The chamber doors swung open, and Thayle stormed in with Lilly following close behind. Sarah and Gersius looked up in confusion as they felt the frustration Thayle was radiating while Lilly felt confused and hurt.
“Did something go wrong?” Sarah asked as Thayle arrived before them.
“I will tell you something went wrong,” Thayle gripped. “Lilly embarrassed me like never before.”
Lilly ran to Gersius, who wrapped her in a hug and held tightly as Thayle let out a deep sigh. “I'm sorry. I don't mean to be angry with you, Lilly. I keep forgetting that much of this is still new to you.”
“I didn't mean it,” Lilly said as she started to sob on his shoulder. He swept her up and carried her to the bed, where he sat with her in his arms. Sarah sat beside them and stroked Lilly's head before asking what exactly had happened.
Thayle explained how they had met the noblewomen for tea, as Sarah had requested. The gardens were beautiful, and all was going well until Lilly was distracted by a bird. There were pigeons on the terrace, and Lilly, ever the curious dragon, managed to catch one. This raised a lot of brows from the noblewomen who didn't understand her behavior. What made matters worse was when Lilly carried the bird back to the gathering and started to eat it.
Gersius began to laugh, and even Sarah cracked a smile as Lilly hid her face.
“Don’t laugh,” Thayle scolded and began to pace. “The women were horrified, and some of them looked like they were going to faint. I had to wrench the thing from her hands and toss it over the rail.”
“I just wanted to know what it tasted like,” Lilly said with a gentle sniff.
“What did it taste like?” Sarah asked as she stroked the girl's blue head.
“Kind of how those goose things we have at dinner taste,” Lilly replied and dared to glance at Thayle.
“Hmm,” Sarah said before asking if there were more of the birds in the garden.
“Oh! You dragons drive me crazy sometimes!” Thayle roared and turned her back on them to calm down.
Sarah resumed stroking Lilly's head and suggested what Lilly did wasn't all that bad. Yes, she should probably not eat live animals where it will shock the humans, but they needed to understand she was a dragon.
“I wish that was all she had done,” Thayle said when Sarah finished.
“There is more?” Gersius asked as Lilly clung to him tightly and whispered that she was sorry.
“I had to spend twenty minutes trying to explain Lilly's behavior,” Thayle began. “Once they were calmed and willing to speak to Lilly, she decided to try and fix things. She walked up to Queen Dellacourt and loudly announced that she thought the woman was fat and very old.”
Gersius raised a brow in confusion and looked to Sarah for an explanation. It wasn't like Lilly to use insults; in fact, other than calling humans rodents, she was very gentle of mannerisms.
“Why would you say such a thing?” Gersius asked as Lilly started to sob again.
“I didn’t know!” she said in irritation as her emotions flared over the bind. “I thought I was being nice.”
“I do not understand,” Gersius said and finally turned to Thayle for an explanation.
Thayle had to explain that Queen Dellacourt was a rather rotund human. Lilly somehow got it in her head that the Queen was that size because, like a dragon, she was very old. She tried to compliment the woman by first loudly admiring her size, then complimenting her on her great age, suggesting she must be much older than the other women.
“Oh, child,” Sarah groaned with a hand over her face.
“I’m sorry, I was confused!” Lilly cried. “I don’t want to meet another human again.”
“Stop that,” Sarah scolded. “I can see how you would make such a mistake, but how have you not learned about human aging by now? All dragons know they live but a short time. What made you think this woman was any different?”
“I have never seen a human that big before,” Lilly said as she tried to calm down.
“She is a rather full woman,” Thayle agreed to try and be diplomatic. “But she is dreadfully insulted and embarrassed before a dozen of her peers.”
“Why do you feel so upset about this subject?” Gersius asked. It wasn't like Lilly to be so out of control, and her emotions were shifting rapidly over the bind. There was something more to what was going on, and only she knew the answer.
“I was just being hopeful that maybe some humans could live longer,” Lilly said with tears in her eyes. She looked into Gersius’s face and placed a hand on his cheek. “I don’t want you to grow old and leave me.”
Gersius tried to smile, but he could feel the pain that was apparent on her face. It was a topic they tried to avoid discussing because none of them had a solution. Thayle had once suggested that Lilly would always have their children and the children they had after them. She would never truly be alone again as generations of their offspring grew up under her watchful care. It was at this moment that Sarah put a hand on her shoulder and whispered to her softly.
“I will always be here,” she said. “I promise never to leave you.”
Lilly turned around and threw herself into Sarah’s arms with tears. Sarah cradled her tight and rocked gently as Lilly cried about not wanting to lose Thayle or Gersius.
“Numidel talks of this pain,” Sarah said as she looked to Gersius. “It is one of the reasons I question Balisha’s wisdom. Why do we dragons want to learn to love when we can’t keep it?”
He didn't have an answer, but there was one potential hope that they had discussed before. Numidel may have loved a human woman, but he didn't share the bind with her. Lilly's gifts were spreading even before they were bound to one another. Thayle shared some of them just because Lilly loved her so strongly. But now they were bound, each to the other, and the flow of that power was unrestrained. None of them knew for sure, but it was possible they might share in long years.
“I have to admit that does sound possible,” Sarah agreed. “Especially considering that you two can take a hybrid dragon form. Is it even accurate to call you human?”
“I would think so,” Thayle said and looked to Gersius for his opinion on the subject. He shrugged and suggested that they were humans with a dragon-like form, while Lilly and Sarah were dragons with a human form. Sarah still wasn't sure that was enough of an explanation. Their nature had changed since joining the bind with a dragon, especially since the power flowed so freely. With two dragons in the bind, that change was only being accelerated. Where this was going to end was a mystery even to Sarah and Numidel, but perhaps it might mean much longer lives.
“See,” Gersius said to be reassuring. “We will most likely be at your side for many years to come.”
“I hope so,” Lilly said as her emotions began to feel foolish. She leaned up and smiled at Sarah before standing tall. “I keep asking Balisha for an answer, and she never gives me one.”
“I wonder if the divines know the answer,” Sarah replied. “We assume they know everything, but if that was true, how could they not have foreseen the events that led to the dragon war? No, they obviously don't know the answer to every question, and nobody has ever done this before. Perhaps we are the means to that answer for them and us.” Sarah stood and paced the room, her emotions growing cold and yet concerned. Something strange stirred in her heart even as she began to speak. “Let us not forget that you have laid an egg that is half-human. Many firsts are happening in this family, and it would be unwise to assume the worst.”
The words were spoken, but all of them felt the strange sensation in Sarah's heart. She excused herself and headed away, slipping from the room without another word.
“Is she upset?” Lilly asked once the door was closed.
“Something about that conversation made her unhappy,” Thayle replied with a sigh. “You dragons can sometimes be very challenging. I understand what drives a human's desires and motivations, but you and Sarah see things very differently.”
Gersius studied the fading sensation of Sarah for a moment, waiting for the sensation to draw far enough away. He then turned to his two remaining wives and told them that he would speak to Queen Dellacourt and explain Lilly’s actions. Taking a moment to let them settle, he turned directly to Lilly and asked her about the previous night.
“You saw that?” Lilly asked as a sensation of panic radiated across the bind.
“Lilly?” Thayle asked in concern. “Why do you feel so fearful?”
“I didn't know what to do,” Lilly admitted. “I told him, no, but he asked again and was so polite.”
Gersius and Thayle were confused a moment until he finally worked it out. Lilly was afraid that she had done something wrong by dancing with the stranger. He quickly explained that she hadn't caused any harm, but he had noticed how their encounter ended.
“She slapped him?” Thayle questioned and looked to Gersius, who nodded. “Why didn't you say anything to me?”
“I trust Lilly to handle her own affairs and call for help when she needs it,” he replied and took one of Lilly's hands. “Why did you slap him?”
Lilly looked him firmly in the eyes as a wave of simmering anger replaced her trepidation. She explained how the man had been very polite until the end. He suddenly took an interest in why she was associating with humans and even expressed that he knew several dragons.
“He claims to know other dragons?” Gersius asked to make sure the point was clear. Lilly nodded and told them that she had been watching his aura; his words were true. He took that in and released her hand so he could pace while his thoughts boiled. “So a lord from the far south is a friend of dragons.”
“That part was a lie,” Lilly interjected. “I watched his aura intently. He lied about his name, his goals, and where he was from.”
“Lilly!” Thayle cried in alarm and stood before her. “Sweetheart, when somebody approaches with lies like that, you call one of us. You should not have faced this man alone.”
“He didn't make me feel threatened,” Lilly replied with a slight frown. “Besides, there was something about him that was important. I didn't let him know I could see his lies, so he would go on playing his game. I wanted to see if I could understand what he really wanted. I don't think it was to harm me.”
“Then why did you slap him?” Gersius asked.
“He ordered me to leave with him,” Lilly replied.
Gersius and Thayle looked to one another in shock as Lilly folded her arms in annoyance.
“You saw no danger in that?” he asked a moment later.
“No,” Lilly said firmly. “I saw a great deal more danger in forcing a confrontation and exposing him.”
“Why would exposing him be so dangerous?” Thayle asked as she read the concern in Lilly’s aura.
Lilly sighed and let her arms drop so she could wring her hands. She chewed on her lower lip for just a second before finally answering their question.
“Because he was a dragon.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
She walked with slow steps, swaying her hips with practiced grace. He was at the far end of the tunnel where the cave opened to a lip high on the cliff face. There he stood with hands clasped behind his back, staring out across the jagged lands. It was a pity he had his back to her. She so loved to torment him with her charms. However, today might not be the best of days to annoy him, so she called out to announce her presence. He turned for just a moment to acknowledge her, then returned to his brooding.
The others had already informed her that his mission had failed. Once more, something he had discovered was now haunting him. He hadn't spoken to anyone about it save to have word sent that he wished to see her. Now she was here, and the great father was clearly troubled.
“I have come as you asked,” she said with a nod of her head. “How can I serve you, great father.”
“The dragon who calls herself Lilly is a prisoner,” he said before turning to glance at her. “She is bound to the man Gersius.”
She heard the words but didn't react except to step beside him and look out over the landscape. Considering all they knew about this dragon, it made perfect sense and explained why she was aiding him so diligently.
“Do you think the red is bound as well?” she asked.
“I doubt any of the others are bound,” he replied. “Sutherisa and Numidel serve out of loyalty to their god. He has stood against us from the very beginning, and no doubt seeks to topple us now.”
That too made sense, but she impressed on him her concern that Sutherisa would be insulted that Lilly was a slave. Surely she wouldn't stand by while another dragon was used like a pet. He nodded his agreement and explained his belief that Sutherisa didn't know. She supposed it was possible, but it still seemed unlikely. Their spies reported that he called three women his wives, Sutherisa being one of them. Why would a dragon of her age and power lower herself to allow a human to call her a wife?
“He calls both Lilly and Sutherisa his wife,” he said and resumed his gaze of the far horizon. “The third is the witch of Ulustrah known as Thayle.”
“Who our agents say has two black tears on her cheek,” she pointed out as genuine concern rose in her voice. “I don't mean to question you, but the prophecy is unfolding right before our very eyes. The dragon knight has united the empire. At his side stand the daughter of the silver moon. The empress of the black tears, and the Queen of the red star. Great father, are we sure we can win this?”
He nodded slowly, but it was more in thought than in answer to her question. The prophecy was unfolding just as predicted, and so far, his efforts to alter the course had been fruitless. However, he wasn't trying to stop a man but the combined wills of the divines. He knew the course wasn't going to be easy to alter, and while he allowed his allies to attempt their plans, he had one of his own. Still, his conscience was beginning to haunt his dreams, especially when he thought of Lilly. She was a victim in this conflict, one he had nearly sentenced to death when he let others plan her outcome.
“I made a mistake with Lilly,” he said at last. “I should have gone to her myself or sent someone to warn her. Instead, I condemned her to death.”
She found it very uncharacteristic of the man beside her to admit he had made a mistake. Still, she was careful with her words when she pointed out that he could not personally handle every detail. He could not be faulted for leaving the details in the hands of the human. The man promised that he could contain and control Gersius. When the Father Abbot failed to stop Gersius, his hand was forced. He sent an agent to open a dialog and win her to their side, but she resisted. This Lilly was headstrong, defiant, and unwilling even to entertain following him. Mulizoth did his best to win her over, but like all males, his temper grew short. When he realized she wasn't going to budge, he attacked, and by his account, killed her. It was only when news began to arrive that she was still alive that he admitted his little game.
“You don’t still blame yourself for what Mulizoth did?” she asked.
“I sent him,” he replied. “And he butchered a sister of the scale, leaving her to die slowly while he stole her hoard. If not for his sadistic nature, she would never have been vulnerable to the human Gersius. No doubt, he found her just after their battle and took advantage of her weakened state. That means she is enslaved to him because of me. I am responsible.”
“You are a hero,” she replied with a hint of frustration. “If the divines had their way, we would all be shackled to some human, crawling about like a pet. Worse, our blood would be diluted with their weakness and our power cut off.”
“And what do you think of me?” he asked, turning to face her. “I am sending your brothers and sisters to die while failing to stop the prophecy.”
“It was beaten before,” she pointed out.
“Delayed,” he corrected with a raised finger. “It was delayed a thousand years.”
“So, what is your plan?” she asked while studying his face.
“I am going to free her,” he replied with a voice that suggested this task was already done.
She asked how he planned to do it, but he didn't want to share the details. Suffice to say, he wasn't going to kill her master, which would have been difficult anyway. Instead, he had a new plan, one that would grant Lilly justice and ensure she was willing to join their new order.
However, he was under no delusion that other forces would intervene. If he failed, they would proceed with the original plan and deal with the unfortunate consequences. She was going to play a role in this new plan, and if for some reason it failed, she might have a second function.
“You’re sure you want to take this risk?” she asked when he was done with the explanation.
“I have to try and undo the damage I have done,” he replied and fixed his gaze on her. “You do trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, great father,” she replied with a nod.
“Good,” he said and turned back to the horizon. “I trust you as well, but take care to protect yourself. You will be close to the priestess of Ulustrah, and she will scrutinize you intensely.”
“I will use a weave to mask my intentions,” she replied with a gentle smile. “Will you need me for the process?”
“No,” he replied before turning to face her. “I have others who will assist me with that. However, I want you to remain in place in the event that I fail. Your absence might be noted and linked to what will happen.”
“I understand,” she said and tried to smile.
“Good, then tomorrow we begin.”
Sarah was in the council chambers discussing city matters with some of the local nobility. Thayle held Lilly’s hand as Gersius approached and leaned over to whisper the news in her ear. She looked at Lilly as her eyes blazed and shouted over the bind, demanding to know if it was true. Lilly nodded and answered silently, assuring her that the man had been a dragon.
Sarah ordered the chambers cleared and told the guards that nobody was to enter the room until she or Gersius instructed them. She then turned to Lilly and took a moment to calm before asking the question.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Lilly stiffened, trying to put on a strong face but clutched at Thayle's hand firmly. She tried to explain that she was worried about how he might react if she confronted him with the truth.
“If he was willing to come here in human form, then we can only assume he would have been diplomatic,” Sarah suggested.
“We don't know that,” Thayle argued in Lilly's defense. “He also came here under a blanket of lies. The only truths he told was that he had come here to meet Lilly and that he knew other dragons.”
Sarah closed her eyes and tried not to show her irritation. She was fully aware they were watching her aura and knew, but at the very least, she would control herself. With a hand out as if calling for calm, she asked the next logical question.
“Why did he want you to leave with him?”
“I don’t know,” Lilly responded. “I was so angry that he said it like an order that I lost my temper and walked away before I could think to ask.”
“How fortunate for him I hadn’t noticed this slap,” Sarah growled and looked to her husband. “But you did. Why didn’t you mention it to me?”
“I was dancing with Thayle at the time,” he pointed out. “I noticed the slap and saw Lilly storm off. I decided to ask her about it later and saw no reason to make a larger issue of it until I had spoken to her.”
“A strange man dances with your wife, and she slaps him, but you see no reason to investigate?” she asked.
“Thayle dances with others, and several men have overstepped their bounds in the past. None of them have required us to intervene,” he argued.
“Thayle is well educated in these matters and can take care of herself,” Sarah pressed with an angry glare. Over the bind, they could all feel a sense of hurt and looked to the source to see Lilly's broken expression.
“You don’t think I can take care of myself?” Lilly said with pain in her voice.
“Sweetheart. She didn’t mean it like that,” Thayle said and turned Lilly to face her. “She is only suggesting that you are much newer to human interaction and might have needed some help.”
“We are talking about the dragon who stuffed a live bird down her throat before insulting a queen,” Sarah quipped.
“I already said I was sorry!” Lilly yelled as she turned to face Sarah. “I apologized to them and Thayle. I sometimes hate trying to pretend I am human when I'm not. I want to be a dragon, and I want to go back to our valley where I don't have to worry about what humans think.”
“Lilly,” Gersius said and came to her side where he waited. She looked at him with a trembling lip before coming to his arms. “Shh. We are just concerned as to why this dragon sought you out specifically. We do not mean to accuse you of any wrongdoing.”
“Then why do I feel I am being accused of doing everything wrong? Sometimes I feel like none of you remember I am a dragon,” she said.
“This is all part of love,” he whispered.
“It doesn’t feel like love,” she whispered back and took a deep breath.
“Oh, but it is part of love,” he assured her. “You see, we all love you so much that we can not bear the thought of somebody who seeks to cause you harm. When something strange like this happens, it causes all of us to wonder if you are in danger. Especially now when an army marches from Whiteford bent on taking your head.”
“I forgot about that,” Lilly sighed.
“We all try not to think about it,” he agreed. “But you have to understand that when somebody you love is in great danger, you often react with emotion.”
“But we don't know that I was in danger,” Lilly pleaded.
“Lilly, he lied to you continuously then demanded you leave with him,” Thayle reminded.
“And he was a dragon who admitted to knowing more dragons. He must have come here with a purpose, and it was you,” Sarah added.
Lilly shook her head and stumbled with words as she tried to explain that he didn't feel like a threat. He was more like a guard trying to protect her from something. She took a few steps while trying to clear her thoughts when firm hands slipped around her waist. Turning, she looked up into the blazing eyes of Sarah, who smiled down at her.
“Child, I owe you an apology. Our husband is right. Worry got the better of me, and I spoke harshly out of emotion. The fact is that I am new to these feelings, and I do not understand them as well as you do. I even feel strange putting my hands on you like this.”
“I like it when you touch me,” Lilly replied with a soft smile.
“I know you do,” Sarah smiled back. “But voices in the back of my mind scream out that I am doing something wrong. My dragon nature fights with me and tells me that I can’t want this.”
“Mine does that too,” Lilly said. “But I know deep down that we were meant to love one another. You were always meant to be my wife, and I was always meant to be yours.”
Sarah nodded and looked decidedly nervous as she pulled Lilly into her embrace. “Child, I have come to love you. You mean so much to me that hearing this disturbing news stabbed to my heart. I am sure you understand what it's like to be a dragon and feel helpless.”
“I made you feel helpless?” Lilly asked and leaned over to put her head on Sarah’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I honestly didn’t see him as a threat. I was just curious as to what he really wanted and was letting him play his game to see if I could find out. The only worry I had was if I told him I knew he might panic and change.”
“Had he done that inside the palace, it would have been disastrous,” Gersius agreed.
Sarah held Lilly tight as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She asked what color hair the man had, and Lilly told her it was dark like Thayles. She relayed that his skin was like a human who worked in the sun and his eyes a coppery color.
“So he is a red,” Sarah said as she began to ponder. “How tall was he?”
“A little taller than you are,” Lilly replied.
“Doesn't that mean?” Thayle began to say, but Sarah finished the question by stating what they knew already. It meant the man was older than even Sarah was. A red dragon that was ancient by the standards of men had come calling in secret for Lilly and tried to get her to leave with him.
“Why go through all that trouble and then give up after a slap?” Gersius asked.
Sarah clutched Lilly tighter as she foolishly wondered what might have happened had Lilly gone with him. She had to take another deep breath before she could reply, and even then, it was only a guess.
“Perhaps he wasn’t ready to fight us here,” Sarah said. “Maybe he thought he could lure Lilly away to someplace secure.”
“We would follow,” Gersius pointed out. “And our enemies know we can find one another even over great distances. They used it to lay that trap in the keep when they abducted Thayle.”
“A second trap then?” Sarah offered.
“I don’t think he meant to harm us,” Lilly said and leaned back. “I can’t help but feel he was concerned. His aura showed no hint of anger or intent to harm me. It was mostly green with little streaks of blue like Sarah’s is now.”
“You're right. That is concern,” Thayle said as the mystery deepened. “Why would he be concerned for you?”
“I don’t know,” Lilly admitted. “The only time his aura showed anything else was when I admitted I was married to Gersius. His aura flared with light, pulsing in a bunch of colors.”
“That was shock,” Thayle added to clarify it for the others.
Gersius rubbed his chin as he paced a few steps puzzling out the clues. He thought back to the night in question and suggested that this man probably realized his plan had failed. Once Lilly rejected him, he had no course of action but to retreat. To take any other action might have caused a great deal of harm, but could he have escaped the palace with his life?
“Trapped in a confined space and surrounded by a thousand armed battle priests,” Sarah said as she too thought it out. “I doubt it.”
“So you’re saying his only goal was to lure Lilly away?” Thayle asked.
“Maybe,” Gersius replied. “He did truthfully say he wanted to meet you?” he asked, and Lilly nodded. “Then this might have been an intelligence-gathering mission. He came here to learn something about Lilly. Whatever he discovered caused him to become concerned, and he tried to take her away from the source of that concern.”
“You mean he was trying to rescue her?” Sarah asked in doubt.
“I am speculating only,” Gersius replied. “Unless we can learn more about this dragon, I do not think we can say anything with certainty.”
“So, what do we do about it now?” Thayle asked.
They were all silent until Lilly looked into Sarah's eyes before standing on her toes to give her a gentle kiss. “I want to suggest something, but I worry you will be upset about it.”
“Child,” Sarah began gently and let out a long sigh. “I trust you. Tell us what you think, and I promise not to be alarmed or upset about it.”
Lilly nodded and turned in her arms to look at the others as she fumbled with the idea. “I say we invite him back.”
The three of them looked confused, so Lilly explained her plan. They had already turned one of the terrace gardens into a walled enclosure that they used for their dragon forms. She suggested they take one of the larger gardens or yards and do the same. However, this time they would use stone to create a ring large enough for a dragon of Sarah's size to land in. Inside this ring, they would inlay the image of a dragon's head. Outside the ring, they would write in the dragon language that all dragons were welcome.
“What good will that do?” Thayle asked.
“They will see it from the air,” Lilly said. “We should also spread a rumor that a dragon came to visit us as the party, and we want him to come back. Let the word spread that we are anxious to speak with this dragon again.”
“I doubt he will hear of it unless he lives among humans,” Sarah suggested.
“It’s the best option I can think of,” Lilly replied. “We make it known that we are open and friendly to other dragons. We write around the ring that any dragon who lands inside will be treated with respect and a guarantee of safety. We should keep clothing nearby if one of them wishes to change.”
Sarah took a moment to collect her thoughts before voicing her opinion that cursed dragons would never accept such an offer. It was safe to assume he wouldn’t hear of it anyway as a cursed dragon wouldn’t live among humans either.
Lilly felt confused for a moment but stepped out of Sarah’s embrace to stand between them all. She looked around at the faces before finally settling on Sarah as she chewed on her lower lip again.
“Whatever it is you want to say, you are concerned I will object to it,” Sarah surmised. “Am I really that much of a burden to you?”
“You are not a burden to me,” Lilly replied. “But you know dragon history, and you have good reasons to doubt the things I feel. I tried to suggest this before, but you flatly refused to accept it was possible. I think this dragon is like my mother. I think he is free from the curse.”
“What makes you think that?” Thayle asked.
“I saw how Shadros behaved and how his aura burned with his nature,” Lilly replied. “Even now, he still struggles to contain his cravings despite his attachment to Mingfe. This strange dragon had a completely different aura. He was cordial and polite with a friendly demeanor and smile. He even knew how to dance.”
“That is something we haven’t considered yet,” Thayle agreed and looked to Sarah. “You knew how to dance.”
“Of course I did. I learned it from before the fall when men and dragons were working together,” Sarah replied.
“And this dragon is older than you,” Gersius added. “He too must have learned it from back then.”
“Knowing how to dance doesn’t mean he is free of the curse,” Sarah countered.
“No, but would a cursed dragon ask another dragon to dance? Would they take human form at all?” Gersius asked.
Thayle nodded in agreement and reminded them that Lilly had once told them that she almost never used the human form until they met. This left Sarah to form the next question. Assuming the dragon was free of the curse, how did it explain anything? To her, this made it all the more alarming. If this dragon was free, he might be mingling with humans and heard of another dragon publicly known to be free of the curse. This might be what drew him in and why he went to such great lengths to plan his lies and his meeting with her.
“But what was he after then?” Lilly asked innocently as Thayle covered her mouth in shock and looked at their husband.
“It makes perfect sense,” Thayle said to the man who was now frowning. “It explains why he asked about her relationship with you. Why he was shocked to hear her call you her husband, and why he tried to get her to leave with him. She might be exactly what he is looking for.”
“I don’t understand,” Lilly interjected as she and Gersius’s eyes met. “What was he looking for?”
All eyes turned to him as he responded with a pained tone.
“He was looking for a wife.”