Page 36 of Dragon Lord
If the goddess turned him into a man all the way…
The dragon would hate that more than anything in the world.
Einin’s blood chilled.
Would Draknart blame her for her part in the mess that meeting the god and the goddess had been?He might just leave her at Fern Lake and fly away.He no longer needs me.The stark truth left Einin staring at the spot where he’d disappeared into the woods.
Draknart didn’t need her for anything anymore, at all.
At first, he’d only wanted her for a quick swiving, then a quick meal.Then he’d decided to bring her to Belinus as a gift, but Belinus had not taken her.The god had not turned Draknart back into full dragon.And Draknart had swived her, a number of times, during the night.He was finished with her now.
Einin’s heart twisted painfully.
A fine fool she was.She muttered a few choice curses after him.Draknart had brought her to the faerie circle to give her to Belinus.But he didn’t.She should hate him.But she didn’t.
He had risked the wrath of the gods for her.And she wasn’t blameless either.Shehadtried, more than once, to kill him.
Can we not start anew?he’d asked earlier, in the water.But what did he mean?Did he mean they should part ways and pretend they had never met?
There went Einin’s heart twisting again.
She was in love with Draknart, had fallen for him like an empty-headed maiden.But Draknart didn’t love her back.
I thought you left,he’d said when he found her in the lake.Had he hoped that she’d leave?
Yet after he’d said that, he had drawn her into his arms.Maybe he had meant it as good-bye.His body had been aroused, but that seemed to be a permanent condition for him, and he’d made no effort to seduce her.He’d gone for a swim instead.And now he’d left her again.
Their passionate night in the cave had been overwhelming for Einin yet made her feel alive and awakened.Draknart, however, probably found her woefully inexperienced and inadequate.
But he said I was his!her brain screamed.
He meant for the night,doubt whispered.
What did she want to do?
She could not stay at the lake, near the faerie circle.She would not survive another encounter with the gods.Lingering at the entrance of their realm would be beyond foolish.
She could not return to her village.She would not survive that either.The image of the men, led by the priest, entering her hut with torches at dawn, was burned on her brain.
She thought of the young knight Draknart had flicked into the water.There was a village on the other side of Fern Lake.She could seek shelter there.But how would she explain appearing out of nowhere, alone and practically naked?
The knight had seen her with a dragon.If she appeared, unharmed… What if this village too branded her as a witch?
“What’s wrong?”Draknart strode from the woods with three dead rabbits dangling from his hand.He also brought an armful of dry branches.He looked around, checking for danger, then tossed the game on the ground.
“Just eager to be away from the gate.”While Draknart built a fire, Einin drew her sword and began skinning the rabbits, careful with their pelt.And once the fire was roaring, while they waited for the high flames to die down so the meat wouldn’t be scorched but evenly cooked, she scraped the inside of the pelts with her sword, then rubbed them clean with sand.
Draknart put the carcasses on a spit, the two of them working in silence.From time to time, Einin caught him looking at her meager coverings.She couldn’t see how he could find fault with them, since he had even less—nothing, in fact.She avoided looking at him as much as possible, especiallythatpart of him.Even thinking about their night together made the ache between her legs reawaken.She didn’t understand how it was possible that the ache could feel pleasant.
After they ate, they drank from the lake.Einin rinsed the skins, then combined them with what clothes she had left to provide a little better covering for herself.
Draknart shook his head.“We’d best head back.If you wish to come with me.”He held her gaze.“We’ll have to walk.I’m not certain how long the journey will take.”
Very unlike him to not even try to order her around.The lost look on his face, so unlike him, twisted Einin’s heart.She stood.“We’d better leave before the gods return.”
She could swear his entire body went slack with relief, but he said nothing.
They didn’t talk as they found an animal trail going in the right direction and followed it.She kept tripping.The trail was uneven.Their progress was painfully slow compared to the ease of flying.She missed sailing through the air.
