Page 36 of Miles

“Of course. It’s not the sort of thing we can hide from our mates.”

Her gaze fixed somewhere over my shoulder, out the open doors. “And she loves him anyway. They’re happy together anyway.” As though she was surprised, or relieved.

“They are.”

The very fact that she was thinking along those lines gave me hope. The future was on her mind, as it was on mine.

“And how did you rescue me? Really?”

“I shifted and caught you on my back before you hit the rocks.”

“Wasn’t that a great risk?”

“Not so great. We were virtually alone.”

“That’s true—I don’t remember seeing anyone else out there. Not even you.”

“No, I was too close to the cliff for you to see me without looking nearly straight down.”

Her head fell back, dropping against the pillows. “If I knew you were there, I wouldn’t have jumped. I would’ve chosen another spot. I was that set on going through with it.” Her voice took on a wistful quality. “I’m still not sure if I’m glad or disappointed that you stopped me.”

“You’re still not sure? Even now?” I wanted to be her hero, to give her a reason to want to live again.

“I go back and forth,” she murmured with a wan smile. “Just being honest. When I was certain someone had come for me, I wanted to die. More than ever.”

“And now?”

“Now?”

Our eyes met, and her smile widened.

“Now, I’m starting to think about living. I don’t hate the idea.”

“I suppose that’s the best I can hope for at the moment. I’ll take it.”

She looked down at the casts, then back at me. “These? Ainsley said I wouldn’t need them much longer.”

“You probably won’t. You might not even need them now.” I grimaced, remembering one more aspect of her story which we hadn’t yet discussed. “You were very badly injured. You hit something.”

“I remember that. It hurt. I lost consciousness.”

“You needed special help. Our blood has healing qualities.”

She blanched. “You used your blood on me?”

“Not mine, specifically, but one of the dragons. It healed your internal injuries, which were extensive, and was used on your broken bones.”

“Oh, my.” She seemed to close in on herself, folding up in a way. She’d heard enough.

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have all of this thrown at you, all at once. But at least you don’t have to wear those casts for much longer. Right?”

“Right.” She went back to looking outside. “There’s a storm coming up. Closer all the time.”

“Yes. I noticed.”

Had I lost her? She seemed to be disconnecting. Shutting down. Commenting on the weather wasn’t a good sign.

She cut her eyes to me, her face sharp. “I didn’t know how close I came. You’re talking about serious internal injury, and I’m sitting here, thinking how close I came to dying anyway. Even though you caught me. And you know what’s more disturbing than anything else?”

---