To Love a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,41

of watching their hatchlings play and grow in the surrounding woods. But this was only a collection of stones—his home was with his mate.

Leyloni stopped beside him and turned toward the lair as well, adjusting her hold on Serek.

“I have denned here for long enough that I never imagined leaving,” Arysteon said softly.

She brushed her fingers along his arm. “I know what it is like to leave home behind. To…to know you may never see it again.”

Arysteon’s scales tingled beneath her fingertips, and a soft hum rose from his chest—the first note of his song for her. But the reminder of what she had so recently suffered put Arysteon’s sadness into perspective. She had not only lost her home, but her people, all in a single night. Everyone she’d loved. Voluntarily leaving his lair behind was so insignificant in comparison, but he could not shake the feelings it produced in him.

“This is only a place, nothing more. My sorrow is for what it might have been, had I found it sooner. Had I found it before my clan was gone.” He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils, relishing the damp, fresh forest air. “This should have been a place filled with joy and contentment for many long years. It did not reach that potential until you and Serek arrived.”

“However special the place, it is always the people that are hardest to lose,” Leyloni said softly.

Arysteon’s spark pulsed and buzzed, and he knew it was perfectly in aligned with what she was feeling. They understood one another’s pain in this matter. They were, in some ways, bonded by it.

He took hold of her chin and tipped her face up toward his. “You and Serek are all that matter to me now, and I will rip apart the heavens and earth alike before I allow anything to take you from me.”

Leyloni smiled, leaned toward him, and stood on her toes. Her soft lips touched his jaw. It was like when she’d pressed them to his mouth, only this was fleeting, over too soon, and left a hint of warmth behind. Arysteon longed to have those lips on him again, longed to have his on her.

“What was this place?” she asked. “It is like no cave I have ever seen.”

He tamped down his growing desire. “I do not know what it was for, but it was built by humans long, long ago.”

“Humans built this?” She turned her face toward the lair, eyes wide with wonder. “But…it is made of stone. How could anyone lift stones that size high enough to build that?”

Arysteon shook his head. “I do not know. The humans who constructed it had long since passed before I found this place. But I have seen ruins like this scattered across the world, remnants of what your people were once able to achieve.”

“Our huts were built high off the ground within the trees using wood and grass, and it was often difficult enough bringing up those materials when we needed to make repairs or build new structures. I…cannot imagine creating something like this.”

“And in time, it will be lost. Swallowed by the forest.”

Serek wriggled in Leyloni’s arms, arching his back and pushing against her as though attempting to escape.

Arysteon turned toward his mate and reached out, carefully taking the baby from her. Serek calmed, wrapped his arms around Arysteon’s neck, and laid his head down.

“But perhaps, one day, your people will learn to build such things again.” Arysteon cupped the back of Serek’s head with one hand, smoothing the baby’s soft, dark hair as he had seen Leyloni do so many times. “Come. Let us begin our journey.”

Arysteon took the lead, picking a path through the forest with Leyloni close behind. Everything was so much larger than before. In some ways, that made it easier to navigate—he could fit through spaces he’d never even noticed in his natural form, and no longer had to worry about large branches smacking his head. In other ways, it was more difficult than ever, especially with the many puddles and patches of hungry mud.

But the forest was vibrant and alive, smelling strongly of earth and vegetation. Birds were singing, and occasionally made the leaves overhead rustle with their movement as they flitted from branch to branch. The sun was warm and bright.

Despite the newness of his form and the unique perspective and challenges it presented, despite remaining alert for any signs of danger, Arysteon kept a leisurely pace. He understood Leyloni’s need to find