Cyrgyn’s story.
The only factor in Cyrgyn’s favor was her thirty-year friendship with him. Her instinct about his character. And the fact that he had enough power to have killed Tarsuinn long ago if that had been his goal. He didn’t need Alexa for that.
“I’ve been wondering,” she said, switching gears. “Why a dragon?”
His expression changed, seeming to waver between nostalgia and anger. “As children, we slayed dragons with our trusty swords. He revered them. When I formed the curse, it was a natural choice.”
“Sounds kind of childish to me.” Of course, the whole thing was childish, with adult consequences.
“No, it was more thought out than that.” He smiled a hard, bitter smile. “The dragon also happens to be the creature most human in intelligence and emotion, yet the most unable to be with a human.”
Alexa closed her eyes against the pain of that. He’d really wanted to hurt them, and from what she could see, he hadn’t changed.
“So if I become yours, you’ll reverse the curse?” she asked.
“Of course.” He was too smooth.
“And what constitutes ‘becoming yours’? We don’t live in the middle ages anymore.”
“Marriage and consummation will do.”
“And the curse?”
“Reversed on the morning after our wedding night.”
“Hmm.” Alexa circled toward the door. “I’ll think about it.”
Tars’ anger became a tangible thing in the room. The hairs on the back of Alexa’s neck prickled as she opened the door. The knob jerked out of her hand and the door slammed shut. She fought the urge to whirl and looked over her left shoulder, her hidden right hand slipping to the Taser at her hip.
Tarsuinn quaked, one arm raised, his fingers aimed at the door. He took obvious effort at control.
“We aren’t finished.”
Alexa eyed him coolly. She’d learned quite a bit about him today. Most important was that he couldn’t have the upper hand. “We are. For now.”
This time the door stayed open when she pulled it.
The hair on the back of her neck prickled again as she strode down the hall. She hit the elevator button and glanced over her shoulder. Tars wasn’t in the doorway, though she didn’t doubt he knew where she was. She slipped through the nearby stairwell door and jogged down the steps. No way was she going to get stuck in his elevator. At least on the stairs she had warning and room to maneuver.
Nothing happened, though, and the guard at the front desk only smiled politely when she walked past. Traffic was light in midmorning, and she relaxed on the short drive back to the hangar.
Déjà vu took a quick jab at her when she climbed out of the Saturn and watched Cyrgyn moving restlessly across the concrete floor.
“Everything went fine,” she assured him, and went up to the loft to debrief. She liked being at Cyrgyn’s natural level, instead of having to look up at him or have him contort his long neck.
Puff . “So he wishes matrimony. Still.” Puff .
Alexa watched the smoke from his nostrils dissipate as it rose. “Matrimony and consummation.”
Snort . “And he will not reverse the curse until the deed is complete.”
“That’s the deal he’s offering.”
“Out of the question! I will never give you up willingly to that scoundrel. That…evil…mage.”
Obviously, anger had Cyrgyn at a loss for words. Alexa waited for it to play out. Finally he calmed, though she felt like she’d just spent ten minutes in a steam room.
“It might not be a bad idea to go along with it,” she offered. The subsequent roar made her glad she’d picked the hangar farthest from anything. That roar, though not unlike the rumble of a jumbo jet, held too much emotion to be dismissed by anyone hearing it.
“You would betray me this way?”
She laughed, making things worse, but she couldn’t help herself. “Cyrgyn, I wouldn’t betray you, you should know that. I
The only factor in Cyrgyn’s favor was her thirty-year friendship with him. Her instinct about his character. And the fact that he had enough power to have killed Tarsuinn long ago if that had been his goal. He didn’t need Alexa for that.
“I’ve been wondering,” she said, switching gears. “Why a dragon?”
His expression changed, seeming to waver between nostalgia and anger. “As children, we slayed dragons with our trusty swords. He revered them. When I formed the curse, it was a natural choice.”
“Sounds kind of childish to me.” Of course, the whole thing was childish, with adult consequences.
“No, it was more thought out than that.” He smiled a hard, bitter smile. “The dragon also happens to be the creature most human in intelligence and emotion, yet the most unable to be with a human.”
Alexa closed her eyes against the pain of that. He’d really wanted to hurt them, and from what she could see, he hadn’t changed.
“So if I become yours, you’ll reverse the curse?” she asked.
“Of course.” He was too smooth.
“And what constitutes ‘becoming yours’? We don’t live in the middle ages anymore.”
“Marriage and consummation will do.”
“And the curse?”
“Reversed on the morning after our wedding night.”
“Hmm.” Alexa circled toward the door. “I’ll think about it.”
Tars’ anger became a tangible thing in the room. The hairs on the back of Alexa’s neck prickled as she opened the door. The knob jerked out of her hand and the door slammed shut. She fought the urge to whirl and looked over her left shoulder, her hidden right hand slipping to the Taser at her hip.
Tarsuinn quaked, one arm raised, his fingers aimed at the door. He took obvious effort at control.
“We aren’t finished.”
Alexa eyed him coolly. She’d learned quite a bit about him today. Most important was that he couldn’t have the upper hand. “We are. For now.”
This time the door stayed open when she pulled it.
The hair on the back of her neck prickled again as she strode down the hall. She hit the elevator button and glanced over her shoulder. Tars wasn’t in the doorway, though she didn’t doubt he knew where she was. She slipped through the nearby stairwell door and jogged down the steps. No way was she going to get stuck in his elevator. At least on the stairs she had warning and room to maneuver.
Nothing happened, though, and the guard at the front desk only smiled politely when she walked past. Traffic was light in midmorning, and she relaxed on the short drive back to the hangar.
Déjà vu took a quick jab at her when she climbed out of the Saturn and watched Cyrgyn moving restlessly across the concrete floor.
“Everything went fine,” she assured him, and went up to the loft to debrief. She liked being at Cyrgyn’s natural level, instead of having to look up at him or have him contort his long neck.
Puff . “So he wishes matrimony. Still.” Puff .
Alexa watched the smoke from his nostrils dissipate as it rose. “Matrimony and consummation.”
Snort . “And he will not reverse the curse until the deed is complete.”
“That’s the deal he’s offering.”
“Out of the question! I will never give you up willingly to that scoundrel. That…evil…mage.”
Obviously, anger had Cyrgyn at a loss for words. Alexa waited for it to play out. Finally he calmed, though she felt like she’d just spent ten minutes in a steam room.
“It might not be a bad idea to go along with it,” she offered. The subsequent roar made her glad she’d picked the hangar farthest from anything. That roar, though not unlike the rumble of a jumbo jet, held too much emotion to be dismissed by anyone hearing it.
“You would betray me this way?”
She laughed, making things worse, but she couldn’t help herself. “Cyrgyn, I wouldn’t betray you, you should know that. I
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