Chapter 26
Favian and Cathryn were the last of the guests to leave Storbrook Castle, one week later. They were traveling by carriage, a fact that surprised Keira since all the other dragons had flown to Storbrook, carrying their mates on their backs. She had asked Aaron about it the night before Favian and Cathryn’s departure.
“It’s because of the children,” Aaron explained. “They don’t have wings yet. Only when they reach puberty will their dragon traits emerge. Favian could carry them all, but the children grow weary traveling long distances and can slip from his back, so he prefers more traditional means of travel for them. He’ll probably fly a lot of the way, but will stay close to the carriage to ensure his family’s safety.”
“I pity any highwayman that holds up that carriage,” Keira said with a laugh.
Because of the rough mountain terrain, Favian had arranged for the carriage and coachman to meet them in the village. Thomas had already taken down their luggage in a cart, and Favian would fly his family down the mountain. They said their farewells in the courtyard at Storbrook Castle.
“Promise me that you’ll visit as soon as you can,” Cathryn pleaded, holding Keira’s hands in her own. Early morning light bathed the courtyard in a soft, pink glow, and a kitchen maid hurried across the stones from the direction of the stables. She paid no attention to the huge red dragon.
“Of course we will,” Keira assured her new friend. She bent down to gather Bronwyn in a hug before solemnly shaking hands with Will.
“Are there any towers at your home that I should be concerned about?” Keira asked him.
“Oh, no! We don’t live in a castle like Storbrook,” he assured her, “so you’ll be quite safe there.”
Keira swallowed a laugh and nodded gravely. “Then we’ll come and visit you soon, if that’s acceptable to you.”
Will nodded his head as Bronwyn gave him a shove. “Of course Aunty can come and visit us any time she wants,” she said. “I’ll even let her stay with me in my room.”
Keira stood up with a laugh as Cathryn hustled the children onto the back of the waiting dragon. He bent down to look at Keira.
“Take care of yourself, cousin,” he said, “and keep an eye on that husband of yours – he can be quite a dragon if you’re not careful.” With a sparkling snort, he pulled away and lifted himself into the air.
Aaron put his arm around Keira and pulled her closer, whispering into her hair. “We have our privacy back, my sweet, so what would you like to do?”
Twisting in his arms, Keira looked up at him with a smile. “I think we should go into the village.”
“The village?” he asked in surprise. “Haven’t you spent enough time with other people over the last two weeks?”
“Yes, but they were your people,” she said. “Now I want to see my people.”
“And who is it that you really want to see?” he teased. “Anna and your parents or is it Edmund that you’re pining for?”
“Definitely Edmund!” She laughed at Aaron’s grimace before turning serious. “I want to check that Anna is all right and that Edmund hasn’t turned his attentions to her.”
“If you want to see your family, then that’s what we’ll do.”
It was a few hours later when Keira walked up the path to her old home, Aaron by her side. Anna was outside, helping Mary hang wet washing on a line strung between the trees.
“Mistress Keira, ’ee’ve come home!” Mary cried. “Your parents will be pleased to see ’ee. I’ll jes’ go find ’em.” As she turned away, Anna draped a shirt over the line and hurried over to give Keira a warm embrace.
“Why, Anna,” teased Aaron with a grin, “one would think you actually missed your sister.”
Anna rolled her eyes before taking Keira by the hand. “I was worried you wouldn’t return,” she said. “You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?”
“No, Anna, we haven’t forgotten. We came because …” She stopped and stared at her sister. “Anna,” she whispered. “What happened to you?” A dark bruise spread over Anna’s cheek, and the clear marks of a tight finger grip stained her arm.
“It’s nothing,” replied Anna, turning away, but Aaron caught her gently by the arm.
“Who did this to you, Anna?” he asked, a frown creasing his forehead. “Was it Edmund?”
“He was waiting for me, just inside the alley near the church,” she said. “I managed to get away, but not before inflicting some damage of my own.” She lifted her head and looked at Keira with a ghost of a smile. “He has some new scars to match the ones given to him by a certain dragon.”
Keira smiled wryly. “Good for you. But why didn’t you want to tell me right away?”
Anna lifted her chin and threw Aaron a quick glance before replying. “I didn’t want you to think I was looking for sympathy so that I could come to Storbrook sooner.”
“But of course you must come with us. Isn’t that so, Aaron?” demanded Keira, turning to look at her husband.
“Of course,” he said. “You can come back with us now if you like, and I’ll send Thomas to collect your things. But first we need to speak to your mother.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the person in question emerged from the house, wiping her hands on an apron that covered her kirtle.
“Keira!” Mother said. “Milord Drake! You’re back. We were wondering if we’d ever see you again.”
“Madam Carver. How lovely to see you,” Aaron said. “But come, we’re family now, so you must call me Aaron. And how should I address you? Jenny? Mother?”
Keira hid a grin as her mother sputtered before her, then felt a flash of shame at the amusement she derived at her mother’s expense. Taking Mother by the arm, she led her towards the house, throwing a look of reprimand over her shoulder at Aaron. Far from looking remorseful, he grinned back and winked, before turning to Anna and offering his arm.
It took Anna and Keira some time to convince Mother that it was in Anna’s best interests to be allowed to return with Aaron and Keira. Father had arrived from his workshop shortly after Mary served refreshments, but it wasn’t until Aaron started adding his weight to the argument that Father joined the conversation.
“Jenny,” he said gently, “we both know this would be better for our daughter. Let her go with your blessing.”
“You want me to lose both my daughters within the space of a few weeks?” she said. “What kind of a husband are you?”
Father slipped from his seat and gently took her hands in his own as he knelt before her.
“Jenny, we have endured many losses over the years, but we’re not losing our daughters. We always knew the time would come when they’d leave us, and there were never any guarantees that they’d stay in our little village.” He glanced at Anna, before returning his gaze to Jenny. “We cannot place our desire to keep Anna here above her need for safety – and from all we are hearing, Edmund is not the young man we thought him to be.”
Mother stared at her husband for a long moment, their shared gaze weighted with their years of marriage. Finally she broke their silent communication, her shoulders slumping.
“Very well, Anna,” she said. “If you feel that it would be better for you to be with your sister and her husband than here with us, then go.”
Anna smiled, not responding to the bitter barb buried in the words, and turned to Aaron. “When do we leave?”
Despite Anna’s impatience, Keira and Aaron tarried for another hour before finally taking their leave. Anna had grabbed a small satchel in which she stowed a few personal items, and she slung it over her shoulder as they headed out the door and into the sunshine.
“Where are your horses?” Father asked, looking around in perturbation.
“Keira wanted to walk through the village,” Aaron said, casting a quick glance at his wife, “so we left them tethered near the church.”
“She did?” replied Father. “Well then, I’ll walk with you.
I have some business with the reeve.”
Keira cast a frantic look at Aaron, but he smiled nonchalantly. “Of course,” he replied.
Keira’s heart pounded as she wondered how they would either get rid of her father or explain to him when there were no horses waiting for them. Anna was walking next to Father, and judging by her serene gait, Keira guessed it hadn’t occurred to Anna that they were not traveling by horse. Keira sighed, and Aaron squeezed her hand as it lay on his arm, but when the tension remained he bent down with a sigh of his own. “Stop fretting, my sweet. There’s no need for concern.”
Turning to look at him, Keira raised her eyebrows questioningly and Aaron bent down once more, his warm breath tickling her ear and sending shivers down her spine.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to stop at the milliner’s?” he said.
Keira looked at Aaron and smiled. She hadn’t planned on stopping at any of the village shops, but Father didn’t know that, and Keira knew that he would rather be bound by the feet and pulled through a field by a racing horse than spend any time waiting for his daughters at the milliner. She was about to tell Aaron this when her father turned back to them, slowing down until he walked abreast of Aaron.
“I trust you to look after my daughters with your life, Milord Drake,” he said, his gaze heavy on Aaron’s face.
“I’ve already bound myself to Keira, offering her the protection of my life, my household and my extended family,” Aaron replied, “and I’ll extend that same protection to Anna as long as she remains in my household.”
Keira’s father stared at Aaron, weighing up the words, before nodding slowly.
“You will also protect them from the passion of the dragon?” Father said.
Aaron’s expression indicated no surprise at the question, but Keira felt his hand tightening over hers.
“I swear by my life that the dragon will never harm your daughters,” Aaron promised.
“You can give such a pledge?” asked Father, although his voice sounded unsurprised. Aaron stared at the man before him for a long minute, his expression thoughtful, as Father returned the gaze unblinkingly.
“Yes, I can,” Aaron finally responded, his eyes never leaving Father’s face. Father considered the words for a moment, then nodded.
“Very well,” Father said. “I’ll hold you responsible if ever the dragon so much as singes a hair on either daughter’s head.”
Aaron nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he said.
As Keira expected, Father bade Aaron and his daughters farewell outside the milliner’s.
“You still want to shop?” Anna moaned. “I thought we’d go straight to Storbrook!”
“And so we will,” Keira said. “Just as soon as Father has gone.”
“Why?”
Keira smiled. “Because we aren’t traveling by horse.”
Anna frowned for a moment, then slowly turned to look at Aaron with eyebrows raised.
“You’re going to fly us there?” she said, her voice rising as she stared at Aaron.
“Shh,” Keira hissed, glancing around. She took Anna by the arm. “Come, Father’s gone. Aaron can’t change near the village.”
“I hope you’re not afraid of heights, Anna,” Aaron said with a grin. “But don’t get used to traveling like this – Keira’s the only one I’d usually carry.”
Anna gasped when the light of Aaron’s transformation filled the air, even though it was at her back; and when she turned to face Aaron, she stumbled back in fear before catching her sister’s amused glance. She trembled the entire way – although Keira wasn’t sure whether Anna was more scared of the beast itself, or of falling off the beast’s back. But once they arrived, Anna relaxed, her ease in Aaron’s presence returning when he reverted to his human form.
Keira led Anna up the stairs and down the east wing, where she opened a door to a large guest room. Windows opened with views of the mountains in three directions, and Anna turned around in amazement before looking at her sister.
“I’m staying here?” she said.
“Yes,” Keira replied with a smile. “As long as you behave and Aaron doesn’t throw you in the dungeon!”
Anna smiled. “I always behave,” she said.
That night, as they lay in bed, Keira asked Aaron about her father.
“Do you think he knows what you are?” she said.
“I think he was guessing at first, but my response gave him the confirmation he was seeking.”
“Aren’t you concerned that he’ll tell others?”
“No,” Aaron said slowly as he gazed at the ceiling. “I don’t think I have anything to fear from him. He’s just concerned about you, and as your father, his concern is perfectly reasonable.” Rolling onto his side, Aaron pulled his wife closer, sliding his hands through her hair and letting it spill over her shoulder as his fingers trailed down her back. “It’s a good thing his concern only extends to the dragon,” he whispered, “as he could never protect you from the passion of the man.” If Keira had planned to respond, her thoughts were scattered as his lips covered hers, while his hands roamed over her body, chasing away all reasonable thought.