Page 42 of The Promise Born
The fog left my mind just as the dragon landed across the courtyard, knocking leaves from the trees as it did. I squinted against the sunlight as I watched hit carefully. Did I recognize this dragon? Had my daydreaming convinced my brain that he had actually come to my home?
The dragon shifted, returning to true form, and when the dust settled, Asante stood in pants and an open top that showed his chest.
“Asante?” I stood and squinted. When I was sure it was him and not my imagination, I ran to him, slowing to a stop just a few feet away from him. “What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t send the jelly ones.” He looked at the small plate that sat on the ground where I was. Small bugs covered the plate and the remaining treats he loved so much.
“I didn’t.” I shook my head.
“Why did you leave?” He took his eyes from the plate to look at me again.
“You told me to.” I frowned. “Did you lose your memory when you fell?”
“My memory is fine. But since when do you listen to me?” He fussed.
“You were out of it. I planned to stay until you woke up, but Domin accused me of attacking you. It wasn’t safe for me to stay.”
“I heard.” He looked disappointed.
“But you question why I didn’t stay? I heard you cleared my name. Thank you.”
“Of course I did. They shouldn’t have blamed you at all. Who knows what would have happened to me if you hadn’t been there? And you were right. Trolls attacked me. I saw them just before they struck. I didn’t have enough time to adjust my path before I was hit.”
“I can’t believe they got that far into the territory.”
“None of us can,” he sighed. “We’re still trying to figure out how that happened. It looks like it might be an inside job. I have someone looking into it. Someone I know I can trust. The problem right now is that we don’t know how they got in or out without detection.”
“I’m sure Domin will figure it out.”
“Domin, sure.” He hesitated. “Either way, I won’t give up until I know the truth.”
“Why are you here?” Not that I wasn’t interested in what he had to say, but to me, there was something far more pressing.
He chuckled and dropped his shoulders. “That was an abrupt shift in topic.”
“Asante, I’m sorry, Prince Asante. I can’t stand here and pretend like it's not a big deal for you to be here right now. You said you never wanted to see me again.”
“I told you. You didn’t send my favorite. Those little jelly filled treats with the sugar dusting.” He pointed to the plate. “You won’t give them to me, but you will give them to the bugs?”
“You came all the way here for that?” I laughed. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“I took you from your home and forced you to live with me for those sweets. Do you think I won’t take a flight to see you for them?”
“Right. There isn’t anymore. I hate to tell you this, but you came here for nothing.”
“And-,” he continued. “You. I came here for you.”
“Okay, so youdidhurt your head when you fell.” I laughed. “Asante-,”
“Kiala. Do you love me?” He asked me.
“I-,” suddenly I felt overheated and like I would choke on the air.
“Do you want to be with me?”
“Asante- this isn’t-,” I didn’t have an answer.
“Don’t tell me what’s proper or what's acceptable. I’m asking you a question about what you want. That’s why you ran away, right? Tired of not getting what you want. So, tell me.” He stepped closer to me, and I looked up into his eyes. “What do you want?”
