Daryk Warrior (10 page)

Mia allowed her case to cross the wavering sands. “As you
know, I can’t heal myself. So I need to find another healer who can help me. At
least I hope they can.”

“Help you with what?”

“A year ago I learned that I’m dying.”

Chapter Seven

Mia saw his expression change from concern to shock to
grief. She’d seen the face of grief before when she’d witnessed people losing
loved ones. Yet she’d never seen that same expression on anyone’s face for her.

Stunned by his reaction, she hurried to explain. “On Magonia
they call it entonesia.”

“What—” He took a deep breath. “What is entonesia?”

“A rare and strange disease where the body simply wears out.
Fatigue is common. Using my healing abilities actually increases the disease’s
progress. Every time I heal someone else, it takes time off my life.”

“Then you shouldn’t heal anyone else.”

“What?”

“You must stop healing others. Let the law of nature take
effect. Save yourself.”

She drew in a slow breath. “I won’t watch someone die if I
can save them. If it’s within my power.”

His gaze stayed pinned to her as if he feared if he looked
away she’d vanish. “I command you to stop it immediately.” His voice hardened.
“You won’t risk your life like that again.”

A deep wound festered within her. Anger rose up and she rose
to her feet.

She glared at him as he remained sitting in the shifting
sand. “Even if I didn’t heal, I’m still going to die if I don’t find a healer.”

His throat worked. “How long do you have?”

“Most people with the disease last no more than six months.
I’ve made it almost a year.”

“Then maybe you can beat it.”

She shook her head. “No one has yet.”

Turbulence rose in those dark eyes. “That isn’t acceptable.”

At that moment she felt powerful. Assured of the right path
regardless of his disapproval. “It doesn’t matter what you believe. It is
inevitable unless I find a healer. I was told by an old mage outside Scribe
school that a healer named Asam could cure me and she’s at Bardannia Castle.”

He stood slowly with his hands on his hips, a warrior ready
to argue. “I’ve never heard of this Asam. How can you be sure the mage wasn’t
lying?”

“Because Leto was one of my closest friends. Until she was
dragged through the streets.” Mia’s throat threatened to close up as she
thought of everything that happened two weeks before she’d made her escape from
Scribe school.

Hardness left Eryk’s expression as he touched her shoulder.
“Dragged through the street? God Draconus.”

“Someone found out she was my friend and told Janto. He
decided to make an example out of her and told the Truth and Order Police that
she was a healer. They dragged her through the streets and…” She gulped hard as
tears rose up without warning and spilled over her cheeks. “They dragged Leto
until she was dead. People were throwing stones. I couldn’t believe what I was
seeing. I was screaming, begging for her life.”

Eryk’s hands clasped her shoulders gently and before she
knew it he’d drawn her into his arms.

Now she’d spilled what happened, she couldn’t stop. “She was
eighty years old and to be treated so horribly—Magon it was horrible. She
didn’t scream. Didn’t fight. Just took her punishment.”

Mia shuddered. Her mind returned to the incident as if it
were yesterday, soaking her in pain. Words flowed from her, a confessional as
she clutched at his shoulders and Eryk pressed her head to his shoulder.

“Leto’s death was the last thing for me. I had to leave.
Escape Magonia before I was stoned or executed in some other horrible way.”

His hands smoothed over her back, his touch tender and
consoling. “I’m sorry.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m so very sorry.”

She shivered and he held her tighter. Tears poured from her
eyes and she couldn’t stop them. As she looked up she tried to brush away the
moisture. “I want to live but don’t tell me not to save anyone who needs
healing. As Magon is my witness, I won’t allow even you to suppress me for your
own ends.”

His mouth hardened in disapproval for a moment before his
lips parted. His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Is that what this is? Wanting you
to live is suppressing you?”

“You commanded me. The way a man on Magonia would. If that’s
the way it’s to be then I want nothing to do with you after we get to the
castle.”

She pulled from his arms, heart heavy and mind numb.
Tiredness rolled over her in a wave but she ignored it.

She put together her pack and shouldered it. “Shouldn’t we
move on?”

He nodded, and took them over the ice without another word.

* * * * *

Bardannia Castle appeared much different from Felican
Castle. Bardannia soared higher. It looked to be five floors, an amazing and
incredible height for a building of any kind. The tan stone structure almost
blended with the blinding white of the ice and snow beneath it. Eryk gripped
her upper arm, his touch possessive. She almost sagged but kept her feet under
her.

She stopped, a little out of breath. “Magon. This place is
magnificent.”

As they’d crossed the ice and snow she’d wondered if she
would simply freeze in her shoes and be left standing like a statue in a white
landscape of no man’s land. As a result Mia kept pace with Eryk, which was easy
because he’d slowed to hers. She wondered if her fatigue showed and wished she
hadn’t told him about the disease or its major symptom. She hated feeling this
way, weak and dependent. It went against everything she wanted for herself.
Disappoint still stung inside her. She wouldn’t obey Eryk. This time if she
needed to heal someone she’d do it tooth, nail and any way she could. He could
go hang for all she cared. She ruthlessly forgot his tenderness and concern for
her. She understood now he only cared if she abided by his rules. The rules of
men.

Along the battlements archers stood at the ready and two
guards right outside the drawbridge also looked ready to fight if necessary.
They recognized and greeted Eryk as if he were a king, and to her relief they
let them through.

All else faded into the background as Mia stared at the
structure, its imposing bulk overwhelming her senses.

“I’ve never seen anything this large before,” she said.

“Nothing this large on Magonia?”

“Perhaps, but I haven’t seen it.”

“Before we enter we must have ground rules.”

She turned a frown on him. “Rules? Are these the kind
overbearing men think they need to keep recalcitrant women in line?”

A cocky smile flirted with his lips then spread with full
effect over his mouth. “It could be. In this case they’re for our survival.
Yours, to be specific. While we’re here I’ll refer to you as my mate.”

“I half expected you would. I suppose I must do the same?”

“Yes. Every man who sees you must know you belong to me.”

She almost called him on it. After all, she wasn’t his.
Pretending was far different than true ownership of a person’s heart. She
wondered if that situation would feel glorious. Elating. She doubted she’d ever
know. People like her…healers…well they never discovered true love or all its
possibilities. Their abilities were also their curses, their burdens.

“But I don’t.” She’d make absolutely certain he understood.
“You know that.”

He nodded but his dark eyes sparked with red heat, alive
with the fire she’d touched before and wanted so deeply to discover again. Yes,
she did. Admitting it to herself was hard enough.

“It’ll keep you safe.” He shifted closer. “Mention my name
and doors will open for you.”

“I’ve never been safe before.” The revelation shifted her
world on its axis. “I cannot understand the concept. Not really.”

He brushed a gentle touch over her cheek. Warmth flickered
and came alive in her lower belly. Before she could move or protest Eryk
slipped his hand behind her neck and drew Mia into his body. His mouth came
down on hers. Raw. Powerful in intent. This time he didn’t coax her into a
kiss. He thrust deep, his tongue taking immediate possession of hers. She
arched her body into his out of instinct. The long, thick bar of his cock pressed
into her. His tongue conquered hers with primitive requirements. Here, in the
cold, he made her forget the ice and snow. All that mattered was his hot tongue
teasing, swirling about hers in a carnal dance. She arched into him, body alive
and singing for more, hungering in a way that proved his effect on her. He drew
back slowly and Mia wanted shamefully for him to stay.

His closeness gave her that warm, cared-for feeling, and she
hadn’t become used to that sensation either. She couldn’t help but savor the
heat of his body. Her breath puffed out like a dragon’s, a strange phenomenon
she’d heard of but never witnessed until now. The air in Magonia was never cold
enough to produce such a thing. Everything in Dragonia was so strange to her,
so frightening. So wonderful and new.

He didn’t give her time to reflect on his kiss as they
walked forward. They entered through the high arch, the portcullis hanging
above threatening. Eryk must have sensed her trepidation and fatigue. He took
her upper arm in his secure grip.

While Felican castle had bustled, this fortress hummed with
activity. All around people recognized Eryk and stopped to greet him. People
smiled and laughed with him and to her surprise they were friendly to her.
Bardannia Castle seemed a far lighter, happier place than Felican Castle.

“Come,” he said. “We’ll find new lodgings.”

“Wait. I need to find the healer Asam first.”

Remorse flickered over his face. “Of course. I’m sorry I
forgot.” Once more he brushed his fingers over her cheek, the touch incredibly
gentle for such a big, uncompromising man. “I’ll ask Darwinnia. She’s the
barkeep at the tavern.”

One of Mia’s eyebrows tilted up. “Do you know all the
barkeeps at these places? Especially if they’re women?”

He chuckled. “I know the men too. It isn’t a sexual or
romantic thing, that’s for certain.”

“Daryk Ones understand romance?”

He threw her a dirty look dampened by amusement. “We do. It
does not mean we always employ it in our…sexual encounters.”

Boldness filled her lips as they strode toward the tavern at
the far west of the north-facing castle. “How many sexual encounters have you
had?”

He made a half strangling noise. “Too many to tell you.”

She wrinkled her nose. “How disgusting.”

“The sex or the number of encounters? I know that you’ll
enjoy sex once you try it.”

Her face flamed and so did her loins. She throbbed between
her legs. “What makes you believe that?”

“Our kisses. What we have already done proves that.”

Despite the pleasure those encounters had given her, she
couldn’t afford to allow them to throw her off her main objective.
Find the
healer
.

“You are very sure of yourself,” she said.

“With sex I am.”

She didn’t argue the point as he took her toward a lodging
house near the far back corner of the castle. With the crowds of people throughout
the area, they stopped often to talk with others. Everyone admired Eryk and
treated Mia with the greatest respect. He kept his arm around her shoulders
most of the time, showing his possessiveness. It bothered her most of all how
right and proper his show of ownership felt. It shouldn’t have. She’d left
Magonia to escape a man’s domination. So why did this feel so different than
the way men had treated her in Magonia? Why did it burn her in an exquisite,
delicious way whenever Eryk slipped his arms around her and sealed his mouth to
hers? It didn’t bear thinking about because soon she’d find the healer and
would no longer need Eryk in any way. By the time they reached the lodging, her
energy flagged. She stumbled and Eryk swooped her up in his arms.

She released a surprised squeak. “I can walk.”

“You could. But you won’t.”

“Ordering me around again?”

“In this case, yes.” His mouth was devoid of cocksure humor.
“You need to rest and I’ll find the healer.”

Weakness removed desire to argue. She didn’t even protest
when he paid for the lodging and carried her into the room. He slammed the door
behind him and sat her on the bed.

“Rest. I’ll return later with food.” He didn’t waste time
and left before she could agree or disagree.

She removed her pack and pondered the room. Fatigue
threatened, and she hated it more than she’d ever hated anything. She struggled
against it, frustration bringing tears. They surged into her eyes and she
couldn’t stop them.

“Oh God Magon. What do I do?”

She sank down on the bed and allowed tears to flow.

* * * * *

Garess Arch, an older, hulking Daryk One who Eryk had become
friends with in the last few years, sat at tavern table and sipped a tall
drink. His tangled dark hair and disreputable dress made others wonder if he
was truly an honorable Daryk One. Eryk trusted the man implicitly and settled
across from him.

“Asam Boldru.” Garess spoke just above the incredible din.
“She’s a healer.”

“Keep your voice down.” Eryk glanced around the large, full
tavern. “We don’t need to announce it to everyone.”

Garess’ puzzled expression matched his next words. “Hey, are
you in need of a healing?”

“It isn’t for me. For my mate.”

Garess’ face broke into a wide grin that sparked in his
eyes. He slapped Eryk on the shoulder as he leaned across the table. “By the
God. What good fortune. You’ve finally met your mate. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Garess’ face fell. “But she’s ill?”

“A slight problem.” No way would Eryk say anything deeper
and make it easier to slip up and be caught in a lie.

“Sorry to hear that. Tell Asam I sent you. She’ll be happy
to help.”

“Thank you.”

Garess must have seen the pain in Eryk’s eyes. “Asam isn’t
like the one who hurt Trylee. Not at all.”

“You’d better be damned right.” Hurt flooded Eryk and he
ruthlessly shoved back the memories. “Where do I find this Asam Boldru?”