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“I’m Sarah. I’m the new nanny for Suki. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Sarah held out her hand to shake Conrad’s, who, though a rather meaty and abrupt man, took hers with a gentle delicateness he hadn’t observed in his friend for ages. They stared at each other for a moment, a smile teasing the edges of Sarah’s cherry lips.
“Gods, you are dangerously pretty,” he said with a grin. “What are you doing with this old grump?”
All three began to laugh. Kael hadn’t told Conrad about his feelings for Sarah, nor that they had been to bed together. But Conrad was also uniquely skilled intuitively, and he likely could smell the electricity radiating between them.
They spent the rest of the day exploring Conrad’s studious little cabin, talking of Drakonian history, the wars, and the differences between Earth customs and their own. Sarah brightened throughout the day, even placing her hand on Kael’s thigh while eating lunch on the porch.
It surprised him, feeling her hand on his skin and along his tracings, then she leaned in close while Conrad was inside ferociously whipping up their meal.
“This place reminds me of home more than anywhere I’ve been so far.”
It made his heart glow. Though it filled him with anguish to think of her feeling homesick, he was content that there were aspects of his world that gave her a similar sense of comfort. It was something he found himself working hard for, the way he had worked hard for Petal’s affection.
Just as the sun began to fall beyond the horizon, Kael and Sarah said their goodbyes to Conrad. Sarah was in lively spirits, which made Kael feel whole.
As Kael was about to spin around to go toward his vehicle, Conrad grabbed him by the collar. In his gruff manner, he quickly murmured into his good friend’s ear, out of Sarah’s eyeline.
“I can sense what you are going through,” he said. “And I want you to stop tangling yourself up. You feel. You are allowed to feel. Remember that.”
Grief was greatly taboo for Drakonians, but that didn’t mean they didn’t feel each other’s heartbreak. He gave his friend a customary kiss on the cheek, then thanked him profusely for his hospitality.
They hovered over the trails, twilight sparkling in mauve and pink spills over the darkening leaves until Kael found a specific hillside that he had been seeking. Sarah gave him a bewildered frown when they came to a halt.
“I thought we could make a quick stop,” he said, smiling.
She was exuberant when they climbed out of the car. Kael brought some vintage wine with them, the kind made out of the deepest vermillion grapes only gifted to those closest to the King. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but he felt the occasion called for something extra thoughtful.
Kael pulled out a blanket from the basket and carried it with him as they ascended the hill. They followed the road of the dwindling sunlight until they found the peak, dazzling with vibrant colors washing over the forestry below.
Sarah’s breath was stolen from her.
“My God, Kael,” she said, bringing a hand to her chest. “This is so fucking beautiful.”
Kael laid out the blanket and popped open the cork with his bare hands. Sarah settled next to him, crossing her legs to the side, her knee peeking out from the hem of the pleasing garment.
“This is rather romantic, Kael,” she said softly.
He nodded, pouring the wine into a glass bejeweled with fire stones, and handed it to Sarah. He sensed that her breathing rate had increased, the sight of her rising and falling bosom like a metronome to his loins.
“Is it?” he remarked. “I never thought I had the skill. It seems to come naturally with you.”
They clinked their glasses together and took the first sip. Kael felt himself getting nervous as the nightcrawlers emerged with their symphonies, watching the pulse in Sarah’s long and flavorful neck call to him like a coded message.
She was looking out over the horizon as he spoke. For the first time since losing his Petal, he felt himself directly linked to another’s heart.
“I wanted to tell you how thankful I am for everything you’ve done for Suki,” he said, rather subdued. “I couldn’t get her out of that room for two years. You did it in one day.”
Sarah turned to him, her fingers weaving around the stem of the glass and tapping hesitantly. Her eyes were nearly too much for him to take, a blue that gleamed like a promise.
She smiled at him, her skin flushed and jubilant.
“I think it’s because I saw myself in her. It wasn’t some magical spell, just relatability. I lost my mother as a child, and it's in everything I see, even as an adult. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I was her age.”
Her voice wavered, and her head bent toward the ground. Kael hooked his finger under her chin.
“Sarah, I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t know. I wish I had.”
