It happened again.
Iris was lying in the tub, soaking away the sweat and grime from traveling and trying to get a handle on her roiling emotions, when tearful blue eyes flashed through her mind.
I’m sorry, Iris. I love you.
She sucked in a breath.
She felt her mother’s kiss on her forehead, as real as the hot water lapping at her skin. She heard the whispered words in her ear.
And then the vision changed.
The blue eyes were smiling now. Bright. Sparkling. Happy.
She was laughing—both of them were laughing. A smile pressed a dimple into her mother’s left cheek as she cooed and tickled Iris. Small, chubby hands waved in the air, hands Iris knew were hers, and when her mother picked Iris up and held her over her head, Iris knew the little legs that didn’t quite work yet were hers, too.
Her mother pulled her in close for a hug and kissed the top of her head.
You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Iris.
And then Iris was alone in Char’s bathroom.
She lowered her hand to the water. She didn’t know when she’d reached out, but she knew tears were streaming down her face again, silent tears this time, tears for a girl who’d given up everything for her rapist’s baby.
How could she say that?
How could she say Iris was the best thing to happen to her?
Iris splashed her face with water. She saw a white glow in her peripheral vision, a glow she knew emanated from a strange ovoid translucency in the center of her chest, just beneath the skin.
She’d have to tell Char about that eventually.
She ducked under the water to rinse her hair and clear her head, and then she pulled the plug from the drain and stood, reaching for a towel. The glow was already fading. She avoided looking at it as she dried herself, and she only looked in the mirror after she’d donned her nightgown to ensure the white fabric was thick enough to hide the crystal. It was—at least, when the crystal wasn’t glowing. She had no way of knowing when that would happen again.
Well, she’d be under the blankets all night. Char didn’t have to know. Not yet.
She felt a little guilty about asking him to sleep with her. She knew how much he struggled with his attraction to her, and she knew sleeping together wasn't proper, but her mind and heart were too ragged and worn to care about propriety. And the thought of sleeping alone scared her.
If she were alone, there would be nothing and nobody to distract her from her thoughts, from Micah, the poison who wouldn’t work his way out of her system.
But she felt safe with Char. And she knew he wanted her to feel safe.
She padded out of the bathroom. Char was already in bed, lying with his back toward the open bathroom doorway, but he rolled onto his back when she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. He lifted his arm for her, and she cuddled up to him, feeling immediate relief and security in his embrace.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a hushed voice.
She hugged him tight and gave him a shy smile. “When I’m with you.”
He grinned. “Good.”
He brushed her hair back to kiss her forehead, and then his fingers wandered. She felt his lips press against her skin, felt his fingers combing through her damp hair, felt his thumb stroking her cheek and then tracing the outline of her lips.
She sighed and closed her eyes.
Being with him was nothing like being with Micah. The mage could imitate Char’s actions, but he couldn’t imitate the feelings behind those actions.
She wanted Char to touch her more. Touch her where Micah had touched her. Fix the wrong.
The thought filled her with nervous tension. Excitement or fear? Or both?
“Do you want Father Peter to marry us?”
She opened her eyes and looked up at Char. “I thought you wanted to get married as soon as possible?”
“Yeah, but if that’s what you want, I can wait.”
Her heart swelled at his thoughtfulness. She remembered what he’d said about his heart feeling like it would explode sometimes, and that was how she felt right now. It would be nice to have Father Peter marry them, to have Fred, Ginger, and Kayla there at the wedding. It would be nice—but it would also mean waiting until peace, whether a successful truce or one side winning the war.
There was no telling how long that would take, and she didn’t want to wait any more than Char did.
“I’d like that, but I’d rather not wait that long.”
She felt his fingers under her chin, tipping it up, and she closed her eyes for his kiss. He smiled against her lips.
“How about next weekend?”
She smiled too. “Okay. But, um…” She opened her eyes again. Her smile faltered. “But I might not be… ready.”
“That’s fine.” He rolled onto his side, facing her, and gave her another light kiss. “We’ll end up this way by morning, anyway.” He kissed her cheek and then her neck. Every puff of his breath made her skin tingle as he nuzzled into her. “If this is all I get for a while, I can deal with that.”
Nothing like being with Micah at all.
“I love you, Char.”
“I love you too, Iris.”
It wasn’t long before she drifted off into a sweet, restful, dreamless sleep. No visions; no whispers; no worries.
And when she opened her eyes in the morning, he was still there, the first one to awaken, as usual. There was such warmth and tenderness in his green eyes that her heart felt like it would burst again.
“Not jumping out of bed this morning?” he asked, brushing her hair back behind her ear.
She smiled and shook her head. “No.”
Then she shifted up and gave him a kiss. He tensed, startled, and then his hand came around to the back of her head, and he leaned into her, returning the kiss and deepening it. After a few more kisses, he put his hand on her shoulder, applying light pressure.
Then he jerked his hand back and pulled away from her.
She stared at him, wondering what was wrong.
Green eyes searched her. A line had formed between his brows. “Is this—”
“It’s fine,” she reassured him.
He was still looking at her, still hesitating, and something about that made her want him even more. She surged forward and kissed him hard. His response was more restrained, but he pushed her onto her back and drew the kiss out, longer, deeper, and that was what she wanted. A quick breath, and then he was kissing her again, settling his weight on her, and it felt good. It felt right. It felt nothing like—
She didn’t even want to think his name.
She sighed and wrapped her arms around Char’s neck. He tangled one hand in her hair and slid the other under her back. Next breath, and he was painting kisses from her lips to her jaw.
“What if we get married today?”
She tilted her head back. “What day is it?”
“I don’t know.”
His lips wandered along her jaw to her ear. She sighed again.
“What’s a dragon wedding like?”
“I don’t know,” he breathed into her ear.
She giggled. “Are you listening?”
“Mm hm.” He nibbled at her earlobe, and she gasped. “I like the sounds you make when I do this to you.”
“Mm…”
His lips touched her neck, and she shivered. Her hands slid from the back of his neck to his shoulders.
“Char…”
“You’re going to have to stop me, Iris.”
“Mm…”
She didn’t want to stop him. Not yet.
Not until his lips reached her collarbone and she remembered the crystal.
She pushed him back. The heat in his eyes as he hovered over her was enough to make her whole body feel warm. “I think we should get up now.”
He rolled off of her with a frustrated sigh. “I’ll use Rath’s bathroom, so you can…”
She’d climbed out of bed and was straightening her nightgown, but when his words trailed off, she stopped and turned to look at him. The way his eyes roamed across her made her breathless.
“I-is something wrong?” She covered the center of her chest with her right hand and looked down at herself, but the crystal wasn’t glowing, and her nightgown was in place. She looked up again and he was there, standing in front of her.
“Nothing at all.” He rested his hands on her hips and pulled them flush with his. “Unless there’s something wrong with looking at the most beautiful woman in the world.”
His breath was hot on her lips. She put her hands on his chest, but she didn’t push him away.
“Sh-shouldn’t we go have breakfast?”
“In a minute.”
His kiss was gentler than before, but no less passionate. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, and when he changed the angle, she tilted her head a little, too. His arms were around her, holding her close, and she never wanted this exchange of breath and taste to end.
Then he pulled back with another sigh. He went to the bureau, leaving her with the lingering sensation of hot air on her flushed skin. The loss of his touch brought a sudden disappointment, but she swallowed it down and went into the bathroom.
Being with him was nothing like being with Micah.
When she looked in the bathroom mirror, she didn’t see it. The nightgown was modest. Sleeveless, but it had a high neckline and wide straps over the shoulders, and it reached down to her ankles. Nothing she could see to trigger that reaction from Char.
She reached up and touched her cheek.
‘The most beautiful woman in the world’?
Her?
She knew she wasn’t ugly, but that seemed like a stretch. The girl Rath had danced with at that party, Misa—she was prettier than Iris, with her shimmering silver hair and her round golden eyes. Iris’ brown hair and brown eyes were so common.
Maybe not so common to dragons.
When she finished in the bathroom and changed, she emerged into a living room filled with a flurry of fairy activity. The little golden orbs were back, piling books and papers against the wall to her left.
She heard voices coming from the kitchen, but she had to stop and say hello to the fairies first. As each dropped its load on the growing stack, it joined the cluster forming around her.
“Good morning. I’m glad you’re all okay. Thank you for bringing all of this here.”
One zipped toward her and touched her lips, and the rest followed, one by one, until she couldn’t help but giggle from the ticklish sensation.
Char poked his head through the kitchen doorway. “Oh, it’s Iris and the fairies.”
No sooner had he said it than Elera shoved him out of the way and rushed toward Iris, seizing her in a bear hug. “Oh, you poor dear. I’m so glad you’re back.”
Iris’ dark brown eyes widened. She looked at Char, alarmed, and he gave her a slight shake of his head. Elera didn’t know.
Iris relaxed only a little.
“Come have breakfast,” Elera said, releasing Iris from her embrace and taking the girl’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll appreciate a good hot meal after eating travel rations for days.”
Char pulled Iris’ seat out for her, and Elera left to pile steaming food from the stove onto a plate. Sitting across from Iris were Rath and Kelnor.
“Thank you,” Iris said, looking at the plate of aromatic eggs, bacon, and potatoes Elera set before her. “Did you cook this, Elera?”
“I said ‘a good, hot meal,’” Elera said, chuckling. “Of course I cooked it. The fairies only just got back. You don’t think Char or Rath could manage this, do you?”
“Now that everybody’s here,” Kelnor interrupted, “I want an explanation about what you three have been doing for the past five days.”
Char took a seat next to Iris and shot a worried glance at his mother. “Uh…”
“I’m staying,” Elera stated. “Go ahead.”
Rath shot her a dubious look as well, but he launched into his report, and Iris ate in silence while she listened. She’d never heard him speak with such cool detachment before. There was nothing emotional or personal about it. He gave the facts as he saw them; nothing more, nothing less.
He left some things out, much to Iris’ relief. Kelnor didn’t need to know about Micah raping her. Rath didn’t mention the creature in the tunnel, either. He explained the pile of documentation in the living room by stating he was concerned about Micah’s work falling into the wrong hands.
“Is that everything?” Kelnor asked, looking over at Char.
“Yes, sir,” Char said without hesitation.
Kelnor’s red eyes turned to Iris. “Then the amulet and that crystal are gone?”
There was a beat of silence before she answered. “Yes, sir.”
His eyes held hers a moment longer before he stood from the table. “Okay. Today is Sunday, so you can all get some rest. Rath, I want to see you first thing in the morning.”
Rath winced. “Yes, sir,” he said, suddenly gloomy.
“Rath,” Elera chided.
Rath sighed and straightened in his chair. “Yes, sir.”
She nodded her approval. “That’s better.”
“Thank you for breakfast, Elera,” Kelnor said. His eyes softened as they met hers. “Delicious as always.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you for keeping my boys in line.”
Iris had to look away. It felt as though she had seen something she shouldn’t have, something tender and private. Char and Rath were right about Kelnor liking Elera, but they hadn’t mentioned their mother returning Kelnor’s affections. Maybe they hadn’t noticed it yet.
“Now, Char,” Elera said, turning to him as Kelnor left the room. “About last night.”
Iris stiffened in her seat.
Rath stood so fast his chair toppled over. He set it on its legs again and muttered something about Misa before he fled the room.
Char reached under the table to squeeze Iris’ hand.
“First, let me say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Iris,” Elera said, her authoritarian voice slipping into a more comfortable maternal tone. “But I would like to know what is wrong.”
Char cleared his throat. He looked at Iris, and she gave him a slight nod. Elera would find out eventually. Might as well get it over with.
“To be honest, we didn’t tell Kelnor everything."20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Fm5ZCPXwB
