Dragon Wish (28 page)

Another giggle escaped her. “Are you trying to distract

me?”

“Never,” he murmured against her lips as he pressed her

181

Dragon Wish

onto her back. “I just think there are other things we might

be doing rather than discussing Legion’s name.”

With those words, Seren forgot all about his reaction to

the name she’d chosen for their son.

182

Dragon Wish

Two days later, Seren huddled under the soft comforter

on the canopied bed, her arms wrapped around her drawn

up knees. She stared out the terrace doors overlooking a

walled garden. Paladin had been gone for a whole day and

she missed him so much all she wanted to do was to give in

to her tears.

Memories of the night before he left arose in her mind.

He’d made love to her with a fierce possessiveness meant,

she was sure, to relieve her fears, but instead, she

experienced even more anxiety.

Goodbye, that’s what it had felt like—a final ending to

their relationship. Had he deserted her here? Had he

satisfied his desire with her body and then decided he didn’t

need her any more? No, he didn’t seem the love ’em and

leave ’em type. She had to stop this constant internal battle.

Denying her doubts about whether he would or even could

return for her wasn’t helping. From what she’d understood,

his life meant very little to the people of the country he

traveled to, and even now, he might be lying dead far away

from her. Throbbing set up in her temples. She had to stop

the constant worrying about him.

With a deep sigh, she threw the covers back and rose

from the bed. The soft gown she wore floated around her legs

then fluttered against her ankles. She lifted her arms above

her head and stretched, hoping to loosen tense muscles.

Even though this place was peaceful, she still yearned for the

familiar surroundings of her home. A wave of homesickness

came over her. She had to return home. Paladin would come

back for her—he had to. He’d sworn to her he’d find a way to

send her home.

Even with her emotions in such turmoil, she still had to

function. She dreaded having to dress to go below to meet

Leo and Calis, both of whom Paladin had left to protect her.

She didn’t know Calis very well. Paladin had insisted on

183

Dragon Wish

leaving several of his sailors to watch the perimeter of the

property. He’d said all of them were capable of guarding the

house. She didn’t even recognize any of these men from the

ship. Her gaze wandered over the light blue area rug to

where the doors, opened to the sea breezes, let in the

brilliant sunlight. Day had arrived. She should have made

Bask open a way for her to return home. On Earth, she

wouldn’t have all these worries. She could return to her

normal routine.

A small foot kicked her. She rubbed the spot and smiled,

silently thrilled that her baby was moving.

Knowing that moping around all day was no real excuse

to stay in bed, she moved to the tall wardrobe at the back of

the room. An array of colorful clothing waited for her there.

Each one was a reminder of Paladin’s generosity to her.

They’d gone shopping yesterday before he’d departed, and he

had given his approval for all the clothes.

Not in the mood for brightness, she chose the dullest, an

olive green pant set. She couldn’t seem to shake the

listlessness. The way she felt must be because of the way the

baby was growing so fast. She wasn’t sure she liked it. With a

shake of her head, she dressed and then ran her hands over

the smooth front of the tunic. Thin with a silky feel, the long

slit-sided shirt was thicker at the chest, but gaped in the back

by one long opening from neck to waist. Panels of see-

through cloth hung in the front and back of the shirt, split

from the waist to hem on the sides. They stopped below her

knees. The pants hung loose on her body and allowed her to

remain cool in Durfalin’s dry, hot climate.

Once ready, she wrapped a dull gold sash around her

head to hide her short hair. The long ends of the sash

dangled down her back to her waist. Leo had cautioned her

that the people here might take offense at seeing a woman

with her glory removed. Seren had frowned at him, but he

explained the women here never cut their hair unless

convicted of a crime. She hadn’t argued with him afterward.

184

Dragon Wish

The other sash, the same color and texture of the first, she

twined around her thickening waist.

For a moment, she wondered what Paladin would think

of the way she looked dressed in these strange clothes.

Would he find her exotic, even beautiful? A rush of need to

have him with her almost forced her back to the bed. For the

first time in a long time, she wanted her psychic ability to

work long enough for her to see if Paladin was all right. But

what if he wasn’t? She moaned at the possibility that he

might, even at this moment, be dead somewhere. Tears

burned the back of her eyes.

Once more, her son reminded her of his presence with a

harder kick.

She patted the spot on the increasing mound. Her baby

grew. Much faster than what she was accustomed to. She

liked it, too. His activity amazed her, but also sent thrills of

joy through her heart. She no longer feared his death. Since

her pregnancy with this child, the gnawing emptiness inside

her had filled with the knowledge of a new child growing

inside her. Leo’s reassurances of the strength of dragonseed

children helped alleviate much of her fear so that it dwindled

to only an occasional worry. She had a new chance for a child

of her own, one sure to survive and outlive her.

A knock on her bedroom door brought her attention to

the white portal.

Leo spoke quietly through the closed barrier. “Ms. Seren,

breakfast is ready. Come on and eat.”

“I’m almost finished dressing. I’ll be down in a bit.”

God, he didn’t understand what she felt like. She wanted

to see Paladin, touch him, and make love to him. A wave of

worried fatigue came over her. She sat on the edge of the

mattress, wanting so much to crawl beneath the covers and

not come out again until Paladin returned for her.

She squeezed her eyes shut. More tears stung behind her

lids. She didn’t want to need him this much. It’d leave her

open to heartache which was the one thing she’d had too

185

Dragon Wish

much of in the past; first with Mandy’s death, and then with

her ex-husband filing for divorce. If she was truly honest, the

latter had been mostly her fault. She’d grown cold and

empty, unable to come to terms with her grief. Dealing with a

husband who didn’t seem severely affected by the death had

made her pull further away from him. Strange that now she

was expecting another child, those past memories returned

with such clarity. She hadn’t expected to realize them and in

the end accept them as truth.

When she opened her eyes, a ray of strength grew inside

her. He wouldn’t want her to react like this. Seren searched

her mind for something to keep herself busy while she waited

for Paladin’s return. What were the other psychics here on

Avaris like? Did they see into the future? If so, maybe she

could find one and discover if Paladin was all right.

She forced her body to move off the bed and march across

the room. Her hand trembled as she lifted it to turn the door

handle. She gritted her teeth, jerked the handle down to tug

the wooden portal open.

Leo stood on the other side, waiting for her. She yelped

and took a step back, not expecting to see him still there. She

lifted a brow. “Did he tell you to watchdog me like you’ve

been doing?”

Ivory teeth flashed. Leo’s deep chuckle echoed in the

empty hallway. “Now, why on earth would you think such a

thing?”

She shook her head and moved past him. “You’re getting

on my nerves.”

He continued to laugh while he followed behind her.

Further along the wide hallway, she came to a broad, curving

marble staircase. Below, an atrium spread wide, overflowing

with an abundance of flowering plants. The scent of sweet

perfume filled the air. Seren closed her eyes, savoring the

aroma. “You know what, Leo?”

“What’s that?”

She started down the stairs, speaking over her shoulder.

186

Dragon Wish

“I want to find something to keep me busy so I won’t worry.”

The tall black man moved to her side. “What do you have

in mind?”

“I’m a psychic on Earth. A lot of people used to come and

want me to read their fortunes. Do the people of Avaris have

something similar here?”

Leo stopped. When Seren reached the atrium, she turned

to look up at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Uh, I don’t

think it’d be a good idea.”

Puzzled, she asked. “Why not? I’m a great medium. That’s

what everyone told me.”

He shook his head and hurried to join her, hands

stretched toward her. “These folks take their soothsaying

seriously, just like they do their magic. You don’t want to go

messing around with something that has so much power.”

She started to argue, but he grasped her hand and gave it

a little squeeze. “I’m telling you the truth. Think of

something else to do. Anything short of diving head first off a

cliff.”

“Now you’ve made me curious. Take me to one—a local

medium.”

He stared hard at her. “I don’t know.”

“If you don’t take me, I’ll find a way of going on my own.”

She grinned and tapped him on the chest. “Come on, what

could it hurt? I can find out firsthand how powerful they

are.”

Reluctant, Leo nodded. “Let’s feed you first, and then

we’ll head out.”

Seren rushed through her meal of fruit and a tall glass of

milk. She couldn’t seem to get enough of the pale cream

liquid. It tasted like regular milk, but was sweeter, a little

thicker, sort of like eggnog. She’d asked Leo about it and he’d

grinned, saying it had dragon’s milk added to it. She’d eyed

the first of many glasses she’d consumed with wariness.

Now, she drank several during each day, preferring it over

the telee.

187

Dragon Wish

Once she finished, her excitement over wandering

through the city had increased. She was excited about

looking at exotic sights and unique people. She needed this

distraction, anything to help keep her thoughts away from

Paladin.

They departed the house, heading down the bricked

walkway which led across a walled front garden. Once

through the gates, Leo guided her into the maze of adobe

buildings.

The stone houses were built in a staggered fashion from

the center of the city to the wall surrounding the entire place.

Stairs along with ladders led from the narrow streets to the

entrance doors. Terraced gardens overflowed over walls,

adding splashes of brilliant greens, reds, yellows, and

purples to the smoothly finished, dull beige buildings.

Everywhere she looked, she spied smiling faces, along

with new and strange clothing. Here and there, she noticed

animals that were similar to those on Earth, but different in

one way or another here.

Some of the people she passed stopped and stared at her,

some even bowed in reverence. Self-consciousness flashed

through her, but she held her head high and continued on

her way. She didn’t understand why they were doing this

unless they sensed a greater level of power about her. Did

they know she carried the dragon king inside her?

A little further ahead, Leo touched her arm. She came to a

stop. He met her look with a small smile and said, “Wait

here. I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared through the front door of a shop. Seren

clasped her hands behind her back and glanced around.

Across the way, a fruit vendor with a melodious tenor voice

sang out with the news of a unique berry, sure to cure any

illness. She snickered at the absurdity of the announcement.

Not many people even looked in the vender’s direction.

At the sound of Leo footsteps, Seren faced him. He

frowned as he spoke. “I found a place. It’s not too far either.