Magical Lover (21 page)

And he wanted her again.

A wanting that wasn’t going to be fulfilled right now.

Keara glanced out the window. “It’s so different here.” Her gaze returned to his. “I’m not sure if they’ll accept me.”

“Ari said you have powerful magic and you will be a great asset to them.”

“She did? I mean, they asked me to work with Annaliese to learn healing, but I wasn’t sure if they were just being nice. Things are different here.”

“Different isn’t always bad.” Unless it referred to where she was from. No wonder she worried about acceptance among the Draconi. But she shouldn’t have worried. All magical beings, no matter how little magic they possessed, were accepted.

“I guess. What will they expect of me?”

“Just what they said. Aryana is straightforward. If she didn’t want you to stay, she wouldn’t have asked.”

Keara nodded, looking at their hands, her lips pressed together. She took a deep breath, shoulders rising and falling. “Will it bother you if I stay at the Temple?”

As opposed to with him where he could watch her, protect her, mate with her? Yes. But what could he do about it? He needed his work for his own peace of mind. There was plenty of time to mate. “No. Should it?”

Her eyes widened. Another big breath. “I thought...no, it shouldn’t matter.” A smile again, this one not heading to her eyes.

What was wrong? Did she want him to say it bothered him? Was there a chance she actually wanted him or did she feel obligated since she thought he’d married her? What had Ari said? He should have paid more attention to his aunt instead of losing himself in thought.

“So,” Keara started, dropping her gaze to the bed. He waited. Two breaths later, the rest of the sentence came tumbling out like a steep waterfall. “Our marriage is over?”

He cursed. “Keara.” Thoren placed his other hand on top of hers. “We were never married according to my customs. I saved you from Simon. I brought you to your proper home. That is all.”
Oh, and by the way, you’re my mate, but I can’t join with you now since I’d have no work if I did.
She was nervous enough without that happy bit of news.

Her shoulders drew up and dropped. “All right.” Another fake smile. “They have plenty of new things for me to learn. Are you sure they won’t mind my coloring?”

“They won’t.”

She nodded. Looked to the window and back at him. He loved her eyes, how the lashes faded from black to red, how her green gaze locked on his, drawing him under her spell.

“Will you come to visit me?”

He smiled. “I’d love to. Once Enar returns, we will need to speak to the Council about you and Jamie. You’ll probably need to make an appearance.”

Keara sat straight, her grip on his hand tightening. “What do they want?”

“They will want to meet you.”

“Who are they?”

“The Council is composed of thirteen males that ensure the welfare of the race. I and many others work for them, traveling to different lands and making sure that no one is trying to attack us.”

“People would attack dragons?” Her mouth gaped.

“You’d be surprised. Anyway, the Council wants a report of what Enar and I found since we were supposed to find a Halfling boy—Jamie—but in addition we found you. So of course they’ll want to meet you.”

Her face turned the color of her robe. “Of course.”

“Don’t worry. They mean you no harm.” At least he knew the Draconi meant her no harm. He still wasn’t convinced about the Watchers. Enar was the only Watcher Thoren trusted; the rest hid eyes of hatred behind blank faces. “You need your rest now.”

“I think I’m all right. I would like to take a tour of the place.”

“You look tired.”

Her eyes flashed. “Thanks. But with you here to support me, I can walk around and see what my new life is going to be like.”

“You should lie down.”

“I’ve been lying down. For three days. I. Am. Tired. Of lying down!” She threw the covers back. “Now, are you going to help me, or not?”

Thoren looked into her sparkling green eyes and smiled. His female possessed a temper. Not that he needed to be thinking of her as his, not yet.

Too late. His body leaned halfway toward her before he realized what it was doing. Her wide eyes stopped him. Halfway to kissing her, to touching her, to proving to her she belonged to him, he reigned in his desire. Hadn’t he finished telling her he only rescued her, that he wasn’t her husband?

His body needed to get in step with his mind’s decree.

He pulled back and stood, holding his hand out for her. “As you wish.” Her smile about did him in. Keara placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. He wrapped an arm around her waist, hugging her curves against him. She wanted him to walk her around.

He was the male.

“If you get tired we’ll come back.”

“As you wish. Lead on, my dragon.”

****

Keara leaned against the headboard of the bed and watched the door. Any minute now, Thoren would walk through it and maybe today they’d make it outside. Yesterday they walked to the infirmary where Annaliese used her healing skills on some poor child that had sliced open his arm.

Annaliese was talented, no doubt of that, but Keara saw no evidence the priestess possessed the same unusual skill Keara did. No evidence at all. If the primary healer had to resort to herbs and spells instead of passing her hand over the cut to heal it, then Keara needed to keep her mouth shut regarding her own ability.

Passing her hand over a cut and healing it without a scar was the least of it. Her hidden ability would scare the Draconi and then where would she be? On her own, banished from her people.

They were her people. Despite her unease over their promises that they really meant her to stay—she had yet to see another Halfling—they treated her better than anyone else had over the years.

Anyone else but Thoren.

And he no longer wanted her. The one person she convinced herself she could count on in this new life and he agreed with the priestesses that she would enjoy Temple life. Good thing she wanted to learn new healing skills. Otherwise, she might cry.

A tear rolled down her cheek, dropping onto the sheet. Oh, no. She would not cry. He didn’t want her. Another tear rolled.

“Keara?” Thoren knocked on the door.

She cursed. Of all the luck.

He stuck his head in the door. “Are you all right?”

Oh, great. Now he saw her tears. How embarrassing. She swiped under her eyes.

“I’m fine. I just got something in my eyes and they’re watering.”

“Want me to look in them?”

Yes, but not in the way you mean.
“No, that’s all right. Are you ready to walk outside?”

“Sure, but I want Annaliese to clear the walk first.”

So protective. Anyone else and the whole I-know-best thing would be annoying. On Thoren, it was endearing. Yet another thing she’d miss when he left her. She started blinking.

“Maybe Annaliese can look at your eyes too.”

Not if she could help it. “All right. You ready?”

Thoren wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her as she stood. Not that she needed supporting. After he left last night, she walked all over the room and up and down the hall, but she liked the feel of his arm around her. Her grandmother didn’t raise a fool.

Leaning against him made her blood hum, made her almost beg to have him stay with her.

So far, she wasn’t that desperate.

Maybe tomorrow.

For now, she’d take what she could and deal with the wanting on the morrow.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Hopefully today won’t bother you too much.”

“I’ll be fine. I really don’t need to see Annaliese.”

“I’d feel better if you did.”

Wasn’t that sweet? It felt good to have a man care about her. If only he thought enough of her to want her for his wife.

Did they even have the term “wife” in Draconia? Come to think of it, Aryana used the word “mate” to refer to the woman Thoren would marry. And did the priestess even use the term “marry”? No, she hadn’t. The Draconi even called the sexes male and female instead of man and woman. Guess that figured since they were part dragon.

“Zeke?”

Startled from her thoughts, Keara focused on the man—or she should say male—sitting in the hall outside the infirmary. His head pressed against crossed arms resting on knees pulled to his chest. Shoulder length black hair fell over his arms, his shoulders hunching forward. At the sound of Thoren’s voice, he raised his head, his face pale. Keara’s breath caught. The hair length differed, but other than that, Zeke looked like Thoren’s twin.

“Zeke, what’s wrong?” Thoren tightened his grip around Keara as he hurried to the other male’s side.

Dropping his arm, Thoren knelt and Keara squatted beside him. Grief slammed through her like a palpable wave and she doubled over, surprised Thoren didn’t seem bothered by the emotion. Could he not feel the smothering blanket of sadness?

“She’s dead, Thoren. I got there too late. I didn’t know about the sickness! And now he’s not expected to...to...” Zeke buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking.

Her hand trembling, Keara reached out and touched Zeke’s forearm at the same time Thoren touched his shoulder. Her vision narrowed, swirling around, then popped into focus as in her mind’s eye she flew through fluffy, white clouds.

A village stood ahead, buildings pointing to the sky. She landed, but no one came to greet her. Where were they? In rapid succession the visions flickered, a woman—dead, a village with no movement but the wind, a boy—a red-haired Halfling—barely alive. Grief battered her as a high-pitched wail shook the silence. Her voice, and yet nothing like her voice. Deeper. Like a dragon.

With a snap, the visions vanished and Keara rocked backward, losing touch of Zeke’s arm, falling on her butt. Her breath came in ragged puffs and she felt dampness on her cheeks.

The emotions evoked from Zeke’s memories clamored through her system, grief fluttering her heart. How had she seen his private thoughts?

Two sets of green eyes stared at her, one with grief, the other with concern.

“Forgive her. I just found her and she doesn’t know what she’s capable of.” Thoren patted Zeke’s shoulder.

“What was that?” Did she really see Zeke’s memories? How was that possible?

Zeke grunted and leaned his head against the wall. “Doesn’t matter what she saw.”

“Who is in the infirmary, brother?”

Zeke squeezed his eyes closed, his voice a gravely whisper. “My son.”

Thoren blinked. “Your son?”

Zeke shot Thoren a glare that turned Keara’s bones to ice and she wasn’t even in its path. “Did you never wonder why I Changed and took no mate?”

“I figured the Seer—”

“I didn’t care about the cursed Seer! I met Shalorna years ago. On a mission. We fell in love. Who cares what the Seer said?”

“What did the Seer say?” Thoren asked.