Page 40 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

But as Evander had pointed out, such a thing might be fun to witness, but it would likely scare the elders witless. In their panic, they’d do something drastic. Like killing the maiden sacrifices, thinking the dragon needed blood to be appeased.

We couldn’t risk it, especially not for a moment’s satisfaction.

Ending the sacrifices wasn’t going to be as simple as marching down into the village and claiming to have killed the dragon. Even if I showed up with the dragon’s severed head—which I obviously wasn’t going to do since killing Evander was not an option I was willing to entertain—the village elders would likely have me killed off as quietly as possible.

Whatever we did, it had to be done with a lot more care and thought.

I shook myself, forcing a smile. “All right. Enough difficult topics. I want to hear all about Dorrian and this little one. How did you meet Dorrian, especially if Evander was pretending to be the steward?”

The smile returned to Clarissa’s face. “Well, it turns out I was sacrificed on a night when Evander was inconveniently visiting his parents. So rather than leave me shivering in the cold, Dorrian hiked down the mountain to fetch me himself.”

“That sounds like a long, cold walk.” I shivered just thinking about all the snow. I hadn’t known to be grateful at the time for the quick, warm dragon flight I had experienced.

“It was.” Clarissa grinned, the light bright in her eyes as she spoke of falling in love.

She was happy. She had found a home here in the Fae Realm. Without being sacrificed, Clarissa never would have met the love of her life or had her daughter.

Had some of the other maidens found their way to happiness despite what had happened to them? Or were most of them like the woman I’d seen in the village, who had never recovered from what had happened to her?

Would I find where I belonged now? I couldn’t return home. Nor did I belong there anymore. I’d grown too much, seen too much, lived too much in the past few weeks.

Did that mean I should settle down in a cottage on this street next to Clarissa? Sneak visits back home to see my parents every once in a while?

Why did that feel empty and shallow, as if that plan, too, was missing something?

“How was your visit?” Evander’s voice washed over me as he flew me through the dusk back to the castle.

Well, eyrie.

“It was good. Thanks for bringing me.” I tried to surreptitiously swipe at my tearing eyes. It was just the cold air, nothing more.

“Of course.” Evander switched his direction slightly, putting the sunset in front of us. We soared over snowy peaks painted pink and orange before we landed at the top of a ledge. Evander set me back on my feet, changing into his fully fae form as he did so. “Would you like to watch the sunset? It’s spectacular from here.”

When I nodded, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of cushions. After setting those on the ground, he drew the massive wool blanket out of his pocket. In the fading daylight, I could see that it was the same blue as his tunic.

The village elders were wrong. Purple was definitely not the dragon’s favorite color.

I drew the blanket over my shoulders, then perched on one of the cushions. I held out the other half of the blanket. “There’s plenty of blanket for both of us.”

“I don’t need it.” Not looking at me, Evander lowered himself to the ground next to me, though he didn’t wrap the blanket over his shoulder.

“No, but you’re like a nice warm fireplace. I’d like you under the blanket with me.” I paused, realizing how that sounded, and my face heated. “Not like that. Just keeping me warm. But not like that either. Just…you know what I mean.”

His face flushing a hint pink, Evander huffed a rough laugh and drew the blanket over his shoulders until the two of us were bundled snugly underneath, though he left several inches of space between us.

I wiggled my toes in my boots. Between the wool blanket and the dragon heating the space, I was toasty warm. Cozy, even. Dragons were better than a hot rock for cold nights.

Along the horizon, the sun dipped lower, blazing colors across the sky.

I scooched a little closer to Evander, then rested my head on his shoulder. Perhaps it was presumptuous. But he was so warm. Perfect for snuggling. After the past few days—few weeks, really—I needed a moment to be held and feel truly safe.

Evander lifted his arm, his voice going rough even though he was fully fae at the moment. “Would it be all right if…”

“Yes.” Perhaps the word came out just a bit too quickly.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, surrounding me with his warmth.

So cozy. So snuggly.

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