Page 104 of Upon Buried Embers
I smile, excitement rising when he suddenly stills, eyes on my mouth.
Turning, I run my finger over the frozen petals as my cheeks heat.
“You like them?” He murmurs.
“I like the smell, but mostly, I love how beautiful they are whilst being guarded by such dangerous thorns.” I look into Rohan’s confused gaze. “They protect it, isn’t it wonderful? Youhave to be ready to bleed to be able to touch a rose, so much so that most won’t even try.”
He looks at me deeply, searching my gaze before he looks back to the roses. “Luckily, there’s already a thorn here to protect what’s beautiful.”
“Drogonah is quite a big thorn,” I smile, referring to him as the protector of the clan. I see him smirk before he shakes his head.
“I’m the only thorn here, Little Whisperer.”
I pause my ministrations on the frozen flower and peek at Rohan, tilting my head. “I don’t think everyone has to bleed if they were to touch you.”
I’ve seen him with his dragon, his horse and his people. He can be soft if he lets himself.
I pick a nearly thawed-out rose, careful of the thorns and hand it to him, unscathed.
He huffs out a laugh. “There will always be blood where I go.” He gets to his feet, holding out a hand to me. “It’s just that I clean it very well.”
I shake my head. “But you still protect.”
“Always.”
A pause.
“You like the idea of being protected?” He asks. “Has someone been that for you?”
“Been what?”
“Thorns?”
I scoff. “No.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Maybe you aren’t looking hard enough then.”
I go to ask what he means, but he’s already walking away, the rose still in his hand.
“Escor, do take care where you step if you plan on following the Little Whisperer around,” he calls back, and I turn to Escor as he looks at me, head tilted.
“Do you plan on following me around?”
A lick to my face is his reply.
Twenty Six
Elf
“Dragons, though large, are like untrained house cats. You need to be strong-willed against one,” Calian says, as he helps me feed the horses. “You also need to have respect for them, and they will respect you back.”
“Drogonah hates me.” I sigh. “It takes me three times as long as Rohan when he fetches heat stones. Sometimes he will heat it, sometimes he won’t.”
Calian laughs. “Drogonah doesn’t like many things apart from his Dragonbond. Ignore it.”
“He looks like he would rather eat me than help me whenever I enter the den.”
Calian looks over at me. “You’re like a snack to him, pay no mind.”
