Page 56 of Dragon Valley
“Well, as a second son, I got second-best everything,” I chuckled. “My brother got a top personal bodyguard who was born and bred within the castle walls, I got Jast.” I nodded my chin at him. “He worked his way up from a pig farmer and taught me combat, keeping my word, how to talk to girls, and all that. Honestly, he’s more of a father to me than the noble sperm donor I barely see.”
“You’ve always been a bigger pain in my ass than my own son,” Jast grumbled but I saw his smile through the tough exterior.
“Same with my nanny,” I continued. “She lived in a village less than a day’s ride away from Dragon Valley. She would rock me to sleep while telling me stories of seeing dragons on the horizon. And I would go out to villages as an apprentice healer and get to know people there. So, long story short,” I concluded with a shrug, “I empathize with the poor folk. And I’ve been more in touch with them than most royals my whole life.”
“Hm. You would like Dragon Valley, I think,” Nadiyah smiled in a way that sent my heart racing. “Once the war is over, maybe you’ll be permitted entry to write a new, contemporary book about it.”
“Why wait until the war is over?” I couldn’t keep the flirtation out of my voice.
“Because only the rebel army was allowed within our borders,” she said solemnly. “Outsiders must come with a valid reason for entry and gifts to be approved by the Dragon God.”
I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. “And they did that?”
“Yes, they came very humbly and respectfully.” Her gaze returned to the sleeping man with a look of adoration. Jealousy burned in my chest but I didn’t let my expression change.
“Caden and I will need to tell his captain about your resistance and the dragon ice,” she went on, looking back at me. “When will he be ready to ride?”
“A few days,” I said apologetically. “Possibly a week. He has cracked ribs and his lungs were badly bruised. Breathing will be painful for him for a short while.”
She huffed out a sigh that sounded disappointed. “Then I guess we’ll be getting to know each other over the next few days.”
22
NADIYAH
Caden wokeup the next day but was in so much pain he could barely talk. I spent the day feeding him and trying to make him as comfortable as possible. He was incredibly frustrated at being unable to move and barely able to breathe, but me being nearby seemed to soothe him.
At first I ignored it, but by the end of the day I realized I too felt a bruising, aching pain around my lungs and ribcage. It made my breath short and I got dizzy if I didn’t take breaks from daily tasks that were usually easy for me.
That night, curled up against Caden’s side I decided I’d talk to Ignazio about it the next day. But by morning, Caden had improved significantly and my own pain faded to a dull soreness.Dragon God, what is this?I wondered, watching my own hands change the bandage around Caden’s midsection. In the center of his torso, the mottled purple bruise in the rough shape of a footprint brought me back to the pain I felt right before coming to him.
It washispain I was feeling. On some level I knew that. I felt it just like I felt Dusa’s emotions. But how? Did we form a similar bond at some point on this mission?
I said I loved him and I meant it. But did he hear it? He never mentioned it after becoming lucid.
“Ow, ow.” He winced as I tightened a fresh cloth around his middle.
“Ignazio says it has to be tight, you baby,” I teased him. “Your ribs need to stay in place to heal.”
“Feels like you’re putting a corset on me,” he whined.
“A what?”
“It’s a thing women wear to make their waists really small. It’s supposed to make a desirable figure.”
“Women out here,” I muttered with a shake of my head. “Nothing they wear makes any sense.”
He was silent for a few moments before asking, “What did you do to her? Myra.”
I tied off his bandage and sat back, looking in the sky-blue of his eyes that were emerging as his bruises faded.
“I let her go,” I admitted. “She was acting out of desperation. She has a child she needed to provide for.”
He nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t look disappointed but seeing him like that— bruised, battered, and his own pain echoing through me made wonder if I did the wrong thing.
“I remembered what you said,” I continued. “When we first met. That war drives people to desperation. It causes them to do things they would never ordinarily do.”
He reached out and placed a hand on my knee. “And sometimes you see glimpses of their humanity still in there. You must have seen that in her.” He gave my knee a gentle squeeze. “I’m proud of you, Nadi.”
