Page 17 of Bride of the Black Dragon
“There, there, little dove—it’s all right. You’re all right now. It’s over.”
I’m making a fool of myself and I know it, but I can’t let go of him—not yet. I cling to him a little while longer and Xaren supports my weight easily. He doesn’t seem in any hurry to push me away. He just keeps soothing me.
At last, calmed by his deep voice in my ear and his warm, spicy scent, my heart stops racing.
“I…I’m sorry.” I say at last, pulling back and swiping at my eyes. “It’s just…I’m not a very good rider and I was sure I was g-going to be th-thrown.” I give a little hiccupping half-sob and try to get control of myself.
“No reason to be sorry,” Xaren says soothingly. “Being on a runaway horse is a damn frightening experience—even for an experienced rider. Which you’re not.”
“No, I’m not,” I agree. I find a handkerchief in the pocket of my riding habit and use it to blot my stinging eyes. “Mirabella is usually so docile, though. But when the groom slapped her?—”
“What groom?” he interrupts me, his eyes narrowing. “Did one of those bastards try something with you?” Through his hair, I see the golden Drake eye gleaming. “I’ll fucking kill them if they touched you!”
“No, no—it was nothing like that!” I hasten to assure him. “It’s just…the groom that helped me get mounted, he said the strangest things. And then he slapped Mirabella on the rump and sent her flying without giving me the reigns first!”
Speaking of Mirabella, she’s still trembling all over, snorting and pawing the ground. She looks ready to start bucking or running again at any moment.
“She’s acting like something is biting her!” I say, pointing.
Xaren lets go of me completely—I’m rather sorry about that—and goes to see to my mount. He strokes her cheek and murmurs to her, just as he murmured to me. When she calms down some, he looks her over. After a moment, he shifts her saddle and frowns as he plucks something from her dappled gray coat.
“What is it? What did you find?” I ask, daring to approach the two of them.
“Burrs.” Xaren holds out his hand. In the flat of his large palm, I see several round burrs with long, sharp thorns growing out of them.
I stare at them. No wonder Mirabella went mad! I would have too with those things digging into my back. The groom must have placed them and then slapped her to get her going, knowing they’d dig into her even more with my weight riding up and down on her back. The faster she went, the more it must have hurt. Poor Mirabella—none of this was her fault.
“Those look nasty,” I say, daring to touch one. “Ouch!” I pull back my hand—my fingertip is bloody.
“Here.” Xaren takes me by the wrist and leans down. Before I can speak, he sucks my fingertip into his mouth. I feel the wet warmth of his tongue as he bathes my wounded flesh and then a tingling sensation. Then he releases me.
“What…why…?” I can’t get the questions out. I still feel shocked by the feeling of his mouth on me.
“I’m your husband. Well—one of your husbands,” he says dryly. “Which means my Drake will help me heal you when you’re wounded.”
I look down at my fingertip and—sure enough—the tiny wound is healed.
“I…didn’t know Drakes could do that,” I say, rather breathlessly.
“They can do a great deal more than just fly and breathe fire,” Xaren informs me. “Now tell me exactly what groom did this and why. Because I don’t think these got under your mount’s saddle by accident.” He motions with the wicked-looking burrs and then tosses them away.
I tell him of the cryptic “message” Grims gave me before sending Mirabella off like a mad thing, but then he frowns.
“What do you think he meant? What did you see that you shouldn’t have?”
I feel my cheeks getting hot with a blush. Oh Goddess of Mercy, I can’t tell him what I saw! I can’t.
But it’s clear that Xaren is waiting for an answer.
“Well?” He raises his eyebrows. “Tell me what you saw, Elaina.”
His use of my name instead of calling me “little dove” lets me know he’s serious. Goddess, I suppose I’ll have to tell him.
“The other day, when I was here at the stables,” I say carefully. “I had just finished my ride and then I heard some…some strange sounds. Like grunting and…and slapping. I…” my cheeks are so hot I’m certain they’ll set my hair afire at any moment.
“Go on.” Xaren makes a one-handed gesture. “So what did you see?”
“I, er, went to investigate and I saw Henri and…and the Crown Prince,” I get out at last. “They were…they were…” But I can’t finish.
