“I agree. Jonah’s very clever, much like his father. If anyone can train a puppy, it’s him. He also mentioned that Aggie had more dogs and she was looking to pair them up with children here in the fort? If so, it’s an extremely generous offer, but that’s where I’m seeing that there could be problems. The children he’s thinking of are either poor, or orphaned, or in need in some other way, which means they’re also bigger targets for the more unscrupulous. I don’t want a child to get knifed over a puppy.”
That stops me in my tracks. I’ve forgotten about the realities of living in a fort. How many times had I stayed up all night with a knife at my side because someone had looked at Rabbit the wrong way? Giving a child a puppy in a situation like this, where so many people have nothing day to day, is bound to cause issues. “You’re right. It’s a bad idea.”
“No, actually, I think it’s a good idea,” Melina says. “I think it’s wonderfully generous. But it needs to be executed properly.”
Gwen glances between me and Melina. “Tell her what you had in mind, Mel. I don’t think Dakota or Aggie would want anyone to be in danger. They’re just trying to bring some happiness, that’s all.”
Melina nods again, her expression thoughtful. “You’re probably going to hate this idea, but it would be best if the dogs were not gifts from Aggie, but instead, assignments from Lord Azar. A gift is easily stolen, and since you don’t live at the fort,there will be little thought of repercussions.” She lifts her coffee cup again, using it to gesture. “But, if the dogs are traded to Lord Azar, he can ‘assign’ them to the little ones so they can pull their weight in the fort. They will be told to train the dogs and to check in regularly with Lord Azar’s team. This ensures that Lord Azar’s stamp is all over the situation and no one will harm a child or a puppy. Furthermore, it allows us to ensure that the animals are being taken care of…and that we can control any breeding that might occur.”
“That’s a lot of micromanaging.”
“Micromanaging the people here is how we keep everything running smoothly,” Melina admits with a grimace. She sips her coffee, and for a moment, she looks tired. “I know it’s controlling, but we want to be very careful with the reintroduction of pets. We want it to be overseen to ensure both dogs and children are safe, and throwing my husband’s name into the mix is the easiest way to do it.”
I down the rest of my coffee. “I understand. I’ll talk to Aggie and tell her to speak with you about it. What about Jonah’s dog? Will that need to be run through Lord Azar, too?”
“We can say that Jonah’s dog was payment for Samir’s services for your sick friend.”
I nod. I’m doing lots of nodding as we talk. Melina really has thought through everything, and it all makes sense in a terrible sort of way. Forts aren’t completely awful, but for every good person, there’s also someone desperate and unhappy. People with nothing to lose can do unpredictable things. “Thank you for being willing to work with us on this. I didn’t realize that the puppies would be such an issue.”
“I think they’ll bring great joy to a place that needs some joy,” Melina says. “But we want to make sure it remains joy and doesn’t turn into tragedy. It’s a very generous idea, and if you’ve got more generous ideas, we’d love to hear them. I know it seemslike we’re the bad guys, given that Azar is Salorian, but he and I are truly committed to making this fort prosperous.”
I think about the book in my bag, the one about farming. I think about the cow herd. They could probably drive the cattle closer to the fort, and someone here could tend to them. A source of meat and dairy for those that live here? Melina and Azar would be interested for sure.
But…I don’t say anything. “I’ll talk with my mate. See what he thinks.” And because I want to change the subject before I give up information I shouldn’t, I shoot Gwen a teasing glance. “You should have said something, by the way.”
The look she gives me is utterly blank. “About…what?”
“The mental connection between mates? I thought it wasn’t there anymore at all. That’s what Murr said.”
Suddenly both women are intently trained in on me. “Wait. You mean to tell me you and Murtades can speak telepathically?” Gwen asks, her eyes wide. “How?”
CHAPTER 110
DAKOTA
Both women stareat me like I’ve grown another head.
“You still have a mental link to your mate?” Gwen asks, her expression a mixture of both surprise and vague hurt. “How is that possible?”
“I…I don’t know how it’s possible. The same as all other mental links, right? We only met after the Rift closed, and Murr was convinced that he was cut off from everyone entirely. We mated just because it was important to share each other’s traditions.” I touch my neck, thinking of his bite. “We didn’t think it would do anything. But after a while, we noticed that each other’s thoughts were leaking… It’s hard to explain.”
“Try,” Gwen presses. Her hands are clasped under her chin, and she leans in against the table, intent. “I want to know what you’re doing.”
I feel weird about this. They’ve been mated to their dragons for much longer than I’ve been with Murr. How is it that no one else has noticed the thought swapping? “We didn’t think we had a connection, but I noticed after a while that we kept ‘guessing’ what the other was thinking. Then I’d notice that a thoughtwould cross my mind that didn’t feel like me, or would think of things in a way that I didn’t. It wasn’t until I was in danger and Murr showed up without me saying a thing that we realized he’d somehow known that I was in trouble. He’d picked up on my fear and came to the rescue. After that, we tested things.
“We tried a blindfold to see if removing one of the senses helped us lock in to what the other person was thinking. I don’t think we believed at first that we were really connected, but the blindfold allowed us to realize that it really was a thing.” I touch my temple. “It’s not like speaking to each other directly. It’s more that you’re sensing what the other person is thinking or feeling. You have to really lock in to it…but not, if that makes sense. The more you focus in on trying to hear, the more you won’t hear anything. It’s almost like you have to meditate and let down your barriers. I only ‘feel’ what Murr is thinking when I’m not expecting it, and it’s not every time.”
“But it’s something,” Gwen says softly.
“You used a blindfold?” Melina asks. “Can you tell us exactly what you did?”
Blushing, I try to recount how we tested things without getting into the nitty gritty of our sex life. My explanation is weak, but the two women are thoughtful once I finish talking. They exchange a look.
“You don’t believe me,” I state, noticing their expressions. “I don’t blame you, but I’m not lying.”
“I believe you,” Melina says, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s just that I don’t know if it’s going to work for everyone. Some of the drakoni have stronger mental connections than others, my husband says. It stands to reason that some might have their thoughts leaking through even if they’re not connected like they were before the Rift.”
“There’s one way to find out,” I joke. “Get a blindfold and test your partner.”
