by S. A. Barton
Chapter Eight
Jared reached over Kelzy’s shoulder to look down at the small woman in his dragon partner’s grasp. He saw the bright red of blood against Kelzy’s blue-green foreleg, but it was hard to discern the jagged scrapes from the dragon’s sharp talons against the brown leather that covered the woman.
Pain entered his heart as he saw her pale face, pressed tightly, trustingly against the dragon’s muscular leg. She was so brave, so strong. This was a woman of rare character and ability, and she was fast becoming all too important to him. Either way, Adora would not be returning to her home in the forest. Kelzy and he would see to it that she stayed in the Lair.
This was a woman who needed to be protected and given the care she deserved. He wasn’t looking for a wife, but he could not let her leave them again. She was much too precious.
“How does she look?” Kelzy’s words were for his mind alone.
He didn’t want to worry his dragon partner, but neither could he keep the truth from her. “She’s pale and weak. Your talons scratched her and she is bleeding a bit, but she’s holding up well.”
“Sweet Mother of All! Why didn’t she tell me?”
“It doesn’t look too bad, Kelz. Just get us to the Lair and we can fix her up, I’m sure.”
“If I hadn’t snatched her out of that tree—”
“If you hadn’t,” he interrupted, “she would most likely be skith food right now. You did what you had to do and I’m sure she’ll thank you for it, my friend. You don’t hear her complaining, do you?”
“She was ever a thoughtful child. She would never complain, even when she ought to.”
“Well, you can nag her about it after we get back to the Lair and the healers have a chance to look at her scratches. She’s alive, Kelz.” His voice dipped low, surprising him with the deep emotion he felt. “That’s what matters most. She’s alive and she’ll live with us now.”
“I should never have let her leave in the first place!”
“Neither of us should have let that happen, but we can and will stop her from going anywhere this time. I’ll have her bound if I have to.”
“We’re almost there, baby.” Kelzy included all of them in her thoughts now as they approached the Lair. Kelvan brought up the rear with Gareth, both of them keeping close watch on Rohtina’s injury as she struggled to fly back to her home.
Jared caught sight of the landing ledge and realized the younger dragons must have sent word ahead, because a contingent of people was waiting for them. Among them was Belora, wringing her hands, with tears tracking down her pale face. Silla, the woman who acted as healer for the Lair, was also there and it was to her side that Kelzy aimed her landing. She hovered a moment, allowing Jared to jump down and catch Adora as Kelzy opened her claws.
Adora was clearly in a great deal of pain, but when she opened her eyes, Jared breathed a huge sigh of relief. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, he knew, but she was conscious at least. Just seeing her beautiful eyes blink open reassured him.
“You shouldn’t frown so hard, Jared. I’m fine.”
“Then why are you only half-conscious?” His gruff voice was for her ears alone as he carried her away from the ledge so the dragons would have room to land safely. Belora was at their side almost instantly, making sure her mother was okay.
“I’m fine, baby,” her mother assured her. “Just let me get bandaged up. You should see to Rohtina. She was hurt by the skiths, I think.”
Belora gasped and ran for the ledge once more after kissing her mother and assuring her she would check on her as soon as she was patched up. Silla moved closer and lifted the leather away gently and looking at the severity of the scratches. Jared looked too, frowning when he saw the deep gouges, but he stayed silent as Silla made her own assessment.
“It isn’t nearly as bad as it looks. A few weeks and she’ll be good as new, I think.”
Kelzy breathed a warm sigh of relief that washed over them all, bringing a smile to Adora’s pale lips. “See? I told you it was nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me,” Jared grumbled.
“I can wrap these, but it will have to wait until the more serious cases are tended to.” Silla’s eyebrow rose in a clear signal to Jared that she expected him to take care of Adora.
“It’s all right,” Jared answered the demanding eyebrow. “I’ll do it. There are others in graver need of your skills.” Jared headed for the corridor with Adora still held in his strong arms.
“I can walk, you know,” she fussed without much heat.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight until you’re patched up and comfortable in bed. In your room. In our quarters.” His eyes held hers as he laid down the law.
“Okay.” She surprised him by placing her hand at the nape of his neck and stroking him gently.
“You’re not going to argue about going back to your forest?”
Solemnly, she shook her head. “After what just happened? The village was destroyed. My patients are all gone—either dead or fled. There’s nothing holding me there any longer.”
“Well, thank the Mother for that!” Kelzy’s disgusted voice floated to them as she followed close behind on their way to her quarters. “Not about the village—that’s terrible,” she clarified quickly, “but about you staying with us now. We need you, girl.”
Adora chuckled and closed her eyes, letting her head drift to rest against Jared’s strongly beating heart. He liked the way she felt against him, liked the trust she put in him by that simple gesture. Carefully he maneuvered her through the archways and into the room she had used before and placed her gently on the bed.
Kelzy’s great head followed them into the small human-sized room to observe that he cared for her girl properly, he supposed. He didn’t mind. He loved Kelzy and knew the dragon loved this small woman. They weren’t bonded the way he and Kelzy had bonded, soul to soul, but their bond was perhaps even stronger. This was the bond between mother and child, as unlikely as it seemed. The unconventional relationship was just one more reason he loved Kelzy so deeply. She was a special dragon in every way, with a deep compassion and capacity to love that many others of her kind did not seem to possess.
Jared reached for the small buttons on Adora’s clothing, undressing her with an efficient hand, over her weak objections. She was almost completely drained of energy. When his hands found the burn marks from the skith venom on her leggings and boots, he marveled at the way her unconventional garments had withstood the fierceness of the attack. When he removed her boots, he noted the hardness in the sole and saw the flash of Kelzy’s scales peeping through the burns, shaking his head at her ingenuity.
“Look at this, Kelz.” He tossed the boots near to the dragon’s head so she could inspect them. “Your little human daughter is a very bright woman.”
“Amazing,” Kelzy agreed. “Why didn’t we ever think of doing something like this? Incorporating my shed scales between layers of treated leather. It probably saved her from some serious burns.”
“Definitely. The scale stopped the acid. Even when the first layer of hide failed, the scale and the inner layer of leather were there to protect her. Her skin is unblemished, but the boots and leggings testify to the severity of the venom spray. She was hit pretty badly.”
“Hey!” Adora protested when he pulled her leggings clean off, leaving her bare from mid-thigh to her wiggling toes. Jared simply lifted her legs, inspecting her skin minutely for any injury before pulling a blanket from the foot of the bed and tucking it around her.
“Your skin was protected by the leather, Adora. No burns on your legs from the venom, thank the Mother.” He looked into her eyes as he reached for her tunic. Her hands came up to stop him, but he brushed them aside. “I have to clean and wrap those scratches.” His voice was soft, but his tone serious, and she let her hands fall away so he could do what he had to do.
He pulled off the ruined shirt as gently as he could, knowing by the way her breath hissed that it hurt her,
but it had to be done. She was bare beneath the shirt and he was surprised for a moment at the sight of her lovely breasts spilling free of the form-fitting garment. She was built beautifully and quite the loveliest woman he had seen in many long years.
He stroked the side of her face with the backs of his fingers as he noted her discomfort. She was in pain and obviously shy. He had no doubt from her reactions that she had not been with a man since the death of her husband many years before. Jared thought that a crying shame. She was so beautiful, so vital. She deserved to enjoy life and love, not lock herself away in the middle of nowhere where no male could appreciate the beauty of her.
Not that he wanted to be that man, but he saw the value of her and knew she had been wasting her life away hiding in the forest. Here at the Lair, she would be appreciated for the jewel she truly was. He gritted his teeth and tried not to think about all the single men who would be beating a path to her door once they knew she would stay here in the Border Lair. Shaking his head, he concentrated on the task at hand while Kelzy kept the room nice and warm with her puffing breath.
He took a water jug from the nearby table and splashed a bit into the matching bowl, snagging a washcloth at the same time. Slowly and with great care, he cleaned the gouges on her back and side, being as thorough as possible before wrapping a clean cloth lightly around her middle.
Doctoring done, he stood from the bedside and helped her settle comfortably back before tucking the blanket around her. Kelzy stayed just where she was, even after he left the small chamber, and he knew the dragon would watch over her human daughter all night. He shook his head as he reached his own room and tumbled into bed. It had been a long, eventful day.