Chapter Eight
Georgiana fell asleep wrapped in Lord Bloodaxe’s arms. She awoke hours later to find herself alone, for his pallet was empty. All that remained were shadows caused by the fading moonlight and an indentation on the grass where he’d slept. Her heart shot into her throat. Where had he gone? “Don’t panic, Georgiana,” she said, hoping to convince herself that there was a logical explanation for his disappearance.
She had the presence of mind not to jump up and start shouting his name, though inwardly she was crying out for him like a lost lamb for its mother.
Don’t leave me.
But she was no child and had to keep her wits about her in this dangerous land. She rolled to her knees and carefully peered over the fallen tree trunks that had served as a barrier to hide them from anyone walking through the glade.
She saw nothing but an empty glade.
She turned around to search for their provisions. Were his weapons and food pouch still here? A glance revealed the pouch had been left by her side but his weapons were gone. He’d also left a dagger tucked under her cloak. Did this mean he was going to return?
Or had he abandoned her to fend for herself without so much as a farewell?
No, he was her protector. He wouldn’t simply sneak off.
Besides, he had agreed to tell her more about himself and his realm as they walked to their next destination. “Please come back. Please come back,” she repeated in a whisper as she tucked the dagger into the belt at her hip and then shook the dust and grass off her cloak. “Georgie, you’re awake.”
She gasped, dropped her cloak, and whirled to face Lord Bloodaxe who had come up behind her so silently that she hadn’t heard so much as a twig snap. “You didn’t leave me.” She threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely.
“What’s this?” At first, he appeared confused by her behavior which was no doubt cowardly and ridiculous. But she was no warrior, nor was she quick witted or experienced enough to live off the land. She was the daughter of a duke, and had never fended for herself.
He gave a short laugh and shook his head as realization struck. Prying her hands off him, he took a step back to study her face. He cupped her cheek and his expression turned sober. “I’d never walk away from you without warning. I merely went for a swim and did not wish to wake you. In truth, I expected to have difficulty waking you upon my return, for you were so soundly asleep, you didn’t so much as flinch when I sneezed.”
“Demons sneeze?”
His expression lightened once more. “Yes, at least this demon does. Although it is not at all pleasant when it happens in my dragon form. It tosses my dragon body off balance and causes me to lose the lift of air beneath my wings. I begin to plummet to the ground, and as if that isn’t bad enough, the sneeze also causes fire to snort through my nostrils instead of my mouth. Have you ever munched on a chip of ice and felt the sudden freeze shoot straight upward into your brain? That’s how fire shooting through my nostrils feels.”
She winced, but at the same time managed a hearty chuckle. “Oh, dear. Not pleasant at all.”
“Fortunately, I don’t feel the urge to sneeze very often.” He glanced around the empty glade. “Do you wish to eat before we begin our trek? I’d like to get away from here as soon as possible.”
“Then let’s go. I’m not hungry. But I do need to… take care of myself. It will only take a moment.” She searched around for a suitable place to relieve herself.
He’d had a swim, but she’d washed thoroughly earlier by waterfall and would manage with just a quick washing of her hands and face before they started on their journey.
“Here, take the soap.” He handed it to her and watched her as she walked away. She felt the heat of his gaze upon her all the while, only broken when she walked around the bend to seek her privacy.
After taking care of her needs, she quickly washed up and scampered back to the spot they’d bedded down for the day. The moons were setting and soon there would be no light at all to guide them.
However, Lord Bloodaxe seemed to know every path, hill, and waterway in his realm as though he’d walked it blind.
Georgiana was not afraid of the inky darkness so long as he kept hold of her hand.
“Georgie, do you think you can wait a little longer to eat?” he asked when he heard her stomach growl.
“Yes. My stomach may be howling, but I can hold off for as long as you need.”
“Good, because we’re almost at the river, and I think we’ll make better progress if we travel by boat. We’ll eat once we’re aboard.”
She frowned lightly. “Is this a change in plans?”
“Yes. I caught the scent of Brihann’s demons on my land about half an hour ago. They seem to be following us, although it could be mere coincidence. Brihann must have sent several scouting parties to hunt us down. My captains have stopped most of them, but our shared borders are long and it’s almost impossible to prevent every incursion. Who knows? This scouting party might have slipped through a month ago, long before our hostilities intensified. They may not even know about you, but I dare not take the chance.”
“You think we will be better off on the river?” She’d noticed that he had quickened their pace, but thought nothing of it until now.
“Most assuredly. Brihann’s demons don’t like water. They won’t go in it or anywhere near it. We were fortunate, the little bit of breeze we have tonight happens to be coming from the west. If the wind shifts, the demons will pick up our scent while we’re on land.”
“But the water will lend us cover?” She was taking two steps for each of his own in order to keep up with his long strides.
“That’s right.” His arm was now around her waist as he helped her over a small rise. She was out of breath from struggling to match his step, while he did not appear to be struggling at all. “It will lend us good cover, for these demons detest the odor of water.”
“Which means they don’t like to bathe,” she added, grinning, although she doubted he could see beyond his nose in this darkness. “No wonder they smell so bad. Good thing there’s a river nearby.” However, she sensed he wasn’t all that pleased with this forced change in plans. “You don’t seem happy about it.”
“I’m not. The river will take us east when we must be heading west. Every hour lost gives Brihann the advantage. We’ll lose at least half a day.”
She understood. The longer it took to reach the Razor Cliffs, the more time Brihann would have to secure that important portal and stop them. “But it would mean I’d have another day with you.”
“Georgie, had I been able to get you out yesterday, I would have. You’re in danger every moment you spend in the Underworld. Your innocence offers you some protection, but I do not know how much or how long that protection will last.”
“Ah, my innocence.” It wasn’t nearly as precious to her as it appeared to be to him. Indeed, had he bothered to make any advances toward her, she would have surrendered without resistance. She was eager to do it.
However, her casual wantonness extended only to him. She would never allow another man to touch her.
“Do not underestimate its importance. There’s an aura of power and mystery that emanates from you because of your innocence. You’re an unknown to these demons, and now that you’ve survived dragon fire, they’re certain you are a Chosen One, a mortal girl under the protection of the Stone of Draloch.”
She frowned as she considered his words. “Or meant to be its virgin sacrifice.”
“Well,” he said with noticeable humor in his rugged voice, “I’ll fix matters if it comes to that.”
“Fix? As in…” She inhaled, which he might have mistaken for a gasp of horror. Quite the opposite ran through her mind, a feeling that his fix was much desired flooded through her. The notion that he would be the one to take her innocence felt very right. “How much longer till we reach the boat?”
“Just over the next rise. Can you hear the soft rush of water in the distance?” He paused and wrapped his arm around her waist.
It took Georgiana a moment to hear the gentle ebb and flow over the hasty beat of her heart. Then she heard a languidly rhythmic thuck, thuck, thuck, which she realized was the sound of the wooden boat gently striking the dock as the river current flowed beneath it. She also heard the groan of a rope that had been pulled taut and was straining to hold the boat to the dock.
Otherwise, all was quiet as a tomb.
She stood beside Lord Bloodaxe, unmoving and not speaking as the hot, night air encircled both of them. At home, she would have heard the sound of crickets or seen fireflies playfully flitting in the meadow.
Only ominous silence and a breathless dark existed here. “There are no stars in your heaven.”
“Heaven? A strange thing to call what lies above us. There is no heaven here, only an endless red sky. No stars shining brightly to light our way. No sunshine to warm our hearts.”
After a moment, he took her hand again and wordlessly started up the small rise. It seemed so odd, he was a large man and carried a battle axe at his side along with a shield, bow, quiver of arrows, and a travel pouch slung over his shoulder, yet he made not a sound walking over the ground in his thick leather boots.
She had his dagger still strapped to her belt and carried nothing, but it was her booted feet that slipped and slid as they climbed, and her steps that would be heard were anyone lying in wait for them.
“No one knows we’re here, Georgie. It’s just you and me and that boat we’ll soon reach. We outwitted Brihann in making our escape last night.”
“How can you be certain? You said his demons were on our trail.”
“They were, but I now think it was mere coincidence they were following us. We lost them a short while ago. I don’t think we would have shaken them off if they had been ordered to find us.”
“How long do you think we can fool Brihann? His spies will know something is amiss since you didn’t come down to your hall today.”
“Thomas and my captains are doing their best to make everyone think we’re still in our bedchamber. Dragon Lords are known to have lusty appetites, especially after a battle. Everyone saw me and Brihann fight. It will not take much to fool them into believing that I’ve taken you into my bed and am enjoying the pleasures of your body as my spoils of war.”
“Spoils?” She shook her head and sighed. “I’m rather meager fare, not nearly as… er, desirable a prize as your nymphs. I dare say, it will not take his spies long to suspect it is a ruse.”
“Do not doubt your worth, Georgie.” He chuckled lightly and tweaked her nose. “There is no one like you in all of England or in this realm. Even if Brihann suspects we’re on the run and headed for the Razor Cliffs, he’ll have most of his scouts and armies gathered there, not here.”
She nodded. “Good, then we shall have time to eat and talk without interruption.”
She slid most of the way down the other side of the rise and would have landed with a splash in the water had not Lord Bloodaxe kept a firm hold of her hand. “Gracefully done,” he teased. “Here, let me help you into the boat. Careful, now. Don’t fidget or it will tip over and land us both in the water. Sit on the center bench and hold tight to the pouch.”
“I’ll keep it securely on my lap. I’m famished. If it falls in, I’m jumping in after it.”
“Try not to, Georgie.” She felt his grin rather than saw it. “I’m also famished and may rescue the food instead of you.”
She laughed. “No, my lord. I know you’ll save me.”
“Aye, always.” His voice was suddenly gentle and husky.
She looked up, wishing she could see his face. “It feels nice.”
He set down his weapons and moved to untie the boat from its mooring. “What does?”
“What you just said. Will you truly always be there to protect me? Yesterday, you seemed insistent on never seeing me again.”
“We have yet to set off and you’re already asking questions.” But he didn’t seem very much put out as he tucked the oars in their oarlocks. He kept them tilted upward so that they sat above the water.
“I can’t help being curious,” she said. “There’s so much to learn and so little time in which to do it.”
“We’ll talk on the water.”
The boat rocked as he stepped in and settled on the bench across from hers. She grasped the sides and gave a soft yelp when it suddenly tipped hard in one direction. “You do remember that I can’t swim. I’d be wailing and howling, resisting climbing aboard with all my might if I were here with anyone else.”
“I’m honored you trust me.” His hands come to rest lightly on hers.
“Of course, I do.” The quickening beat of her heart was for reasons other than fright. The longer they remained together, the more she cared about him.
He squeezed her hand and spoke gently. “Let’s eat first. Then you can assail me with your questions.”
“Very well.” She wasn’t going to protest, for she was hungry, and he needed to concentrate on getting them underway.
All too soon, he removed his hands from hers. The oars were now loosely perched on his lap so that he could set them in position quickly if the current caused the boat to drift too close to the shore.
As they floated downstream, he sliced some cheese and bread for her and then for himself. They ate quickly, and once sated, he handed her a small sack. She opened it and inhaled the heady scent. “A honey wine? Do you grow grapes here?”
“Yes, in the midlands of my realm. Our grapes grow by the light of our moons so their flavor is more bitter than the grapes grown in Spain or France that have the benefit of your sunlight. We add honey to cut the bitterness. We do the same for most of our ales.” He leaned forward, close enough that their breaths mingled. “The midlands is my farming region. Our grains and orchards are cultivated there. The pine forests near my fortress provide wood for our ships and houses. The Razor Cliffs provided the stone for my fortress.”
She wished that they could travel by day so that she could see more of his lands. The night here was unsettling, so dark without starlight or even the bright glow of the two moons that shone only by daytime. “The activities here are remarkably similar to those that would go on in England.”
“In many ways they are, because it is important for those who cannot move on, those who have no choice but to reside in the Underworld, to feel rooted in the familiar. But there are important differences between your world and mine. The existence of Dragon Lords, of course, and the knowledge we carry of a powerful, dark magic that is unknown elsewhere. I was eager to learn this magic, but use it sparingly now that I have mastered its power.”
She sensed an aching sadness in his words, a longing to be something other than he was. But he seemed to quickly shake out of his morose thoughts and continued to talk about his home. “Our animals and birds aren’t quite the same down here. You wouldn’t recognize most of them.”
She listened, fascinated as he opened up to her. “No grouse or quail?”
“No, our birds come in all sizes, but they’re all nasty, as you will recall from your first encounter with those creatures. They have sharp teeth and tough skin, not suitable for eating.”
She recalled her surprise on that first day and it instantly made her heart beat a little faster in an unpleasant way. “Is there anything that isn’t dangerous here?”
“Many things,” he assured, the deep rumble of his voice as smooth as the water upon which they drifted.
“Name one.”
“Sausage trees,” he replied immediately.
She laughed and shook her head. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Now I know you’re teasing me.”
“No, I’m in earnest. They exist in your world as well, in the arid regions of your continent of Africa. These trees sustain most of the demons living down here as well. Their fruit happens to grow in the shape of a sausage, hence its name.” His tone became more serious. “Mordain, the red dragon, and I have maintained our lands so that they and our subjects flourish. But Brihann, Necros, and Python have been swallowed up by the evil of their magic. Their thoughts are filled with war and death so that they no longer think of what is needed to sustain their minions. The demons who live within their realms mostly survive on the fruit and flowers of the sausage trees.”
“Will you think me heartless if I’m relieved to know those demons are weakened? And glad that their Dragon Lords are destroying the very evil which gives them power? It cannot be a bad thing.”
He sighed. “I suppose it isn’t. But the Underworld does not harbor only wicked souls. Many who are here are not unredeemable.”
Their conversation seemed to flow as swiftly as the current that propelled them silently down the vast river. She was glad it would take hours to reach their destination, for there was so much to learn about him and this Underworld in which she was presently trapped. “Then why are they here?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. Perhaps their anger needs to fade before their souls can return to your world or rise to heaven. Perhaps it is sorrow or pain that compels them here, or a mistake that could not be healed while they lived. Many of them were tormented in life, but few who pass through here are pure evil.”
“You seem to understand their suffering.”
He grunted. “I’m not that insightful. However, I don’t judge the souls who come to me. Here, they are given a second chance. They start afresh once the ferrymen bring them across the river and they set foot on my lands. Many understand the hope of redemption that is offered and do eventually move on to a better place.”
“They’re fortunate to come to you.” She suddenly wondered whether she’d been brought here for the same reason, only he was hiding the truth from her.
He somehow sensed her thoughts. “No, Georgie. You’re here for altogether different reasons that will be revealed by the Stone of Draloch in its own good time. Had you not been brought to me, I might have decided to join Brihann in his mad quest. Perhaps you are here to remind me that goodness still exists and ought to be left to flourish.”
He took the sack of wine and drank heartily. “Perhaps you’ve been brought here merely to torment me. The Stone of Draloch is not above cruelty either. It could have–”
He stopped abruptly, and Georgiana ground her teeth in frustration. “What could it have done?”
“Nothing.”
She sighed, feeling his sudden tension and knowing he was hiding something.
“Obviously, it is important. Did you ever consider that I was brought here to mend whatever it is that you won’t tell me?” In truth, until this moment, she hadn’t considered herself important or powerful and that had been a mistake on her part. She’d been chosen by this mysterious Stone of Draloch and put in close quarters with Lord Bloodaxe. Why wouldn’t he tell her the reason?
The connection that she’d felt so immediately and profoundly at their first meeting had to be significant. She glanced around in the hope of seeing something of their location as they continued to drift, but saw nothing but an endless blackness. They’d been in the boat for some time now and she didn’t want to miss the chance to ask more questions. “I think you must tell me how we are connected.”
He was already tense, but the warm, moisture-laden air had suddenly charged. She didn’t care if he was angry. He wasn’t going to hurt her. He was her valiant protector. “Did you save my life when I was in England? I don’t recall it ever being in peril. But I think it must have been and you were the one to save me. Why else would I feel such a strong bond with you? When I opened my eyes and saw you beside me, I wasn’t afraid.”
He grunted. “You were frightened out of your wits.”
“No, I wasn’t. Perhaps in that first moment. But I calmed quickly. I knew you were someone important to me.”
She paused and was disappointed when he refused to answer. “Very well, if you can be stubborn and irritating, then so can I. I’m not climbing those Razor Cliffs until you tell me what I need to know. So, what do you say now?”
There was another long pause before he finally relented. “Will you promise to climb to the light and never look back if I tell you about us?”
“There was an us?” Her heart beat a little faster in anticipation. “Of course, there had to be. Yes, I promise.”
He leaned close then and gave her the softest kiss on her lips. As his mouth pressed to hers, she tasted the honey wine he’d taken his fill of earlier. “I kissed you once like this in England.”
She held her breath and then released it in a rush of questions. “When? Why don’t I remember it? And yet, my heart remembered you. I knew we were connected somehow.”
“You were but an infant then. I was just a boy. Our families had grand plans for us at one time. Marriage plans.”
“What?” She gripped the edge of the bench so tightly, the splintered wood dug into her fingers.
“We were betrothed, you and I?”
Her head began to spin with wild thoughts.
His words rang true, but her mind could not yet comprehend it. “No, how can it be? I was never betrothed until Oliver.” But even as she spoke the words, she knew he was telling the truth. There had been rumors. Whisperings. “Who were you in England? What happened to us, Lord Bloodaxe? Why did my father never tell me this?”
“In that time, I was known as Arik Blakefield, eldest son of the Duke of Draloch.”
“Arik? It’s a nice name. May I call you that?”
“No,” he said with unexpected harshness, “that part of me is gone. I am no longer Arik but Lord Bloodaxe. Named so for all the killing I’ve done with my battle axe. Many have been slain by my hand, many who may not have deserved to die. But I took their lives anyway.”
She shook her head in denial. “I cannot believe you purposely did harm to anyone. Were you… did you do this in England?”
“Not in England. I was like any other boy then.” There was a wistfulness in his voice that could not be overlooked, but he quickly shook it off with his next words. “Well, I was a young and wealthy marquess, so perhaps I was insufferably arrogant.”
“You are still arrogant, but I think deservedly so. You’re a natural leader and you care for those under your charge.”
He grunted. “I learned to kill in the Underworld.”
“To protect yourself,” she insisted.
“I convinced myself it was so. I no longer know if that is true. I’ve killed so many, I do not think twice about it now. Nor do I ever suffer from regret for my actions.”
“But you take no pleasure from your actions. You don’t kill for the sport of it.”
“Not yet.”
She didn’t think he ever would, for he appeared to be too honorable ever to take a life unless his lands and people were under threat. He had yet to harm her, and despite his obvious strength, had never made her feel intimidated or scared.
Were he cruel, he would have used her in the way Brihann had intended when gifting her to him. Instead, he’d gone out of his way to protect her innocence. She could not bring herself to think less of him. His horrific deeds were done to survive in brutal surroundings where the rules of humanity did not exist and survival depended on brute force. “You mentioned Draloch. Your title bears the same name as the stone.”
He took her hands in both of his and wrapped them in his warmth. “Rumors of evil have always swirled around the Dukes of Draloch. Demon blood runs in our family. Somewhere down the bloodline, one of my ancestors must have sold his soul for the promise of vast wealth. Ever since, the Dralochs have been sacrificing their sons in return for continued riches.”
“But you were the eldest and meant to inherit.” She frowned in confusion. “Our fathers agreed to the betrothal, did they not? Then why would your father suddenly give you over to this evil?”
There was another long pause and Georgiana knew this proud Dragon Lord was struggling to find the words to tell her of a moment that must still cause him great anguish. “I was never meant to be the one sacrificed. My younger brother was taken. I refused to accept it, so I went against my father’s wishes and followed Saron into the Underworld.”
His voice grew ragged and husky. “They were more threats than wishes, in truth. But I didn’t care. I had to save my little brother. I went after him and spent the next few years planning his escape. He suffered greatly in the meanwhile. I could only watch in silence as he endured the pain like a true Draloch.”
“Which meant he fought against them every day,” she said, knowing that if Saron Blakefield was half as proud as his brother was, he’d never allow his spirit to be conquered.
“He did exactly that and they beat him for it every day. They’d lock him away each night and even now I can hear his sobs and sniffles in my mind as he cried himself to sleep. He was only six years old when he was taken. But every morning, he stood firm and endured the same hardships as valiantly as any soldier who ever fought for a just cause. In the beginning, I fought along with him and endured the same punishment. Then I realized that I had to form a plan or else we’d both suffer the same fate until the beatings finally killed us.”
Georgiana felt each of his words like a rip to her heart. She felt an intense sorrow for both sons of Draloch. What father would ever allow his boys to be condemned so cruelly? And for what? The promise of coin?
“Georgie, are you crying?”
“Of course, I am. How can I not be moved by the torments you both endured? What happened to Saron?”
Lord Bloodaxe’s laughter was mirthless. “He escaped. He thinks he did it on his own, but he wouldn’t have made it beyond Brihann’s great hall if it weren’t for my help. That’s the first time I killed, and I did so without a shred of remorse. I killed every demon who got close enough to dig their talons into my brother. I couldn’t fight them all, though. Some managed to grab him, but he was strong enough by then to shake them off.”
He shifted in his seat, took one of the oars that sat across his lap, and began to row them toward the center of the river. They hadn’t drifted close to shore, but he must have felt the need to do something as he spoke of his bitter memories. “Our dark powers had grown while we were trapped here,” he continued, his voice brittle. “Brihann thought he had tamed me and so began to teach me his dark magic. In turn, I taught what I could of it to Saron while he was down here. However, much of his knowledge came from the rage that naturally sprang from within himself.”
“Do you know what has become of him?”
“Yes, he is now the Duke of Draloch. Anabelle, the woman I mentioned to you earlier, is his wife. His dragon mate. Hopefully, she is the one who will free him from the darkness.”
“Then I must go to them as soon as I escape. The prophecy you spoke of, the one concerning the two black dragons. Why would it not be you and Saron?”
He gave a tug on the oar and propelled them faster down river. “Because he will kill me on sight.”
“You’ve mentioned this before.” Georgiana shook her head in disbelief. “Why would he do such a thing when you saved his life?”
“He doesn’t realize that I saved him. I don’t know what my parents told him about me, surely lies to poison his mind. Then Brihann made certain that he and I would never reconcile.”
“What did he do?” Georgiana braced herself for the terrible explanation she knew was to come.
“He killed Saron’s son and made it appear as though I’d committed the murder. Saron now believes I killed his boy, Gideon.”
Georgiana wasn’t certain how much more sorrow she could bear. This proud and powerful family ought to have had an easy existence, residing in a great manor and able to provide their sons with all the luxuries she had been given as the daughter of a duke. Instead, they’d been treated worse than any caged animal. “I’m so sorry.”
They were speeding down river now, his oar thrusts ripping through the water as though Brihann’s demons were nipping at their heels. Nothing and no one was chasing them at the moment. The demons he was fleeing from were his own nightmarish memories. “Brihann purposely used one of my arrows. I realized his intent but was too late to stop him. When Saron looked up, grief etched on his face as he held Gideon’s lifeless body, all he saw was me. He recognized my markings on the arrow and decided I was guilty. He vowed then and there to kill me on sight. He’ll do it. Nothing has swayed him from his purpose.”
“Yet Anabelle believes in your innocence, and so do I. There must be something we can do to convince Saron.”
“There is nothing. Don’t you think I’ve tried? But it’s hopeless. Brihann’s evil has won the day. Saron and I will never reconcile. The two black dragons that the Stone of Draloch mentions will be Brihann and me, or Brihann and my brother.”
“But neither you nor your brother is evil. So how can Brihann succeed in conquering us while you are both able to stop him?”
“Georgie, have you not been listening? My brother and I are dark souls. It will take little to turn us into what Brihann has become. Necros and Python have already succumbed to the madness of evil. Mordain and I cannot be far behind.”
“How is it that Mordain has resisted? Who was he in his earlier life?”
He dug the oar once more into the water and gave a powerful thrust so that their boat appeared to be flying like a bird on the wing. “The son of Lucifer,” he said tersely. “The fallen angel.”
“What?”
“Georgie, there is no happy ending to be found here. Mordain is the devil’s own spawn. So, you see, the Dragon Lords are tainted by an evil that cannot be rinsed off by good intentions or by love. I don’t know why Mordain and I have not turned to rot yet. We are the youngest among the five. We know what we will become in time.”
“No, it doesn’t have to be that way. You and Mordain must continue to resist,” she pressed. “The reason why you haven’t succumbed yet is important. I don’t believe it is merely a question of your age. What if Mordain has warded off the darkness because he believes in true love? Has he taken a dragon mate? Is he searching for her?”
“Dragon Lords don’t attend balls or country weekends looking for love.” He snorted in dismissal.
“Then how do you find love? Do you simply fly among the clouds, minding your own business, and it suddenly strikes you between your dragon eyes?”
“Love does not conquer anything, certainly not a Dragon Lord’s heart.”
“That is nonsensical. It is a momentous thing for a dragon to take a mate. Did you not tell me so yourself? Once they are mated, they must remain true to each other throughout eternity. They want to remain true to each other. No one does that simply because they’re jolly good friends.”
“Are you being sarcastic, Georgie?”
She tipped her head up in indignation. “Well, perhaps a little. Mostly, I’m trying to make you believe in love. What if Saron is saved because he married Anabelle? What if you can be saved because of me?”
“You are not my dragon mate,” he said with unnecessary vehemence and almost tipped the boat over with the force of his oar thrust.
She closed her eyes and held on for dear life. “Of course, I am.” Her voice was little more than a squeak. “It all makes sense now that you have explained it to me. And if you think that I’m not going to fight for you, fight every day of my life to protect and heal you, then you had better think again.”