Hidden Dragons (2 page)

That couldn’t be right, but then again,
Isabelle had never talked with a dragon before.

“
You can hear me?”
the dragon seemed to want to confirm what had
just happened.

Isabelle gathered her courage and
smiled at the dragon.
“I can, sir. And I
am honored to meet you, though I do not know your name.”

“
Growloranth,”
came the stunned reply in her mind.

She made her shaky bow
again.
“I am Isabelle.”

“
She can hear me,”
Growloranth spoke directly into his knight’s
mind, shocking him.

“
Are you sure?”
Robert was amazed the small woman they had come upon in such
a heartbreaking scene had hidden depths. Was this some kind of
trick?

“
Not only does she hear, but she
speaks as if she has been doing it all her life.”
The dragon was duly impressed and sounded just as
surprised as Robert was.
“Her name is
Isabelle.”

“
Isabelle?” Robert repeated out
loud, and the woman turned. Her shy smile made him want to reassure
her, but of what, he wasn’t sure.

“
Yes, forgive me again, sir. My
name is Isabelle, as I just told your partner, Sir
Growloranth.”

She gave Robert the same little bow she had
given the dragon and Robert was impressed by her manners. Most
border folk in the small villages like the one they had just flown
over were either afraid or overly obsequious when they met knights
and dragons.

This young woman had a confident interest that
was as refreshing as it was attractive. Everything about her was
pretty, from the glint in her green eyes to her pale skin and long,
golden blonde hair. She didn’t look like most border folk, who were
usually dark-skinned and dark-haired. She had a bit of fey grace
about her that made her stand out.

“
No, I’m afraid you must forgive
me, milady,” Robert finally said, aware that he had been staring at
her a little too long. “It is a rare thing to find someone who can
speak with dragons. How in the world did you learn such a skill,
living out here on the border?”

“
My mother could speak in that way,
mind-to-mind. She taught me. Since her death, I have spoken to no
one else. It is…nice…to be able to use the ability again without
fear,” she admitted in a quiet voice.

“
What do you fear?”
Growloranth was instantly on guard, ready to
defend her, it seemed.

“
The villagers have never been very
accepting of my differences. Even though we came here when I was
young, we have always been considered outsiders. Now that Mama is
gone, I’ve felt very alone, which is why I come down to the river…”
she trailed off, looking at the spot where they had found her,
crying.

“
Your mother died?” Robert asked
gently.

She nodded. “In the sickness that took half the
town two years ago. It was very sudden.”

“
And you have been alone since?
Have you no mate or younglings?”
Growloranth asked quickly.

“
No, sir,” she answered in a quiet
voice—out loud so Robert could also hear. “I have no mate or
children. I live simply and work in the fields with the other
villagers. I also tend the beasts when they are injured. For my
work, I am given a small share of the community harvest. That, and
my own small garden, is how I’ve survived these past years since
Mama died.”

The dragon looked at Robert, the censure in his
eyes for the villagers clear. Robert knew Growloranth felt as
strongly about injustice as he did. While they didn’t have all the
facts about this odd young woman yet, the picture they were
starting to get didn’t look good.

“
She should be in the Lair,”
Growloranth sent to Robert privately.
“Women who can speak with my kind are rare
enough. I am certain we could find a place for her in the Border
Lair. And our folk would treat her well. Many of the knights would
try to court her. She would not be alone for long. In fact, why
don’t you try your hand, Robert? I’d like to claim my mate sooner
rather than later and you know I cannot do that until you and Bear
find a mate to share. Lady Isabelle might be the one.”

Robert had already started thinking along those
lines, but it wasn’t just up to him. While the two dragons already
knew they were mates, they were prohibited from actually mating
until their knight partners had a wife.

The sad fact was, if the dragons engaged in a
mating flight, linked so closely to their knights as they were, the
knights would need to be able to express that same bond of love,
lust and ecstasy with their mate. Being bonded to a dragon meant
sharing a mate, since only men were chosen as fighting partners by
dragons and once chosen, they spent their lives bonded to their
dragon. Only death could break the bond and while the dragon’s
magic imparted an extended lifespan to most knights, the dragon
would live on for many centuries after their knight had left this
world.

Most often, the dragons of lost knights would
go into a period of mourning for their departed bondmate. They
would seek solitude high up in the mountains, living a simpler life
for a decade or more. When they were ready, they would return to
one of the Lairs and begin the search for a new knight to share
their exceedingly long lives with, in defense of their shared
homeland.

Any male who could hear a dragon speak in his
mind, and was inclined to the life of a warrior, was eligible for a
dragon to choose. The dragons had a way of seeing to the heart of a
person, and once chosen, a partnership was for life, so they were
very careful of their choices. Only the most noble and brave of men
were chosen to fight alongside a dragon—and only those with the
talent for speaking mind-to-mind.

Women with the skill were even rarer. Very few
could hear or speak to dragonkind, and most were afraid. It was not
easy to live with a dragon in the family—or two—which is how Lair
families were formed. But certain special women made families with
their knights and the dragons. Still, a mating in the Lair was a
rare thing and something to celebrate.

If Isabelle could be a mate to Robert and Bear,
it would be something incredibly special. And if not them, perhaps
she would be a match for another pair of knights in the Lair. Her
ability to speak with dragons, and her lack of fear of them,
counted much in her favor.

“
I’m with you, friend,”
Robert sent to Growloranth privately, knowing he
had been silent too long. Again. “Milady, would you share the meal
with us? And then, after, we will see you safely home.”

“
I don’t want to impose,” she said,
biting her lip in the most innocent, enticing way.

“
It is no imposition. We have
plenty of food to share and unless I am much mistaken, our partners
approach with some fresh meat. There will be enough for all five of
us, and then some. Please stay.”

She was about to answer when Tildeth and Bear
stepped into the clearing…and Isabelle was entranced. Robert had to
smile. Tildeth often had that effect on people. She was the most
delightful shade of pale crystal blue. Together, she and
Growloranth were a sight to behold. Light and dark. Bright day and
shadowy night.

“
Lady Isabelle,”
Growloranth said into the minds of all those
present,
“please allow me to introduce my
mate, Lady Tildeth.”

The stunning blue dragon walked up to stand
beside Growloranth and rubbed her neck scales along his in
greeting, while eyeing Isabelle. Bowing low, Isabelle returned the
greeting mind-to-mind, making Tildeth blink.

“
Lady Tildeth, it is my honor to
meet you. And may I say, you are lovely.”
Robert could hear the genuine awe in Isabelle’s tone as she
broadcast her delicate voice for all those with the ability to
hear.

Tildeth preened. She wasn’t a vain dragon,
though she had every right to be. She was one of the most graceful,
well-formed female dragons of her generation. And her coloration
was rare. She matched the sky almost perfectly, and was the next
best thing to invisible during the day.

And her mate, Growloranth, was the exact color
of a twilight forest. Between the two, they made a great team for
stealth maneuvers.

“
Thank you, Isabelle. It has been a
long time since I spoke with one of your kind,”
Tildeth surprised them all by saying. Including, it seemed,
Isabelle.

“
Sorry. My kind?”
Isabelle’s head tilted in puzzlement.

“
You may not look it, and it’s
probably dilute, but you have the blood of the Fair Folk in you, do
you not?”
Tildeth too, tilted her great
head as if in question.

Understanding and a bit of shock dawned over
Isabelle’s features. “My mother was fair in complexion and face,
but she never really spoke of her origins.”

“
It would make sense,
though,”
Growloranth added.
“There is a flavor of magic about you that is
completely benign, yet unfamiliar to me. I have never met a Fair
One.”

“
Trust me, the flavor of her magic
is of the Fair Folk. I knew a few of them in my youth,”
Tildeth said.
“Can you
not hear the musical note in her voice? The fey have the most
musical of all voices.”

“
Mama used to sing to me,” Isabelle
said softly, as if remembering, and her eyes took on a sad, faraway
look.

Silence reigned in the clearing for a moment,
the only sound that of the rushing water behind them. Bear chose
that moment to step forward.

“
I am Sir Bernard,” he pronounced,
his voice gruff, but a welcome distraction from the serious turn of
their conversation. He offered his hand in greeting and Isabelle
took it, allowing him to raise her small hand to his lips for a
tender salute.

Robert cursed himself for not doing the same
sooner. As it was, Bear had already touched the woman—even kissed
her hand—and Robert had done nothing more than talk her ears off.
He wasn’t going to get anywhere in figuring out if she was their
mate this way.

Sir Bernard—known as Bear to his
friends—marveled at the beauty his partner had somehow found in the
woods. Her skin was soft, even if she did have hands roughened from
hard work. That was no sin. In fact, it showed just how much this
gentle woman did to make her way in the world. He could not find
fault with that. Not in the least.

Bernard might be gruff on the outside, but he
had been raised in a family that respected hard work and honesty
above all else. He had partnered with one of the loveliest dragons
of their time and many had thought it a mismatch when Tildeth chose
him, but Bear knew the truth. Tilly chose him for what was on the
inside. Although pretty to look at, she saw straight to the heart
of him, as he saw beneath her pretty shell to the heart of the
warrioress that lay beneath her sky blue hide.

They were perfect for each other. The only
thing that would make their partnership complete was if Bear could
find a mate. And any mate Bear found would be shared with Robert
because Tildeth and Growloranth were mates of long standing. Each
had partnered at least one knight before Robert and Bear. They had
lived for many centuries already and had two fully grown children.
They had not been able to be together as mates since choosing
Robert and Bear.

It hurt Bear to know that his single status
kept his fighting partner from her mate. He would do just about
anything for Tilly. She was part of him—bonded on a soul-deep
level. But the mate bond could not be forced. Not just any woman
would do. The woman that bonded with them and completed their
family unit had to be just right. Destined for them by the Mother
of All Herself.

“
Do you think she could be the
one?”
Tilly asked Bear privately.
“Growloranth thinks she might be.”
Bear noted the eager tone in his fighting
partner’s voice. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of eagerness
himself.

“
I can’t be sure yet. It is too
soon. But I will say that she is lovely. I wouldn’t mind spending
the rest of my days with a creature as beautiful as
Isabelle,”
Bear answered Tilly
honestly.
“But outward appearances—as you
well know—are not enough to base something so important on. We need
to get to know her.”

“
We need to get her to come back to
the Lair with us,”
Tilly
replied.

“
I agree. Let me work on it. We
will make this happen. I promise you.”

“
Nice to meet you, Sir Bernard,”
Isabelle replied to his kiss on her hand.

Reluctantly, he let her go and tried to smile.
He had to be charming, which was difficult for a homely fellow like
himself.

“
Please, call me Bear,” he offered,
pleasure streaking through him when she smiled.

“
Do people call you that because
you’re as big as a bear?” He liked the teasing, playful tone in her
voice.