Page 44 of The Teacup Dragon Sanctuary

‘It was magic,’ he told her. ‘Maybe that’s why I couldn’t see it.’

‘But you’ve seen me do magic.’

‘I’ve seen you do it, the outward effects, but the thing itself, the way you described it? I’ve never seen that.’

He sounded almost heartbroken at the thought. He wanted to believe her, she could tell that. More, she realised, he wanted to see magic for himself. The same way he wanted to see the great dragons. Perhaps the two were intricately entwined.

‘Maybe it’ll come back,’ she murmured. ‘Maybe… maybe it has to be under certain circumstances or conditions? The storm, or a particular night or…’

He gave a half laugh. ‘Not that it would matter. It’s all right, Portia. I am wholly at peace with the mundane nature of my soul. We should be getting back. Your family will⁠—’

‘You are not mundane and neither is your soul,’ she exclaimed, with a vehemence that surprised even herself. ‘Don’t say such things about yourself.’

He looked taken aback. ‘I… I’m not… I’m not like you and your family. I’m not⁠—’

‘You are a skilled and highly qualified veterinary specialist. You’ve worked hard at everything you’ve achieved. There were no magical shortcuts for you, nor any doors held open by family and associates. That in itself demands respect in this world.’

He looked entirely lost, standing there in the mouth of the cave, surrounded by moonflowers. As if, not long ago, he hadn’t shown her more pleasure than she’d ever experienced in another.

‘I…’ He stopped, as if unable to find the words. He swallowed hard and she was captivated by that movement in his throat again. The urge to pull him into her arms and kiss him again made her breath shorten. No, the parlour was one thing. This was a cave… although, she thought wickedly, no one was going to walk in here. ‘Thank you,’ he said at last. ‘Portia, perhaps we should… should talk about… earlier…’

Was it regret or warning in his voice? Oh great Wenn, he was obviously regretting it now. She hadn’t thought they’d lurch to this so rapidly. She’d hoped… well, what did that matter now. It had been a moment of madness, that was all. And now… oh, lord, this was awkward.

‘Don’t worry,’ she told him as carefully as she could. ‘I won’t put you in a situation like that again. I shouldn’t have⁠—’

‘No,’ he countered in a rush. ‘No, it isn’t that at all. I don’t regret… I mean, I wanted… I wanted you. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t…’ He blurted out the words as if he couldn’t keep them in any more. His face turned scarlet. ‘But I… I won’t be here forever. I have a promise of funding for an expedition, to go to Elanholm. I can’t stay on Starling Island and it isn’t fair to ask you to⁠—’

Ask her to do what? Wait for him?

‘Wait,’ she countered hurriedly. ‘Wait, Noah, I’m not asking anything of you. You don’t have to stay here. I’m not staying here.’

She wasn’t trying to trap him here and she definitely wasn’t going to hang around mooning after him when he left, or anything of the sort. It had been sex. It had been… awesome, incredible, mind blowing…

Stop it, she told her body. It had just been sex. A release of desire and needs. That was all. She had to believe that.

‘I didn’t mean that,’ he countered, his voice rising in something like anger, or pain. She didn’t know, not any more. ‘But I can’t make any promises to⁠—’

Oh, this was just too much. What did he think she expected from him?

‘I’m not asking for promises either. Not from you.’

He stiffened as if she had slapped him in the face and drew in a slow breath. He’d gone pale, all of a sudden and the openness in his face faded, right in front of her.

Maybe she could have phrased that better. But hadn’t she just told him how much she respected all he had achieved? And without the benefits of magic?

‘I see,’ he replied, all formality again. It was like watching a mask fall over his handsome face. One carved from marble. ‘Of course, Lady Portia. That was presumptuous of me.’

And that was when she realised what particular barb she had managed to strike.

She was nobility, one of the Starlings. He was just a vet from Alincourt, a nobody. He looked like he’d been expecting this all along. The thought alone made her furious.

‘Noah, I didn’t mean it like that.’

But he wasn’t listening to her, not now. ‘We should go back to the castle. It’s late. People will worry.’

He was already turning his back on her.

‘Noah, please, listen to me.’