossible.” she said. “Now come on, get up.”
Aaron smiled, but did not release her hand. “Actually, there is one more thing we need to discuss, my sweet.”
“Oh?” She looked at him in surprise. “What’s that?”
“The fact that you followed me when I told you explicitly to wait here.” His voice was gentle, but beneath it Keira could hear an undercurrent of steel.
“Oh,” she gulped. “Well, you see ...” Her voice trailed off as Aaron lifted an eyebrow questioningly. She took a deep breath and tried again. “I didn’t follow you,” she said. “Mother insisted on returning home, and I couldn’t let her travel alone.”
“It didn’t occur to you to ask Thomas to accompany her? Or even better, prevent her leaving?”
She straightened the sleeve of her gown. “I thought if I went with her, I could help,” she whispered. “I couldn’t bear the thought that you might be injured, or worse.”
“Keira,” he said. “I’m a dragon.” His voice was filled with incredulity. “The chances that I would be hurt or killed by the reeve and his men were infinitesimal. The chances of you being hurt or killed, however, were incredibly high, as was proven today.” He gestured to her arm, which nonetheless was now completely healed.
“Yes, I know.” She rose from the bed and started pacing. “And I’m sorry that I made things more difficult for you, but I was concerned. I don’t think I could live without you.”
Aaron sighed and got off the bed, grasping her by the shoulders and looking down into her eyes. “I do understand,” he said. “The only thing I’m afraid of losing is you. But I cannot understand why you would risk your frail, human life in order to protect a dragon – a creature that is practically unvanquishable.”
Keira smiled as she placed her hands on either side of his face, looking deep into his golden eyes.
“It’s called love, Aaron,” she said. “And I love you. I cannot promise that I won’t do something foolish again in my feeble attempts to keep you safe, but I will heed you next time you ask me to stay behind.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on his lips before adding, with a sly grin, “Even though the waiting will probably drive me crazy, and you’ll return home to a woman demented.”
“At least you’ll be alive,” he rejoined with a laugh. “And perhaps you’ll be more amenable.”
She raised her hand to swat him and he caught it, then caught the other one as it too flew through the air. Holding her imprisoned in his grasp, he kissed her deeply. Her knees went weak and she placed her hands against his chest, leaning her weight into him; but when he released her, she shoved him away with a laugh and darted behind a chair.
“Come now, milord,” she chided, “Isn’t someone past the century mark too old to play games? Get yourself suitably attired for someone of such advanced age, and accompany me to my parents’ chambers.”
She soon learned her error in thinking she could best a dragon in physical prowess: she was on the ground, rolling with laughter, before he finally released her and dusted off her gown. He was still grinning when a few minutes later they left their chamber in search of her parents.