Free The Lady of the Storm - 2 by Kathryne Kennedy Page A

crafted on the ceiling above, with wings spread wide and claws outstretched. And although he’d only seen them from a distance, he knew the dragons had been brought with the elven lords when they’d opened that door between the worlds.
    “It… moves,” breathed Cecily as she continued to stare about her. “Look, Giles, the dolphin is jumping through the waves. And, ho, that seal is evading that shark and making him angry.” Her eyes widened as she tilted her head farther back and stared at the ceiling. “Those dragons are battling one another… the black one is breathing fire, and the blue… that is Breden’s dragon-steed, Kalah. I’d heard that he belches lightning…” She shuddered, quickly pulling her gaze down from the scene above.
    Giles rose and approached her horse. Her face had gone white. “What is it?”
    She shook her head, her lower lip trembling. “I wielded lightning once. It’s deadly. And so powerful.”
    “When you escaped from Firehame?”
    She nodded.
    “And that is why you have turned your back on your magic?”
    “No one should be able to hold that much power. It makes you feel…”
    “Frightened?”
    She smiled at that, too sadly for his liking. “No, Giles Beaumont. It makes you long for more. It makes you want to destroy, just because you can.”
    He did not know what to say. Perhaps he knew the young lady’s habits from watching her all these years, but he suddenly realized he really didn’t know her at all.
    Giles held up his arms to her and she allowed him to help her off the horse. Her legs wobbled beneath her, so his hands lingered on her shoulders to keep her from falling. Or so he told himself. In truth, he enjoyed the feeling that touching her always seemed to excite in him.
    “You are not used to riding so long in the saddle.” His voice surprised him. Low, husky, as if he spoke to one of his lovers.
    She looked up at him and damn if he didn’t think he’d drown in her eyes.
    She licked her lips.
    He would not kiss her. Thomas had forbidden any familiarity with his daughter. Giles’s own ambition of working for the Rebellion made the act disastrous. Pretty girls had always gotten him into trouble, but not this time. The stakes were too high.
    Giles dropped his arms and broke whatever spell had fallen between them. He turned and saw to the mounts, removing their saddles and spreading the blankets on the sandy floor near the fire. He frowned, and then set the blankets on opposite sides of the fire. ’Twas a sad thing when he couldn’t trust himself to sleep next to the minx.
    Cecily didn’t comment on his actions, just settled herself atop one of the blankets when he finished arranging them. From his pouch he withdrew some dried fish and journey cakes lumpy with nuts and berries, and handed them to her while he fetched water from a small spring near the back of the cave. By the time he’d finished watering the horses, Cecily had finished her meal, removed her hat, and unplaited her hair.
    Giles settled himself on his blanket and surreptitiously watched her while he ate his meal. She drew a comb through her hair, and although the black strands lacked the white color of the elven, it appeared to sparkle with a silver luster at her every movement. He wanted to fill his hands with the silken stuff and bury his face in it.
    Damn it.
    He brushed the crumbs from his lap and drank greedily from his flask.
    Another glance across the fire, and he saw the tips of her slightly pointed ears as she combed her hair back from her face. Cecily always kept her ears covered with her hair by means of tightly binding it down in the back. The rare sight of them made him feel as if he’d glimpsed some forbidden flesh.
    He shifted where he sat.
    Lud, he’d seen her naked more times than he could count. A bit of softly spiked ear should not have bothered him. Perhaps it was due to their new understanding of each other, or perhaps to their circumstances… but now that he pondered it…