Legacy of the Curse by Deborah Grace White

Author:Deborah Grace White [White, Deborah Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925898330
Publisher: Luminant Publications
Published: 2020-06-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jocelyn’s first thought on waking was that she was very glad to have purchased the traveling cloaks. Even with hers wrapped tightly around her, the chill of the morning air seemed to have seeped into her bones.

She sat up slowly, trying to shake off the fog of sleep. She couldn’t remember anything distinct, but she was certain she had been dreaming of Princess Sarai. She sighed. She had enough troubles of her own, without borrowing any from the long-dead royal.

She glanced over at Kincaid, still deeply asleep on the other side of the circle created by Elddreki’s body. He looked peaceful, but there was something about his posture, perhaps the way his hand rested on his sword next to him, that suggested that he would be ready to spring into action the moment he was roused.

His auburn hair had flopped over his forehead, partially covering one eye, and she resisted the temptation to smooth it back. He lay on top of his traveling cloak, one corner of it folded up over his legs, his lean but muscular arms exposed to the cold and, she admitted to herself, to her clandestine scrutiny. She turned away from him with a sigh. He was as devastatingly attractive—and as off limits to her—as ever.

Her gaze traveled out over Loch Arine, and she pushed up onto her knees, captivated by the beautiful sight. The water was a steely gray in the early morning, still and flat and impossibly deep. She hadn’t noticed it the night before, but dense clumps of bushes grew close to the water in many places, laden with flowers of a deep yellow. The pleasant color stood out strongly against the slate of the water.

The loch was an elongated shape, stretching west to east. They were at its northwestern tip, and it was no great distance to the southern bank. But she thought it would take an hour or two to ride the length of the inlet to reach Arinton on the eastern tip.

And then, the sea.

She smiled at the thought. She had been to Kyona’s coast on a number of occasions, including visiting the seaside towns where each of her parents had grown up. But she had a feeling the coastline in this cold and rugged eastern region would be wilder, more impressive.

She turned to glance at Elddreki and jumped dramatically. The dragon was still curled up in his usual sleeping position, but his eyes were wide open and fixed on her in unabashed observation.

“Elddreki!” hissed Jocelyn, putting a hand to her heart. “You startled me.”

“How peculiar,” said Elddreki. “I neither moved nor spoke.”

Jocelyn disregarded the comment. “How long have you been watching me?” she asked accusingly.

“Quite some time,” said Elddreki, his tone conversational. “Since before you awoke.” He tilted his head to the side. “Is that unnerving?”

“Yes,” said Jocelyn shortly. “And not very polite.”

“But you were just watching Kincaid while he slept,” Elddreki pointed out.

Jocelyn colored. The observation was so unanswerable she made no attempt to answer it.

“You have a curious look in your eyes when you watch him,” mused Elddreki.

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