Page 18 of Fire Dragon
“What do you mean?” He drank deep from his beer and finished it. She offered him another. He didn’t refuse.
“That I value what all of you do, what you’ve done for Dusane all these decades and in your case for over a century. Some regions, on the different continents, are in chaos beyond imagining. When that happens, it’s especially hard on women. Men tend to go crazy and the amount of assaults on females escalates.
“But Santos and the rest of you have made us safe here in Arranfar, except in Magiffe Province which is beyond your jurisdiction. The service you provide is one of the reasons I joined up. I wanted to be part of that.”
“You did great today, Emma, top-notch. Astonishing, in fact.”
“Even with the rookie mistake I made?”
His lips twisted. “It won’t be your last. Or mine. I’d become so comfortable with your abilities and so fast that I forgot to remind you. That mistake was on both of us. Besides, if you’ll remember, my inability to accept your initial mind-capture almost got us both killed before the battle even started.” He cut a chunk of steak, then added, “Your shooting is off-the-scale-sharp, by the way.”
“I love to shoot. Half my time at the training grounds is spent at the range.”
“It shows.” He sat back in his chair and held her gaze. “You have a solid work ethic. You’ll do, Emma, more than I think you realize.”
“Thank you. Your approval means the world. But I’ve only followed Santos’s training guidelines.”
“I call bullshit. You do more than that.”
She shrugged. “I might have added a small percentage of extra effort.”
“Like running ten-miles-a-day which is my point since Santos only recommends five.”
She lowered her gaze to her plate, cut a small bite of her steak then piled it with onions and mushrooms. She nodded, then slid her fork into her mouth.
“That’s a one-hundred-percent increase which isn’t a small percentage if you want to talk mathematics.”
“Mmm-huh.” She kept chewing.
He could see if he pressed her, she’d grow more uncomfortable, so he let it drop. But he wondered what drove her so hard.
He cut a few more bites and chewed each one thoroughly but set his gaze on the lake. There weren’t as many fish gathered around the churners, so he knew the sand was settling once more to the bottom, adding a new layer to the silt.
Right. He’d dreamed he was lying on the lakebed. It had been soft as cream.
With so many frequent windstorms, the sediment would have eventually built up to the point the lake would have disappeared. But there were trawlers that came through twice a year to remove a large amount of the buildup. In turn, the farms would purchase what was a rich fertilizer. Their valleys grew some of the finest produce in all Dusane.
“I don’t want to inconvenience you by being here. I’ll head out when I’m done eating.”
“Liam, are you aware that you’ve almost nodded off twice while eating and right now you’re holding your head up with your fist? It’s no problem for you to stay in my house. You can use the guest room. Anthony has you set up in there anyway.
“Logan often sleeps over, especially after he’s made one of the longer caravan runs or if a battle has been especially bad.”
“You’re kidding? I had no idea.”
“I’m close to the hanger is all. That’s how I got you up here. Proximity. It would have been the medbay otherwise.”
He repressed a shudder. The doctors liked to poke around when they had a patient to tend to. He remembered now that he’d begged her to get him away from HQ.
She clucked her tongue. “I wish I hadn’t said anything about Logan sleeping here. I don’t want him tormented because of it. I know what you warriors can be like.”
He scoffed. “I wouldn’t do that.”
She cocked her head. “No, you wouldn’t, would you?”
“No.”
“You’re a serious type. Even Logan says so.”
