Sorcha's Heart (11 page)

“
With your permission, Sire,” she said, bowing to Leofric, her voice hoarse from overuse, “King Leofric agrees to maintain a hunting preserve at the northern fringe of the kingdom for the sole use of the flight of dragons. The preserve will be kept stocked at all times and armed knights will patrol the borders to keep poachers at bay.”

King Leofric nodded, his jaw clenched and mouth grim. Sorcha breathed a sigh of relief. This concession would cost the King dearly, forcing him to demand cattle and sheep from each village to build the self-sustaining herds, and then there was the matter of recruiting knights to guard dragon fodder. Sorcha smiled wearily, she would be working hard to help disgruntled people recognize the benefits of this treaty.

Caedyrn cleared his throat. “In return, the flight of dragons agrees to hunt only in the designated preserve, so long as sufficient stock is maintained,” he added with a growl. “Further, the flight agrees to come to the aid of Leofric’s people in the event of natural disaster, such as flood or fire. Hatchlings will be trained in the safe transportation of people and goods from one village to another, and Leofric will instruct his people in respect for dragons and proper etiquette for requesting the flight’s assistance.”

“
The court scribe will draw up the papers, to be signed tomorrow afternoon,” Leofric said. “Let these negotiations be at an end.”

An hour later, Sorcha stood at the edge of the lake with King Leofric in the last rays of the evening sun.

“
I don’t pretend to understand how you brought this about, Sorcha,” he said, “but you have served your people well. I have never treated directly with dragons before. I had no idea they possessed such intelligence and even honor. Thank you, my lady. I hope you will remain as one of my councilors, continuing to expand my understanding of dragons.”

“
I would be honored, Sire. And I hope that you will be willing to allow dragons to visit court on occasion.”

He started to protest, but Sorcha cut him off. “It will set a good precedent. If the King is willing to receive dragons, his people will be as well.”

Leofric eyed her narrowly, but then his gaze lightened and he nodded. “As you wish, my lady.” He laughed gruffly. “Your mother is always pointing out that advisors are worthless if I refuse to heed them.”

She smiled wearily and glanced over his shoulder to where her bond-mate waited. “Thank you, Sire. Elspeth will be pleased to hear that you remember her counsel.” A sigh escaped her lips, and she experienced a moment’s loss at the lack of flames. “If you will excuse me, Sire, I’d like a word with Caedyrn before he returns to the flight.”

The King nodded, and she curtsied low before turning to walk with impatient dignity to Caedyrn’s side.

“
Will you trust me, my love,” Caedyrn’s voice whispered in Sorcha’s mind.

“
Always,” she replied along their link.

“
Then I have a surprise.”

And before she could utter a word of warning to Leofric or his courtiers, Caedyrn scooped
her gently in his taloned forefoot and sprang into the sky.

Chapter Nine

Transforming Destiny

Caedyrn landed lightly on the lagoon’s white sands and deposited Sorcha carefully on her feet. The last light of the dying sun stained the water blood red. She gazed at the pink-tinged waves breaking over the distant reef and sighed. So much had happened since she last stood upon these sands.

“
You’ve grown on me since I first saw you standing there, my little wizard.” Caedyrn nudged her with his muzzle and she stretched high to scratch his eye ridge.

“
Indeed,” she said. “When I put that chain around my neck, I acted in defiance. I expected to die. Instead I discovered the reason for my life.”

“
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if I had worn the Heart of Fire instead of you? Clearly, from the size of the chain, it was intended for a dragon’s neck, not a human’s.”

She turned and stared at him, astonishment tingling along her spine. “No! I mean, I only knew it fit me fine in dragon form. But if you were to wear it, why should I be the one to summon it?”

“
Perhaps we were destined to work together. Perhaps it made no difference who wore it, as long as the other was there to act as a guide.”

Sorcha pulled the medallion from around her neck. The heavy opal glistened in its golden filigree setting. “You’ve certainly changed my life,” she whispered to the stone, her eyes misting with tears.

“
Sorcha, put it around my neck. Right here, where it all began — put it on me.”

Her hand convulsed on the opal and she stared wide-eyed at Caedyrn. “What? Why?”

“
Humor me, my love,” he whispered. “If the magic has run its course, there can be no harm, but if...” His thought trailed off as if he were unwilling to share so fragile a hope.

Keeping his eyes locked on hers, Caedyrn lowered his majestic head. Sorcha hesitated an
instant and then stretched high to lower the loop of gold across his neck. The blast of pain that seared her mind was not her own, but all the worse because it belonged to her beloved — and her hand had allowed it. She staggered away from the writhing dragon, all the while thrusting love and encouragement through their link, willing him to live, to thrive, to survive this transformation he had willingly sought.

When the seizure ended, a dark-skinned, well-muscled man lay naked and crumpled on the beach, as if thrown ashore by a violent storm. The Heart of Fire lay beside him on the sand, lapped by the quiet water. Sorcha watched in fascinated horror as the medallion gathered the threshold magic of sea/land, day/night, dragon/human into a blue-green sphere and vanished into the lagoon.

Caedyrn moaned and Sorcha raced to his side. Turning him gently, she cradled his head in her lap and brushed sand from his cheek and brow, all the while whispering words of reassurance both verbally and into their private link. Slowly, his muscles relaxed and he slept. Sorcha rocked her now human mate and prayed he would never regret this irremediable choice.

“
He will not regret it, Sorcha.”

She turned her head to find the Rex resting on the sand a few hundred feet away. He inclined his head to her, and a bubble of happy contentment swelled her chest.

“
You were too preoccupied to notice my arrival. To repeat, he will not regret his choice.”

She glanced down at the handsome, powerfully built man who slept in her embrace. “How
can you be sure?”

“
Because his essence will always be dragon, and deprived of our bond-mates, we wither and die. Caedyrn could not live without you by his side. You will be together now. He will learn to function in your world, just as you learned to live in ours. Come, little wizard, let me return you to your home.”

Very gently, the Rex lifted Caedyrn from her lap and cradled him in his right forefoot. Sorcha settled herself into his left forefoot and clung tightly to his leg. Emotionally exhausted as she was, the journey seemed interminable, but at last it ended with the Rex landing lightly on the road just beyond the town gate. Guards ran out to meet them, but stopped well back, awed by the mighty dragon.

“
Come quickly,” Sorcha called, struggling to find her balance as the Rex released her. “Help me get this man to my chambers in the castle.”

The guards exchanged puzzled looks, but did as directed. Sorcha smiled; being the king’s councilor had its advantages.

“
Thank you, Sire,” she said, turning back to the Rex. A thought trembled on the edge of their link, but she refused to give it life.

“
You are welcome, Sorcha. Keep him safe.” He lowered his head so that his eye twinkled on a level with her own. “And have no fear for your clutch. They will be raised as my own and will be brought to visit as soon as they are old enough to fly.”

He raised his head, and with a mighty swipe of his wings leapt to the sky. “Be well, Sorcha of the humans. May the peace you have wrought last for a thousand years!”

*~*~*

Sorcha slept deeply, comforted by Caedyrn’s solid presence in her bed. When she woke, she found her beloved bond-mate examining his new body. She smiled and slipped beneath his arm, snuggling her own soft curves neatly against the lean plane of his side. She rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder and threw one leg possessively across his upper thighs.

He responded by stroking her back with one long-fingered hand, while his other traced the outline of her fingers where they splayed across his chest.

Sorcha touched their private link and shared his pleasure as he recognized the essentially male tensions of desire his new body exhibited. He raised his head and gazed down at the erection prominently displayed against the delicate pink skin of her leg.

He grinned broadly, and Sorcha shivered with delight at the thought of learning the ways of human sexuality together.

“
Good morning, beloved,” she said, her voice husky with desire. “Human mating doesn’t involve flight, but I’m told it can be strenuous. Would you like to eat before we explore our new union?”

He rested his head back on the pillow and gazed into her eyes. His stomach rumbled loudly, but a wicked smile played across his lips. “Teach me, my love,” he said, eager anticipation burning through their link. “I am yours to command, and my strength is legendary.”

Sorcha smiled and kept her eyes locked on his as she slid her hand down his body to stroke his first erection. “This will be a new experience for both of us,” she said. “I’ve never made love as a human, either.” She leaned close and kissed him lightly. “But I do understand the theory. We’ll perfect our craft together.”

Caedyrn pulled her close and kissed her again. “I like this dance of tongues,” he whispered, practicing his verbal speech, “but I think I’d like to explore other parts of this new form you’re in.”

And with that, all formal communication ceased as the reunited lovers explored every inch of skin each possessed. Caedyrn delighted in finding places that made Sorcha writhe and pant, and Sorcha took equal joy in producing a glassy-eyed, completely mindless expression on her bond- mate’s face.

At last, Sorcha moved to straddle his hips as he lay on his back, watching her with growing appreciation. “We have a lifetime to explore all our possibilities,” she murmured. “This morning let’s try a simple position.”

She leaned forward, brushed his lips with her own, and then straightened, shifted back a few inches, and took him fully into herself. His eyes widened and dilated, and she knew her own expression must mirror his. She shuddered convulsively at the unexpected overload of sensations. Trying to adjust to his shaft, she moved up and down. Gods and goddesses! The sensations just kept coming! She increased the pace of her rhythm — exquisite sensations filling, receding, pushing, expanding.

“
Touch me!” she cried, her words terse, but their link filled with inexpressible joy.

His hands flew to her breasts, her sides, her belly. Everywhere his fingers touched, her skin burned. Dragon flame! Exhilarating dragon flame lived in his passionate caresses.

Caedyrn’s culmination came quickly. He jerked upright, clenched her hips to his loins, and experienced his first shuddering release. Sorcha contracted around him, accepting his offering with wild abandon, until she cried out and fell forward onto his chest, well satisfied and content.

After a few moments, she slid bonelessly from atop him and snuggled against his side. Touching their link with a sudden shyness, she found him enraptured.

“
It’s not necessary to produce eggs with each mating?” he asked, absorbing knowledge from her mind. “We can do this often?”