Page 23 of Redeeming the Dragon

And that was that. Even if I had been capable of restraining him further, I was too stunned to do so. The stranger rose off the bed, which creaked as his weight left it. A mere step or two into the darkness, and he was lost from view. I heard no doors open or close. Heard no footsteps departing. He was simply there one instant, then he was not.

Bewildered, I sank back onto the firm mattress, feeling the warm sheets and blankets against the bare skin of my feet and ankles.

“His mate,” I whispered aloud. “His mate! How is this possible? Mated to a dragon? What manner of nonsense is this?”

Much as I wanted to reject the strange notion out of hand, one thing kept me from it.

The Warkin, the dragon-man, had saved my father.

Against all odds, a dragon had found our small island amid a chain of others in the Jeweled Isles. Not only found it, but, as he’d said, plucked my father out of the ocean, saving his life, then flown him directly home to us. How, unless there was magic involved? Dragons were very mysterious creatures. No one knew them better than the Warkin, the people who bore their name—the Dragonkind. My knowledge of the creatures was limited, to say the least, and yet I could not imagine a dragon, even with their spectacular abilities, being able to draw a single human out of a terrific storm at sea, unless he wereeither in precisely the right place at the right time, or had been drawn to the spot, as he’d claimed.

“He sensed Father in the storm because Father is kin to me. He was able to find our island and bring Father home…because he could sense me.”

Trying to reason out the matter, I whispered the words aloud. I had lived this impossible adventure, yet it still made no sense. I was merely Lorna of the Jeweled Isles. I had no magic. There was nothing special about me. I was the youngest daughter of a minor chieftain, living a quiet, simple life amidst a rough and hearty people. How could I be the mate of a dragon?

The simple answer was, I couldn’t. The beast, the man, was lying. And yet…here I was, his prisoner in a magical cave of stone, shut in by the secrets he would not tell me and the bits of truth that he had. What my future held as his so-called mate, I couldn’t predict. However, as I lingered there in the dark, my mind and heart in turmoil, clenching and unclenching my fingers to prove to myself that I was still alive, I was still awake, and I was not dreaming, I made one radical decision.

If this was magic, then it could be broken. I knew not how. I knew not when. But I pledged myself to that end. A dragon’s mate or not, I was Lorna of the Jeweled Isles, and I would forge my own destiny.

Chapter 13

When I decided I would not live like this, a prisoner of a dragon-man who claimed I was his mate, I knew my plan would require forethought. I could not simply demand the Warkin return me to my island. What good would that do? He’d brought me here against my will, so he would not care that I wished to go back.

No, I would have to think of another way to convince him to take me home and allow me to stay there.

That night, the night I first confronted my prison warden, the night he told me I was his mate, I could not sleep. He’d left my room, my bed, which gave me space to think, and that is all I did for the rest of the night. Think, and think, and think.

Would it be better to go along with him? To pretend to be his mate? To feign acquiescence? Was pretense the key to liberty?

I abhorred the idea. I was not a pretender. I was unsure I could feign anything that well. Even if I could, what then? I pretended to agree I was his mate…what next? Might he insist on marrying me?

I shuddered at the idea, even as my rebellious mind recalled the memory of his warm hand touching my face. Of how his skin had felt…

Well, I thought, sitting up in the darkness, tugging and twisting my nightclothes into place, truthfully, I was not sure how it had felt. It had not felt frightening. Or repulsive. Or cold. Or clammy. Or even dangerous. But what did that signify? Plenty of people did not come across as those things, even if they were.

Looping my arms around my upraised legs, I rested my chin on my knees, squinting into the darkness.

If I could not feign being his mate, could I take the pretension a different direction?

I longed for home. That was true. I’d been in this magical cave mere days, and, already, my loneliness deepened. I wished desperately to see my parents, my sisters. I wanted to let them know that I was alright—that the dragon who had carried me off had not devoured me, despite what we had all feared. I wanted someone to talk with—someone who wasn’t a mysterious dragon shapeshifter visiting my bed late at night and leaving before morning.

Might I convince him to take me home? At least for a visit? What then? I’d have to behave myself and play the long game. Go home, and create memories to live on when I returned to this cave. Have him bring me home again. Create more memories. Come back to his haunt. Live by his rules. Have him take me home again for a visit. And then…what? Sighing, I pressed my face to my knees.

I needed to buy myself time.

Which made me chuckle aloud, grimly.

Time.I raised my face, glancing about the dark cavern room.I’ve nothing except time.

I needed to find a productive way to spend the time, while simultaneously earning my captor’s trust. This would not, I feared, be a shortmission. It might be a long one. It might take weeks. Months. Possibly years.

But I would prevail.

I had no intention of remaining captive to a beast for the rest of my life. I was far too young for that. I would redeem myself from the dragon’s captivity if it took every last year and breath in my body.

The idea came to me the following morning, while I was eating breakfast. Once it struck, I hurried through my meal, shoved the plate away, and hastened back into my room. I checked that my hands were clean before opening the wardrobe. There, gleaming on the shelf, was the folded length of blue satin.

I stared at it for several moments, wondering if I dared. It was so beautiful, practically glowing in the magical lights of the cavern. What if I messed it up? What if I ruined it?

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