Free Sorcha's Heart by Debbie Mumford Page B

her nose. Birds warbled in bushes at the water’s edge, and she detected the scurrying pace of a small creature in the undergrowth at her feet. The sun felt warm on her face and she could access her power once again.
    Give it time, she thought. Life will be good again. But she knew she would never be completely happy, not without Caedyrn.
    With a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes and continued to the lake’s edge. Once there, she found a good sized rock, sat down and called Caedyrn to the chosen place. She barely touched his mind before she saw him soaring toward her, at first no larger than an eagle.
    Her heart skipped a beat as he landed gracefully beside the lake. She jumped from her rock perch, ran forward and launched herself at him. Even widespread, her arms couldn’t span his chest.
    He stroked her back with a single claw. “You are so tiny, my love,” he crooned into their link. “I must be careful not to crush you, or burn you with a flame.”
    Tears filled her eyes. “If you did, I would die happy. I’ve missed you so!”
    “ Your fragility concerns me,” he said. “Climb onto my back where I’ll know you’re safe.” She stepped carefully up on his knee and then pulled herself onto his shoulder. She nestled comfortably at the joint where his folded wing met his broad back, and caressed his leathery scales.
    “ What will become of us, Caedyrn?” she asked, leaning her cheek against his shoulder and reveling in his smoky smell.
    “ We will love from afar,” he said. “We are bonded for eternity. I do not know about your human heart, but there can be no other for me.”
    “ Nor for me,” she agreed. “When they are old enough, you will bring the children to meet me?” A painful bubble threatened to steal her breath, making her glad she didn’t have to speak aloud to be understood.
    “ Of course,” he said. “They will be proud to know you, as is the entire aerie. Keeva and her lair mates sing your praises to our children already, though they are still in the shell.”
    The lovers rested quietly in the idyllic setting, content for the moment to be reunited in their thoughts, despite the bustle of the steward and his assistants, who came to ready the site for the king’s comfort.
    When the King and his entourage arrived, Sorcha scrambled down and smoothed her rumpled skirts. She pulled the Heart of Fire from her pocket and double-looped the chain around her neck. The amulet dangled at her breast, an indisputable badge of office.
    “ King Leofric.” She made a low curtsey before rising to make introductions. “Sire, I am proud to present Caedyrn, ambassador of the dragons.”
    Leofric nodded to the dragon without relinquishing eye contact.
    “ Caedyrn, this is King Leofric. I will act as his advisor as the two of you negotiate our treaty.”
    “ An honor, Sire. My Rex will be monitoring our conversations. If I agree to terms, you may be sure the flight, as a whole, agrees as well.”
    Sorcha reveled in the musicality of Caedyrn’s speech, but glancing around she saw that the rest of the king’s entourage found his voice unpleasant. She sighed. She took so much for granted these days, forgetting that her experience was unique.
    The negotiations devoured the daylight hours. Caedyrn, and through him, the Rex, drove a hard bargain with Leofric. Sorcha restrained her desire to protect the flight and argued tirelessly for humanity’s rights. By the end of the day, peace flickered on the edge of reality.
    “ With your permission, Sire,” she said, bowing to Leofric, her voice hoarse from overuse, “King Leofric agrees to maintain a hunting preserve at the northern fringe of the kingdom for the sole use of the flight of dragons. The preserve will be kept stocked at all times and armed knights will patrol the borders to keep poachers at bay.”
    King Leofric nodded, his jaw clenched and mouth grim. Sorcha breathed a sigh of relief. This concession would cost the King dearly, forcing him to