Page 23 of Finding Her (Lore of the Fields #1)

Her hands stayed in place with trust, although a tiny squeak passed her lips in surprise as I asked the dragon to descend.

I dismounted and stretched out my arms, inhaling the smell of honeysuckle that increased the deeper inland we went.

It’s good to be home . Our heavy bag slid off my shoulders to the ground with a soft thud.

I looked up. The view of Faeryn sitting on a dragon, eyes covered, her teeth baring an excited grin, called to a deep part of me.

Only life partners were allowed to mount a Pyran’s dragon.

I wouldn’t call this dragon “ mine ” by any means, but having just finished riding it, the thought still triggered a possessive growl in my chest as I gazed at the goddess whom I’d been mounted with moments ago.

“Keep your eyes closed.” I rested my knuckles against her knee so she could easily locate my waiting palms. I made sure I had a secure hold around her elbows before saying, “Hop down. I’ve got you.”

She only hesitated a moment before dropping.

Our arms’ brace took most of the impact, but when she stumbled to gain her balance, I let go to steady her by the waist. Her palm pressed against my chest for security.

Knowing her eyes were closed, I allowed myself a glance down to where her delicate hand rested over my heart.

I hoped she couldn’t feel it begin to beat faster.

After a moment, I stepped away to turn her body to face where I hoped we’d be sleeping for the remainder of our trip. “You can open them now,” I whispered in her ear.

Before us stood a pink-flowered tree unlike the others.

It was enormous, with broad branches stretching in all directions and the very top disappearing over the canopy.

The base was wide enough to carve a small living space into it, with the lowest branches several feet across in diameter.

The smallest of the rich pink flowers and green leaves were the size of my head.

Some, large enough to use as a blanket. Hanging from its higher branches were cocoons the size of my fists that glowed in the forest’s shade.

The dew on the grass below our bare feet sparkled gold in their presence.

“Isn’t it magical? It’s ancient.”

Faeryn looked up in reverence. I had felt the same way when I first stumbled into this area a decade ago. I could see it through her eyes again, the beauty, the shock, the submission to nature and its majesty.

“I don’t think two days will be enough time to take this all in,” she breathed, twirling in circles. The cocoons sparkled in the reflection of her green eyes like flakes of golden leaf.

“I intend to keep you enchanted,” I said softly, almost to myself. If she stayed by my side, her life would be filled with moments like this. I needed her to understand that. Maybe, we could stay here forever and forget the world existed. There was nothing I wanted more.

The dragon behind us let out a grunt and stomped on the ground, breaking into my daydream.

“Excuse me. I must pay our driver.” I bent over to pull a sealed pouch from our bag.

Dragons didn’t love dried meat, but food was food, and they would accept it in return for the temporary partnership.

It didn’t seem wise to pack raw flesh with our other supplies.

The dragon gently snatched the chunk I offered and pranced off into the trees.

“How often do you come here?” Faeryn asked. She was running her fingers over the tree’s bark curiously.

“As often as I can.” That had once been true. I continued digging through the bag, pulling out other supplies we would soon need. “I’ve considered establishing a permanent residence.” Now more than ever.

“Are dragons the only other species on the island?” she asked, dipping her face into the velvety petals of a large flower.

“Technically.” I pulled out a small basket. “However, ‘dragon’ covers so many different sizes, textures, colors, and anatomies that it hardly limits the variety.”

“Which is your favorite?” She skipped to my side winsomely.

“I suppose I like them all,” I mused, pulling out sandwiches and a large flask of water.

“I think water dragons are particularly strange and beautiful. Although maybe their appeal is simply that I can never seem to get close to one. We passed a lake on the way here that houses a small colony. Sometimes when I’m swimming, I get a glance at one of the females from afar. ”

She helped herself to the food I offered. “There’s a lake you can swim in?” She took a hungry bite.

“Only during the spring,”

“So, we have until midnight?” She grinned playfully.

I pondered this. We would definitely need to be out of the water by midnight.

Not just because of the season change, but because male water dragons were territorial during the autumn mating season.

That said, there were plenty of hours before the change would occur, and early autumn was typically inactive.

I had gone swimming many times on the last day of spring, and never felt unsafe.

I yearned to experience everything for the first time again with her.

“We can go after we finish eating. Now, for those native dragons names…”

I found myself repeatedly stealing glances at the pretty forest muse beside me as we strolled through the woods.

I didn’t think she noticed, her eyes taking in every detail of our surroundings in fascination.

Occasionally, Faeryn tapped my arm and pointed to something that caught her interest so that I could join in her excitement.

What a gift, seeing through her fresh eyes, allowing me to appreciate the things that I had become so accustomed to.

I knew dragons would be a hot topic on our trip, but her delighted responses to the mundane surprised me.

She enthusiastically directed my attention to trickling creeks, large mossy rocks, and trees with sizable burrows in them.

Faeryn’s nymph-like charm was awe-inspiring.

Her small feet glided under her floating dress, pressing into the dewy grass with a grace my own could never achieve.

She hopped over the fallen branches I repeatedly stepped on.

She looked as though she could break out into a skip at any moment.

I had hoped she would feel at home here and was overjoyed by how naturally she embraced the environment.

This was nothing like her reaction to Virylan—confused and apprehensive.

I wasn’t surprised that Eitrea was more relaxing for her.

The air vibrated with the positive energy that I had choked out of the house years ago.

I felt hope spark in my chest, which I promptly doused with a bucket of reality.

“So, Graysen.” She twirled to me after some time spent walking silently. “Tell me what about this place makes it so special to you.”

“I have good memories on Eitrea.” I scanned the familiar landmarks of my past. “So many places were tainted by my misery. Here I have nothing but joy.”

“Have you ever shared this with someone else?” Her cheery voice didn’t match the weight of the question asked. She didn’t know better.

“Yes, one person.” A lump rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down before it could be detected. “But I don’t need to talk about that.” Please respect this boundary. Don’t let me ruin this.

She was silent for a moment, looking in my direction for the first time in a while, scanning my expression. I forced neutrality for what felt like the millionth time since finding her.

“Alright,” she conceded much to my gratitude. “What do you like to do here? I want to experience it all.” The subject change was glaringly intentional. She’s trying to help me.

“We’ll squeeze in as much as we can.” A wave of relief washed away my tension.

“Swimming was an excellent suggestion for today. Tomorrow we can try flying a dragon; the treetops are beautiful to see in the autumn, and there’s a special field I’d like to show you.

We can explore the beaches together. We can climb mountains. I can teach you how to forage...”

She hummed a contented note. “What will autumn be like?”

“The air will smell crisp. The greens will become oranges, yellows, and purples. The pinks will go away for the season and the grassy floor will become a bed of leaves. We’ll need to sleep off the ground to avoid getting covered in them.

” I had made that mistake before. Waking up had been a musty and disorienting experience.

“Ah.” She looked up at the canopy above. “So that’s why you took us to that special tree. It’s huge. We can make a little nest and cuddle up.” She shimmied her shoulders with glee.

“I would have made us a nest anywhere you wanted to sleep. Admittedly, though, I find a branch of that particular tree to be quite comfortable.”

“ Cuddle up” . I was certain she meant the words generally, but my heart raced at the thought of her curling against me for the night.

Flesh to flesh. Body heat melting us together.

Limbs intertwined. Regardless of her intentions, at least she wouldn’t be alone on my couch tonight.

It was an improvement. Maybe I could actually sleep soundly for once.