Dragon Heartstring (3 page)

“Yes. Perhaps you won’t forget me so easily this time,” I said, forcing myself to smile.

His expression sobered, dark eyes captivating. “No. I most certainly won’t forget you this time.”

C
ity Park was nestled
in the middle of Gladium. I landed softly in front of the siren fountain at the front gates, tightening my wings against my back. The fountain was made of white stone—three beautiful women stretching their alabaster arms toward the heavens as they rode atop a tidal wave, the water trickling down their nude forms into the basin. A lovely work of art, but I preferred other scenery from this vantage point.

From here there was a magnificent view of towering skyscrapers built by and for Morgons. There was a distinct difference to them than the flat, perfectly symmetrical human-made buildings of glass and steel. We Morgons preferred stone and mountain-like peaks. Our dragons longed for a touch of the old world. And while more Morgons were conforming to human society and building flat-top towers for their homes and businesses, I preferred the cityscape of peaks and ridges, a harmony and beauty all its own.

“Shakara!”

I turned to see Jessen walking toward me, picnic basket in hand, Julian skipping ahead of her with his kite under his arm as he strayed onto the open green. Jessen motioned to the lawn. I nodded and met her halfway.

“Do you need some help?” I offered as she hefted the picnic basket with one hand, a blanket tucked underneath her other arm.

“No. I’ve got it. How about we settle right over there underneath that evergold?”

“That’s a great spot. Let me take the blanket at least.”

“Thanks.”

I marched ahead of her, whipped open the blanket, and spread it close to the evergold. With the onset of fall, the fire-gold leaves had already begun changing to a burnished copper. But where the leaves of other trees would shake loose and leave their branches bare, an evergold kept theirs through winter, never losing the leaves until new ones budded in the spring and pushed the others out.

“Perfect spot,” I said as I knelt on the blanket.

Jessen settled and opened the basket while keeping an eye on Julian who had torn open the kite box and was pulling out the pieces.

“The weather is so nice right now,” she said. “Not too hot.”

“Yes, it is.”

“So, how are things at the clinic?”

“Fine. No patients this afternoon, but I’ve got my comm on me in case there’s an emergency. Carra will call if she needs me.”

“Uncle Demetrius!” Julian shot across the lawn toward the man walking our way.

As expected, my heartrate sped up immediately. I was beginning to loathe my poor heart for reacting nonsensically to the man’s presence. I didn’t like him. Not at all. And yet, I found myself studying him carefully as he approached. Still in suit pants and a white button-down, he’d lost his tie and jacket. He looked no less powerful and commanding. In fact, his semi-casual state had my mind wandering in a wayward direction I had to stop at once.

As he lifted his nephew in his arms, he smiled and said something low that made Julian laugh. He squirmed out of his arms and ran back to where he’d dumped the kite onto the grass. Demetrius veered toward us, his dark eyes heavy on me as he approached.

Jessen peered up at him and sighed. “Don’t you own a pair of jeans?”

“Of course, I do. But I had to work this morning.”

“You said—”

“I took the entire afternoon off, so stop your nagging.”

“I’m not nagging. Now go build that damn kite. It may take you all afternoon.”

“Hello again, Shakara,” he said with a slanted smile, seemingly immune to his sister’s chastisement.

I jumped when his attention moved to me. Damn my nerves. “Hello, Demetrius.”

He held my gaze for a second longer before marching off to tend to Julian. I couldn’t help but watch the lovely way he moved, smooth and agile, till he finally crouched down next to his nephew.

I snapped my attention back to Jessen who was observing me while she set out four plates. Heat crawled up my neck as I took a container from her and set it on the blanket.

“He’s a good-looking man, isn’t he?” she asked with a small smile.

“Um. Yes. He is.” I didn’t know what else to say. I wasn’t going to lie.

She set out the napkins. “I wish he’d find a good woman and settle down. But that’s likely to never happen.”

“Why’s that?”

“Demetrius is married to his work. There is nothing that gets him more excited than a deal going down or a new venture on the rise.”

I smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with hard work.”

“Not at all. But there is something wrong when you don’t know how to loosen up and enjoy the little pleasures in life.”

“He seems to be doing that right now.”

We both watched as Demetrius stretched out the elaborate kite while Julian held the strings.

Jessen grunted. “You’re right. I suppose I’m too hard on him. I just want him to relax. I don’t want him to be so—”

Julian whooped and shouted, “Hooray!”

The kite was up and flying. Demetrius was back at his side, showing him how to let the reel out slowly as the wind carried the kite higher into the air, red streamers trailing out underneath the green dragon’s belly.

“So…what?” I urged her to continue.

“So like my father,” she said, expression somber.

“Would your father be spending an entire workday afternoon in the park with your son?” I asked.

“No.” She sighed. “I’m not sure my father even knows I have a son.”

I couldn’t imagine my own father not being in my life. I had no words of comfort to that.

“Uncle Demetrius!”

We both looked over just as the kite caught in a high branch of a tree. Demetrius took the strings from Julian and worked to see if he could free it.

“I’ll be right back.” I stood and walked over to the two. “You having a little trouble?”

“I got it caught,” said Julian, his sad expression upward where the kite dangled in a branch.

“I think I’ve almost got it,” said Demetrius.

“You might tear it. Let me help.” Without waiting for a response, I opened my wings, flapped with a bend of my knees, and shot straight up to the top of the tree.

Hovering with a steady beat of my wings, I pulled on the string, which had wound twice around the branch. The green dragon dangled upside down. I unwrapped the string from around the limb and carried the kite back to the ground.

“Thank you, thank you!” said Julian hopping up and down, his small wings flapping excitedly as I handed over the kite.

Finally, I met Demetrius’s gaze. I’d felt him watching me and wasn’t sure what I’d find in those dark depths. Curiosity or distaste, perhaps, for I’d just displayed the most obvious difference between our kind. His expression was one of admiration, a gentle smile and warmth to his eyes that made my knees buckle. A delightful shiver ran down my body. I needed to get away from this man. No matter how much my head said he was a dull executive with no attractive characteristics, my body said something entirely differently. And I knew what that meant. My dragon liked him, which was shocking to say the least.

“Thank you, Shakara,” he said in a much calmer demeanor than Julian, who now ran around in a circle, making his kite soar in his arms.

“I was glad to be of help.”

“Julian!” called Jessen. “Come and eat.”

He ran over to her in the shade.

Demetrius openly stared at my wings. I cleared my throat to jar him out of his little trance, but he remained transfixed.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“Sorry. It’s just that, well… I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I’ve never seen a Morgon fly up close.”

“What? You’re kidding, right?”

He shook his head. “It’s always been from afar.”

Of course, he hadn’t. He didn’t know any Morgons. Not as friends. He may have witnessed Morgons in flight over the city or leaving from rooftop terraces, but he hadn’t seen one up close and personal.

“And does it make you uncomfortable? I know that you’re not around Morgons often. And perhaps not very fond of them.” I added the last in a hushed tone.

He frowned. “No.” He stepped closer, leaning toward me as if he might reach out and touch my wing. But he didn’t. “I found your flight…breathtaking.”

Breathtaking was watching him study me with those beautiful brown eyes. “That was nothing. You should see me when I really fly.”

Why was I enticing the man? My dragon wanted to prance around for him.

His heated gaze captured mine. “I would like that.”

I’d meant it hypothetically, yet he answered as if it were an invitation. Right then, I knew I wasn’t imagining things. Demetrius Cade was flirting with me. This was dangerous.

“Shall we go eat?” I asked.

“After you,” he said with a wave of his hand.

I moved ahead, once more feeling the intensity of his gaze at my back.

Some people exude a light aura, making one feel comfortable and secure, no matter how close they stand next to you. Then there are others whose presence feels heavy and daunting, an immovable fixture whose weight fills up the space around them. And then there’s a presence like Demetrius. One who seeps up the very air around him, filling it with his dominance, as if he owns every domain in which he steps. Perhaps that’s because he usually did. But as he followed behind me, it was more than that. I felt his gaze like a physical touch, like a lover’s caress. By the time I knelt down on the blanket, I was breathless, my chest rising and falling too quickly.

“Are you all right?” asked Jessen, a concerned expression pinching her brow.

“I’m fine.” I waved away her concern, wishing she hadn’t drawn attention to me. Demetrius may not be a Morgon, but he was surely adept at detecting how he affected other women. I didn’t want to be one of the many who trembled in his presence.

Of course, that’s exactly who I was at the moment.

“Did the kite break?” asked Jessen.

“No,” said Demetrius. “Thanks to Shakara. We’ll give it a second flight after lunch.”

“Hmph. Not that I can keep Julian sitting down long enough to eat. Julian!”

He continued to bounce around, flapping his wings, which couldn’t yet lift him off the ground.

Demetrius reached over for a sandwich. “At what age do Morgons begin to fly?”

Jessen answered before I could. “Between ten to twelve years old. Though some have known to fly as young as eight.” She popped a grape in her mouth.

“Someone’s been studying Morgon anatomy,” I added before taking a bite of my sandwich. I reached for a napkin.

She laughed. “I have. Slightly obsessed actually.” Her gaze followed her son, who finally skipped toward us. “Becoming a mother makes you neurotic about such things.”

Panting, Julian stopped in front of us. “Momma, I’m not hungry.”

“You say that, but you’ll be starving soon enough. Here, Ruth made berry jam-stuffed biscuits just for you.”

His eyes lit up, and he snatched one of the pastries before taking off to gallop across the park lawn again.

“He has a sweet tooth,” said Jessen. “Like you did, Demetrius.”

“I still do,” he admitted, finishing the last bite of his sandwich.

Jessen opened a container of chocolate cakes sprinkled with nuts and passed it to him.

He took one, his expression turning serious. “So tell me about this hearing.”

Jessen glanced at me as if asking permission. I’d better take the lead on this one.

“There was a conflict between a Morgon and a human at one of the small villages between Gladium and Drakos. Farrow’s Dell is the name of the village. It was apparently a negotiation over some imports into Drakos. Blackmarket stuff. Anyway, a fight broke out, and the human ended it with a Volt gun. Unfortunately, he didn’t hit the man he was fighting but another Morgon in the bar who tried to break up the fight. He died on impact. He was an Icewing, a local healer. My cousin, to be precise.”

I’d not known my cousin well, but his death rocked the clan, bringing with it a vow by all to find justice for our clansman. And the best way was to rid the world of the abominable weapon that had needlessly taken his life.

Demetrius took in the story without a blink. When I finished, he sighed and set down his dessert, then wiped his fingers on a napkin.

“I’ve never been a proponent of the Volt gun. But stockholders of Cade Enterprises have been.”

“What do you think Father’s reaction will be regarding this proposal to ban them?” asked Jessen.

He scoffed with an arch of one brow. “Exactly what you think it will be. He’ll fight it.”

“Not if you persuade him not to,” she added pointedly.

A pause stretched between the three of us. A breeze drifted past, rustling the leaves in the trees. Julian chased the red ones drifting down from a nearby elm.

“This isn’t your fight,” I said. “You don’t have to get involved at all. Actually, Jessen, I’m surprised you’d drag your brother into this.”

“Shakara, without powerful backing from some heavy-hitting corporate businessmen, you and your clan will lose this battle.”

“You don’t have much faith in us.”

“It has nothing to do with faith. It has to do with money. Trust me. This is a world I know a lot about. I grew up in it.”

“
Exactly
. You plan to speak for us,” I added with conviction. “You’re from the powerful Cade family. Surely, they’ll listen to you.”

“Right,” she replied on a laugh. “And my father disowned me when I married a Morgon. Trust me, I have no power to sway the rich and powerful of Gladium Province. But I’ll give it a try nonetheless.”

“Does Moira know about any of this?” he asked.

“No. And I’ll keep it from her if I can help it. God knows she’s been in the limelight too much since I married Lucius.”

Demetrius’s expression relaxed. “My thoughts exactly.”

One thing was for certain. Demetrius cared for the wellbeing of his sisters, which contradicted his image of the hard-dealing executive of Cade Technologies. Or maybe it didn’t. Maybe the person he showed the world wasn’t who he was at all.

Jessen stood, brushing some crumbs from her jeans. “Demetrius, I know how important your career is to you. Don’t feel you have to intervene, especially if you don’t believe in this cause. It could be more detrimental to you than anyone else, if we should lose. I just thought I’d give it a try.” She picked up the kite and followed after Julian.