B00CGOH3US EBOK (9 page)

"Damn. I'm still here."

Baelin winced at her disappointment. "Good morn, my lady."

"If you say so." She dragged a hand through her tousled locks. "It would be a better one if I was waking up in my own bed. In my own apartment. In my own time."

She stood and stretched, the movement pulling the gown tight across her full breasts. Baelin's own breeches grew uncomfortably snug and he quickly looked away.

This maid the villagers had chosen for him was a bit…healthier than the ones who had come before. The gowns he kept for them fit her tighter, outlining every curve of her body—a body he recalled seeing all too much of as she'd stood wet and naked in the firelight.

She rubbed her arms to chase away the constant chill he had grown accustomed to over the years. He almost laughed. At the moment, icicles could be hanging from the cavern's ceiling and he would still think it too hot with her so near.

As she walked to the mouth of the cave, he had to restrain himself from jumping up to snatch her back as he'd done the night before. If they were going to get on together until the next full moon, he must learn to trust her. After all, she wasn't like the one who chose to take her own life rather than suffer his presence. Come to think of it, Lady Jill wasn't like any of the others with her strange manner of speech and odd ways.

His tension eased when she stopped at the opening and made no move to venture further out onto the ledge. Instead, she leaned her shoulder against the rock wall with a heavy sigh.

"Looks like there's nothing out there in the light of day either."

"What is it you search for?"

"Oh, I don't know. A car. A plane. A twenty-story skyscraper. Any hint the modern world might still be out there somewhere."

Baelin went to retrieve some food, hoping it would make her feel more at ease in her newfound surroundings. "Are you hungry? I obtained fresh supplies from the village in the valley while you slept. There is bread, and—"

"There's a village nearby?" She craned her head to peer once more out the entrance. "Where?"

"'Tis not far." He stood still, the knife in his hand poised over the wedge of cheese he was about to slice. "Do you wish to go there?"

His back to her, he stared at the platter before him, waiting for the inevitable plea sure to come. Instead, he heard her snort or chuckle—he wasn't sure which.

"Not if it's anything like the last village I ended up in. After the rude welcome wagon greeting I received there, it would suit me just fine to avoid a place like that again."

Surprised and a bit confused by her easy acquiescence after her tirade the night before, he resumed the preparation of her meal. All the maids before were always eager to return to their homes. They begged, pleaded, and cried for days for him to release them. This one seemed content, at least for the moment, to stay.

Baelin heard her shift at the cave's entrance and glanced over to find her scrutinizing him with narrowed eyes.

"Wait a minute. When I got here, the people treated me like I was an alien from another planet and offered me up to the local dragon on a silver platter. How did you manage to walk around a village unnoticed with giant bat wings sticking out of your back?"

He relaxed. This was a question he could answer. "'Tis simple. Allow me to show you."

He retrieved the cloak he'd tossed aside earlier. Folding his wings, he swept the heavy garment over his shoulders and clasped it in place at his throat.

Astonishment registered on her face, but his own shock surpassed it when she walked up to him and ran her hand down the dark wool from shoulder to hip. He held himself perfectly still, straining to feel the slight touch through thick folds of cloak and layers of clothing. Perhaps he felt it. Perhaps he only imagined it. Either way, it was bliss to know another's touch after all this time. As he watched her expressive face, he realized she had no idea of her effect on him.

"Wow. They fold flat against your back, just like a bird's. And with your cape dyed the same color as your wings, they practically disappear underneath it. I can hardly tell they're there. Great illusion. David Copperfield would definitely be impressed."

Baelin knew a moment's pride that she—and whoever this David of Copperfield might be—approved. All too soon, her attention was drawn away from him and to the food he'd arranged on the platter nearby.

"Oh, thank God. I'm so hungry, it feels like my stomach is touching my spine."

"Then by all means, my lady, break your fast."

She snatched a small loaf of dark bread and took a bite, closing her eyes as she moaned. His gaze caressed the delicate line of her throat as she chewed, following the curve of her neckline to where the tempting swell of her breasts threatened to spill out of the snug gown. Baelin stifled a groan, his mouth watering from an all too different type of hunger.

Her eyes flew open, startling him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want some?" She held out the bread to him.

"Nay. I broke my fast earlier while you slept." He coughed into his fist and backed away, lest the dragon in him grab her and attempt to sample more than she what offered. "I am pleased the bread is to your liking."

"It's a little grainy, but good. Of course, as hungry as I am, it could be made of sawdust and I'd still think it tasted like a buttery croissant."

She picked up the platter of food and walked over to sit by the dying fire. She broke off a piece of the cheese and was about to pop it into her mouth when she stopped and turned those large, inquisitive eyes on him again.

"So, are you going to clue me in on the specifics of this curse thing and exactly what it has to do with me or not?"

How much do I tell her?

Baelin didn't want to make the mistake of frightening her, as he had done with the others. If he'd learned one thing in all his years of taking the sacrificial maidens, it was that women's sensibilities were delicate. It was probably best not to overwhelm her with too much at first.

He walked over and joined her by the dwindling fire. "As a young knight, I was cursed by the Dark Witch to live as a dragon eleven months out of each year."

"Right. I remember that much."

"The curse also requires that each year, on the day of the first full moon of summer, a maiden from the village be offered as a sacrifice to the dragon."

Lady Jill held up her thumb and forefinger, leaving a tiny gap in between them. "Um, we might already have a teensy, weensy problem there."

"What is it?"

"I'm not actually from the village."

"What?" Baelin stood as he felt the first flames of anger churn in his belly.

"Yep. Sorry, but it looks like they pulled the old bait-and-switch with you, buddy."

"I do not understand."

"Like I told you last night, I'm not from around here. I'm not even from this century." Lady Jill sighed. "I don't know how it happened or why, but somehow I traveled through time and landed in the village. Those people were all set to give you another girl but—lucky me—when I fell in their laps they decided to use yours truly instead."

"How dare they?" He stiffened as rage and betrayal tore through him at their deceit. "For over two hundred years, they have offered up a maiden with the understanding that the dragon would leave them in peace. In return, I have kept them safe, allowing no harm to befall their people from outside attack or oppression. It is the way it has always been. They know this!"

He stalked to the mouth of the cave, his fists clenched and his fury rising to dangerous levels—levels he might soon be unable to control.

"Did they not think I would find out?" he growled, the sound more animal than human. "Do they not realize with one breath I can burn all their huts to the ground and set their fields ablaze before they have even risen from their beds?" He spread his wings, the dragon blood in his veins demanding he take to the sky.

Lady Jill came up behind him and stopped him with little more than a hand on his arm.

"Easy there, dragon dude. Calm down and let's talk about this. Don't go and do something you might regret later."

He looked at her pale face and saw her fear, of him and of the beast he kept barely contained. And yet here she stood, prepared to defend the very people who'd shown her no mercy and thought nothing of offering her as a sacrifice to the dragon.

His anger subsided at her gentle persuasion, if only a little. "To break the curse requires a maiden from the village of my birth. If you are not from Gosforth, then it will not work."

"Maybe. Then again, maybe not. While—technically—I'm not from the village, I was, well, there for a little while. Plus who knows, maybe some great, great, great, grandmother of mine was born in the village. It's entirely possible, if you trace my family tree back far enough. So if we go by the Kevin Bacon six degrees of separation theory, I might qualify."

Baelin tried to follow her odd reasoning. If he understood her rambling words, then there might still be hope. After all, the tapestry had changed after she came and that had never happened with any of the others. It had to be a sign.

He willed the tension in his body to ease and stepped back into the cave. Behind him, he heard Lady Jill's heavy sigh of relief. He cursed himself, knowing he needed to maintain better control over his dragon impulses or he would fail them both.

She walked past him and resumed her seat by the fire, eating in silence until he joined her. She considered him as she took a sip of wine from her cup.

"Okay, so let's figure this thing out. You said a girl from the village is required to break this curse of yours."

"Aye."

"So, since I happen to be the maiden by default, what exactly do I have to do to break the curse and return you to Normal-ville?"

"You must pass three challenges before the rise of the next full moon to free me."

"I see. And these challenges are?"

"That I do not know."

She raised her brow at him. "You don't know what they are? That makes it a little difficult, doesn't it?"

"I only know they involve the knightly virtues."

"What are the knightly virtues?"

"Honor, courage, bravery, just—"

"Whoa." Lady Jill held up her hand. "You mean the maid—I—have to do something knight-worthy to break the curse?"

"Aye."

She shook her head and chuckled. "Well, I certainly hope I'm not expected to go out and win a joust or rescue a damsel in distress because then we're going to be in big trouble. I don't think I have the job skills for something like that."

"I pray it will not require anything so trying on your part."

Jill took a bite of bread and chewed thoughtfully as she gazed into the dying fire. She was silent for so long, it startled him when she spoke again.

"So I take it since you're still the lizard king, none of the others have succeeded in breaking this curse of yours."

"Nay."

She frowned. "Did any of them ever try?"

"Only one or two. Most hid in fear in the back of the cave, not venturing out until their time with me was over."

"And the ones who did?"

"Obviously they failed."

He watched her visibly swallow. "Did they ever come close?"

For a brief instant, Baelin considered not telling her the truth. What if, in doing so, she changed her mind? But his honor would not allow him to deceive her.

"Nay. None have ever been able to pass even one of the tests."

"Well, that doesn't bode well for my chances, now does it?" she sighed. "So what happens if the challenges are not met?"

"If the curse is not broken, I return to my dragon form with the rise of the next full moon."

"I see. And what happens to the girls?"

"I release them."

She picked up a bowl of pottage and sniffed it. She made an odd face and set it back on the platter. "At least it's good to know you don't gobble them up for dinner when they fail your tests."

Baelin flinched as if she'd struck him. Did she actually think he would eat the maidens? If the possibility crossed her mind, then she must truly believe him more beast than man.

"I allow no harm to befall the maidens while they are under my protection," he replied through gritted teeth. "The challenges are not of my making. If it were within my power, I would not involve another to break the curse."

"But you do involve them. You kidnap innocent women and force them to come here against their will. Not very chivalrous, if you ask me."

He looked away, shamed by the truth in her words. "They are rewarded well for their time spent with me. When I release them, I give them enough gold to live without want for the rest of their days."

"Gee, thirty days in a damp cave with komodo man in exchange for a lifetime of luxury. That actually doesn't sound like such a bad deal." Lady Jill cast a pitying glance his way. "Well, for the girls, anyway."

"Perhaps." He sighed, knowing he had to tell her the whole truth. "But for some, the wealth they receive is not enough for all that they lose."