To Tame a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,72
he fell on his backside and scrambled out of the chamber. Once Dian was gone, Falthyris glanced down at Telani, offered her a nod, and walked back to Elliya.
Telani closed the distance between her and Elliya, knelt, and wrapped her arms around her daughter, squeezing her tight. Elliya embraced her mother in return.
“My strong, brave daughter. I am so grateful to have you home, to see you awake, to see joy upon your face again.” Telani glanced at Falthyris. “Please do not dismiss Dian—or any of us—out of hand. There is a good man inside him that needs only be uncovered, and his demeanor is only the result of his importance to our tribe.”
“That does not excuse his behavior,” the dragon replied.
“It does not. But your presence, I think, will force him to reflect upon his position and his actions. He will bother Elliya no more.”
“One way or another, Telani, your words will prove true.”
Telani drew back, cupped Elliya’s face in her hands, and smiled as she met her daughter’s eyes. “You have a fierce mate. I should have known since you were a little girl that it would take something as powerful as a dragon to be your match.” She leaned forward and kissed Elliya’s forehead. “Rest, eat, grow strong again. I will have some broth brought to you, and if you need anything more, send word.”
“Thank you, Mother,” Elliya said with a smile.
When Telani was gone, Elliya looked at Falthyris, her smile widening.
“There is mischief in your grin, human,” he said, eyeing her warily. “What are you thinking?”
“Simply that you acted not unlike a spoiled child when I first met you, dragon.”
He lowered himself onto the pallet beside her with a growl. “I acted like an ancient dragon who was unwillingly claimed by a beautiful little human. It is fortunate for that little human that I have grown rather fond of her in the time since.”
He caught her by her hips and lifted her back onto his lap. His tail curled possessively around her leg, lightly stroking the skin around the scabbed bite wounds.
Elliya reached up to brush his long, pale hair from his face, tucking it behind his pointed ear. “This little human has grown quite fond of her dragon, too. She might even love him.”
“Might?” Falthyris cupped her chin with his hand, angling her face toward his. Her gaze immediately locked with his vibrant blue eyes, which were deeper and more beautiful than the sky on even the clearest days. “There is no might for me, Elliya. I love you.”
“And I love you.” She leaned forward and kissed his lips but pulled away before he could deepen that kiss. Her brows knitted as she looked into his eyes again. “When you said earlier that we were home…”
“I meant it. If this is where my mate wishes to be, this is where I shall be. What good is a lair without my female to fill it with warmth and life?”
“You are certain you want to…to stay here?” Her chest grew tight, and emotion constricted her throat, making it difficult to get the words out. The words he’d spoken in anger seven days before were still fresh in her mind. “To live here with…with all these—”
Falthyris shifted his hand and pressed his thumb over her lips, silencing her. He leaned closer, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft but unwavering, making her feel as though there were no one else in all the world but the two of them. “You may well be the first being to have received an apology from a dragon, Elliya. You are absolutely the first to have received two apologies. I am sorry for what I said. I offer you no excuses—only an oath.
“I will cherish you as you deserve, I will speak to you as you deserve, I will worship you as you deserve for so long as my heartfire burns, and even after it has been snuffed out, my love will persist in every glowing ember, in every fire, for the rest of eternity. For you, Elliya”—Falthyris brushed his lips tenderly across hers—“are a dragon’s mate.”
Epilogue
A salt-kissed breeze flowed over Falthyris’s scales, carrying a hint of refreshingly cool mist. He filled his lungs with the ocean air and closed his eyes. The afternoon sun was pleasantly warm, as was the soft sand underfoot, both so unlike the desert conditions to which he’d been accustomed for most of his life. He had spent so long in a world of withering