Ivar nodded and said nothing. He stroked her hair back from her face and kissed her temple before closing his eyes. A small smile formed on his lips. Beth lay awake, staring at him, memorizing the lines of his face. She never wanted to forget a single detail.
15
It was impossible to talk about anything personal while Galen drove them to New Orleans. They left before dawn, probably to help hide the location of the dragon compound. The SUV was an older model and ran a little loud. Galen tried to make conversation. It didn’t work. Gerard was quiet, staring out of the passenger side window. Beth sat in the back seat with Ivar. She tried to doze, but the bumpy back roads kept jarring her awake.
Before they went, Lori handed Beth her phone number and invited her to return. She also gave her a stack of envelopes with photographs and letters to send back through the portal, saying, “I don’t know if it will help, but maybe if Ivar’s people see the dragons are happy here it will calm their fears.” Beth peeked at one of the letters but could not read the language it was written in. The photos were of Drake, Lori, and their daughter, as well as several of the men.
“Look.” Beth pointed out the window as they drove past a cemetery. “Vultures.”
“The birds?” Ivar asked.
Beth nodded. “They’re scavengers. I don’t usually see them in this part of town.”
“Perhaps it is a bad omen,” Gerard said.
Galen slowed the car for a few seconds to look at the birds before regaining his speed.
Beth gave Galen directions toward her apartment. Ivar’s hand rested on her knee. The warmth of his fingers brushed her leg. She still wore her lucky white skirt. Even though she’d showered at Lori’s, she still wanted a change of clothes.
“We should do some things before your portal opens,” Beth offered. “I would hate for you not to have some fond memories of Earth. What kinds of things do you like to do?”
“Run in the forest,” Ivar answered. “Hunt yorkin and baldric.”
“You should try roasted chicken with creole seasoning,” Gerard said. “Tastes like baldric.”
“All right, you like outdoorsy stuff,” Beth concluded. Though looking at his physique, she couldn’t say she was too surprised by that. “I’m not taking you hunting because I couldn’t shoot at anything, but maybe hiking? We could find some nature trails.” She looked out of the window trying to come up with suggestions. “We have some haunted bed and breakfasts. We could hunt ghosts.”
“What are ghosts?” Ivar asked.
“The spirits of people who died that are said to be trapped on this earthly plane,” Beth said.
“You hunt your dead?” Ivar grimaced in disapproval.
Galen shook his head. “I know nothing about this.”
“OK, bad idea,” Beth quickly dismissed. “Forget I said anything about ghosts.”
“Hunting is not the same here,” Gerard said. “You cannot shift.”
“Is there anything else you enjoy doing?” Beth asked.
Ivar’s eyes met hers. “There is little time for anything beyond duty.”
“Oh.” She looked at her hands in her lap.
“I’m turning, where to next?” Galen asked.
“Two blocks up and then go right. We’re almost there.” Beth turned her attention back to Ivar. “Was there nothing about your visit to Earth you enjoyed?”
“I like gladiators,” Ivar said.
“Gladiators?” Beth instantly thought of the Roman Empire and men being forced to fight to the death.
“Yes, you call it football.” Ivar nodded. “I enjoyed your football. I went to the Oxford footballing stadium and drank beer and carried around a corn dog from the valley of tents. I’m not sure why I carried the corn dog, but I fed a kid with it.”
“Fed a kid?” Beth frowned.
“Yes, he ran by, grabbed it in his mouth, and took it with him,” Ivar said.
“I like the basket battles,” Galen put forth. “I do not understand what they are fighting over, but I enjoy it.”
“Basket battles?” Beth met his eyes through the rearview mirror. “Do you mean basketball?”
“Yes. They are excellent warriors,” Galen said.
“I will miss sports,” Gerard inserted softly.
“It is hard to believe I will see my home again in fifteen days,” Ivar caressed Beth’s cheek.
“When I left, I thought it was for good.” Gerard’s expression carried sadness whenever he talked about leaving as if he’d just seen all his dreams shattered on the ground around him. He’d lost hope. He came through the portal looking for a wife and was going home alone.
“I thought I would only be gone for a few hours,” Ivar admitted. “My trip was not supposed to last for three hundred and sixty-five days.”
“You mean three hundred and fifty days,” Gerard corrected.
Ivar frowned. “No, I mean a year. The portals open once a year.”
“Roughly once a year,” Galen said, “but taking into account Earth calculations, it’s three hundred and fifty days, about two weeks short of the Earth year they put on the calendar. We never go by their twelve-month system when it comes to calculating travel.”
Ivar leaned forward in his seat and looked as if he was tallying days in his head.
“You didn’t know?” Gerard asked. “So, when you said we had fifteen days…”
“Tonight,” Ivar whispered, reaching forward to grab the back of Gerard’s seat. “We have to get back to the portal, or it will close for another year.”
Beth saw his panic and placed a comforting hand on his leg. “It’s all right. Oxford is only about five or six hours from where we’re at. We can still make it. If we stop by my apartment, I will grab a change of clothes and cash for road snacks. We’ll be there by nightfall.”
Ivar took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. Very well. We will do as you suggest.”
Nightfall.
Beth tried not to think about it. This wasn’t fair. She was supposed to have two more weeks with him. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. The ride became as quiet as when it had started.
They reached her apartment, and it took some searching to find her keys. The last time she had seen them was in the alley as they escaped out of the window to get to her car.
“I apologize we took you the way we did,” Gerard said.
“As do I,” Galen added.
Beth nodded. “Thank you for saying so.”
The car was still parked where she’d left it. She was lucky it hadn’t been stolen. They were able to find her keys next to the building under the metal stairs.
The men waited outside as she went to her home. The dragons had locked the door, but they hadn’t picked up the mess. Beth started to straighten the apartment, only to stop. Now was not the time. She changed out of her clothes, leaving her lucky skirt in the hamper. Jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt seemed much more practical for the drive. She packed a change of clothes and grabbed what cash she had on hand from her last waitressing shift. She took her camera bag and started to leave, only to stop. Going back to her paintings she grabbed her favorite portrait of Ivar. When he left, she’d want him to take it with him to remember her by. She wrote a note to Yvonne telling her not to worry, that she would be home soon, that the woman could borrow her car again if she needed it since she already had a key to Beth’s apartment, and that she was going to Oxford with the painting muse. She also mentioned not to worry about the party mess in the apartment, so the woman wouldn’t panic when she saw it. The woman would get a kick out of Beth having a party and going away with a sexy man. She slid the note under Yvonne’s door.
“Do you have everything you need for the trip?” Ivar asked, rushing forward to take her bags and the painting.
“Yes.” Beth nodded, giving him everything but the camera.
“It is good you packed light,” Ivar said as he opened the SUV door for her. “I will be able to provide anything you need.”
“Ivar,” Beth touched his arm. She g
lanced at the two men and waited as they climbed into the vehicle. She shut the door without getting inside. She didn’t want to be overheard. “I can’t leave with you. This is my home.”
He stared at her mouth as if trying to understand what she was saying.
“I sympathize with your plight,” she continued, “and as interesting as it would be to know I’d been to another planet, it doesn’t sound like a trip I should take. We only just met. I like you, and I wanted to spend the next two weeks with you, but…”
His lips pressed tightly together, and it looked as if he didn’t breathe.
“I know you’re disappointed. I’m sorry for that. I will help you get home, and you know where I live. If you make it through the New Orleans portal, come over and say hello.” Beth tried to touch him, and he inhaled sharply. She dropped her hand. His eyes seemed to ask why, but he didn’t speak. “I cannot be a figurehead wife, a princess no less, on an alien world. You don’t even know for sure if the portal will remain open if you were to bring a mate home. I could go, and it might not even work.”
Her words caused her pain, and she felt an intense loss when saying them, but what else could she do? If she went, and they didn’t work out, she could be trapped on an alien planet she knew nothing about. Did they have artists? Did they have restaurants she could waitress in? How would she survive? Then there was the fact that it was a male populated world. What kind of rights did a woman have in such a society? There were too many questions, and more she was sure she hadn’t even thought about.
“You… don’t…” His words trailed off as if he couldn’t form the thought. She patted his chest, fighting the tears that tried to form. Slowly he nodded, standing very still.
Beth reached to open her car door. “We should get on the road.”
“As you wish,” he whispered, walking around the SUV to climb inside.
16
Ivar had thought he knew all the times he had felt real fear. First, when he witnessed that spaceship appear like a ring of fire to land on top of his palace home. Second, when scientists admitted that there was no solution to the shifter reproduction problem. Third, when Jenna had been taken to be sacrificed by the Nutef faction. And finally the night he was locked out of the portal and exiled to Earth for a year.
He had been wrong.
None of those things constituted real fear. They were nothing compared to the heartbreak and loneliness he was feeling on the journey to Oxford. Beth did not want to come with him.
He couldn’t move, could barely breathe. He felt her looking at him from her place next to him on the seat. He couldn’t meet her gaze. If he looked at her, he knew he would be tempted to force her to leave with him. How could he do that to her? If he took her, it would be selfish. She wanted to stay. And if he loved her, he needed to let her stay.
So he sat for hours, unmoving and broken. The stiffness in his muscles became uncomfortable, but what did that matter? It took all his concentration to keep breathing with the pain in his chest.
The landscapes were lost on him, blurred trees and pastures that did not stay in his thoughts. They stopped for fuel and food. Ivar could not bring himself to eat. The dragons spoke, but he had no presence of mind to answer them. Beth touched his hand, and the pain worsened, but he didn’t pull away from her. He would take the agony of her touch for as long as she gave it.
Ivar considered staying on Earth. So what if he did not enjoy living on the planet? He could learn to like it. He liked football. He loved Beth. He liked the dragon-shifter colony. He could learn to be happy. For a moment, he let himself fantasize about what it would be like. Sadly each fantasy left him feeling more hopeless. What kind of life could he provide for Beth? He had no earthly skills. It was not as if they were hiring princes. He could drive a truck back-and-forth from Oxford to New Orleans. He could not provide for her in the way that she deserved. But maybe he could try. He was willing to give her everything he had. He wanted to treat Beth like a princess.
But what about his people? His parents? His duty to all of them?
Oxford came too soon, and he did not have the answers. His chest tightened with each mile. The familiar streets felt like they were closing in on him.
“Lori wanted you to take these photographs with you. She thought it might help show your people how happy the dragons are.” Beth slid an envelope onto his lap. “There are also some letters from the others.”
Ivar managed a nod. His eyes met hers, and he felt helpless.
“I also want you to take the painting I did. I know it’s not much, but I want you to have it.” Beth motioned to the back where he had placed the portrait next to her travel bag.
He again nodded.
“For the last five hours, I have tried to figure out what to say to you. I’m sorry you’re upset by my staying.” Beth’s hand trembled against his. “I wish we had more time.”
At the comment, Gerard sighed heavily and nodded in agreement.
“I have given it much thought,” Ivar stated. “I will return home alone.”
At that Gerard twisted around in his seat to stare at him. “What do you mean? I thought you said you needed one of the dragons that had come to this world to go back with you to prove Earth was a safe place. What has changed?”
“I have had time to consider,” Ivar said, unsure how he managed to form the words. “It is not fair to ask you to give up your chance at happiness. You have proven yourself honorable in your willingness to come with me. These photographs will have to be enough evidence. As it has been said, there is no guarantee any of my suggestions will stop the portals from closing. But, since the dragons were able to come through recently, I will be able to go home and try. I will tell them of your success here. My word will have to be enough.”
“Thank you, Prince Ivar, thank you,” Gerard said, smiling.
Ivar could not return the happy expression.
They parked downtown in Oxford and climbed out of the car. Ivar went to Galen and held out his hand in the Earth shaking custom. “Please watch out for her. Anything she needs.”
Galen nodded. “I swear on my life.”
“You should stay hidden when the others arrive,” Ivar said. “Wait for the portal to close before you leave. I will explain your situation once I’m back on Qurilixen.”
Gerard and Galen both nodded. Beth came around the side of the car holding her camera bag. The camera was in her hands. She lifted it and motioned for the men to stand together. When she lowered it, her eyes met Ivar’s and she bit her lip in uncertainty.
“I will take you back to your home before I go to Boston,” Galen told Beth. “We will not leave you stranded here.”
Ivar took Beth’s hand and led her away from the dragons. He walked the familiar sidewalks to where his statue friend sat. “We will be able to see the portal opening from here. It should not be long now.”
“You’ve been quiet today,” Beth observed. “Are you excited to return home?”
“Not as much as I thought I would have been.” It was the truth. Every other happiness in his life paled next to the pain of what was to come.
“Do you think you will visit me through the New Orleans portal?” Beth asked.
“I will do everything in my power to try,” he said.
Now he had even more motivation to keep the portals open. This wasn’t what he wanted, but he’d take it. Seeing her for a few hours, once every three hundred and fifty Earth days, was better than nothing. Perhaps in time, she would change her mind.
“I have spoken with Galen. I would like you to keep in touch with the dragon-shifters. They will keep you safe,” Ivar said.
“Safe from what?” Beth frowned.
“From everything,” Ivar said. “I will not be here to look after you.”
“Ivar, I have been looking after myself for many years now. I don’t suddenly need a babysitter.” She leaned forward and ran her hands through her hair. “I really wish we had those two weeks. I feel like I was just getting t
o know you.”
“I feel like I already know you.” Ivar couldn’t stop himself. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
Everything that he wanted to say would not be fair to her. He wanted to beg her to come. But she had made up her mind and was very clear about it.
Beth held him tighter. “Where will the portal be?”
Ivar pointed toward Faulkner Alley. “There, beside a black door with a skull.”
“The grilled cheese place?” Beth asked.
“No, a black door with a skull,” Ivar corrected.
They both stared at the opening to the passageway. Suddenly a soft purple glow shone from within. It only lasted a few seconds. Ivar stiffened and pulled her closer. He did not want to let go. He did not want to leave her. He again thought about staying on Earth.
“Is that…?” she whispered. Her hands kneaded against his chest.
Ivar nodded. “Yes.”
“We should go to the car and get your painting,” she said, her words hesitant.
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should get you some food for the trip? Will it take long?” Beth made no move to leave the bench. She held him tighter.
“That light means somebody came through. They are probably looking for me,” Ivar stated. He slowly stood, forcing her to move with him. He glanced at the statue but felt no need to speak to it, not like before. He had Beth to talk to now, and he wanted to take every second he could.
“What would happen if you stayed?” Beth asked. “Maybe you can tell them that you’re well. And they could go home and let the others know you’re safe here. Could you use a New Orleans portal to get home later, or I can bring you back in a year?”
“Are you asking me to stay?” Ivar touched her cheek. Her request restored some of his happiness, and the ache in his chest lessened.
Beth nodded. Her eyes searched his. “If you want.”
“I have to go home,” he said. “I need to know what is happening on my planet. I need to make sure the people see me, and my absence is explained.”
He also needed to tell the Draig royals about Lord Montague’s part in the unauthorized portal travel. Since the old house noble was well respected amongst his peers, it would take some very delicate political maneuvering to expose him as the traitor he was. There were those who would not want to take the word of the deserters against the leader of the elders.
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