Dragons Among Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice) (20 page)

“Go away.”

She lifted her head just enough to tug her pillow free, then ostriched herself beneath it. Whoever it was either hadn’t heard her or chose to ignore her wishes altogether. The door squeaked open and footsteps sounded as her visitor approached.

“Go away?” said Zayne, amusement in his voice. “But you’ve already slept away half the morning, and ’tis absolutely glorious outside.”

Addie scowled. He sounded far too perky for her likes this morning.

“If you like it so much, you go out and enjoy it while I sleep the other half of the morning away.”

Her pillow lifted a fraction, and she struggled to open one eye. Zayne’s sideways face came into view.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” he purred. “There’s a place I want to show you that I believe may well strike your fancy.”

“Ugh.” She turned away from him, still beneath the pillow. “We saw everything yesterday.”

More footsteps. The opposite edge of the pillow rose as her royal host knelt beside the bed, his face mere inches from her. “Not this place. It lies outside the walls.”

With his bright eyes and pleading tone, he reminded her of a little boy eager to share some imagined treasure with a beloved adult. Who was she to deny him his fun when he’d had to endure her company these past few days? If anything, she owed him. Big-time. And who was she kidding? He smelled and looked delicious as ever.

With a sigh, she reached out and pushed his face away. “Fine, I’m getting up. But not until you go. Emeline would have a coronary if she were to walk in and see you here.”

“Then make haste, woman,” Zayne said with a mocking regal tone and swatted her square on the butt. “Your escort, Will, does not like to be delayed.”

“Oof!”

She shoved the pillow aside and flung her covers off to go after him, but the prince was already out the door. “Bossy, spoiled royal brat,” Addie grumbled as she held her hands to both sides of her head and the room swirled before her.

Brat or not, she had to admit his was a face she’d never tire of seeing first thing in the morning. Or rather,
could
never tire of seeing. Her days here were numbered, and it was important for her to keep everything in perspective. If he wanted to be a gracious host and treat her like the princess she wasn’t, then she’d be the grateful guest and savor the spoiling. And when it came time to say good-bye, well, she’d figure something out then.

At least, she hoped she’d be able to find a way to cope with their unavoidable separation. The thought of losing him forever was like daggers to her heart after the amazing day they’d spent together yesterday. And the day before that. And the one before that…

Blinking back tears she didn’t deserve to shed, Addie rose to her feet. The pounding in her head reverberated into her chest and then her stomach. She clapped a hand over her mouth and dashed for the adjoining bathroom.

“Their ale goes down all too easily,” she heard Emeline call from out in the main room once the heaves had subsided. “As you have now learned. Come, I have tea and biscuits waiting for you.”

The very thought of food nearly brought on a second round of primitive throne hugging, and Addie gulped large breaths of air to keep her insides intact. “Thanks. Some tea would be…great.”

The elder woman appeared in her peripheral vision and gave her a motherly tsk, tsk-ing. “Warrior celebrations are no place for a lady.”

“Now you tell me,” Addie groaned from her seat on the ground.

“You’ll do well to avoid their campfire ruckuses from now on.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Emeline paused, and Addie braced herself for the lecture to continue. Instead, the other woman reached down and handed her a damp cloth. “There be a clean dress waiting for you in the other room. If you need help with the ribbon, ring for me. The bell is on your breakfast tray.”

“Great. Thanks.”

When the older woman neither responded nor retreated, Addie turned her head to peer at Emeline. She studied Addie for a long moment, as though seeing her for the first time after an extended time apart. The scowl she wore so well seemed less severe today, though Addie couldn’t begin to imagine the reason why. A drunken uninvited guest had to be ten times worse in the elder woman’s eyes than a plain old uninvited one.

“Make sure you drink the tea, my lady,” she said in a softer, motherly tone now. “It will soothe your insides and help return your strength.”

With that, she turned back toward the bedroom. Addie wanted to know why the change of attitude. She’d finally called Addie “my lady,” for crying out loud. Was it because she’d woken up ill? Looked pathetic? Had Emeline finally thawed from her formerly icy self?

Though she felt emboldened to ask such questions after her night with the brash group of warriors, Addie chose instead to offer the prince’s head servant gratitude.

“Hey, Emeline?” she called, slowly rising to her feet.

The older woman reappeared before her. “Yes, my lady?”

“Thank you,” she said with a wobbly smile. “For…everything.”

* * * * *

Zayne led a much more dapper-looking Addie out into the blindingly sunny day and Will bobbed his head at their approach. The day seemed full of promise. Or at least, so he hoped. His future happiness depended upon it.

“Your color is certainly better. How are you feeling?”

“Believe it or not,” she said as he hoisted her onto the stallion’s back, “like a million bucks. I don’t know what was in that tea, but wow, I feel well enough to go on a long run or something.”

Zayne swung smoothly onto his steed as well and settled onto the saddle behind her. Her lavender scent washed over him anew; he paused a moment to savor it. “Million bucks? Is that a special breed of deer back in your world?”

“Deer? I…oh. Bucks is another word for dollars, or money. And million—” She waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “Forget it, it’s just a silly saying from back home.”

“Ah, the perfect lead-in to our day’s conversations.”

“Sorry?”

“Yes.” Zayne’s arm snaked gently around her waist as his free hand took the reins. “You see, yesterday you asked all the questions. Today it is my turn.”

“Oh.”

Her shoulders sagged, and worry clawed at Zayne. He didn’t wish to cause his fair maiden distress.

“Turnabout is fair play, you know.” He nuzzled the silky soft skin in the hollow beneath her ear. She shivered in his arms, then straightened her back.

“Fine. Can we go?”

Zayne leaned back with a chuckle. “Ah, there she is.”

“There who is?”

“My Adelaide.”

Zayne steered his steed toward a path leading into the trees. The sun felt glorious on his skin, warming him from head to toe. Its rays would feel even better on his wings…

“So, you said we were going—”

Zayne’s hand slid from her waist to cover her mouth, and accidentally brushed against the swell of her bosom as it went. Accident or not, his body responded, and he shifted in his seat. “Shh, not yet.”

She nodded in compliance, and he carefully returned his hand to her waist. Oh, how he longed to explore her body, to taste every inch of her lavender-scented skin. But there’d be time for that later. For now, they needed to move beyond the ears of the manor.

Zayne lowered his mouth so that his lips brushed against her ear. “Where we’re going might be bending the wizard’s rules a bit,” he breathed.

Another shiver rippled through her slight frame. “Will it be safe?”

“Undoubtedly.”

They rode on in silence, Addie complying with his instructions. Gradually, the worry she wore on her shoulders faded away, and she relaxed into him. As Will knew the path well, Zayne focused on watching Addie and the wonder in her eyes as she turned her face side to side, taking in the sights around them: dust motes drifting in the dappled sunlight of the woods, stirred up by his steed’s hooves; squirrels chattering as they competed over a fallen walnut.

Will’s stride broke its soothing rhythm as he stepped over a fallen sapling, and Addie’s hands quickly sought his mane to regain her balance.

“Have you truly never ridden a horse before you arrived here, my lady?” Zayne asked.

“Nope, never. Horses are kept in the country, and I was always a city girl.”

“But how did you travel if not by horse? Within the safe confines of a carriage, perhaps?”

The tension in her shoulders returned. Addie gave Will’s neck a pat and then, unexpectedly, giggled. The prince frowned. Would he never solve the puzzle that was Adelaide?

“Did my question amuse you?”

“No,” she said quickly. “I was just thinking about something I saw in a movie once, and how Doc Brown would have a fit if I told you about my world. Might disrupt the space-time continuum or something.” Addie sighed and glanced at him over her shoulder. “You do understand that if I answer your questions honestly today, you may never look at me the same again, don’t you? It’ll be like I’ve grown horns on my head or something.”

“As a man who routinely dons scales and talons, horns would do little to scare me.”

She turned so that she could see his face in full, her eyes wary. “Why are you so accepting of me?”

“Because—”
I love you.
Zayne shifted his gaze from hers. A declaration like that might well scare the poor girl off. “You have a pure heart, Addie. ’Tis a rare and beautiful quality, and not one I often encounter.”

She studied him for a moment, processing his words. When she continued without asking for further explanation, he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“All right, you want to know how I travel in my world? Here goes. Most times, it’s by car. Cars are like carriages, except they aren’t pulled by horses—they have motors made of metal that turn the wheels and propel us forward, faster than Will can go.”

Silence passed between them for several heartbeats as Zayne tried to imagine these creations. He wanted her to trust him, and to do that, he knew he must trust her. “And, these…cars? You own one?”

“Yep. Most of the people do where I live. In the really big cities like New York and stuff, people skip owning cars for bikes, or they just take a cab. Um, that’s like taking a carriage ride except in a car you don’t own, and it costs money for them to drive you places.” She blew out a sigh. “Sorry, this is harder than I thought.”

“Why are you apologizing?” He laughed. “Your words fascinate me, Addie. Never be embarrassed to speak of your world. It made you who you are, so it must be a wonderful place.”

“Not all of it,” she breathed.

“No world is ever perfect.”

He guided his steed into a small clearing. Though he’d planned to ride farther, this would have to do—Zayne was too eager to wait any longer. So he drew Will to a halt and dismounted.

“Off we go, then.” He reached to help her down as well.

Addie blushed as he set her onto the ground. “Do you think I’m a raving lunatic yet?”

“Hardly.” He turned from her and set about tethering his horse to a nearby tree. “And do not perceive my silence on this next part of our journey as a sign that I am done asking questions.”

“I’d rather you grow silent than—” She sucked in a surprised breath. “Wait, you aren’t really thinking of—”

Zayne kicked off his riding boots. “Of course. What better way to see the kingdom than from the air?”

“B-but someone will see, and Berinon gave us strict orders to stay out of sight.”

“Ah, but that’s just it—we will be. There is no better time for a dragon my color to fly than a day like today. The sun will blind anyone who looks skyward, and we’ll blend right in.”

“A good thing,” she grumbled, turning away. “Or they’d be able to look straight up my skirt.”

“Not if you’re on my back.”

Addie’s head whipped around toward his. “Do you mean it?”

“Absolutely.” He tugged his shirt off and tucked it into a pack strapped to Will’s back. “Unless you’d rather I carry you again.”

“Uh, no. I think I’d prefer to ride atop than beneath you.”

Fire lit in his veins, and he felt his right brow arch.

Addie’s cheeks grew redder still. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

He closed the distance between them and wove his fingers into her long, blonde hair. “What’s not what you meant?” He gave her hair a tug to provide himself an unobstructed view of her delicate neck.

“I was referring to how we traveled together, not when you were…”

“Inside you?” he breathed, aching to go there this very moment. But there were too many eyes in these woods. Too many ears. He needed to get them to a place he could enjoy her—all of her—alone. Somewhere he could win not only her body, but if Fate shined kindly upon him today, her heart as well. So instead he brushed his lips along her jawline from chin to ear then nipped at her earlobe. “We can test that theory later. Now, we fly.”

* * * * *

“Are you sure this is really such a good idea—”

Addie stopped in midsentence as the prince turned from her, dropped trou, and moved to tuck those into his pack as well. He detached it from Will’s saddle and tossed it toward her. She had but a moment to enjoy the view before the air around them began to swirl. The wind swallowed Zayne in a mini tornado, then faded to reveal him in his giant, golden-scaled form. He stretched his wings, shook out his neck in the same manner Addie had seen Will do countless times now, and then turned his golden, glowing eyes her way.