Chapter Three
Antonio
He wasn’t sure what it was about Audiv that made him feel more comfortable. More like he belonged in this place. God knew that she shouldn’t be any different from any of the others around here. And yet, somehow, she was. There was something he couldn’t describe that made him relax around her, in ways that he just couldn’t around the others. Maybe it was the peppermint scent that clung to her.
After their awkward lunch together, he had managed to work up the courage to ask her to go for a walk with him. A girl like her must have dozens of takers, and his confidence had taken quite a blow when he found out he was a dragon. It made him beam when she said yes.
The palace grounds were extensive, including a large meadow, gardens, and a sizable pond that was just a shade too small to call a lake. The air was crisp and clean, a bit chilly for this time of year, but Antonio relished it. His fires smoldered hot in his belly, and he didn’t mind taking the edge off them. He breathed in deeply, his eyes sliding closed as he inhaled the scent of greenery and the lake.
Audiv slipped her arm through his. “So. I’ve heard that you’re having a bit of a rough time. Want to talk about it?”
Antonio smiled wryly but shook his head. “I suppose I do. I feel like I’ve settled in well enough. It’s just that I still can’t really…”
“Accept it?”
That was as good as any way of describing how he felt, so he nodded. He hadn’t accepted it. He didn’t want to be a dragon. He knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter, but that only served to make him even more upset about the whole thing. It wasn’t fair that something this momentous and life-altering was thrust on him, rather than something he took on himself.
“Is it because you’re Catholic?” Audiv peered intently at him.
Antonio winced a little at that. It was a question that he had asked himself multiple times, whether he would have reacted in this way if it wasn’t for his religion. “I’m not a super-practicing Catholic,” he said. “I believe in God and that faith has sustained me in my life. That doesn’t mean I agree with all of the teachings of the church. But maybe if I didn’t believe in anything before now… Maybe it would be easier. Since there would be no faith to shake. I just don’t understand why it had to be me.”
Audiv nodded, looking thoughtful. “So, when you say you don’t agree with everything that the church teaches, does that include all that stuff about witches and witchcraft? ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’ and all that?”
“Until I learned about Byrelmore, I didn’t think witches were anything but a pagan religion, and I didn’t put much stock in their magic. But I guess Wiccans have more to them now, huh? Now that magic is real and all that.”
“It was real before, just not as powerful. Besides, Wiccans worship a god and goddess and that’s not necessary for magic. I mean, look at me!” She spread her arms and gave him a look that was most challenging. “I’m not Wiccan, and I don’t count myself as a witch, but I use magic. From what I’ve heard there are a lot of people who don’t see the difference between magic and witchcraft, or mages and witches.”
Antonio shook his head. Part of him wondered if he ought to be insulted, but this was just so like Audiv that he didn’t have the heart for it. Somehow her straightforward approach was less offensive to him than if she had tiptoed around the issue. It was clearly something she had strong feelings about.
“I have always felt like what other people do with their lives, as long as it’s not hurting others, was none of my business. That includes magic. But if you want to know the official stance on it, the pope has said multiple times over the past couple of years that magic and witchcraft aren’t the same things. That there are passages in the bible that are no longer relevant to our time, and that what matters is how the mage uses their magic, whether for good or evil, and that it’s up to the laws of the land, no individuals and not the church, to deal with it as they see fit.”
Audiv dropped her arms with a knowing little smirk on her face. “And what has he said about dragons?”
Oh, he saw what she was doing. He couldn’t help but grin at her, making her smirk widen. “He’s said that it’s nothing to be ashamed about or condemned for. That it’s something that God decided and those of us who are dragons just have to learn what God wants us to do with these abilities He’s given us.”
“And is that something that you disagree with?”
“No…”
Audiv continued walking, headed for a low bridge over a small stream. “Well, then. What excuse do you have to not be shifting, then? If this is a gift that God gave you, who are you to tell Him that He gave it to the wrong person and He should take it away from you?”
Her tone was a little flippant, a little sarcastic, but the message came across clear enough. Antonio pondered for a moment, and when she paused and glanced back at him, he picked up his pace so he could be walking with her instead of behind her.
“If this is about me not wanting to shift into a dragon… I’m not ready for it. Maybe I will be someday, but it’s got to be my choice.”
Audiv nodded. She smiled at him and looped her arm through his once again. “I wish it was as easy talking with the others as it is with you. There is this one man in the latest batch of mages to be brought in. He’s so angry all the time and has no control over his magic because of it. It’s like he doesn’t want it… I’m worried about him, actually. Worried he might actually do something…”
Antonio frowned. “Against you or himself?”
She shrugged, then gave him another smile, although this one seemed slightly more unsettled than her usual carefree grins. “I shouldn’t be talking about this with you. You are, after all, relatively new here yourself. And I don’t want to have rumors spreading and there’s all that confidentiality stuff, too.”
“Audiv, if you’re concerned for yourself—”
“I’m not.” She patted his arm, that grin blossoming once more. “I’m a big girl and trust me when I say I know how to look after myself. I didn’t get a position as a royal mage for slacking off in the magical department. And when it comes down to it, when it comes to magic, experience always trumps everything else, even pure raw power. So there is nothing to be worried about, I promise.”
Antonio considered her a moment longer before he nodded. If she was confident, then it wasn’t something he was going to press.
“I just think it’s sad.” She continued to walk again, pulling him with her. “That someone who has been given magic hates it so. I don’t know what my life would be like without magic.”
Antonio had to smile at that, even though it was more of an ironic smile than anything else. “Think about that feeling… now imagine that it was taken away from you. How difficult that would be for you to adjust to. It’s exactly the same for us.”
“I suppose.” Audiv’s tone was flat now; not wanting to talk more about it?
Antonio chuckled as he rolled his eyes. “Don’t want to know the other side of things, huh?”
Audiv shrugged. “I guess I just don’t understand, and I’m not sure it would make a difference if I did. I’m supposed to be training them, not being their psychiatrist. But that’s enough shop talk, don’t you think? Let’s talk about something more fun… Do you watch that new Star Trek show?”
They walked and talked for several hours, until the sun was going down, and then they retired to dinner. Once that was done, they ended up going to the movie theatre that had been installed, catching a movie, and by then it was so late that there was nothing left to do. Still, Antonio walked her to her apartment in the palace not wanting this comfortable companionship to end just yet.
As she paused outside her door, her hand on the knob, he suddenly hoped that she would invite him in. So the day didn’t have to end but could continue into the night. When she turned to look at him, he saw desire raging in her eyes. It nearly took his breath away. He couldn’t stop himself from kissing her.
Her lips were warm, plump, and pleasing against his. He drank in her scent and taste, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her tight against him, grinning as she tangled her fingers into his hair. A low moan escaped her throat. Her lush, full-figured body molded against his perfectly. As he teased her mouth open to slide his tongue into her mouth, a pressure built in his pants, a pressure he wanted to release deep inside of her.
But as his hands started to roam over her body, Audiv stiffened. He was familiar enough with women to know it wasn’t a good sort of stiffening. He stilled his hands and made his kisses gentler, but she still pulled back. Her cheeks were pink and there was disappointment on her face, but she still shook her head.
“Earth is somewhat freer with their sexual appetites than Byrelmore.”
Antonio rose his brows. From what he had seen, he would have said the opposite.
“It’s always been my wish that I’m a virgin on my wedding night,” Audiv continued. The flush in her cheeks deepened. “So, I am going to have to ask you to go.”
Antonio’s eyes widened. He wasn’t sure what he was more surprised about; Audiv admitting that she wanted him right now, or admitting that she was a virgin, or that she had stated so plainly that she wanted to be a virgin on her wedding night. He knew that it shouldn’t have surprised him so much, to think that a woman from thousands of years in the past would have the same ideas of chastity as they did these days.
“Uh… Right. Okay. I understand.”
Audiv’s shoulders fell slightly. Had she been hoping that he’d insist?
“I had the same thing. Before I married my ex-wife.” He put his hands in his pockets and shuffled nervously on the spot. He’d been divorced for almost five years now, from a teenage marriage that was thankfully not complicated by children. It was still a sore spot, though, and something that his family still wouldn’t talk about. “Wanted to be a virgin on my wedding night.”
Audiv’s eyes went as round as saucers. “Were you?”
It seemed too odd to be talking about this, but he plunged ahead. “Yeah. I was.”
Audiv bit her lip, then squared her shoulders. “And was it worth it?”
“Uh…” How was he meant to respond to that? He considered for a moment, looking everywhere but directly at her, then shrugged. “I suppose it’s a personal choice, and why you’re waiting, what you’re hoping from it… and who you marry. It wasn’t worth it for me.” Audiv’s eyes widened further, but he was done talking about it. He smiled weakly, kissed her cheek, and turned away. “Goodnight, Audiv. I’ll see you tomorrow.”