Claimed by Ice by Eris Sage

Author:Eris Sage
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

It had been childish and silly of her to run out like that, but she’d needed to be away from him, hadn’t wanted to hear his apologies, promises that it would never happen again.

She’d go back soon enough, once she’d regathered her wits and was ready to face him. But for now, she walked in the public garden close to the building. She’d stumbled on the place by accident, a little oasis in the city, and she found that visits calmed and renewed her. As she walked through, occasionally stopping to smell one of the lush, perfect flowers, she wondered where it had come from. The place seemed otherworldly, reminded her of him, in fact.

Her heart skidded at the thought, and she turned to head back, deciding that the longer she waited the harder it would be to face him.

She turned, but was stopped by a greeting.

“Hello,” a man said.

Jane looked to the source of the sound and her gaze landed on a tall, handsome man. A dragon, she could instantly see, his dark hair, dark eyes, and bronzed skin too perfect to belong to a human. She’d never seen him before but something about him was familiar, though she couldn’t place what.

“Hello,” she replied.

“You come here often?” he asked.

Jane smiled, and the man’s expression turned quizzical.

“Did I say something I shouldn’t have? I still struggle with the nuances of human communication,” he said.

“It’s fine. I’m Jane Graves, by the way,” she said, walking over, hand extended.

“Jane? Exander’s Jane?”

Jane faltered for a moment, knowing she would have remembered this man if she’d met him.

He smiled, kindness lighting his eyes. “I am Ormr Vale. Exander’s father.”

She wondered how she’d missed it before because it seemed so obvious now. Lighten his hair, add a few swirls of blue to the brown in his eyes, and he’d be Exander’s doppelganger the resemblance was so strong.

“Pleased to meet you,” Jane said.

“Would you mind taking a stroll with me?” he asked.

“Of course not,” Jane said, falling into step beside him.

“My wife commissioned these gardens,” he said.

“Really? They’re beautiful,” Jane replied.

A fleeting moment of pain crossed his face. “She never got to see them. But I made sure they were built exactly as she wished. Did Exander bring you here?” he asked, glancing at her.

She shook her head. “I just stumbled across them one day.”

“Then they worked as she intended. She always thought they were a nice little surprise for city-weary people.”

“They are,” Jane said lamely.

“So has my son been nice?” he asked, brows lifting as he shifted the subject with ease.

“Umm…” Jane started and then trailed off, not sure how to respond.

“That means no, I take it,” he said.

“It’s been interesting,” Jane finally settled on.

“Interesting. Not a word that many have used to describe my son.”

Jane paused and then turned questioning eyes on Ormr.

“He has quite the reputation, you know? Cold, distant, boring.”

“Boring?” Jane said incredulously, starting to walk again. “Cold, yes, distant, yes, boring? Anything but,” she said.

But she went quiet again when she saw her companion’s amused expression.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.