by Eve Laird
“And the bleeding?” I asked.
She shook her head, sadly.
“The wounds we'd thought were healing have come apart. We've cleaned them and stitched where we can, yet they still bleed. He is weak. Probably as weak as he was when he first arrived here,” she said.
“Could it be a poison like he'd mentioned?” I asked.
In truth, I'd spent a good part of the day trying to think of whether I'd heard of such a poison.
My Angelic Guard training covered various attack methods, including poisons and potions, but I never had a good head for them.
It was too arcane, and dishonest, for me.
I knew I couldn't ask Oliver or Asher without raising suspicions.
I would be breaking both my oath to Drake, to not discuss our meeting, and the demand Spring had made not to tell others about Drake's current health.
A knock came on the door.
We turned to look.
“Spring?” came a hopeful voice.
The other Fae was looking for her.
She moved to open the door a crack.
I heard one side of her conversation with the Fae Healer.
“What is it? That's great news. Thank you, April,” she said, closing the door.
Spring smiled at me.
“April tells me he's doing a little better, and in the last half hour, he has improved slightly. Still unconscious, but more stable, and definitely more settled,” she said.
She watched me with a critical eye.
I felt slightly uncomfortable.
“I am glad,” I said, surprised at how relieved I really was.
“I'll take you to see him now,” she offered, a friendly smile now on her face.
“I know now that you've been worried, and I am sorry…” she said.
“That's not necessary, Spring, you are taking care of your patient, and I shouldn’t have bothered you, let alone interfered,” I apologized.
She looked at me, uncertain, but then smiled again.
“You really don’t know, do you?” she said, amused.
I shook my head.
“I only came to see how he was, and to ask if there was anything I could do to be of assistance,” I told her.
Spring just looked at me, so I carried on.
“He is unconscious, and you have answered my questions. My presence would only be a hindrance to you and April,” I said.
She gave me a knowing smile, though I wasn't quite sure what she thought she knew.
“A few moments, Vita. You will feel more reassured shortly, I promise,” she laughed.
Reluctantly, I followed, shrugging, and then Drake’s scent enveloped me.
I inhaled deeply, feeling the knots in my shoulders ease.
Tension flowed from my body, and a secret warmth flowed into my innermost core, startling me.
The beams today had indeed been more massive than I'd expected, yet I would never admit it.
The sensation of all that effort being taken from me was exquisite, and I relaxed and soaked it up.
The room felt calm.
Drake really was more settled.
His chest rose and fell at a smooth, relaxed pace, and from the slight movement in his neck where his pulse flowed, his heart was beating a steady, slow rhythm.
His damaged wing was covered in more bandages than before, and the puddle of blood that had gathered beneath it was, thankfully, gone.
Somewhere within me, I heard a small voice.
Vita, you know he is yours, and you are his.
His improvements are because you are near.
You are linked, you are fated, you are mates.
I walked towards him, pulling the blanket up further around him.
As I did, even in his unconscious state, his hand found mine.
“Vita,” he murmured.
“My Vita.”
I glanced around in embarrassment, did Spring or April hear him?
They must have, as I only caught sight of their backs as they left the room again, closing the door discretely behind them.
Giggling.
What was going on?
I stood for a moment, Drake’s hand grasping mine more firmly, as I tried to move away.
I saw a quick frown cross his handsome face, his features contorting into a grimace until I squeezed his hand in response.
Then, he just sighed, and a broad smile appeared, like the sun from behind a dark cloud.
I waited until the rhythm of his breathing slowed again, and tried to gently disengage again.
It was time to return to my barracks; the others had enough ammunition for gossip as it was.
As I managed to slip my hand free from his, I heard words echoing inside my head.
“My Vita, a heavy burden is on your shoulders. You must fulfill your task, or risk us all to the Incorrupti Knights, and we will all die - every single one of us,” Drake said.
The words came clearly into my head, even though I would swear his lips never moved.
I didn’t sleep a wink that night.
I thought of all the souls I'd met here, in this sanctuary and I felt the heavy responsibility of providing for their protection.
We all sought shelter from our combined nemesis: the Incorrupti Knights.
I remember looking at my sleeping Dragon, and though I couldn't explain how I knew, I felt in my very bones that we would be together, somehow.
I would be damned if I was risking a single hair on his head to the Knights.
I swore to protect my Dragon and all these inhabitants of the Human Realm, or die trying.
A message from Eve
Thank you for reading this Dragon’s Oath. I really, really hope you’ve enjoyed it!
I’ve had so much fun writing about Vita and Drake. I can’t wait to hear what you thought of it.
Please click here (http://evelaird.com/arcreviewers)
for a list of places where you can leave your honest review.
I’m currently looking for reviewers for Dragon’s Bond (Book Two), and Magick Awakened (Book Three). So, if you’ve enjoyed reading Dragon’s Bond and would like to join my Inner Circle of ARC readers, then visit my facebook group here.
Dragon’s Bond Preview
Dragon’s Bond, House of Quercus Book 2, is available now!
When her fated dragon mate travels through time for her, a fallen Angel must learn to love him or it will mean destruction for the entire world.
Vita: Fallen Angel
The histories told of a dragon race that protected the Other Natured.
I didn’t believe them. Until I found myself tending one as he slept for three hundred years.
Now, he’s awake and he's roused more than just the hidden fire magick within me. He has shown me that our fates are linked, a vision from the future that burned into my memory. How am I supposed to remain focused on the duty required of us both when all I want to do is give in to the darkest temptations I've felt for centuries?
Drake: Lord Dragon
The Goddess blessed me with one last time shift to return to my mate. She must submit to me, body and soul. If she rejects our Bond, the House of Quercus and the innocents it protects will fall. Vampires, shifters, Magick Born: without Vita, none will survive. our last hope.
My duty is to guide Vita to the one who will save us all. My desire is to keep her safe. Even if that costs me everything, including her.
Dragon’s Bond is the first full length novel in the House of Quercus series. It is available now at your favorite online bookstore. Click to buy now, or turn the page to read an exclusive preview.
Excerpt from Dragon’s Oath
Drake
I knew I had returned by the smells that overpowered me before I opened my eyes. For all its beauty, the only fragrances within The Glade were those of the meadow: grass, moss, and wildflowers.
This room was filled with familiar, yet exotic, scents. Not the least was the coconut shampoo wafting from Vita's hair, or the heady mix
of her perfume. Then, there was the distant odor of the food someone was eating. It was all too much, and involuntarily I groaned with pleasure.
“Drake?” I heard.
It was a concerned voice, and the sound of a chair being quickly pushed back.
I quickly remembered where I was, now. I squinted into the room and watched, as Vita went from standing over me in shock to sprinting towards the door to summon a Healer.
My throat was so dry!
I tried to speak, but nothing came out, so I clicked my fingers loudly, to get her attention.
She spun on her heels, nearly out of the room already. Her long hair rippled like smoke as she turned back to face me. I pulled one finger to cover my lips, and she understood: don't tell anyone yet.
She moved back towards me, never breaking eye contact, while I tried to speak again.
Nothing.
I sighed in frustration.
“Drink?” she whispered, even as I pantomimed bringing a glass to my mouth.
I nodded, pointing to a cup that was sitting on the little table beside her chair. She held it to my lips, and I slowly sipped.
The cool liquid quenched my thirst. I swallowed it all, hoping that my voice would work this time.
“Vita,” I whispered, the name as familiar on my tongue as any Mate's could ever be.
“Are you well, Drake?” she asked, her eyes scrutinizing me.
“Shall I fetch more water?” she whispered in return.
The look on her face was one of concern, and relief.
“Not yet,” I blurted, the words escaping my parched lips.
I was desperate for her not to leave!
“Wait…wait just a moment,” I tried to say, but only air came out.
She moved away nonetheless, but only to grab her pouch, from which she pulled out a large bottle of water.
Once she opened it, she brought it to my lips, and a drank with all my might.
My body - even for a dragon - was very dehydrated.
Despite her hands still holding the bottle, my own found it too, covering hers. I swallowed noisy gulps, only pausing when the plastic bottle crackled as it emptied.
Vita laughed, wryly, the sound reminding me of the many times she'd teased me before in another life.
Another life, one we'd lived, where she died.
“You just downed a full two liters of water without spilling a drop or even breathing!” she marveled.
A moment passed before an awkwardness silence filled the room, and I removed my hands from hers, as she put the empty bottle back into her pouch.
“Are you sure I can't get one of the doctors to check on you?” she asked, with forced politeness. I sensed her distancing herself from me, the tone in her voice making me cringe.
I winced, fearing the worst.
How could I have expected anything else?
“Not yet,” I said, again.
“Do you remember what I showed you?” I said, my voice still gravelly.
There was the briefest of flickers of confusion to cross her face before she tentatively replied, “Yes?”
“Good.” I moved to sit up in the bed before realizing I was still half-shifted. “Um, excuse me.” I lowered my head and closed my eyes, bringing my wings back into their dormant position until I fully shifted again. My dragon picked up interest at that point, and I reassured him, yes, we would shift soon, but that he would have to remain patient.
Now, fully back to human form, I sat upright in the bed, noticing the blue pajama bottoms someone had put on me while I slept. There wasn't really much I could do about that; they certainly weren't going to let me stay naked for three hundred years!
“It's getting close to the time when you will have to leave the House of Quercus,” I told Vita.
Her body sat up straight, the tension making her voice strained.
“Leave?” she said, a little too loudly.
“Yes,” I whispered even as I glanced at the door.
“Shhh, Vita!” I admonished her.
She glared at me, like I was a child misbehaving.
“Leave,” I repeated.
“Your task is of great importance, and you mustn't fail!” I said.
She looked crestfallen.
“Your life, as well as my own, may depend on it!” I whispered.
“Constance will soon speak to you about the mission, but you cannot let her know you are expecting it!” I warned.
Vita looked at me, her face speaking volumes to me.
I felt sad, and a little lost.
Ana was probably right…I had no chance with Vita!
Still, there were larger events in play, so I turned my attention to them.
“I assume I'm still not allowed to share what happened the last time we spoke?” Vita spat.
I bit back the smile I felt when I saw her pouting face, another memory from another life invaded my mind, reminding me of a time when she pouted that way because I would dare to leave her bed.
A pleasant stirring had me reaching for the bedcovers, my memories of that the version of Vita causing me to act modestly. The Vita sitting in front of me now would not be pleased to see my reaction to her beauty, regardless of those past circumstances. Or, future ones, to be more accurate, I suppose.
I shifted in the bed, my hardness hidden to Vita, for the moment.
“No, I'm afraid you can't. Not yet, if at all,” I replied.
I ignored the strong desire to pull her towards me.
“I am so glad to see you again, Vita, to speak with you, but there is much we can't share with any others, yet. You will understand, I hope, when I can explain it fully,” I told her.
She bit her lip as she thought.
“It is getting near my usual time for leaving, and they will be suspicious if I linger, Drake,” she said.
I could feel my heart sinking, but put on a brave face.
“Leave as normal, then, Vita, and pretend I am still sleeping. I shall wait until you have left I pretend to wake up,” I said, with a wink.
“That should make it easier for you, I suspect, rather than having to lie,” I said.
I hated myself for asking her to lie.
It ran completely to her Angelic Code.
“Would you find that acceptable?” I asked.
“You know, Dragon, every time we speak, you ask me to hide something from the people I have come to trust,” she accused.
The implication was clear: she didn't trust me.
“I understand,” I closed my eyes, offering a quick a prayer to Danu to guide my words.
Carefully, I chose my answer.
“Vita, may I ask you to please conceal that I have spoken with you today? If Constance has not spoken with you about this new mission by the next moon, feel free to tell whomever you must. About all of it,” I said, my face serious.
Without a further word, Vita turned on her heels and left.
Read Now!
(Available on Kindle Unlimited for a limited time!)
Also by Eve Laird
Read the whole House of Quercus Series:
Fallen Angel: A House of Quercus Reader Exclusive
Dragon’s Oath: A House of Quercus Novella (Book One)
Dragon’s Bond: A House of Quercus Novel (Book Two)
Magick Awakened: A House of Quercus Novel (Book Three)
Hidden Blood: A House of Quercus Novel (Book Four)
Darkened by Demons: A House of Quercus Novel (Book Five)
Monsters Redeemed: A House of Quercus Novel (Book Six)
Duty of Allegiance: A House of Quercus Novel (Book Seven)
Watch out for even more House of Quercus books in 2019
About the Author
Eve Laird is a British author. She grew up in Northern Ireland where faery tales about the little people and visits to ancient ruins sparked her imagination about what else lived in our world and why they decided to remain hidden from us… until now.
Eve’s days are spent writing with h
er bossy Westie keeping her company. Her evenings are spent telling her ever-patient husband about the crazy antics of the imaginary friends she writes about.
She thinks it’s just about the perfect life.
Find out more about Eve and the House of Quercus series at her website: EveLaird.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Dragon’s Bond Preview
Also by Eve Laird
About the Author