Page 20 of Fallen for the Two-Headed Dragon

The emotions that welled inside her heart were foreign, far from the emotion she’d named love with Jackson. Whatever this was, it was new. New and different and equally as terrifying as it was thrilling. She craved more of it.

Lying between his heads, completely and utterly surrounded by him, she could almost forget that she had a life and family outside of this cave.

Chapter Twelve

Rathym

Rathym’s dreams were filled with his mate. The subtle dip of her waist, the feminine swell of her hips. Drops of water beading on her alluring bronze skin. In his dreams, he bathed himself in her light, the warmth of her setting ablaze a roaring fire to rival the Great Flame.

When he woke, the warmth was gone, replaced by a hollow ache.

His claw was bare, other than a Dana-sized imprint on the blanket. Frantic, he checked the faint thrum of their strengthening mate bond, which was even louder now that they’d coupled. There was no sign of danger. No sign of fear. Which could only mean one thing.

She left.

Fear niggled at the back of his mind, but he stamped it down with anger.

Rage.

An all-consuming fury filled Rathym. It seeped into all the pores he’d allowed filled by hope. Hope for what? For love?

Love was a thieving, misguided thing. A fickle emotion that drove the heart to blind the mind. Those under love’s spell destroyed their own lives in ignorant bliss. To have been tricked so thoroughly in his old age was laughable. It was not the first time he was carried away by such a cliché, but last time he’d been only a boy of ninety years, not even a full-grown male. Anyone else he’d loved in any capacity had perished.

He checked the dining table. No note was scrolled for him on the blank sheets of parchment. The quill and ink he’d gifted her appeared untouched since last night. How would he endure the reckoning of Luvon’s murderer whilst worried about his lost treasure? What if something happened before he could retrieve her? He had no idea how to keep her safe in the human world. His fearful wrath raised his fisted claw, ready to strike a blow to her beloved typewriter, when a rustle at the cave’s entrance steadied him. He downshifted so he could meet her face to face when he demanded an explanation.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!”

Dana reached for him. His muscles tensed in response, not wanting to shed the threads of fear weaved into his sinew. It was difficult not to allow his body to pop out of his smaller form with the height of his emotion. She didn’t seem to notice. How was she able to trust so easily? He’d been close to destroying his own property because—because why?

“Where were you?” he demanded. Hard as he tried, he could not keep the serrated edge from his tone.

“I hiked up to the tourist shop for some snacks, and you’ll never guess what I saw.”

She was out of breath, her words unsteady, her hands shaking.

“You dislike my food so?”

“What? No! You’re a master chef. I just got a crazy craving for some hot cheesy puffs.” She paused, seeming to assess him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

That she would pause her own distress to tend to his filled him with guilt.

He forced his shoulders to relax and pressed his lips to her forehead. She would never know just how close he’d been to a huge mistake that would have cost him everything. Everything, because nothing in his hoard mattered compared to his human treasure.

A crumpled piece of parchment was scrunched in her hand. The source of her worry. A perfect depiction of her face was plastered above red lettering. She held it out for him to inspect further.

“They think I’m missing. I haven’t spoken to my mom or my sister and who knows what story Jackson is telling everyone. Certainly not the truth!”

She paced the long side of the table, gesturing wildly as she spoke. Her bottom lip slipped behind worried teeth. She ran to her luggage and dug, coming up with the small device she’d planned to contact her employer with on their first morning together.

“Rathym, I have to call my mom. I really should go show everyone that I’m okay.”

She spoke hesitantly, carefully studying his face. He hated that. Hated that she felt the need to tread so carefully for him. Hated that he’d put her in such a position. Hated that he was not strong enough to let her go, even as he knew he was not strong enough to make her stay, either.

If only she knew what he’d been willing to do moments ago. He would have destroyed the beautiful words she’d written in the process. Would have ruined the image of him in her mind. Now here she was, pleading with him to believe in her. To trust that she would return to his side.

His hesitance cast a dejected shadow over her beautiful features. She stepped closer, cradling his face in her soft hands.

“I will come back to you. But I have to let my family know I’m okay.” She kissed the side of his mouth. “I know where I belong.”

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