She grimaced. “I can’t bless this union. However, I promise not to eat her.” With those words, she shrugged out of his embrace and passed back into Outremer. May the gods have mercy on any dwarf that crossed her path.
He chuckled and shook his head. She meant well, but, wow, she needed to stay out of his life. Hurrying, he needed to explain his mother’s attitude to Sandra.
Life with a mortal mate would prove to be interesting, especially when part of his family considered her an appetizer.
Entering the room, he scanned the empty bed. She wasn’t there. A cold foreboding settled on his shoulders, the weight almost buckling his knees. He half-walked, half-jogged to the kitchen, where Urgle stirred a pot on the fire. A booted foot stuck out of the stew. He now knew what had happened to the roasted dwarf. “Have you seen Sandra?”
“Soft female?” He shook his head. “No. Hungry?”
“No, maybe later. If you see her, report to me.” He rubbed his chin. Could she have gone to the hot spring? His treasure room? As he passed the bedchamber, something odd caught the corner of his eye. He stuck his head through the doorway. The bedside table surface was bare.
The saji was gone. His heart caved in. She’d said she trusted him. Her scent grew fresher as he strolled to the ledge and gazed at the ocean.
Gentle waves rolled over the beaches with a lover’s caress. Stars twinkled from the clear night sky, calling him to fly high and join them in their cold emptiness. Clenching his fists, he listened to the distant rumble of the caldera’s sympathy. Sandra had left him.
Jumping, he shifted mid-air and stroked his wings, climbing high above his home. He traced the path that led from his den, and spotted her.
Running.
She’d used him.
Roaring, he dove and landed to block her way. Fire burned in his gut. How dare she? He pawed the ground, yet couldn’t unleash his fury.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” she shouted and stood her ground. “You claimed you cared for me and now I’m on the menu?”
He blinked. “Claimed? I do care. I’m not the one running away. You claimed to trust me.” He lowered his snout to meet her glare. Wrath flowed around her as she stepped closer into his field of vision. The wind tugged at her dress and her hair billowed around her head like a halo of chaos. By the gods, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“That’s not what I heard. I quote, ‘You’ve nothing to worry about’ when your mother mentioned me possibly breaking your heart.”
The cold claws of surprise squeezed his chest and extinguished the heat of his fury. “Is that what this is all about? I had to say that. She’ll see my affection for you as a weakness and destroy you. I told you. She’s very dangerous.” He reached for her, but she retreated from his touch. “I’ve never had your trust, have I?”
“Trust is something that is earned, not given. I want to. God knows I do.” She shook her head. “But it’s not why I’m leaving. Your mother has a valid point. My lifespan is nothing in comparison to yours. I’ll just be a blip in your memory.”
The ache in his chest worsened. “I don’t mind that, Sandra.” He’d take whatever time she’d give him.
“I do. It’s not fair to ask me to sacrifice my life to keep you company. I deserve more than being your toy.”
Her description of herself rang true. He’d begun this adventure thinking of her exactly as that. However, he’d changed.
She dabbed the corner of her eye with a fingertip. “Let me go, Ishi. I have a plane to catch and a sister to heal.”
He nodded. “You’re right. You’ve been nothing but a toy.” Nothing he said would keep her here. She had more important things to deal with and it was better if their ties were cut cleanly.
She squared her shoulders before walking by him, avoiding any eye contact.
With a cooling heart, he watched her descent until the curve of the mountain hid her from sight. He could have loved her, if only she’d allowed it. He leaped into the air and returned home on leaden wings. Landing on his ledge, he stared out over the world he protected and for the first time since accepting the gate’s offer, resented it.
“Master?” Urgle shuffled onto the ledge, a huge bowl of stew in his arms. “Hungry?”
He gave his pet a half-smile and took the meal, even though his appetite had vanished with Sandra’s painful words. Sitting in his den, alone, would drive him insane. He never should have brought her here. Everywhere he’d look, her memory would haunt him.
The trouble with being a dragon was the amount of time needed for memories to fade. He had to stay busy. Staring at his pet, he stirred the stew with his claw. “Do you think any of your clan still lives in the area outside of the gate?”
“Yes. They hide in the hills. That where I be when the dwarves hunt me here.”
“I don’t care to have dwarves as my neighbors.” He licked the thick goo from his finger. “Go arm up, Urgle. Time we went to war.”
Chapter 16
Sandra had taken a taxi straight from the airport to the hospital when she finally arrived back home. The trip had stolen two days because of a long-ass layover in Los Angeles. The hospital corridors gleamed with unnatural light at this ungodly hour of the night. She squinted after entering from the dark, and hurried through the building to her sister’s room.
The saji weighed nothing in her pocket, yet she sensed every time it slapped against her thigh. Please let it work. Who she prayed to, she didn’t know. Anyone who’d listen, she guessed. What would she do if it didn’t cure Beth?
Ishi seemed confident in the old spoon. However, he came from a world immersed in magic, where she existed in one of science. But her world had failed her. She hoped his wouldn’t.
As Sandra hurried onto the unit, a nurse rose from her station, blocking her path. “May I help you?”
“I know it’s late but I’ve flown a long way and I want to see Beth in room 304.”
The nurse titled her head and frowned. “There’s no Beth in that room, and visiting hours ended a while ago.”
The blood drained from Sandra’s head and the hall spun. “Where’d she go?” Her voice sounded weak. She’d taken too much time to find a cure. She shouldn’t have lingered with Ishi, or maybe she should have mailed it like he had suggested. Dear God in heaven, she was alone in the universe. Her little sister was gone.
“Whoa, honey. Sit down.” The nurse yanked a rolling chair behind Sandra’s knees before her butt kissed the floor. “Let me check where she went. What’s the last name?”
“It’s Welden. Beth Welden.” She spelled it for good measure as her center of gravity stopped doing the hokey pokey.
“She was transferred to the ICU yesterday.”
Sandra jumped to her feet. “Why didn’t anyone call me?” Not waiting for a response, she pivoted around and gazed at the halls. “Which way?”
“Hey, it’s the middle of the night. They won’t let you in at this hour.” The nurse set a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’ll call over and see how she’s doing, okay?”
Slowing her breathing, Sandra watched as the nurse returned to her station. Once she was out of sight, Sandra left on swift feet, searching the walls for a map of the hospital. At the elevators she found what she was looking for.
Following the blue line on the floor, she located the intensive care unit and its locked doors. She rattled the knob and swore under her breath.
The door cracked open and a younger nurse peeked out. “I just got a call saying to expect Beth’s sister. Are you her?”
Sandra nodded, her voice strangled by the constrictions in her throat.
“Normally we wouldn’t do this, but we’ve been trying to reach you. The number on file goes straight to your answering service.”