Highland Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon #6) - Genevieve Jack Page 0,32
a log beside the flames.
“Sorry about that.” She kicked some dirt over where she’d lost her lunch. Her gaze darted to where the large black stallion rested beside the trees. “He’s faster and bigger than any horse I’ve ever ridden. Even faster than Nathaniel’s Diablo. I guess my stomach couldn’t handle the excitement.”
“It’s the rare horse indeed that can best Tàirn. I’d worried Lachlan hadn’t been exercising him since he locked me up but must have been. He’s even faster than I remember.”
Xavier motioned to the other side of the fire where another large log waited. “I’m afraid this is the best I have to offer ye for the night, but as ye can see, I’m a bit short of wear myself.”
He gestured toward his bare chest, and Avery suddenly felt a keen awareness of every inch of his masculine presence. She swallowed and glanced away.
“I can share my arisaid if you’re cold.” She cleared her throat and lifted the edge of what amounted to a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
“The cold doesna bother me.”
She blinked slowly. “Of course it doesn’t. You’re a dragon like your brothers.”
“Aye.” He scratched his bearded jaw, and she felt the weight of his gaze travel over her.
“Do you think we are safe here? Will Lachlan come after us?” God, she hoped they were safe for now. She was exhausted and sore. All she wanted to do was sleep.
“He might, but I’m betting he won’t. For one, he’d be hard-pressed to get any of the locals to come wi’ him. These hills are home to fairies. Some of them kind. Others deadly. As a dragon, I donna fear them the way the others do. I can protect you if we are set upon, but I doubt many will rush after us here, especially not in the dark. And Lachlan, he’s a coward and a crook. He’ll hesitate to leave Castle Dunchridhe and the hold he has over it and will avoid facing me alone at all costs, especially here where there are those who might not be sympathetic to his cause.”
Avery wasn’t sure what he meant by that and struggled to get her tired brain to formulate the right questions to ask. She looked around her. Fairy hills. The only fairy she’d ever encountered was Aborella, and she’d been the deadliest and scariest supernatural being she’d had the misfortune of meeting. To think she hadn’t believed dragons or witches existed a few short months ago. And now she was hiding in the fairy hills.
She thought about what he’d said, but there was something she didn’t understand. “Why would Lachlan’s leaving the castle affect his hold on it?”
“The castle magnifies his magic, as do the poor creatures in his office whose life force he drains when he needs power. Allows him to keep a mental hold on my clan. If he leaves or becomes too drained, his magic might fail and someone might remember.”
The answer simply spawned more questions, but she was too tired to ask them. She held her hands toward the fire.
“What is yer name, lass, and how did ye come to ken my brother?”
She smoothed her skirts and gathered her arisaid tighter around her shoulders. “My name is Avery—my sister Clarissa is mated to Nathaniel. My other sister is mated to Gabriel.”
Xavier made a deep, throaty grunt. “Mated, both. Hmm. And yerself? Are ye mated to one of ma brothers as well?”
She chuckled and raised her brows. “No. I am not married or mated or anything else to anyone.”
For some reason, that elicited a hint of a smile from the dragon, who covered his smirk with a hand and rubbed his mouth and beard. “What are ye that ye were able to open the cage?”
“Hmm?” She shook her head. “The cage wasn’t locked.”
He grunted again. “No need to hide what ye are from me, lass. I be a dragon. I will na judge ye.”
She shrugged. “I’m not hiding anything. I’m a human, plain and simple, and all I did was tug on the bars. The door simply swung open.” She didn’t mention the shock that had gone through her arms. She was sure there was some explanation, static electricity or some other natural phenomenon.
Xavier didn’t press the issue.
“How came ye here? How did Nathaniel know I was imprisoned in the castle as to send you to fetch me?”
“He didn’t.”
“Heh?”
“I’m here to retrieve you for an entirely different reason. Nathaniel assumed you’d still be laird of Castle Dunchridhe. I marched right up to Lachlan,