Page 51 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

“Is your arm all right? It isn’t hurting from carrying me?” I held myself up by my grip around his neck as much as possible to avoid putting strain on his injured arm.

“It’s nearly all the way healed.” Evander shrugged, which shifted me in his arms. “I’m a dragon. I heal fast even by fae standards.”

“That’s good.” I drew in a deep breath, my heart pounding. Time to stop stalling. “Clarissa told me what it means when a dragon gives someone a piece of his hoard.”

For a moment, Evander froze, his wings going limp. We dropped several feet.

I squealed, tightening my grip around his neck. “Don’t forget to fly!”

He flapped his wings, halting our fall. “Don’t surprise me while flying!”

Right. Having this conversation while over a hundred feet in the air probably wasn’t the smartest thing. But it was the best way to ensure this conversation was fully private.

And, maybe, I’d thought this would be more romantic up in the air with me snuggled in his arms. Guess I should have thought through the possibility of being nearly dropped.

Evander peered down at me, his face slightly flushed. “Did she explain…everything? About…”

“That dragons usually only give a piece of their hoard to their mate? Yes.” I searched his amber-blue eyes, my chest squeezing almost painfully tight in the hope of what I’d find there.

His gaze darted away from mine, his face flushing even deeper red. “I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t want to pressure you. You were sacrificed against your will. Technically, you’re my captive.”

“I’ve never been your captive.” I eased my grip around his neck. I’d assumed his flushed face was from embarrassment, but it could be I was partially choking him as well. “More like a guest that was unwillingly thrust upon you. Unwilling for both you and me.”

“Still, by the Laws of Bindings of the Fae, you’re legally my captive since I’m the one who took you from the Human Realm.”

“If I’ve figured out those bindings right, that’s something that can be changed, easily enough.” I shrugged. This conversation wasn’t exactly headed where I’d wanted it to go.

“Yes, but I’m…I’m the dragon. I’m the thing your village elders used to scare you for so many years.” Evander’s arms tightened around me, his gaze still focused anywhere but on me.

“You’re nothing like the dragon portrayed by my village elders.” I relaxed my grip on his neck, instead resting one hand on his jaw, all but forcing him to look at me even if he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “You’re kind. Respectful. So very, infuriatingly considerate.”

His throat worked, his skin hot beneath my touch. “Nessa…”

I ran my thumb over his appealingly scruffy jaw. “I’ve seen the care you take with your hoard…and I don’t just mean your hoard of stones. You hoard your friends, taking on their burdens as your own and giving of yourself beyond what they’d ever ask. You hoard the gnomes, seeing that they are cared for even as they take on a dangerous job in your mountain. And like it or not, you have a hoard of maidens.”

Evander opened his mouth, as if to protest.

I pressed my finger over his mouth. “Don’t deny it. You have a lingering sense of responsibility to all the sacrificed maidens, regardless of where they’ve settled and how happy they now are.”

Beneath my finger, Evander’s mouth curved into that wryly lopsided smile. When he spoke, his lips brushed my finger, his breath warm. “I suppose, when you put it that way. But I’d rather you didn’t. Saying I have a hoard of maidens makes me sound rather too much like the type of dragon I don’t want to be.”

I smirked to convey my utter unrepentance. Then I tightened my grip around his neck, bracing my elbow against his chest to bring my face closer to his to better meet his gaze. “You expend so much of yourself to care for others. You need someone to take on those cares alongside you. Yes, I know Phoebe and Dorrian take on as much as they can. But, Evander, you are my hoard. I will take on your burdens as mine. I will care for the gnomes, the rock polishers, the other sacrificed girls alongside you. I will carry pocket gyros and explore tunnels and face stone gremlins because I belong here with you.”

“Nessa.” His arms tightened around me, his amber-blue dragon eyes filled with a longing disbelief, as if this was his candle and he didn’t dare light it to look upon the future I was offering.

I lowered my voice, my face only inches from his. “So I’m asking you. Please kiss me already. Just don’t forget to keep flying.”

“Are you sure?” Evander finally met and held my gaze.

“About the flying or the kissing part? I’m rather serious about both.”

“Good.” Evander gathered me closer in his arms. For a moment, his eyes went unfocused, and the beat of his wings stuttered. His face shifted, turning more fae and less dragon even as his wings remained. Then, he pressed his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss.

Infuriatingly polite dragon. I tugged him closer and deepened the kiss.

Not that he seemed to mind one bit. He matched me, his arms strong around me, his wings providing a steady beat in time with our hearts.

I’d been right. Kissing among the clouds was, indeed, quite romantic, as long as the dragon I was kissing remembered to keep flying.

---