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I felt him turn his head.Are you well?
I furrowed my brow. “I think so, but I could really use a long nap.”
Then resthe told me as he stretched out his wings.We will return to my home.
I gladly slipped into a deep slumber aboard my personal air travel.
CHAPTER TEN
I don’t knowhow much time had passed, but when I woke up the sun was shining brightly through the bedroom windows. A fire crackled in the hearth and the room was warm and comfortable. I snuggled deeper into the covers and inhaled the musky scent of the dragon lord. It was like heaven.
Still, something was missing. Or should I say, someone.
I was still fully clothed sans shoes, so I slid out of bed and walked toward the door. Voices on the other side of the entrance caught my attention. I reached the door and pressed one ear against the wood.
“Then you propose to leave immediately, My Lord?” I didn’t recognize the voice, but I could tell it belonged to an older gentleman.
“As soon as the luggage can be prepared,” came the reply from Thorn.
Their footsteps approached the door. “Will My Lady be accompanying you?”
I inwardly gasped and scuttled back to the bed where I dove underneath the covers. The door creaked open and the pair paused on the threshold. “That would depend on what My Ladywishes.” His footsteps tread across the floor and stopped beside the bed. “What say you, Your Ladyship?”
I peeked out from under the covers. The older gentleman I’d heard earlier stood in the doorway. The man appeared to be about sixty and was dressed in a crisp black uniform with a white undershirt.
I blinked up at my host. “What were you saying?”
“I was saying that one shouldn’t eavesdrop in another person’s home when they aren’t familiar with the floorboards,” he teased.
A sheepish smile spread across my lips. “That bad, huh?”
“Like a monster stampeding across a meadow of broken glass, but that hardly answers my question.
I cocked my head to one side. “You were going to that Agency in that city, right? Mire?”
“Mirum, though mire may be a more accurate title for a city so steeped in dirty deeds,” he admitted as he folded his arms over his chest. His face showed a contemplative expression. “With that in mind, perhaps it would be too dangerous for you to accompany me.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I tamped down my rising fear and flung aside the covers. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and clapped my hands against my bent knees. “The last time you left me I was kidnapped for the second time in one night. I think I’d rather stay with you than alone here.”
Thorn gestured to the gentleman. “You won’t be alone. Raines here is my most trusted friend, and he would protect you with his life.”
I winced. “I kind of hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Raines bowed his head to me. “I assure you I am quite capable of protecting you from the lower forms of life some people call ‘soured man.’”
I looked up at Thorn with a pleading look. “I would much rather go with you, if that’s alright.”
Thorn couldn’t hide the pleased look in his eyes, but there was still concern written across his face. “Mirum is a dangerous place. I will keep you as close as I can against my side, but there are those who would try what those bandits did in order to steal your blood.”
I furrowed my brow and cast a questioning look at him. “What was that business about my blood and you? Why would they even want to suck me dry and sell it on the market like it was fine wine?”
Thorn sighed and took a seat on the edge of the bed. A knowing glance at Raines, and the servant understood enough to step outside and close the door behind him. I waited with curiosity mixed with apprehension as Thorn began speaking.
“Those human women who become the brides of my kind have unique advantages afforded to them,” he explained as he cast his eyes to the dresser against the wall. More especially, to the decanter set on its top I had noticed the previous night. “After the. . .bonding has happened, the bride is given a special tonic that grants her the same longevity as her dragon lord.”
I leaned closer to him. “What’s in this tonic?”
“My blood.”
