The Dragon Shifter’s Desire by Harmony Raines
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Larisa
She wanted to stay. If they didn’t leave, they wouldn’t have to face the future. She wouldn’t have to find a way to get to the dragon isle. She wouldn’t have to risk losing Ivan.
His taste was still on her lips and her skin tingled at the memory of his touch. She wrapped her arms around her body and stroked her skin as if she could conjure him there.
“Larisa.” Gilliam’s voice made her jump and she spun around to face him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s okay.” She wrapped her arms around her body to shield herself from the cool evening air.
Ivan was inside with Karros and Zara. He’d offered to cook their evening meal with fresh vegetables picked from Gilliam’s garden and a rabbit-like creature the fae had caught in the forest. The scent coming from the kitchen was incredible, although Larisa’s troubled thoughts threatened to chase away her appetite.
“I wanted to talk to you alone.” His voice was so low she could barely hear him speak.
Gilliam didn’t want Ivan to hear what he had to say.
“I’d love to see the orchard. Zara said the fruits are sweet and juicy. Like honey.” She inclined her head away from the palace and Gilliam smiled his thanks and led the way.
“I’ve tended these fruit trees all my life. I planted the first trees when I came to live here and have slowly added more over the years. I used to make wine from them and once a year I’d take it to the Midnight Palace and sell it. They drank it at the solstice.”
“You don’t do that anymore?” Larisa followed him across a courtyard and through a gate set in a wall. From there, they crossed an overgrown lawn that was going to seed.
“No.” He shook his head. “I have enough money to live off and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more reclusive.”
“You’ve lived a lonely life, Gilliam.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Once Ivan decides what to do with the treasure, will you leave here?”
“It’s my home,” Gilliam answered simply.
“People move.” The first stars appeared in the sky. They looked different from the ones she was used to seeing and the sudden realization that she truly was in another world hit her hard.
“Are you all right?” Gilliam stopped walking and placed his hand on her upper arms as she swayed.
“Yes.” She swallowed down the fear that bloomed inside her. “I just felt a little...” She put her hand to her temple.
“Far from home?” Gilliam asked.
“Yes. Far from home.” She stared up at the sky. “This is all new to me.”
“And you were trying to persuade me to leave?” He arched an eyebrow at her.
“Will you at least come and stay with us in Wishing Moon Bay?”
“Is that where you intend to live?” Gilliam asked as they continued their journey.
“Ivan is married to the hotel restaurant.” She chuckled. “I assume he has room in his life for a wife.”
“He has plenty of room.” Gilliam hesitated before he added, “But Ivan’s destiny might not be to stay at the hotel.”
“I’m not going to ask him to leave Wishing Moon Bay and come live in my world. It’s no place to raise dragon shifter babies.” She placed her hand on her belly. “If we’re blessed with babies.”
“I think you’ll have plenty of babies. But those babies belong on the dragon isle.” They reached the wooden gate leading to the orchard and Larisa reached out, needing the gate for support as his words hit her.
“Ivan’s home is in Wishing Moon Bay,” she said firmly.
“No, his life is in Wishing Moon Bay. But his home is the dragon isle.” Gilliam’s eyes darkened. “If your plan works, there will be a seismic shift in power. Someone has to step in and stop any of Argothorn’s corrupt friends from taking over. There is no point switching out one bad leader for another.”
“I get what you’re saying. But that has to be Ivan’s choice.” She blew the air out of her cheeks. Being the mate of a dragon lord was not something she relished. How would they deal with an outsider coming in and telling them what to do?
And Ivan was an outsider. His father might have come from the dragon isle, but Ivan was a stranger to the place and the people.
“Ivan might not have a choice,” Gilliam told her.
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” They had reached the orchard, the scent of the ripe fruit was intoxicating as the breeze rustled the leaves.
“Partly.” He reached for a sheath attached to his belt and for a second, she froze. Had he brought her here to kill her? Her lack of support and enthusiasm toward Ivan taking on the role of dragon lord had prompted Gilliam to take action. To get rid of any obstacle in the way of what Gilliam saw as Ivan’s destiny. “I also wanted to give you this.”
The air left her lungs in a whoosh as Gilliam unclipped the sheath and handed it to her. “What is it?”
“A knife.”
“A knife.” Her hand trembled as she unlaced the sheath and curled her fingers around the bone hilt.
“I found it in the tunnel when I helped Andor move his treasure.” He stared at the blade as she pulled the knife free of the leather sheath.
“It’s beautiful.” Larisa held it out in front of her and the last rays of the sun glanced off it. The metal glimmered like fire. It was as if it were alive. She looked closer. It reminded her of Ivan’s dragon’s scales when the light caught them.
“I believe it belonged to the elves. If they ever existed. I’ve lived alone for so long that sometimes it’s difficult to tell where the lines between real and make-believe are blurred.” He tilted his head to one side. “Whether the elves were real or not, I think this belongs with you.”
She frowned. “I’m not an elf.”
“No, you’re not. But if you are going to convince Argothorn that you are, then this might just tip the balance in your favor.”
“Why didn’t you give me this in front of Ivan?” Larisa sheathed the knife but didn’t clip it to her belt.
“The knife is made to pierce dragon skin. It’s long and thin, just right for slipping between dragon scales and piercing their flesh.” Gilliam held out his hand and then jerked it upwards before twisting his hand sharply.
Larisa forced herself to hold onto the knife even though she wanted to throw it into the gathering darkness and never see it again. “Are you asking me to kill Argothorn? Is that your real plan?”
“No!” He held up his hands and shook his head. “But I also don’t want you to die. Ivan needs you. Ivan deserves you. He deserves a family and children. Children who should be safe with both parents. Not orphaned because of wicked selfish deeds.”
“This is for my protection.” Her eyes pricked with tears as the full extent of the danger she was about to put herself in was exposed for the first time. She’d been a fool to agree to Gilliam’s plan so quickly and without enough thought.
Larisa straightened her back. Yet this was how it was supposed to be. How it had to be. They couldn’t live happily now. Not when the dragon lord must have sensed the pendant’s presence.
“There is another way,” Gilliam said as if he’d read her thoughts.
“Which is?”
He held out his hand, palm upwards. “You leave the pendant here and never think of it again. Go live your life, the two of you. Live a long and happy life with your children and forget about dragons.”
“You want me to hand over the pendant?” Her hand closed around it where it lay in her pocket. Was this his plan all along? But why give her the knife?
Gilliam shook his head. “No. I don’t want you to hand over the pendant.” His eyes flashed with anger and his hand curled into a fist. “I want you to go over to the dragon isle and take down the murderer who killed my friend. I want you to crush him and leave him in the dirt, broken and bleeding.”
Larisa stepped backward, her eyes wide as Gilliam unleashed his fury. “Then that’s what we should do.” She brushed her hand over her eyes. “Thank you for the gift. I’ll keep it hidden from Ivan. This is going to be hard enough for him without the idea of me trying to kill a dragon.”
“I believe in you, Larisa. I believe this is your fate.” Gilliam’s anger had gone as swiftly as it came. “And I’ve decided... When this is over, I will come visit you in Wishing Moon Bay.”
“Not the dragon isle?” Larisa asked. “Have you changed your mind about us conquering the dragons entirely?”
“No, I haven’t changed my mind, but I promised Andor that I would never go back there. If a fae is going to start a war with the dragons, it’s not going to be me.” Gilliam rolled his shoulders and turned away from her. “Come, I promised you a taste of the fruit.”
“Maybe you should make some wine and Ivan can sell it in the restaurant.” She followed behind him and stood at his shoulder when he reached up and plucked two of the ripe red fruits from the tree.
“I like that idea.” He nodded and handed her a fruit. “There is one last thing, Larisa.”
“Why am I not surprised?” She sniffed the fruit as she cupped it in her hand.
“When I pass on, I want you to take over the palace here.”
Her hand dropped to her side. “I’m not a fae. Surely this should belong to your people?”
“I want to give it to you.” He chuckled. “Maybe you could persuade that dragon shifter of yours to spend a little of his treasure renovating the place.”
“If that’s what you want. Although you should give it to Karros or Elise. They would take good care of it.” She hooked her arm through his. “They have both followed their heart when their family wanted them to marry for money and status. I think that should be rewarded. Plus, I don’t think Ivan will want to visit here very often if he has to take the potion to conceal himself.”
“Maybe you’re right.” He lifted his fruit to his mouth. “Taste it. You might change your mind and want the orchard all for yourself.”
Larisa bit into the soft flesh and the juice burst into her mouth. She chewed slowly, savoring the taste and texture. “It’s incredible. Like honey fruit. No wonder Zara liked it so much.”
“Ah, bear shifters and honey. They are such simple creatures next to the fae and the dragons,” Gilliam said dreamily.
“Don’t you envy them?”
“Yes,” Gilliam chuckled. “I think I do.”
They strolled back to the palace. Instead of going to the kitchen, Larisa went straight to the room Gilliam had prepared for them to sleep in. Her pack lay next to the bed, which hadn’t been slept in for decades. She sat down on the mattress, which thankfully was not musty, and pulled her pack onto her lap.
Her hand trembled as she held the bone handle and pulled the knife from the sheath. “I hope I never have to use you.”
Shoving it back into the carved leather sheath, she buried the knife at the bottom of her pack. She had no plans to tell Ivan about it. But she did plan to take it with her.
For self-defense. Against a dragon shifter who was a known murderer.
Would she survive the encounter or would Argothorn claim another victim?