Valentine (The Dragon Kings Book 3) (17 page)

“W
HAT DO YOU mean there’s only one room left?” Hazel gaped at the man standing behind the front desk. This was like a bad romance movie.

“Ma’am, it’s a Saturday night. You’re lucky it’s January. If it were June, there’d be no rooms left.”

Hazel scratched her head. “At least tell me it has two beds.”

The man grinned. “Yeah, it does. Here’s your key.”

Val waited in the lobby watching a family argue near the doors. Sometimes he acted completely normal, but other times it was as if he’d never been around humans at all. However, his kiss spoke of years of experience. Hazel squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. She shouldn’t think about that. Not when she was about to sleep five feet from him.

She kicked his boot to get his attention. “Hey, we’ve got a room. You ready?”

He shrugged and picked up his backpack. “That family over there, why do you think they’re fighting?”

There was a mom and a dad, two teenagers, and one toddler. The mom looked about fifteen years younger than the dad.

“I’d guess the teenagers belong to the dad and the toddler is the love child. Chances are the teens hate their new stepmother, and dad is frustrated by their insolence. This exact scene is playing out all over the nation. Though I have friends who love their stepparents.”

They walked back outside and into the darkening woods. Hazel hoped Runa would be there already. She didn’t really relish the thought of waiting out here long.

“What’s a stepparent?”

“You know, when parents get divorced and remarried. It’s quite common.”

They found the grove of trees where Runa flew off that morning. She wasn’t there. Hazel settled on the ground and leaned up against a tree. Val sat across from her.

“What’s divorce?” he asked, playing with a few pine needles on the ground.

“Divorce is where you get unmarried.” Hazel was slightly uncomfortable. She couldn’t believe he’d never even heard of divorce. It wasn’t a happy topic to discuss.

Val creased his eyebrows. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would someone get unmarried? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Lots of reasons. Mostly because they fall out of love. They grow apart and want a chance to love again.” Hazel always figured if she got married, she’d end up divorced. Good thing she was never going to do such a thing.

“How do people fall out of love?”

Hazel snorted. “It happens. Trust me. I’m glad too, or I’d still be pining over Teddy.”

“Maybe you never loved him in the first place.”

“No, it hurt bad. If that wasn’t love, I don’t want to know what it feels like to fall in love and get crushed.” Hazel studied him. “You’re telling me you’ve never known anyone who’s gotten married and then divorced?”

“No, but then again, my circle was small.”

“Well, what happened if someone died? Would they get remarried then?”

“No, they’d live alone.” Val looked up to the sky, but it was still Runa free.

“That sounds depressing.”

“You’re alone.”

Hazel laughed. “No, I’m not. I’m not in an exclusive relationship, but I never lack for company.”

Val frowned at her. “I hope someday you change your mind. There’s something magical about so desperately wanting to be with someone that you never tire of their company. Something magical about having your souls connected in such a way that it’s hard to see where you stop and they begin.”

Hazel blinked for a second and crossed her arms. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

He shook his head. “No, but I’ve seen it, and I won’t settle for anything less.”

Hazel didn’t know how to respond, so she changed the subject. “Where do you think Runa is?”

Val shrugged. “Maybe she’s holed up somewhere else. I say we wait another fifteen minutes or so and then go to bed. Even if she has to sleep out here, she’ll be fine.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice. I wouldn’t want to be stuck outside.” Hazel was surprised she just defended Runa. What was happening to her?

Val stood and held out his hand for her. “She’s a dragon. She’s probably halfway to the ocean by now. But let’s walk for a little bit and see if she just has the wrong spot.”

They called her name as they stalked through the forest, but Runa didn’t respond. After a half hour, they gave up and went into the lodge. Val didn’t seem bothered by the fact that Runa was missing, but Hazel had a sinking feeling in her stomach. What if she was in trouble? In spite of Hazel’s feelings for dragons, Runa had grown on her. She seemed almost human.

They quickly got ready for bed. Hazel lay awake for a long time that night, Val’s words about love running over and over in her head. She’d thought she was in love with Teddy, but she never felt the same way about him that she felt about Val. Maybe Val was right. She didn’t think she was missing out on anything, but now her heart ached for that kind of love he spoke of. She’d never wanted it before. What would it be like to feel like that about someone? Had she ever seen it before?

Sure. Her parents. They were united in every decision. They worked together, but they never tired of each other’s company.

A light was streaming in through the crack in the curtains, and she could see Val’s face. He was beautiful. There was no denying that. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face.

He seemed fascinated with her for some reason. She had no idea why. She was scared of falling for him though, because if she did, that would mean opening her heart up for shattering again. Maybe Val was different.

V
AL WOKE EARLY the next morning. Hazel sprawled out on her bed, her hair spread everywhere and her limbs all tangled in her blanket. The conversation they had last night bothered him. Her ideas of relationships and love were completely different from his. He knew she was to be his queen, but he didn’t know how to convince her of that.

He took a shower, and when he got out, she was sitting up in bed.

“I’m going to shower real quick. Can you go check and see if Runa is sleeping in the woods?”

Val nodded. He didn’t admit it to her last night, but Runa missing bothered him as well. Sure, she was a dragon, but he didn’t think she’d just not show up when she was supposed to. She was a little ornery, but she listened when it counted.

He threw on a hoodie, hiked back to the woods, and called out for Runa. There was no response but his own voice. He searched the trees, hoping to spot anything bright yellow, but there was nothing. High up in a pine, a golden eagle watched him. He whistled and waved the eagle down. Sid had told him they would carry messages for them.

The eagle landed and bowed deeply.

Can I help you, Your Majesty?

Val froze for a second. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to being called that. “I’m missing a friend. She’s a small river dragon. Can you put out the word that she’s missing and I want her found.”

Of course. When shall I report on what I’ve found?’

“Meet me here tonight, right after sunset. If I’m not here, wait for me.”

Val didn’t waste any time getting back to the lodge. He knew Hazel wanted to find her brother as soon as possible. To his surprise, the light to the bathroom was still off, and the room was silent. He shut the door with a soft click and saw her still in bed, fast asleep.

He watched her, wondering what his life would be like if they were in a relationship. Just to be able to touch her whenever he wanted. He often had to hold back from brushing her arm or kissing her neck. He supposed part of that was the sealing, but maybe he was just in love. He was grateful winning her over fell under his duties as king, or he’d be terribly distracted.

He sat on the bed, and she didn’t even stir. He tentatively placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a light shake. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up, running right into him. He chuckled.

“You okay?” He scooted back a little bit to give her space.

“I didn’t sleep well last night.” She rubbed her eyes and looked around. “Where’s Runa?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh great, now we’ll have to look for her too. We don’t have time for this.” She spoke with wild gestures, and her eyes revealed her panic.

“Hey,” he said softly and grabbed her flailing hands. He pulled himself closer to her and looked her in the eyes. “Listen.” Her breath came in rapid bursts, but she kept his eye. “I already thought of that. I enlisted the help of the eagles to search for Runa so we can focus on Rowan and Skye. They’ll check in with me tonight.”

Her breathing slowed just a little bit. “Eagles?”

“Yes. They help the dragons out quite a bit.”

“Why don’t we have the eagles looking for Skye and Rowan?”

She was so close to him. If he just leaned forward a few inches, he could kiss her again. But he didn’t because that wouldn’t be right. Not in this moment.

“Who do you think told us Skye was in Yosemite?”

Hazel leaned back. “For real?”

“Yeah.”

Her panic had disappeared, and determination filled her features once again. She swung her legs out of bed.

“Then we need to get going. I’m going to shower, and then we’ll grab some breakfast and check out the campgrounds. If we wait too long, they might be gone.”

Val watched her dig through her bags and gather her clothes.

“Are you watching me?” she asked as she pulled out a red shirt and shorts.

He nodded. “Sorry. Can’t help myself.” A blush rose in his face.

She looked as if she wanted to say something, but then she left and locked herself in the bathroom.

Hazel leaned against the bathroom door and tried to still her shaking hands. What had Val done to her out there? She didn’t have panic attacks very often, but occasionally they snuck up on her. The airplane was where they popped up most often, but sometimes when life overwhelmed her, she’d freak out. She’d felt it building out there, but he’d made it disappear.

She still could feel the anxiety in her chest, but this was for a very different reason. She put her clothes on the counter and looked at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. She didn’t like the thoughts she was having. The ones where she wanted to kiss Val. Or touch him. Or simply relax around him.

She had a mission, and it had nothing to do with falling in love.

She stepped in the shower and hissed. The water was cold. She turned the tap until the water ran a comfortable temperature. To be honest, trying to deny her feelings for Val were more distracting than if she just gave in.

It was the reason she hadn’t slept the night before. She tossed and turned, trying to put his face, his smell, his very presence out of her mind. It was incredibly difficult with him sleeping so close. Once, around two a.m., she very nearly crawled into bed with him, thinking she could just sleep if she curled up next to him. Thankfully she was aware enough to realize that would be a bad idea.

What would change if she allowed herself to give in? She wouldn’t have to hold back. She could just be with him, and it would be far easier than trying to deny her feelings. A hell of a lot less distracting too. She knew how he felt about her, and he hadn’t done anything but support her. She’d be able to concentrate on finding Rowan instead of worrying about if she was doing the wrong thing with Val.

As she stepped out of the shower, a weight lifted off her shoulders. This was one less thing she would have to worry about. She’d chill around Val, and if that led to love and kisses, then she’d let it. She felt a little stupid that she’d been fighting against this, since it made everything more difficult. And she needed things to be easy now.