Page 53 of Here Be Dragons

Then I realized I was towering over her, smoke coming from my nostrils, my hands clenched into fists. I must have looked very threatening indeed.

Fuck! This was not the way to convince my mate to listen to me.

I needed air. I needed time and space to breathe and think things through. Things would only get worse if I stayed right now. I didn’t blame her. Who knew what one-sided, biased version of the events that had transpired she had been shown.

I turned and stomped towards the door, throwing it wide, and stepped outside. Once the tropical evening air hit my skin, I let my dragon fully take over. I spread my wings and launched into the sky, letting every beat of my wings put distance between me and the one I’d thought would finally help me heal after all these years.

I flew across the ocean and allowed the wind to soothe my rage.

After a long flight, scanning the Pacific Ocean for a magical salve to appear out of nowhere to heal my emotional wounds but finding none, I headed back to Maui. My mind was clearer now.

Mostly, I was angry that my old life had come back to haunt my new one like a ghost. I’d moved to the other side of the planet to be rid of it. And I was angry that I was still unable to sayhis name or even mention him after so long. How much longer would he torment me? I could barely even remember his face or the sound of his voice, yet it still hurt like a fresh wound.

But…did it really?

No. This is different. New. Painful.

My dragon was right. It wasn’t the same raw, festering grief that had tailed me for so long. What was causing the hurt was the disappointment in Carly’s eyes.

I had to go make things right with her. If she refused to listen to me, maybe she’d listen to the artifacts. She must have only touched the ones in the wooden chest. Of course those would tell her a biased tale.

“Desmon! There you are!” Liam blinked into existence in the air in front of me.

“What are you doing here, Liam?”

“You just flew off so fast. We were worried, so I followed you. Eamon stayed with Carly.”

I hadn’t specified that they should both stay with Carly, given how helpless she was on her own, so naturally, they’d split up to cover us both. No matter: we were almost back anyway.

As we approached the archipelago, a sense of unease settled in the pit of my stomach. Something was wrong. Then I caught the slightest whiff in the air of a cloying perfume combined with ash and smoke.

Gillisandra!

Chapter 29

Carly

I was positively fumingas I marched down toward the beach. I couldn’t believe it: he hadn’t expressed any remorse at all! I didn’t know what I’d been expecting. Maybe an apology for being young and reckless? Or some indication at least that he regretted his actions? Certainly not that the villagers had deserved it. The freaking children hadn’t tried to slay him.

Then again, why was I so surprised? He had set Leonard and Leonard’s buddy on fire without a second thought. And he’d said it himself: dragons didn’t care about anyone else but themselves.

But I’d thought maybe Desmon was different.

I remembered the way he’d taken in a desperate woman and an orphan. The sweet way he tried to earn Q-Tip’s trust despite the bunny’s innate fear of predators. He treated those working at the museum well too, from what I gathered.

Would he really burn Darlington to the ground in a fit of rage? How could this be the same man?

I plopped down into one of the lounge chairs on the beach that faced the western shore. The sun was just setting, and the sky was a beautiful mix of pink, orange, and purple. The gorgeous display was completely at odds with the hurt and confusion I felt in my heart.

A particularly bright streak of orange had me suddenly remembering what it was like to be surrounded by Desmon’s flames. For me, it felt so warm and wondrous, like a loving touch. How could something so wonderful be so devastating?

He’d said that his dragon had recognized me as his mate. He’d used his fire to protect me. Suddenly, I was wondering what could be so important that he had felt he needed to resort to such deadly measures in that village. He had been trying to tell me, but I’d been so angry that I couldn’t listen. Now I wished I had.

A strong floral perfume wafted in my direction, and a woman with jet-black hair and a perfect body sporting a dark greenbikini approached my row of lounge chairs. Underneath the heavy floral notes, there was something that reminded me of burning wood. I’d never smelled anything like it. If it had been applied with a lighter hand, it might have made for an intriguing signature scent. As it was, I could hardly breathe.

Something about her unsettled me, especially when I realized she was looking directly at me. She grinned and showed sharp teeth that reminded me of Desmon’s when he was in dragon form.

I immediately knew it was Gillisandra.

---