Dragon's Heart (28 page)

Killian stretched and sighed, enjoying the view, when his pants flew at his face. He caught them and laughed. “Are you trying to tell me something, my lady?”

“Yes, my
prince
, royal or not, you are not allowed just to sit around in bed while I get us something to eat.”

He slid out of bed, pulling his trousers on, then turned to see Serena wearing his shirt again. Not the one she’d worn the night before, but the shirt he’d arrived in. “Why don’t I get us some food?” He must have seen doubt in her expression because he closed the distance between them, and with his hands on her hips, he kissed her. “Yes, love. I may be a
prince
, but I do know a thing or two about obtaining food.”

“It’s not as simple as calling for a servant.” Laughter laced her words.

“I do know how to prepare a few things. I believe I might be able to come up with enough to sustain us.”

“Are you certain?” Serena hopped back on the bed and crawled to the center before tucking her legs close to her chest.

Killian bent at his waist, supporting himself on his fists. He kissed the tip of her nose. “Quite certain.” Turning to the small kitchen area, he checked the cabinets to see what kind of food was stocked.

Serena stayed in the middle of the bed… watching… as he first went through every cupboard and drawer, nodding and making noises of approval or dismissal in his throat every now and again.
There’s an opening now. I could tell him who my family was while he prepares the food
. She bit her lip and said, “If you’d like some help…”

Killian turned slowly to face her and smiled. “No, thank you, my lady. I have this under control.”

“As you wish.”

Killian turned back to what he was doing, and Serena felt warmth flow through her entire being. Part of her wanted to turn into a dragon, pluck him from the ground in her claws and fly as fast and as far as she could. She wondered what it would be like to escape arranged marriages and the pressures of their respective courts. Seeing Killian relaxed and at ease made her wish this was how it always was between them. He was the Killian she’d been seeing in her dreams, the man she knew he wanted to be.

Soon, Killian seemed satisfied. “It’s not much. Perhaps our jailers will bring more sustenance later in the day. Or even let us out to hunt.” He joined her on the bed, folding his legs under him as he set a plate piled high with bread, fruit, and cheese between them.

“Thank you, my prince.” She picked a plump, heart-shaped red berry… eyeing it. She’d never seen anything like it before.

“They’re sweet with just a little bit of a bite. Much like a certain lieutenant I know.” Killian plucked the berry from her fingers and held it in front of her lips. Serena licked her lips before closing the short distance, and she bit into the berry. Sighing, she enjoyed the sweet yet tart flavor as it filled her senses.

Killian chuckled and popped the remaining part into his mouth, chewing it slowly, never taking his eyes off Serena. A blush swept up her cheeks when she noticed his eyes on her. She tried to hide behind her hand, “What?”

“I thought I’d never see you again.” He looked around the lodge, a smile curling his lips. “Now this. I have two days alone with you.” His eyes focused down as he picked up the bread, ripping off a chunk and putting it in his mouth to stop himself.

“Killian.” She put her finger under his chin and tilted it up so her eyes could meet his. Serena’s heart sank as she saw uncertainty and fear in his cobalt eyes. “If we’re going work this out, you and I need to communicate. Something we haven’t excelled at in the recent past. Please, don’t hold anything back.”

“I’m not going to want to leave. Not without knowing you’ll return to Haven.”

Serena took a deep breath, realizing this was going to be the most difficult part of whatever conversations they had. Part of her wanted to kill Ryan for not warning Killian even though she understood the underlying logic. The remainder wanted to thank him and Bronwynn. “If you had known I was going to be here, would you have agreed to this?”

Killian nibbled on the bit of bread he held, using it as a distraction so he could sort through the confused maze of his thoughts. Serena picked up a slice of the red apple, giving him the time he needed to consider his answer.

“I don’t know,” he said after a long silence. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I was hurt, felt betrayed and was angry with you.” He paused and glanced up at her. “I wanted to hate you. But I couldn’t.” He started on another piece of bread, his appetite fleeing with each word they spoke. “What about you?”

“I would have come. I owed… owe you an explanation.” She couldn’t face him, knowing she was hiding more truths.

“You don’t have to give me one right now.”

“No. You deserve it, and it’s better to have it done with right away.”
Before this attachment goes any deeper.

Killian reached out and took her hand in his. “Whatever it is, I want to hear it.” His tone was soothing, and he stroked the back of her hands with his thumbs.

“Once I escaped Dennsmore’s men, I learned about my family… my real family.”

Killian frowned, confusion written in his expression. “Your family?”

“I was found by a man named Altus. He knew my parents.” She took a deep breath. “And my brothers.”

“You had brothers?”

“Four of them. Dalton, Baylenn, Sloane, and Kirin.” Serena stayed with the facts.

“I would have loved to meet them,” he whispered, trying to imagine his Serena having brothers. He wondered what they had been like.

“Your mother found me clinging to my father’s body.” Serena knew he’d heard this part of the story, more than once. It was the first memory she’d had for many years. “She wasn’t there by chance, though.”

Killian frowned, “What?”

“She was there meeting with my parents, under your grandmother’s orders.”

“Why?” He looked at the bread in his hand and dropped it back to the plate. His appetite had vanished.

“She was negotiating an alliance between Illedria and the Dragon Fey, part of that agreement was to be a marriage contract for the Prince of Illedria and the Dragon Fey Princess.”

“Me?” Killian paused, his mind turning over all of the possibilities. He lifted his eyes to Serena’s, and his lips quirked up in a smile. “You?”

Serena didn’t trust her voice, so she nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? Why did you lie about being ill?”

“Because I needed time to learn how to be what I am.” She looked away from him, picking at a lint ball on the blanket.

Killian placed his hands on the sides of her face, focused on her eyes. “You’re the princess my grandmother and mother wanted me to marry?”

Her eyes were still closed, and her lips trembled, but she gave the barest of nods.

“Serena, look at me.” The pause was longer this time. “Please.” Pain and regret radiated in his voice, not the fear or anger she’d been worried about. She opened her eyes and saw Killian smiling. “There you are,” he whispered before coaxing her into a passionate kiss. “Why didn’t we know
any
of this before?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t find out about the alliance or the betrothal agreement until I was preparing to leave for your wedding.”

“That command was Katia’s doing. As soon as I found out, I sent a messenger to Lakeshire with word that you could send an emissary. I was angry and broken-hearted, but I never wanted to hurt you like that.” Killian glanced down at the plate of food but what little he’d eaten churned in his stomach, threatening to make him sick.

“I didn’t think you would.”

“I saw you and wanted to talk to you, but you ran. Ryan stopped me from following you.”

“I ran because I was losing control.” She pulled her hand from his, clenching it in her lap, nails digging into flesh without breaking it.

He wanted to reach out, to touch her, to assure her that everything would be fine… but couldn’t. A lot of things had changed about her, and in spite of what they’d done the night before, he wasn’t certain what was acceptable between them anymore. “Control?”

“I can become a dragon anytime I chose.” She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to keep her fraying nerves from spiraling out of control. “But when my emotions run high, it’s more difficult for me to maintain control. Dragon Fey children learn how to manage their changes when they’re young, so it becomes second nature. But my nature was suppressed, hidden, locked away for most of my life. With each passing day, I’m relearning what I should have mastered as a child.”

“Why is that? How is it even possible?”

“When your mother found me, my father was still clinging to life.” Her throat tightened as memories flashed through her mind. “He told me to perform the funeral rites for the fallen. That your mother’s people would help. For Dragon Fey, it’s important the body be placed on the pyres before the next moonrise. My father gave me two talismans. One that he said would protect me throughout my life and the other would offer protection until I was old enough to understand.”

Killian reached out and put his hand on hers, offering unspoken support.

She drew in a shaky breath and turned her hand over to interlace their fingers. “I now know that the second talisman was imbued with a spell. One that made me forget everything about my life up until the moment it took effect. My parents had spent the last of their strength to cast the spell when they saw the battle was lost. They had waited so long for a daughter, an heir, that they sacrificed themselves so I could live.”

“An heir?” He frowned and shook his head. “But you had brothers.”

She glanced up at him, a slight smile curling her lips. “Dragon Fey are matriarchal.”

Killian’s breath caught in his throat. “Wouldn’t that make you a queen already?”

She shook her head and reached up to play with a bit of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. “Not until I reach the age of majority.”

Killian folded his hands in his lap, fighting the desire to run his fingers through her hair, to take away all the pain and confusion and replace it with joy and contentment. He wanted to be her home, her family. “You’re already eighteen.”

She chuckled and said, “We don’t reach majority until the age of twenty-three.”

“So,” he answered, understanding beginning to dawn on him, “a little over a year?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why you tried to leave me.”

“Yes. And why I wanted to break it off with you.” She sighed, and when her eyes met his, they were full of pain and regret. “I will need to marry, so I thought pushing you away would make things easier.” Her voice dropped to a soft whisper that Killian almost didn’t hear. “On us both.”

“But it didn’t.”

“No, not at all. I’m sorry, Killian.” She reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “I should have told you what was happening, but my people have to be so very careful about who knows the truth.” When she finished speaking, her hand dropped down to his leg.

He waited for several long moments, his eyes searching hers. “Why?”

Their eyes met and held as she replied. “The Dark Fey.”

Killian rubbed the back of his neck. “More legends that are true?”

“Yes.” She nodded They killed most of my people.”

He nodded, and a dark shadow passed over his eyes. “Why do I have the feeling your council doesn’t want you involved with a human prince any more than my father’s would want me involved with a Dragon Fey, princess or not.”

“You would be correct.”

He closed his eyes. Turning everything she’d told him over in his mind. “You said our mothers had agreed to the terms of our betrothal?” he asked.

Serena frowned uncertainty in her eyes. She nodded.

“Are there any documents, unsigned treaties, anything we could use to prove this?”

“Not that my people know of.” She brushed the hair away out of her eyes. “Dragon Fey are nomads, so there are not many written records of our people.”

“If there are records,” he said, chewing on his lower lip, “they are in Haven.”

“Yes.”

The couple fell into silence. Each of them lost in their own thoughts.

After a while, Killian shook his head. “I don’t understand.” Confusion and hurt lacing his words. “Why didn’t my mother ever tell me about this?”

“You were just a boy when she died.”

“I know, but we spoke of so many things most parents would consider beyond their children’s understanding.” He sighed. “I don’t know why she kept something this important from me.”

“I think she may have been trying to protect both of us and from what Altus said. She insisted the eventual betrothal be agreed upon by both of us before it went forward.”

“My mother insisted you and I had the final say over whether or not we married?”

“Yes. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of an arranged marriage between a little girl and her infant son and wanted us both to have options, in case we hated one another.”

Their eyes met, and the world seemed to fall away. All Killian cared about was the woman sitting next to him. He reached up and cupped her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She caught his hand as it fell away and lifted it to her lips. Never taking her eyes from his, she kissed the back before releasing it.

“We’ve talked, but haven’t eaten much.”

“I know,” Serena said as her stomach rumbled.

“Love?”

“Yes.”

He took her left hand and placed it over his heart. “I swear to you that upon my return to Haven, I will begin searching for a way we can be together.”

“What about Katia?”

“I
will
find a way to be rid of my wife. My grandmother was a shrewd woman. There was a reason she wanted the alliance with your people. Now I know, I want it.”

She frowned not fully understanding his meaning.

“I want to be married to the woman I love. Not just the woman who is politically expedient.”

“I want that too,” she whispered.

“Glad to hear it.” He popped a berry into his mouth and ate it. “Now, eat up because I have some ideas about how to spend the next couple of hours.” Serena started to say something, but he stopped her with a searing kiss. “I don’t know how long we will be parted. I know we have today and tomorrow and want to make as many memories as possible before we have to leave.”