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The saltwater stings my eyes, but it’s clear enough that I can see relatively well. Several feet below me, Rock is struggling to get free of the tangled and broken gliding contraption. It is slowly pulling him under. I swim down, my ears popping on the way, and pull out the small dagger from my boot. I place it between my teeth and continue to swim until I reach him.
When Rock spots me, our eyes meet and his are full of hope. A very dangerous place to be. I consider smacking the expression off his face. I don’t want to be anyone’s hope, and if he knew who I really was, he wouldn’t want me to be either. But there’s no time for any of that. Rock’s already been down here for a while. His lungs must be close to bursting. Already mine are burning. I work at cutting the straps, sawing back and forth, severing each one, hoping Rock can hold his breath for just a bit longer. I cut through the last strap and push Rock up. He takes the hint and swims up. I blow the air from my lungs, bubbles surrounding me, and follow him to the surface.
Just when I think I can’t possibly hold my breath for another moment, I break through the water and suck in a gulp of glorious air. Rock coughs and takes deep rattled breaths beside me. A tightness in my chest releases at the sound. It’s not pretty, but it means life.
“Thank you,” he says between coughs.
I stash my knife back into my boot and swim to the shore. “We’re even now,” I call over my shoulder.
Rock follows, still coughing, although they’re becoming fewer and more clear. Once we reach land, my muscles are burning. And as my adrenaline rush recedes, the ache of every newly acquired bruise becomes apparent. I collapse onto a half-buried boulder and catch my breath. Rock crawls onto the pebble beach coughing out the last of the salt water he’d inhaled.
I pull my waist-length, dark hair over one shoulder, undo the braid and lean over the water to get any and all traces of the smelly dung out. I’m actually surprised that the sticky substance comes out so easily, in fact, my hair is extra soft.Huh, who knew, dragon dung is an effective conditioning treatment too.If only it smelled better, I could bottle it up and sell it at the black market.
“Well, hero,” I say, ringing the excess water from my hair. “You did it. You got us out alive. Barely.” I stand and look out at the fjord to judge where we are. “Tell me, what was so important that you’d risk an encounter with a dragon?” When he doesn’t answer, I face him. He’s sitting on the pebble beach with his arms resting on bent knees, staring at me like he’s trying to work out some mystery. “What?” I ask.
“You’rebeautiful.” He tilts his head. “And there’s something about you. You look familiar. Have we met?”
For a split second, true fear shoots down my spine like a bolt of lightning, and my hand searches for one of my twin swords, which, I remind myself, are no longer in their holsters at my hips. Does Rock recognize me from the wanted posters?No, there’s no way. It has been twelve years. The posters depict what I used to look like when I lived in the luxury of court life. That ten-year-old little girl was short for her age and had blond hair and freckles. My hair turned to almost black during puberty, and my freckles faded over time with my blond hair. My facial features and body matured into that of a woman, and I’m now five-foot-six. The only thing I still share with the innocent child I once was, are my ice-blue eyes, which are uncommon, to be sure, but also not unheard of. I roll them now. “Is that the best line you can come up with? Besides, I’m pretty sure our near-death experience has moved us past the window of pick-up lines.”
He smiles. “Does that mean we’ve moved on to another, more comfortable stage in our relationship?”
I laugh. “What relationship?”
He slowly gets to his feet so that he’s looking down at me. “Well, usually when a hero saves a lady, she rewards him with a small gesture.” A grin tugs at his lips. “A token of her gratitude.”
I scoff. “Gratitude? Hmmm...The way I remember it, you cost me several scales. I was doing just fine before you set off your little,” I wave my hand in the air, “whatever that was, and ruined my chance at being richer than the Prince of Thaaryn. And thenIhad to saveyou.” I pick an invisible fleck off his shirt. “So, if anyone owes anyone, you owe me.”
The humor in his eyes only increases. He takes a step forward so that there’s very little room between us, reminding me of what it felt like to be wrapped around him. My stomach does a flip.
“That’s an interesting way of looking at it. But you’re right,” he shrugs, “you did save my life. I’d be happy to show you a token ofmygratitude.”
The confidence wafting from him makes it obvious that he’s accustomed to women falling all over him. I’ve never been unnerved by a handsome face before and he’s no exception. “Oh, I think you’ve been generous enough for one day.” Then I give him a smile that has unnerved plenty of handsome men in the past. One that is part seductive, part mysterious. “Unless you’re feeling inclined to give me amonetarytoken of your gratitude.”
He chuckles a silky soft sound. “You’re a devil in angel’s skin.”
“You have no idea.” I turn and walk away from him.
“Where are you off to, little devil-angel?”
“I got what I came for,” I say over my shoulder. “Time to go home.”
“And where is home?”
Why does he want to know? Is he planning to turn me into the Steel Guard after all? Or, based on his flirting, perhaps he’s interested in courting me? Or just bedding me. I can’t deny that a night with Rock is tempting and based on what I felt in the air, would probably be very satisfying. But the last thing I need when I’m so close to escaping is complications, and Rock screams complications. My only plans include selling the scale and getting a ticket out of Thaaryn.
I stop, turn to him, and place a hand on my hip. “Look, it’s been interesting, but I have plans that don’t include a handsome hero-type, so I think it’s best if we went our separate ways from here.”
He brushes water from his hair with his hand in a back-and-forth motion, sending droplets in every direction. “I wasn’t referring to your exact dwelling, I was merely going to suggest that if we’re heading in the same direction, we could travel together. These lands are riddled with dangerous, spiteful creatures. Safety in numbers. You can part long before we reach your home.” He folds his arms over his chest, humor back in his eyes. “Unless, of course, you change your mind along the way andwantto invite me to your home.”
I almost laugh. He definitely doesn’t want to see where I live, and I don’t particularly want to see my community kill him–––or eat him. I’m about to tell him to shove off when I notice the edge of a gold bracelet under the hem of his left sleeve. It’s no scale, but the band is thick, and it looks to be solid gold. I’m sure he could afford to go without it if say it disappeared in the middle of the night. While I can resist a possible suitor or a good lay, I never could resist the appeal of easy money.
I cock my head to the side.Time to play.I saunter over to him, aware of just how to swing my hips so that men notice. “We can travel together, but as long as we get one thing crystal clear.”
The corners of his mouth turn up. “Anything, my lady.”
I raise my brows. “I’m no lady.”
A short laugh. “Anything, devil-angel.”
