AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was a subtle change in the air, just a prickle on the back of her neck, a tug at her emotional core. But that was all she needed to stop and look over her shoulder at him, then turn slowly so their eyes met once more.
“Where are the other dragons?” she asked softly. “I’ve only heard of stories about you and...well, others from long, long ago.”
“There aren’t many of us left.” He reached up, traced a finger down her jaw. “I’m not surprised to find you have a soft heart under the steely exterior.”
Her cheeks heated and she shoved his hand away. “Nosiness doesn’t mean I care.”
She gave him her back once more and returned to her place by their small fire. Wyn was shivering and she added more wood to the fire, along with a whisper of magic that let the wet wood burn without smoking them out. Then she wrapped her blanket around his thin shoulders.
“You’ll get cold,” he said, trying to refuse.
“The fire keeps me warn enough. Plus, I’ve got enough Fae blood to keep me from feeling cold as much as you do, young sir.” She ruffled his hair before looking over at Amy. The other woman had started to stir restlessly while Gia had built the fire and Wyn hadn’t moved from her side at all. “She going to wake up soon?”
He nodded. “She’ll be scared.”
“I know.” Rubbing his shoulder, she said, “I’ll help as much as I can.”
His eyes flicked to Sorin, then to his mother. “She’s afraid of him. But she’s afraid of the people in town the most. She thinks they’ll take me away or kill us both if more people realize I’m not all human.”
“I won’t let anybody hurt you.”
Wyn gave her a sad look out eyes that were far too old for his face. “You might not be able to do anything about it.”
“She’s half Fae, boy. She’s got more power in her than most people can even begin to grasp.” Sorin sank into a graceful, oddly feline sprawl on the far side of the fire, his eyes lingering on Gia for a taut, heated moment before shifting back to the child. “Plus, you have a big, scary golden dragon who will be very put out if anybody so much breathes on you wrong.”
Wyn’s eyes went wide. “Why would you care about me?”
Sorin rolled forward with that liquid grace of his, going from a lazy sprawl to crouching only a foot away from Wyn, a smile on his handsome face. “Because I don’t like it when people try to scare young children, Wyn. I especially don’t like it when they do it in my territory. You’ll be safe.”
“Hmmm.” Sorin cocked his head, eyes narrowing as his study of the boy intensified. “You’ve got Fae blood in you, too. Not as much, but whoever your father was, he was strong. You’ve got growing to do. In time, you’ll be a power yourself.”
“I don’t know anything about my dad,” Wyn said in a low hush. “He’s dead, been dead since not long after I was born. My mom barely talks about him. A monster killed him.”
“A monster?” Sorin asked.
Wyn nodded, his pale face drawn and tight. He wiggled closer to his mother, the look in his eyes one of desperate hope.
Gia knew why she saw that hope.
He wanted to be strong enough to protect his mother, strong enough that he didn’t have to worry about being afraid.
Sorin went to ask him another question.
Gia touched his arm.
He went rigid, head whipping in her direction.
Curling her fingers into a fist, skin tingling from the contact, she said softly, “No more questions, Sorin. He’s a tired, scared child. Let him be for now.”
She thought he’d push and was prepared to push right back.
But he inclined his head. “As you wish, witchling.”
That he so easily yielded surprised her and she felt something within her soften even more.
Part of her wanted to hug the dragon for offering him solace from the fear that was an ache in the boy, kiss him for giving the scared child hope, even though she knew hope sometimes offered as pain as much as promise.
In time, Wyn would learn that being strong, having powerful magic didn’t strip one’s fear away. Sometimes, it could make it worse. When you were strong, others might come to rely on you. That responsibility could be an awful burden.
