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Authors: Debbie Mumford

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BOOK: Sorcha's Heart
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Four males loomed in Sorcha’s imagination. Caedyrn, of course—black, massive, a born leader. He smelled of sulfur, salt, and masculine virility. And the sound of his scales sliding toward her as he approached for a training flight nearly drove her mad with fiery longing. But Caedyrn had company in her increasingly frenzied dreams. Goban, whose charcoal scales shone almost as darkly as Caedyrn’s, often drew her gaze as he passed through the great gallery. And her conversations with malachite Heber had taken a more intimate tone of late. Finally, there was Toal; fun-loving, unpretentious, and utterly charming Toal. The scarlet male, with his comforting smell of burning leaves and rich, raw earth, came closest to dislodging Caedyrn from her thoughts. Close, but never quite close enough. Even when she flirted outrageously with one of the other males, Caedyrn dominated her thoughts.

She’d noticed that he’d become more aloof, the more at ease she’d become with the rest of the flight. Perhaps she’d flown to the wrong conclusion. Perhaps he didn’t want to bond with her after all. He certainly didn’t lavish her with attention the way her other three suitors did.

Toal had introduced her to the ice slide. Gods and goddesses! What fun she’d had sliding down that incredibly steep slope only to be launched into heart-pounding flight at the end. They’d snuck away from training and spent an exhilarating afternoon playing just last week.

She relished the philosophical discussions she had with Heber — the malachite’s intelligence rivaled the deepest human thinker she’d ever met. And, oh my, could his agile mind find its way around an innuendo. When she failed to react to some of his more subtle verbal wooing, he always chuckled and explained where the barb lay hidden in his thoughts. He was a dragon who could keep her guessing for a lifetime.

Goban. She sighed, thinking of powerful Goban. The charcoal held none of Heber’s subtlety, and lacked Toal’s sense of fun, but exuded a powerful attraction with his dark strength. Yum.

Sorcha closed her eyes and pretended she couldn’t smell and hear the various males in her vicinity. Her human side resented this heightened awareness. She’d managed to remain free of human sexual entanglements her entire life. Why should this dragon body be able to derail her mental control in such a short period of time? She shook her head and decided she needed space and privacy to meditate, to rid herself of unwanted desire.

But before she could seek solitude, her senses alerted her to Caedyrn’s approach. Against her will, she breathed in a deep, lung-expanding gulp of his delicious scent. Tingles of delight raced through her system and she exhaled a sensuous sigh. She might not be his choice for bond-mate,
but she knew he would always be hers. The other three males paled to mere dalliance beside her Caedyrn.


Are you well, Sorcha?” he asked when he reached her side. “You look disoriented.”


I’m fine,” she said, relishing his nearness. “Do we have a lesson scheduled this morning?”


No, but I thought if you were free, we might chat while we sun on the ridge.”

Her blood bubbled with delight and she fought an urge to rub her head against his neck. “I’d
like that.”

Caedyrn led the way, while Sorcha savored the sound of his progress as well as the sight of
his sleekly folded wings and heavily muscled hips and tail. He’d told her once that dragon mating was strenuous exercise; she wondered exactly how it occurred. When the time came, would he cover her like a stallion on a mare? Her tail twitched to one side and her desire burned hotter still. Gods and goddesses, she’d melt the glacier if she followed that train of thought!

Etna interrupted Sorcha’s ruminations with an impatient call. “Where are you, Sorcha?”


I’m on my way to the heights with Caedyrn,” she said, forcing her mind into ordered calmness. “Did I forget a lesson?”


No, nothing like that.” The elder female’s mind-voice sounded agitated. “Everything is fine, but keep me apprised of your location today. We may need to go on an errand for the Rex.”


Certainly, Etna.”

Sorcha glanced at Caedyrn as they settled into well-worn wallows on the sunny ridge and switched to their private link. “That was odd. Etna said she and I might need to do an errand for the Rex,” she told him, stretching her wings for maximum exposure to the sun’s blissful heat. Ah, this was heaven. Fire and ice—glacial cold on one side, sun-baked warmth on the other — the opposing sensations almost drove Caedyrn’s presence from her mind. Almost.


An errand for the Rex?” he said. “Hmmm.”

They sunned in silence for a time before Sorcha’s curiosity forced a question. “Did you have something you wanted to discuss?”

He folded one wing and rolled to one side to face her. “Yes. You seem to be making a place for yourself in the flight. Are you content?”


Content? Why, yes. I suppose so. Why do you ask?”

He studied her for a moment before responding. “I suppose I’m really asking if you’re content to remain a dragon? Do you wish to return to human form?”

Sorcha’s heart thumped painfully and her breath came in ragged gasps. “Are you offering me a choice?” she asked. “Do you know how to reverse the transformation?”

He blinked rapidly and bumped her neck with his snout. “No,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply... I’m doing this badly.”

Sorcha held her silence and allowed her heart to resume its normal pace. How strange. Relief, not disappointment, flooded her soul. Relief that she wouldn’t be required to choose between Caedyrn and her real life.


You seem to enjoy spending time with Toal and Heber,” Caedyrn said, pulling her thoughts back to their conversation.


Yes, they’re very entertaining.”


Do you prefer one over the other?”

She turned her head and gazed directly into his red eyes. Something glittered in their depths
that she couldn’t quite name. “These aren’t idle questions. What are you getting at?”

He held her gaze without blinking. “I’m asking if you’re prepared to bond with one of the
males you’ve been spending time with?”

Her heartbeat quickened and she sat up, preparing herself for flight. “I don’t see that that’s any of your business.”

He rose as well and placed himself between Sorcha and the ledge, blocking easy escape. “It is my business,” he said, his words a dangerous rumble in the depths of her mind. “Dragons mate for life. An understanding must be reached before the female rises.”


What? I don’t...”


Sorcha!” Etna’s voice rang through several layers of Sorcha’s awareness. Caedyrn winced as he caught the echoes of her call.

Sorcha grimaced at Caedyrn and answered, “Yes?”


Come to me now, Sorcha. I am in my lair.”


But I’m talking to...”


Now, Sorcha!” Agitation tinged the elder female’s command.


Yes, honored one.”

Sorcha sighed and moved toward the entrance that led to the warren of corridors. “I’m sorry, Caedyrn. We’ll finish this later.”


Yes,” he growled. “We will.”

As Sorcha snaked through the seemingly endless passageways from the heights to Etna’s lair, she noted an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. At first she thought she was hungry, but that didn’t make sense. She and Morna and the others had flown down the mountain and gorged on a herd of mountain goats just last week. Perhaps it was nerves. Maybe the possibility of an errand for the Rex had her on edge.

By the time she reached the great gallery, the sensation had moved from annoying to urgent.


Where are you, Sorcha?” Even Etna sounded upset.


I’m just passing the great gallery,” Sorcha said.


Hurry, child. Don’t stop to talk. Don’t linger. You must come quickly.”

Etna’s words added another layer to the urgency beating at Sorcha’s heart, but the two pulled in opposite directions. Etna demanded that Sorcha go deeper into the caverns of ice, while the persistent need in her belly urged her toward the landing field.


Oh, Sorcha! It’s time! Are you coming?” Morna asked, excitement glittering in her eyes. Oona and Nuala looked at her over their shoulders as they moved toward the landing field. “What are you waiting for?” Oona called. “It’s time!”


Time for what?”

The three young females gave her nearly identical looks of exasperation. “It’s time to rise,” said Morna. “Can’t you feel the pull?”


Yes, but Etna has called me to her lair.”

All three lair mates stopped and exchanged uneasy glances. Oona broke the silence. “Remember what I told you? The Rex doesn’t want you to rise.”


It’s your choice, Sorcha,” said Morna. “Obey Etna and the Rex, or come with us and see if you can rise to mating height.”

Anger at Etna boiled up, adding a further level of discomfort. Sorcha turned and galloped to join her friends. “What if I can’t fly high enough?”

Nuala laughed. “Don’t worry,” she said. “This is our third rising. None of us has made it to the required height yet. Just think of it as a practice run.”

The painful urgency expanded into a bubble of joy as Sorcha reached the field. All around her, females of every egg-bearing age crowded the ground. She glanced up and her heart leapt to her throat. Every eligible male, as well as every bonded male whose mate stood on the field,
perched on the rim heights. Her eyes sought and found Caedyrn as the desire to rise peaked — and she launched herself into the air.

Wind flowed across her body and the sun dazzled her vision. Her nerves, afire with desire, fed on each individual, delicious sensation. She forgot about the horde of females surrounding her as she pushed for greater and greater height. At some remote level, she heard Goban, Toal, and Heber call to her as she arrowed into a bank of clouds, but she couldn’t be bothered with them. Not when her blood fizzed with the need to rise as high as dragon wings could lift her.

At last her mind cleared and she saw that this portion of sky was hers alone. She screamed her triumph to the wind and soared higher still. In the back of her mind, three males urged her on, while throwing veiled insults at each other. When the fourth voice entered the fray, her wingstrokes faltered. Caedyrn!


Leave her!” he roared. “She has not consented; she doesn’t understand.”


I do understand,” she screamed. “I am not a child!”

Caedyrn’s attention locked on their intimate link. “You consent?” he said, each word clipped
and tense. He widened the link to include the other males. “Who do you choose?”

The fire in her blood overruled human reason. “If you can catch me, you’ll find out!”

All four males roared and a frenzy of intoxication shot her higher still. One by one, Toal,
then Heber, and finally Goban dropped away, but Caedyrn pursued her into thin, rarified air.


Do you accept me?” he screamed. “Will you bond with me for eternity?”

BOOK: Sorcha's Heart
10.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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