Magical Lover (24 page)

She learned faster than a dragon flew. In no time at all, she understood the basic concept of how to block her thoughts from leaking into other’s minds. So he moved on to other things, like how one used magic.

Dinner came and went, an aroma of pleasant scents drowning out the ever-present smell of sickness. Zeke remained by the bed, only leaving it to visit the relief room, his hand resting on his son’s arm. Annaliese hovered between the bed and a table where she prepared droughts, the soft slide of her shoes whispering against the stone floor as she moved.

Keara rested her hand on Thoren’s forearm, her head against his shoulder. He continued to check her for Conr’s illness, for the red spots and high fever, but the only symptom she exhibited was tiredness.

Not that he minded.

She could rest her head on his shoulder for as long as she wanted. He rested his head on top of hers, shutting his eyes for a minute. Only a minute...

Thoren woke to Keara moving against him. Weak light shone through the high window, coating the room with a pale glow. Had he fallen asleep? Considering he lay flat on his back, muscles aching from sleeping on a stone floor, he supposed the answer was a yes. Keara lay on top of him, using his body as a pillow.

She moved and he groaned as she rubbed against him. It was about time he put his morning erection to good use. Tightening his arms around her, he rolled them over.

“Good morning! Nice to see you awake.” Annaliese’s voice cut through the strands of light like shards of glass.

Thoren looked down into wide green eyes. Keara’s mouth opened in an “oh” and not the kind of surprise he wanted to see on her face. He rolled to his feet, squatting next to Keara.

“Good morning, Annaliese.” Thoren looked to Zeke who lay on his side on a pallet. A soft, comfortable pallet. He squelched the stab of jealousy. He shouldn’t complain. His brother’s son might die.

Keara scrambled to sit, straightening the bodice of her dress. Annaliese knelt beside her.

“Let me have a look at you. How do you feel?”

“Great. Actually, this is the best I’ve felt since I was brought to the Temple.”

“Good, good.”

Thoren watched as Annaliese examined Keara’s skin, looked in her mouth, pulled down her bottom eyelids and pronounced her able to leave the room.

Praise the Goddess!

Grabbing Keara’s hand, he helped her to her feet.

“How’s Conr?”

“The same as yesterday evening, but I think he’s on the downhill slope of improvement. Zeke can stay with him. Now you two take a walk around the Courtyard. Get some fresh air. Keara’s been cooped up inside too long.”

Keara patted her hair, trying to smooth the rowdy tendrils into her braid. It was like putting cats in a carrying container. She apparently realized this, since she quit touching her hair and grabbed hold of Annaliese’s hand. They exchanged a silent gaze and then Annaliese nodded.

Thoren stood a little taller. He’d taught her how to mind-speak.

Which was rather annoying, come to think of it, since he couldn’t tell what they were talking about.

With one last glance toward Conr, Keara opened the door and walked out. Thoren ran smack into the containment field. Ouch.

“Sorry,” Annaliese said, waving her hand.

This time when he walked through the door, nothing stopped him.

When she arrived at the door to her room, Keara looked at him from under her lashes, then at the ground, then back at him. His breath caught.

“I need to change before we go out.”

Maybe she’d let him come in and watch.

“So do I.”

But if he came in and watched her undress, he’d want her. Want to lay her on the bed, lick up the insides of her legs, take her core between his lips.

“See you in a bit.”

She closed the door. In his face. Smoke steamed from his ears as his dragon strained to reach her. She belonged to him. And he wanted her. Why in the name of the Goddess was he leaking smoke? Who was in charge here? Him or the dragon? Clearly the dragon, since his hand hovered halfway to the door, ready to knock it down.

Thoren took a step back and stalked down the hall to his room. A twist of the handle and a slap against the wood sprung the lock. The ensuing kick shut the door with a satisfying snap.

What had made him think putting off mating with Keara was a good idea? It seemed plausible at the time. It must have, or he wouldn’t have thought it. Now? If putting his job over his mate was the best he could come up with, he was dumber than a catch of glittering stones.

His dragon understood. It was about time his higher reasoning caught up with what he instinctively knew—Keara was his mate. Unable to live apart from their mates, male dragons craved their females, protecting them at all costs. He’d heard the stories, but thought he was above basic biology. He enjoyed his work, loved it, couldn’t imagine life without it, but despite that reasoning, his body needed Keara like it needed air to breathe. Without her, he was nothing. Plain and simple.

Yanking his tunic over his head, he threw it on the mattress and started to pull off his leathers. He needed a bath if he wanted to convince Keara to bond with him. Biology only went so far. A clean prospect meant a lot.

Once finished, he waited outside her door. Had he really considered knocking it down to get to her? Good thing he put the dragon on a leash, no telling what the beast might do.

“Oh, hey. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Keara appeared in the open doorway, another white dress on, this one trimmed in green. Her hair was pulled into a sloppy bun with curling tendrils escaping. His heart kicked like he’d been hit in the chest. Goddess’s teeth, but she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

“Does it look all right? I’m not used to dresses, but that’s all the priestesses seem to have.” Her hands fluttered down the front of the skirt.

“It looks good.”

Her face broke into a smile. “Thanks! Are you ready to give me a tour?”

Definitely yes. A tour of his body and then he’d take a tour of hers, or maybe he’d go first.

Get it together, Thoren. You have to prove to her she needs you.

He stuck out his elbow and she slipped her hand in the crook of his arm. Together they walked to the Courtyard.

Chapter 14

Ah, the warm feel of sunshine on her skin, the merry chirping of birds filling the air, her hand on Thoren’s arm. This day was shaping up nicely. Much better than yesterday. Thinking about how she failed to heal Conr made steam start rising in the back of her throat and her mostly-controlled powers fluctuate.

The birds continued their songs, Thoren’s arm felt warm beneath the fabric of his tunic and the sun warmed her, but the cold anger she felt for herself simmered below the surface. What happened to her ability to take an illness into her body and change it into something innocuous? Was Conr’s illness too great, or had unlocking her magic shriveled her healing ability?

“I can’t believe I couldn’t heal Conr.”

Thoren’s lips pressed together, like he had something to say and couldn’t decide how to say it. “What?”

“I said, I’m mad that I couldn’t help Conr.”

The next thing she knew, rough bark rasped against her butt through the fabric of her dress as she teetered on a branch high above the ground. Grabbing the nearest limb, she held on with a grip of a dying person—which she just might be if she didn’t figure out how to get down before she fell. The leaves rattled as her arms shook. It took her a couple of tries to get the words past the thickness of her tongue and lips.

“Thoren!” Even to her ears, the cry sounded weak. He might not hear her shout.

Keara?

Mind-speaking! In her panic, she forgot her newly acquired skill.

Thoren, I’m up in the tree, get me down!

What are you doing up there?

How am I supposed to know? Just get me down!

She looked down and wished she had not. Red and gold leaves and brown limbs formed a map running down a trunk that seemed to go on forever. Closing her eyes, she counted to three and then opened them again. Still in the tree.

Perhaps now is a good time for another lesson.

What? She sat stuck in a tree and he wanted to teach her something? Were all males this crazy?

Thoren. I. Am. Stuck. In a tree. Why are you talking about lessons?

If you knew how Draconi traveled, then you could get down from your perch without asking me for help.

Fine. Get me down and you can teach me whatever you want.

Dizziness, accompanied by an out-of-body experience, assaulted her as she disintegrated piece by piece, reappearing in Thoren’s arms. Hopefully she’d adjust to that mode of travel as she had a sneaking suspicion it was her newest lesson.

Thoren’s grasp tightened until her ribs cracked. Keara refused to complain, at least her feet stood on the ground.

“What happened?” Relief distorted his words.

“I don’t know. I was upset and started to lose the grip on my magic and then I was in a tree. At least I didn’t blow anything up.”

“You’re getting better at controlling your powers. It’s starting to come as a second nature to you now. But anger has a way of interfering with magic, making it harder to control.”

“Anger interferes with a lot of things. How did you get me down?”

“Draconi can move around simply by thinking about it. See, I’m here now.” One blink later and he stood a stone’s throw away, “Now, I’m here,” Thoren reappeared in front of her, “And now I’m back to you. But until a Draconi male goes through the Change, he can’t move other people, so you’re lucky I’ve Changed. Ready to learn how to move around?”

She closed her eyes, waiting for it all to disappear and her to wake in her shop in River’s Run. But Thoren remained standing in front of her in the Temple Courtyard. No dream. If she hadn’t seen him disappear and reappear, she never would have believed people, even Draconi, had the ability to transport themselves in that way.

But she lived in Draconia now and magic abounded so she might as well embrace her new life. What a relief to know her Grandmother and everyone else in River’s Run were wrong about magic. Instead of being evil, it was fascinating.

“Sure. How far can you travel by transporting?”

“You have to be able to see the place, or to know where it is. So I can transport back into my room in the Temple without seeing it because I know where it is. But there are wards surrounding Draconia that prohibit you from transporting in or out of the land. The only exception is if your mate is in jeopardy. Then you can transport to wherever he or she is, even if you haven’t been to the place where they are.”

“How’s that?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. It’s part of being mates and it’s a test of sorts in case you don’t know if a person is your mate or not. Now are you ready to try?”

By the time the sun rose to its full height, and her stomach growled, she had learned how to disappear and reappear around the Temple grounds, Thoren giving chase. It was the most fun she’d ever had. What an enjoyable morning.