“I think we both know what will happen if I get into that bed with you,” he said. “And then Jaik would throw me right out that window, turn into a dragon, catch me in mid-air, and tear me apart.”
A playful smile came across his lips. “He’s very particular about how people treat what’s his.”
He said it as if something had amused him. But I did feel exhausted now, from the effort of trying to break through the spell. I’d have to find a smarter way.
Or I’d have to hope one of these men figured it out. However, their own perspective on the world might make that difficult for them. They thought dragon royals were so special; they could hardly believe that I was one, could they?
“Sit with me, then,” I murmured, and he leaned over, resting his big hand lightly in my hair.
“I’ll stay,” he promised. “Nothing will hurt you, Honor. I’m watching over you.”
Those words were warm and cozy as the blanket, and I felt myself dropping into an exhausted sleep.
He leaned even closer, his lips near my ear. “I’ll figure out all your secrets, Honor. One day.”
I couldn’t tell if that was a promise or a threat. I wanted him to know… and yet…
Sleep fell on me.
In my dreams, I wasn’t alone, either. I was warm and cozy, lying on something that shifted under my weight. I rolled in my sleep—gasped as pain in the real world sparked through my body—then blinked open my eyes, still in my dream.
I was lying on blankets on top of a shifting sea of gold coins. They looked endless. Priceless emeralds and rubies, bracelets and necklaces and gem-hilted knives, were buried in the coins too.
In the distance, a woman’s voice teased, “I don’t understand you dragons.”
“We don’t know what Honor is yet.” A man’s voice.
“We already know she’s wonderful.”
I sobbed in my sleep, and distantly, Talisyn said, “Honor, I’m here.”
I fell deeper into sleep.
I could still feel his heavy hand twined in my hair, grounding me.
Chapter
Seven
Honor
Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time with the healer. Jaik rudely continued to refuse to touch me until I was all healed, or at least mostly.
The second day, Branok and Lynx announced that they were going to leave to visit their sister.
“Is she nearby?” I longed to get to know her, enough to truly understand what Lucien Finn had done to her.
Maybe it was ridiculous of me to feel protective of Lucien Finn. But no matter what Branok and Lynx thought, I wasn’t entirely sure yet that he was a monster.
I was stuck being Lucien Finn. The man was buried somewhere, and I was the one who had been resurrected. Our lives were entwined, and I hoped he was worthy of redemption.
“Yes,” Lynx said reluctantly, “My father wanted to make sure she was safe.”
“Safe from who? Does Lucien have enemies?”
“He definitely had enemies,” Branok said with a snort, “but mostly our father wants her safe from herself. Lucien put her under some kind of an enchantment, old magic. She thinks she’s still in love with Lucien Finn.”
Branok rose from the table and eyed me skeptically. “I don’t want you two anywhere near each other. You’re both the kind of girl to cause a whole lot of trouble.”
“Why, Branok, thank you,” I purred.
He scoffed and left the room. He was apparently so displeased he didn’t even want to finish his oatmeal, and the man was passionate about the world’s blandest food.
“Lynx,” Jaik prompted.
“Before I go,” Lynx said reluctantly. “We should try breaking the enchantment hiding your memories.”
Lynx, Jaik, and Talisyn and I trooped down the hall, past the door to the basement—Talisyn assured me that the dungeon down there had been bricked up, but I’d never gone down —to the door to Branok and Lynx’s workshop.
Lynx unlocked the door with a key. It was cute if he thought that would keep me out.
“Most of us channel our raw magic with potions,” Talisyn explained. “It works a lot better than just trying to blunt-force the magic.”
“He says that,” Lynx muttered as he began to pull bottles down from the shelves, “but Talisyn always leans on blunt-force himself.”
“To try to counter a potion like the ones that stole your memories, we have to recreate the same potion,” Jaik explained. “Then we can counter it with Spellbane.”
“It’s an easy process,” Lynx said. “As long as you know what spell you’re fighting.”
Lynx ran through the three most common memory-destroying spells, adding Spellbane. I appreciated the effort, but my memories didn’t come flooding back, and they all tasted disgusting.
“That tastes like the bottom of a boot mixed with cherry.” I set the cup down.
“Nothing?” Jaik watched me curiously.
“Nothing.”
Jaik lifted the cups and drank the dregs. He caught my curious gaze and shrugged. “Who knows what unpleasant childhood memories my dear father erased?”
Unease spread through my guts. “Do you think he tinkered with your memories?”
“No,” he said lightly. “I was just joking. I wanted to see what you were complaining about.”
That’d be a lot more believable, except Jaik never joked.
Once Branok and Lynx left, I almost missed them. The two of them didn’t talk much to me but they bantered easily with the others. They were fun to watch, even if they always reminded me I was an outsider.
One evening I had dinner with Talisyn, Jaik, Arren, and Hanna. Hanna sighed happily over a bowl of soup. “I could stay here forever. The mountains are so beautiful, swimming in the lake is—”
“A terrible idea?” I offered. “You’re going to die of the cold.”
“Perfect,” she forged on, “as long as you’re not a weakling, and the food is amazing.”
“Well, that is an option,” said Jaik, obviously trying to mask his eagerness and failing for once. “If you want to stay here, you’re welcome.”
“Hanna is due at the Academy,” I answered. With Alis out of the picture, at least for the moment, Hannah could go to school. I wondered what the royals planned for Alis and if our beloved stepmother would resurface soon. I would never trust that woman until I saw her dead, but I wanted information out of her first.
“I don’t want you to spend all that money on me, Honor,” Hanna said.
“I’m not,” I said. “Jaik is.”
“But you insist on trying to pay him back on your maid’s salary.” Hanna looked exasperated. “Even though he has plenty of money.”
“It’s the principle of the thing.”
“I like the idea of having you in my debt for once,” Jaik said mildly.
“I’m sure you do,” I said. “I’ll pay you back.”
No matter what I said, I appreciated what he was doing for us. My sister would be safe at the Posselbaum Academy, and after everything I had just been through, that mattered to me the most. Since we weren’t biological sisters, there was no reason anyone would try to bleed out her secrets. But I hadn’t seen Henrick and Alis coming, and that made me worry where else I might be blind. I wanted to make sure she was well protected.