Dragon's Oath

“You have been frowning since we left the House of Night,” Bryan said, and then clucked to the pair of matched grays that were pulling the buggy. “Hey there, easy!” he soothed, glancing sideways at Anastasia. “See, even the horses can feel your frown.”

“I am not frowning. I’m concentrating,” she said, frowning. “But you’re right about the horses acting skittish.”

He grinned at her. “I’m right about more things than horse behavior.”

Anastasia turned her body so she could look directly at him. “Has anyone ever explained to you the difference between confidence and arrogance?”

“If I say no are you going to lecture me?”

She hesitated before speaking and then said, “No, I don’t think I will.”

They rode on in silence and after a short time Dragon sighed. “Okay, lecture me. I like it. Really.”

Anastasia opened her mouth to tell him that she didn’t give a hoot about what he liked or disliked, but first he added, “Truth be told, I’d listen to you say anything. Your voice is pretty.” His eyes met hers briefly. “Almost as pretty as you.”

He sounded young and silly, but when she looked into his eyes she saw a depth of kindness that had her cheeks warming. “Oh, well, thank you. And thank you for the sunflowers, too. I’m assuming you’re the one who has been leaving them for me,” she said, looking quickly away.

“I am, and you are welcome. Did you like them? Really?”

“Yes. Really,” she said, still looking away from him. Flustered at her own reaction, she tried to figure out if it was this Dragon she was responding to or the older version who still haunted her thoughts.

There was another long, silent stretch between them, and then he blurted, “They don’t hate me.”

Anastasia raised her brows. “They?”

“The thirteen girls and two boys.”

“Oh, they. And how do you know that? I didn’t tell you who they were.”

He smiled. “Doesn’t matter. No one’s been hating me. You know what that means?”

“My spell didn’t work?” she said, adding a smile so he knew she was kidding.

Dragon laughed. “You know our spell worked just fine. It means I’m not so bad.”

“I never said you were.”

“No, you said I’m an arrogant misdeeder.”

“I don’t think misdeeder is a word,” she said.

“I just made it up,” he said. “I’m good with words.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Boasting. Again.”

He laughed again. “You looked up my records, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“You did. And you found out I’m almost as talented at schoolwork as I am at sword work.”

“Arrogant…” She breathed a long sigh and looked away from him so he couldn’t see her smile.

“How is it arrogant if it’s the truth?”

“It’s arrogant if you boast, whether it’s the truth or not,” she said.

“Sometimes a vampyre has to do some boasting to get a priestess to notice him,” he said.

Still not looking at him, Anastasia gave a little snort. “You aren’t a vampyre.”

“Not yet I’m not.”

“And you have lots of females who notice you.”

“I don’t want lots of females,” he said, all teasing gone from his voice. “I want you.”

She did look at him then. His brown eyes were honest and unwavering. This night his hair wasn’t tied back and it framed his face, making his firm jaw seem more pronounced. He was dressed in a simple, unadorned black shirt and pants. She knew the color was supposed to blend with the darkness around them, but to her it made him look older, stronger, and as mysterious as the limitless night.

“I wish you’d say something,” he said.

Her gaze went from his broad chest quickly up to his eyes. “I–I’m not sure what to say.”

“You could tell me I have a chance with you.”

“Am I just a conquest? Something for you to win, like the title of Sword Master?”

He pulled the buggy up short and turned to face Anastasia. “That’s a load of bullocks! Why would you say that?”

“You’re competitive,” she countered. “You have a predator’s skills. You chase. You catch. You conquer. I’m probably the only female in quite some time who hasn’t fallen at your feet to worship you. So you want me because I’m a challenge.”

“I want you because you’re beautiful and smart, and beautiful and talented, and beautiful and kindhearted. Or at least I thought you were kindhearted.” He blew out a long, frustrated breath. “Anastasia, the spell we cast was supposed to draw the truth about me. So, I’ll admit to being arrogant.” He shrugged. “I think with my skills a bit of arrogance is warranted. But I want you to understand that me wanting you has nothing to do with conquest or predatory skills.”

His brown eyes captured hers and she saw hurt, not anger, in their depths. Slowly, she reached across the space between them and touched his arm. “You’re right. You don’t deserve that from me. I’m sorry. Bryan.” She sighed and shook her head, correcting herself, “I mean Dragon. I’m a little confused about what I feel for you.”

He covered her hand with his. “You can call me Bryan. I like it when you say my name.”

“Bryan,” she said softly, and felt him tremble under her hand. “I didn’t expect someone like you in my life.”

“It’s because I’m a Sword Master, and going to be a Warrior, isn’t it?”

She nodded silently.

“Why does that bother you?”

“You’re going to think it’s foolish,” she said.

He took her hand from his arm and laced his fingers with hers. “No, I won’t. I give you my promise. Tell me.”

“I was raised a Quaker. Do you know what that means?”

“Not really. I’ve heard of them. Aren’t they religious fanatics?”

“Some are. My family wasn’t as bad as the rest of our community. They—they loved me,” she said hesitantly, remembering. “Even though the community made them shun me after I was Marked and then Changed. But I still get letters from my mother. She sends them secretly. She still loves me. I know I’ll always love her.”

“That doesn’t seem foolish. That seems loyal and faithful and kind,” he said.

She smiled. “That’s not the foolish part. What’s foolish is that there are still pieces of me that are very much Quaker. I don’t think that will ever change.”

“You mean you don’t worship Nyx?”

“No, Nyx is my Goddess. For as long as I can remember I’ve felt connected to the earth in a special way, a different way than my family. I think that’s how I found my path to the Goddess, though my love of the earth.” Anastasia brushed the hair back from her face and continued, “What I’m trying to tell you is that when I was human I was a pacifist. I’m still a pacifist. I think I always will be.”

She saw him blink in surprise, but he didn’t release her hand. “I can’t change the fact that I’m a Sword Master. And I wouldn’t if I could.”

“I know! I don’t mean–”

“Wait, I want to finish. I don’t think me being a Sword Master and you being a pacifist is a bad thing.”

“Even when I tell you I think mercy is stronger than your sword?”

“So is love. So is hate. There are lots of things stronger than my sword.”