Firedrake - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,44
raised one eyebrow at Krysta, suspecting she understood his thinking better, it appeared, than Mace did. She turned to the knight and explained, “If they weren’t willing to hurt him during the capture, it means they want him as close to unharmed as possible. It’s a good indicator that they won’t kill him or seriously injure him elsewhere on the journey.”
“And when he tries to escape, they probably won’t hurt him too badly if he doesn’t manage to get free,” Drake added. If Wil is anything like his older brothers, he will attempt escape at the earliest opportunity.
“Wil was in human form when he left,” Jenet reported as she finished her circuit of the site, “and not bleeding. They left on horseback.”
Drake patted her neck and sent her off to drink and cool off with Nellin.
“They were on horseback,” Drake said shortly, turning to Krysta and Mace to confer. “We should be able to catch them, even with the head start.”
“We’re already making good time.” Mace scanned the sky, probably noting the position of the sun. “We could reach the southern mountains by nightfall at least.”
“But we’ll need to fly lower now. We should follow the trail as closely as possible,” Krysta said, while Drake nodded in agreement.
“Shouldn’t be too hard with their horses kicking up the ground.”
“We’ll follow your lead in the air, Mace.” Drake felt he needed to be clear on that point. Mace had always been a very deliberate young man, and it looked like he’d become a steady, if a bit sedate, knight. “You and Nellin can recognize and follow the trail better than either me or Jenet.”
“We’ve trained for aerial recognition, but it’s easy to see you and Krysta have the advantage on the ground. If the trail forks at any point we’ll land and you two can use your tracking skills. I remember how good you were at tracking game, even when we were children, Drake.”
Mace’s smile was complimentaryeven friendlyand Drake suddenly recalled all those adventures the young boys of the Lair had gone on when out of their parents’ sight. Mace and Drake had always been part of a larger group, but often the two of them were paired off on one escapade or another. For one thing, Mace and he were of a size when they were younger and very close in age. The other boys had been either older or younger and most didn’t care to follow fanciful Drake on one or another of his imaginary quests. But Mace had been a good sport. He’d played sidekick to Drake on many a boyhood adventure.
It was nice to see that camaraderie translate into adulthood. Even over the many years, that early knowledge and respect for each other remained, and it pleased Drake to know he had the good opinion of this knight who had once been his childhood friend.
They set out not long after. The dragons had found wild game and taken a moment to cool down and drink from the nearby lake. Nellin even shared a few fish with Jenet in a kind gesture that Mace found somewhat telling. If he weren’t much mistaken, his dragon partner was attracted to the spectacularly colored female. Too bad Jenet didn’t have a knight yet. Nellin couldn’t mate her until she had a knight of her own and the two knights had found their mate.
It was the way of dragons and knights, but Mace still felt a pang for his dragon partner. It seemed unfair that Nellin had to wait to claim his lady love, yet Mace was glad for the dragon’s control. If Nellin ever mated, bonded as he was to Mace, the dragon’s lust would drive Mace crazy with a need that could only be fulfilled by his true mate. It was the main reason fighting dragons did not mate unless their knights had already found their own females to share their lives and their lusts.
When the dragon’s passion rose, Mace would be swept along in the fury that only a love partner could assuage. No mere casual sex partner would do. Only a mate, bonded by love, could slake the carnal thirst that would otherwise drive Mace insane.
He wasn’t completely sure, but Mace had a very strong feeling Krysta was it. She was the woman he wanted to share his life, but he had a long row to hoe to convince her to become his wife. And she’d have to be prepared to accept the knight who partnered the dragoness Nellin