Kathryn
They were sitting on the edge of the helipad, awaiting the arrival of the chopper that would take them to Fort something-or-other, where they were going to give their report to a Colonel Mara, who was apparently in charge of the dragons or something. Kathryn hadn’t really paid attention, too wrapped up in Callan and the change their relationship had undertaken in the short time she’d known him.
“Can you really believe it’s not quite been three weeks since I first dragged you to the mall?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.
Callan had one arm around her, his strong fingers pushing gently through her hair, scraping deliciously across her scalp in slow patterns that sent shivers down her spine. He now leaned in and tenderly kissed the crown of her head.
“Yes, I can. Because it means I can’t wait to spend the future with you, and only you, my love.”
She giggled, the endorphin rush filling her once again.
“I love you.”
“And I you,” he replied, his voice deep to the point she could feel the thrum of it in his shoulder.
His shoulder stiffened slightly under her before he started to speak again, revealing his sudden trepidation.
“Katy, would you be willing to participate in a dragon tradition?”
Sensing that this was something serious, she sat up and gave him her full attention, true-brown eyes meeting deep indigo. She brushed back some curled strands of brown hair from her face that the wind had caught, beating Callan to it by a few milliseconds. They giggled and she kissed his hand, holding it tightly in hers.
“What sort of dragon tradition? I didn’t know you had any. Then again, until yesterday I wasn’t aware you even existed, so please forgive my ignorance.”
They laughed, his eyes sparkling in the midday sun, catching the brilliant rays just right. Her free hand reached up to brush a piece of fluff from his cheek.
“When we find our mates, it’s very normal for us to give them a piece of ourselves in the form of jewelry.”
“A piece of yourself?”
He nodded. “I’m an onyx dragon. As you may have noticed, our thing is acid. Vanek, the dragon with the black hair? He’s a crimson dragon. They have fire. Argent dragons control ice and snow. Azure dragons lightning, etcetera.”
“You want me to wear acid?” Katy was uncertain about that. “It sounds dangerous.”
“It will never harm you. I swear to you.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze.
In the distance helicopter blades beating against the air started to sound. Their ride was approaching. Katy was unsure about wearing jewelry made from acid—she’d seen what it could do when he’d fought the Outsider—but it was clear this was important to Callan.
“Okay.” Her voice was husky, timid.
“Can I see your wrists?”
She held out both hands, and he took them in his, putting her palms upward. Black liquid flowed down his forearms, and she braced herself for the burn, wondering just why she was doing this. As it touched her and flowed over her skin, she felt nothing but a gentle warming, soothing sensation fill her, reminiscent of cuddling up to him in the cold of the night.
“I had originally thought these were for Beatrice,” he confessed. “But I realize now I was wrong. They were for you, Kathryn.”
It didn’t bother her to hear him speak of Beatrice. He’d told her the night before about the woman he’d thought he loved, and how that stood in his way to eventually realizing that she was his mate. She’d hugged him as the pain of Beatrice’s death shone through, giving all her love and strength to the man that she was going to spend the rest of her life with. His hurt over that was as equally visible to her as was his joy and happiness at having found her. His mate.
The acid swirled around her forearms, forming itself into three interlinking bracelets on each arm. As it hardened she gasped at the intricate detail within. Little dragons and humans were there, as was script she could not read.
“What does that say?” she asked, pointing to a word on her left wrist, on the bracelet nearest her wrist.
“It says Kathryn.”
Callan showed her the next inscription on the middle one. “This one reads Lillian.”
“And this one is Pine?” she guessed, pointing at the final bracelet.
He nodded. “It says it in Draconic, the language of dragons.”
“It’s beautiful.” She spoke in hushed tones, overwhelmed by the gift.
“And what about this one?” The bracelet closest to her right wrist was the only one on that arm that bore an inscription.
“Take a guess.”
“Callan?”
“Yes.”
Katy leaned in and kissed him, the sounds of the helicopter almost above them now. “But why are these two blank?”
“I’d hoped that one day you might let me fill them in with the names of our children.”
If her heart could burst from joy, it would have done so right then and there, as the helicopter descended to the pad behind them.
There was no doubt in her mind that this was the man for her.
“You’re going to need more bracelets then,” she said, just to watch the reaction on his face.
It was worth it.