Chapter Twenty-three

Kendrick was thinking of all the ways he could spend his last day with Esha. He wouldn’t push her to spend another night in his arms, but that didn’t keep him from hoping she would. There were all kinds of ways he could seduce her, but he had too much respect for her and her vow to the Rangers to do that.

One more day. That’s all he had, and he would make the most of it. If they caught their foe, perhaps it would earn him some more time amongst the elves. There was so much more for him to learn.

He was grasping for reasons to remain so he could get more time with Esha. He still hadn’t figured out how to tell her that she was his mate. They hadn’t known each other long, and she might not believe him. He probably wouldn’t if he were in her shoes. Yet he knew the truth of it with as much certainty as he had known so long ago that the magic had chosen him to be the King of Siennas.

Kendrick needed more time with her. He didn’t want Esha to leave the Rangers and wished she didn’t have to, but they couldn’t be together if she were still part of the organization. It hurt his heart that she would have to give up something she loved so deeply for them to be together.

Time. He needed time. It was something he’d always had plenty of before. Yet now it seemed to slip through his fingers no matter how hard he tried to slow it. There had to be another way to prolong his visit. He had to show her how good they were together. He needed to let her discover that she loved him, too. Allow him to prove his love and devotion.

Because the alternative meant that he had fallen for someone who didn’t love him.

And that thought made him ill. A dragon couldn’t survive without their mate. Once a dragon found a mate, it was all that mattered until they were together. No matter how long it took, no matter what Kendrick had to do, he would win Esha’s heart.

Movement in the trees drew his attention and pulled him from his thoughts. He spotted Esha and relaxed. A part of him had worried that Savita would keep her talking for hours, cutting into the precious time he had left with her. It was a good sign that the sisters finished early. Wasn’t it?

Kendrick met Esha halfway. Her smile was tight, forced even. His heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He searched his mind for possible reasons and found dozens. Despite the unease churning ominously through him, he knew how important hunting the entity was to Esha. If nothing else, he would have that.

So little fucking time. He inwardly scowled at all the moments he had hurried time along. It had never occurred to him that he might run out. Eons and eons of years of life, and he had only a handful of hours now with the one person who mattered the most to him. The irony didn’t go unnoticed.

He tried to think of something to make her smile and ease the tension, but his mind was blank. “I take it the talk with your sister didna go well.”

“You could say that.” Esha glanced at the ground and shook her head.

“Did she turn on you?”

“Actually, she petitioned the Conclave to give me a higher rank, citing I was the only one intelligent enough to see the benefits of befriending you.”

The words said one thing, but her voice said quite another. It felt like something was tightening around Kendrick’s chest. “That should be something to celebrate. Why are you no’?”

“Your arrival has…divided our people.”

Kendrick’s blood ran like ice in his veins. He blinked in disbelief. “I want a peaceful alliance. I told you that from the beginning.”

“I know. There are those who believe that and wish to become allies.”

“But others doona.” It was a kick in the stomach that he should’ve expected.

She nodded solemnly. Esha’s golden-amber gaze held regret and sorrow. He knew what was coming, and he wanted to stop her. Because if she didn’t say the words, then everything could stay the same. Yet all he could do was stand there in excruciating agony as she spoke.

“The best thing would be for you to leave. Now,” Esha said. “Those who want you as a friend are trying to dissuade the others from attacking.”

Kendrick fisted his hands as he briefly closed his eyes. There was already a war brewing on the dragons’ eastern border. They didn’t need to worry about someone else coming after them. All because he had thought he could cross onto someone else’s land and be welcomed. It didn’t matter how many times he said he wanted peace, there would always be those who thought he lied.

“If any elves cross the border, we will attack,” he cautioned her.

Esha swallowed. “That’s another reason. We’re not allowed to go onto your land without reprisal. The Conclave feels the same should apply to any dragon or King who comes onto ours.”

As much as it irked Kendrick, it was only fair. The dragons had wanted to be left alone, and Eurwen and Brandr had guaranteed that. Then the Kings found the dragons and remained on Zora. Instead of continuing that peace, their actions had pushed other beings into fear and attack mode.

“You understand, don’t you?”

He nodded slowly, trying to find his voice in the emotions clogging his throat. “I’m sorry. For all of this. You’re right. I need to leave immediately. If you think it would help, I can talk to the Conclave myself.”

“It won’t. Not now, at least. I’m not sure it ever will. You must understand, we’ve not seen a dragon in generations. Some have been pushing to send Rangers to Idrias to see if any remained.”

“Doona do that. Make sure you tell them that no one can cross. Please,” he pressed.

“I will.”

Kendrick took a step toward her. This wasn’t how he’d wanted their time to end. He’d assumed he had at least one more day. How he wished he could halt time. This could be the last time he saw Esha, the last time he touched her, held her. Kissed her. He had one chance to do and say everything he’d thought he had a day to do. There wasn’t time for pretty words. Just the simple truth.

Would it be enough? He prayed it would. But what if it wasn’t? What if she refused him? It was too much for Kendrick to even contemplate, even though there was a real possibility it might happen.

He looked into her eyes and struggled to find the right words, ones that would convey the depth of his feelings. “Before I go, there is something I need to tell you. Do you remember when I said dragons know their mates?”

“Yes.”

“It wasna a lie. I need you to believe that.”

“I do,” she said softly.

Kendrick took her hands in his. He glanced down at them, remembering how it’d felt to hold her in his arms. It seemed like a lifetime ago. When he imagined never touching her again, the agony took his breath away. He pushed that aside and focused on the words. “I found my mate in you. Before you argue,” he said when she parted her lips to speak, “I know what I feel. You may think it’s too soon, but I would argue that we’ve been through a lot in a short time. We fought side by side, opened up about ourselves and our people, and shared our bodies. You know there’s something between us. You felt it, too, or you wouldna have come to me.”

“I’m not denying it. To do so would be to belittle the best night of my life.” She smiled, though it held a note of sadness. “But that’s all it can be. One night.”

“There could be more. So much more.” He was reaching for anything, even as he felt himself tumbling into an abyss of darkness and anguish.

“If we had met under different circumstances, and if we were different people, I would say you’re right. But we aren’t. You are a dragon. I’m an elf.”

He was losing her. He could feel it. “We need more time.”

“Our time is over. You must leave now to prevent a war, and I have a duty to help others calm those who want to cross into Idrias.”

“I love you, Esha. Come with me,” he said in a last-ditch effort to keep them together.

Esha looked at the ground and shook her head as she pressed her lips together. “You’re asking me to leave my land, give up my position, and forfeit everything I know and love to go to a place I’m not welcome.”

“You’d be with me.”

She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. “My place is here. Your place is with your people. Please, Kendrick. Go. Now.”

He could do nothing but stand there as she pulled her hands out of his and walked away. “Esha!” he called. But she didn’t slow.

Kendrick watched her walk away, each step feeling like the turn of a dull knife being shoved into his heart. He was a dragon of great power, yet he had never felt so helpless, so…powerless.

“If you change your mind, you know where to find me!” he shouted after her. Then, in a whisper, he added, “Look back at me. Please, look back at me.”

She entered the forest without a backward glance.

Kendrick looked around in a daze, hardly believing that his mate had just left him. He contemplated taking Esha and convincing her of his love, but he knew how ridiculous that sounded. He shifted and thought about flying to the cities to talk to anyone who would listen, but he would likely only make things worse. Esha was right. The only thing he could do was leave, even though it killed him to do it.

He spread his wings and took to the air. As he rose, he spotted the Ranger camp. He wondered if Esha was looking up through the trees at him now. But the thought only brought him more pain. Kendrick turned his gaze to the east and flew fast to the border. He didn’t pay attention to the landscape below him. He didn’t look for the invisible entity who had attacked both dragons and elves. All because he was drowning in anguish and heartache.

When he flew through the barrier that separated the dragon lands from the elves’, he wasn’t surprised to find Con on patrol. Con’s gold scales flashed in the sunlight. As soon as he saw Kendrick, he headed toward him. The last thing Kendrick wanted to do was talk, but the sooner he got it over with, the sooner he could be alone. Kendrick landed and shifted.

When Con arrived, he did the same. The King of Dragon Kings took one look at him and frowned. “What happened?”

Kendrick ran a hand down his face. “Too much. No’ enough.”

For the next thirty minutes, he relayed everything that had happened since his last check-in, including the nightwraith attack.

“Bloody hell,” Con muttered. He glanced away as he shook his head. Then his black gaze settled on Kendrick. “Leaving was your only option. We doona need a war with another group.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“I know you’re hurting, brother. I remember the pain of no’ having my mate well.”

“Aye, but you and Rhi are together now. I lost my chance with my mate,” Kendrick argued .

Con stared at him silently for a long moment. “Let things settle down with the elves. We’ll try again.”

Kendrick was suffering now, and Con wanted him to wait? Most likely years. How would he survive? “They’re right. We shouldna be allowed to cross without the same retaliation we threaten them with.”

“I could argue that Erith created this realm for dragons and no’ anyone else.”

“Be that as it may, other beings are here. We might be the strongest, or we may no’, but that doesna mean we can pick and choose what we want to apply to us.”

Constantine wiped all emotion from his face. “Do you want the same thing that happened on Earth to happen here? Do you want the dragons fighting for their lives again?”

“You know I doona,” Kendrick snapped.

“Should we allow the children with magic to continue being slaughtered? Do we stand idly by and do nothing as other individuals with magic run for their lives so they are no’ killed or enslaved?”

“Nay, we shouldna. But in helping those people, we’re going onto their land. We shouldna be surprised when they fight back.”

Con sighed. “Nay, we shouldna.”

Kendrick was tired of talking about this. “Please tell me you’ve heard from Merrill.”

“Nothing. Brandr has checked in with Eurwen as he continues his trek around the realm. He’s no’ seen or heard anything about Merrill.” He paused. “You should come to Cairnkeep and relay all this information to Eurwen.”

“I’ve been away from my post for too long. Thank you for covering for me.”

Con studied him. “Everything you learned about the elves needs to be shared with others.”

“I know. I just need…a few days.”

“Of course.”

Kendrick waited for Con to leave, but the King of Dragon Kings remained. “I’ll be fine. I just want to be alone.”

“You know we’re here for you.”

“I do.”

With that, Con shifted and flew away. Kendrick breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to dragon form and took to the skies. He made a pass along the border, doing his patrol. He tried not to look across or think about Esha, but he was as successful with that as attempting to stop his heart from beating. After two passes, he gave up and went to sit on the cliff.

Kendrick returned to his human form and let his feet dangle over the side of the rock face as heat waves rippled across the land. He felt something beside him and turned his head to see the Pink.

Ceri unfurled a small wing and touched his arm with it, her emerald eyes meeting his.

“Thank you for going to Cairnkeep,” he said.

He heard a snort in his head. Then she said, “ Someone had to watch your back.”

“I knew I’d win you over.” He tried for a teasing tone, but it fell flat.

The Pink tucked her wing against her body and settled beside him.

Kendrick’s gaze drifted toward Esha’s location as he sank deeper into depression.