Page 12 of Dragon Fire

They dozed for a bit, and at some point in the night, Hrardorr returned. Seth must have guided the blind dragon into position above water on the wooden deck of the boathouse, but she wasn’t aware of the dragon’s presence until she woke to find the small building warm with the dragon’s breath.

Having Hrardorr nearby made her feel complete somehow. She didn’t fully understand it, but she felt deep in her soul that Seth and the curmudgeonly dragon belonged together. The only piece missing now was Gowan and Genlitha, she thought sadly.

In her fantasies, they could all be together as one big family—if Hrardorr chose Seth as his knight and Genlitha as his mate. So much depended on Hrardorr coming around and seeing what could be…if only.

Livia knew it wasn’t really fair of her to put it all on Hrardorr’s shoulders. Certainly, his disability—and his insistence on retreating from life because of it—was a major problem, but there were other things in their way as well. Her father, for one.

And she had no real idea what Gowan thought of all this. He was still very new to being a knight. He probably would have to make some major adjustments to his thinking to accept the idea of sharing his wife. Trios weren’t the norm anywhere in Draconia, except the Lairs. Seth had grown up with it, and so had Livia, to a certain extent. Gowan had not, and she didn’t know exactly where he stood on the matter.

Many knights never married. Either they didn’t find a woman to complete their circle or their dragons had not found mates of their own yet. So many things had to align for a family to succeed in the Lair. It was said the Mother of All guided the knights and dragons to the proper mates when the time was right, but still, many remained single.

After all, a dragon could have many knights during his lifetime. While partnering with a dragon allowed a knight to live hundreds of years longer than he would have normally, the dragon would still outlive the knight by many centuries. Unless they fell in battle. Unfortunately, that was starting to happen all too often now that open war had happened on at least two different fronts.

Livia put the troubling thoughts from her mind and snuggled into Seth’s side. She had to leave before dawn, but she still had a little time to enjoy being with him…and the dragon who had changed her life.

Hrardorr wasn’t surprised in the least when he returned from his late night swim to find Livia and Seth together. He couldn’t see them, of course, but he could hear their gentle whispers and the brush of skin on skin as he settled down to sleep.

Though Hrardorr had never taken a mate himself, he thought he understood how hard it must be for the young lovers to have been together, only to be kept apart by the unexpected arrival of Livia’s father. Hrardorr hadn’t met the man yet, but he’d heard plenty. The captain had a larger-than-life reputation that was the topic of gossip even up at the Lair.

Hrardorr heard a lot of gossip. He didn’t seek it out, but somehow, a lot of the beings in the Lair didn’t always consider that he could hear as well, if not better, than he always had. It was only his vision that had been affected by his run-in with skith venom.

He tried not to spend a great deal of his time at the Lair, but he could only go fishing and swimming for so long. And his suite was fine, but lonely. He needed to be around others, even if he didn’t really want to talk much. As a result, he spent a lot of time sitting curled up in front of the fire in the great hall, pretending to be dozing.

The great hall in the Lair was frequented by pretty much everyone who lived there at some point during the day. Communal meals were served there, and snacks could always be had at almost any time of the day or night. Those going on duty or those coming off would usually stop there before going wherever they were heading. And when they paused to eat, they talked. And Hrardorr often heard more than he’d bargained for.

He knew more about the inner workings of the Lair, and the town, than most. Nobody realized how much he’d learned through his silent observation, and he’d formed very definite opinions about most of the residents of the Lair—human and dragon alike. He wasn’t too impressed with the leadership of the Lair, especially after the last battle.

Hrardorr had really thought his fighting days were over, but that last battle had proven he still had some fight left in him. Certainly, the opportunity to fight from the water wouldn’t come along often, if at all, in the future, but he’d felt good to have been able to contribute again.

Livia had helped him recover, at least partially, from the deep depression he’d been in over losing not only his vision, but his last knight. Most dragons went into the mountains, to do their mourning in private, but even that had been denied Hrardorr with his injury. Livia had helped him realize that, while he may not be able to see like he used to, he was not as useless as he’d thought.

He felt bad for her now that her absentee father had decided to return. It was to the captain’s credit that he’d come racing home the moment he’d heard about the threat to Dragonscove, but as far as Hrardorr was concerned, the captain’s actions since had been too little, too late. He was trying to run his daughter’s life as if she was still a child, or some kind of youngster on one of his ships.

She didn’t need that. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, from what Hrardorr could see. Sharing pleasure was a natural thing for humans. He’d seen it often enough in his centuries. Even if he hadn’t been able to share pleasure with a dragoness yet—that was reserved for when he found his true mate and all the pieces fell into place—he thought he understood the human need.

Humans, after all, weren’t as strong as dragons. A fighting dragon agreed at the outset that they would not mate unless and until their knight had found a mate. Technically, Hrardorr could seek pleasure with a female now that he was no longer bonded to a knight, but there were no unpartnered female dragons at the Lair who were old enough for him.

Not that he wanted to engage with just any female. No, Hrardorr was selective. If he ever got involved with a female, it would have to be a special one…like Genlitha.

But it was impossible. He was blind, and she had a knight now. He refused to take another knight. Not now. He wouldn’t subject a fighting man to his sour humor and grief. It was too soon, and besides, he was blind. What warrior would want to swear his life to fight alongside a blind dragon?

Though if he was going to choose anyone, he probably would have picked Seth. The lad was noble and had proved himself an able leader of men in the last battle. He’d also proven that he was as courageous and fearless as his fathers, who were both exceptional knights. But Hrardorr wouldn’t do that to Seth.

For one thing, Seth was already his caretaker. He wouldn’t partner with him just to secure a nursemaid for the rest of his life. That would be unkind as well as unfair. For another, Seth had publicly chosen the healer’s path long ago. Although he could fight, he wasn’t really counted among the young warriors of the Lair.

“Thanks for giving me and Livia some time alone.”Seth’s voice came to Hrardorr as he began to doze off.“I’m sorry if we invaded your privacy by coming here.”

“Nonsense,”Hrardorr scoffed with good humor.“The poor girl hasn’t had a moment free since her father came home. I’m more than happy to have her company. And yours too, Seth. You both deserve a little happiness.”

“Thank you for understanding, my friend.”

They slept through the night together, each watching over the other. And when dawn approached, Livia took her leave with obvious regret. Seth went with her to make sure she made it back into her room without incident. He returned a little while later, his mood contemplative and a little melancholy.

“You miss her already, don’t you?”Hrardorr asked.

“Is it that obvious?” Seth asked, folding the sailcloth they’d slept on while Hrardorr stretched one wing at a time.

“Only to me, my friend,”Hrardorr assured him.

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