Share
1397
Alana sighed, then nodded. "Of course we're serious. We take care of our friends."
Taloni looked dumbstruck. Her mouth fell open and she gaped at them. She looked at him, then her, then back at him. Her mouth moved soundlessly, as though she wanted to speak she just couldn't get the words out. Then she looked up.
"Is that your airship?" She asked.
"Pretty much," Ethan replied. Though technically it belong to Beth's father, and he wasn't sure how Lord Borden would react when he found out his daughter was dead.
"Can I go on it?" Taloni asked.
"Absolutely," Ethan replied.
Taloni looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
* * *
Rachel couldn't help but smile as she watch Taloni practically prance around the Argo. Her enthusiasm was palpable, and her knowledge of airships quite impressive considering she'd never been on one before. She knew the name and function of every rope, sail and control on the entire ship.
"How'd she lear
Bab terkait
TO BE MATED 1398
She took a deep breath and shut that part of herself down instantly. There was zero sense nurturing those thoughts, and even less sense in allowing them to develop into feelings. Yes he was the best man she had ever met, and he cared deeply about his friends, and he had a certain animal magnetism; but his heart clearly lay elsewhere. She had no bond with him, and no interest in joining a harem.She put it out of her mind."So what are you going to do?" she finally asked."Taloni made a pretty compelling case that bonding is just as intimate and binding as marriage vows. Maybe if I would've made an honest woman out of Alana, Beth would still be alive right now."Rachel cocked her head to one side. "You think Alana is dishonest?""Oh, sorry," Ethan said. "It's slang where I come from. It means to marry someone.""Your world seems like an interesting place.""Yeah, something like that.""I guess congratulations are in order then,"
TO BE MATED 1399
A "shocking" development* * *Kendra looked around the tavern and rolled her eyes. It was full of slightly drunk, slightly unhappy, and very irritable men. There was a roaring fire in the hearth, wrought iron chandeliers lighting the room, and enough beer and mead flowing to keep the patrons from remembering their woes.She shifted in her seat to resettle her clothes. She'd chosen some simple peasant attire to blend in, but it weren't as comfortable as what she preferred. She adjusted her jet black hair to keep her eyes off her face so she could listen in peace.She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened for all the conversations in the bar. It was a cacophony, but also a good way to stay informed."Lord Delmar just signed a treaty with the Marcadians""The crops this year have been great.""My crop was hit by locusts.""I wish the emperor would do something about the-""The emperor is just a puppet."
TO BE MATED 1400
"Lord Delmar has had some troubles with a young dragon recently. Given your history, I thought I could persuade you to come out of retirement.""Still listening," She succeeded in not reacting, though it was a struggle. She had heard about the bounty and been sorely tempted, even though the reward was a pittance compared to her usual fee."A young, steel-gray dragon and his wood elf companion have managed to elude Lord Delmar's men for nearly two months now. They assaulted and murdered several of his guards and slaughtered nearly a whole airship crew he sent after them. The dragon was also implicated in the death of an innocent girl less than a week ago."Kendra grimaced; he knew how to push her buttons. "Lord Delmar eh? Rumor has it he's working with a dragon.""Is that a crime?""You didn't answer the question," she observed."No, I didn't," he replied simply. "Are you interested? Lord Delmar is willing to pay double your usual fee. Quadruple, if you bring the dragon in alive.""Ali
TO BE MATED 1401
"I did," She poked her head over the railing and glanced in Raklan's direction. "However, someone threw your barrels overboard after you left."There was quite a commotion as Ethan, Alana, and Rachel all turned to chew out Raklan. Hailey tuned them out as she waged war within herself.On the one hand, the proverbial devil on her shoulder was making a very compelling case. If they wanted to rescue Taloni - and get killed in the process - why should she care? They would do it anyway and she would just be helping them do what they wanted. Shouldn't friends do that? Besides, she did owe them a favor, and this might count...On the other hand, she'd be giving them the tools they needed to commit suicide. It was like giving a loaded gun to someone who was suicidal. It was like giving a bomb-vest to a known terrorist.She shouldn't do it.Then she thought about her former owner...Her hand once again moved to rest over her stomach where the scar lingered. If anyone deserved to die, it was th
TO BE MATED 1402
"Lord Delmar had someone track me down and hire me to take it out. He offered double my usual rate; quadruple if I took them alive. I'll split it with you."Falkaan whistled. "Deal. I saw the dragon fly north five days ago, his airship - with the wood elf - left the day after.""Are you working with any assets?"Falkaan shook his head. "No, unless you count Mr. Damon. He's one of the best airship pilots I've ever met, but couldn't fight his way out of a burlap sack.""You and I versus a vicious dragon?""Just like old times."Kendra laughed. "You'd know about old times wouldn't you?"Falkaan ignored her jab, "Unfortunately, it's not just the dragon and the wood elf anymore," and then he described the dragon's flame-haired companion and her parentage."Lord Delmar's daughter?" Kendra mused, then whistled. "How in Illuminar's name could a dragon have persuaded a Lord's daughter to follow him willingly?""Unknown," Falkaan shrugged. "The dragon hasn't been here long enough for a will-bre
TO BE MATED 1403
"What?" She asked."Taloni," he said. The merry mood faded slightly, but didn't leave altogether. Her smile faltered, but remained nevertheless.She nodded. "Yeah.""I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bond with her. I wasn't even awake when it happened.""I know, but the question remains: what now?""I don't know," he said. "She made a really good case that bonding is just as binding as marriage, maybe more so. I never planned to be married to two women, I just find myself..."Semi-married to two of us?" she offered.He nodded. "If I wasn't bonded to Taloni, I'd get down on one knee with a ring right now."Alana looked very confused. "Why in Illuminar's name would you do that?""It's how we propose marriage where I come from."Alana's mouth fell open. "You would marry me?"Suddenly Ethan felt a little embarrassed, though he wasn't sure why. "Uh, yeah. I mean, assuming you were willing."Her smile would've cracked the room in half if it was any wider."But what about Taloni?" Ethan asked.Her
TO BE MATED 1404
She well recalled the first time she'd had sexual thoughts about Ethan, just before they'd left Gralden to rescue Beth. She had been nearly mortified by the idea of being intimate with anyone, especially Ethan. Now she imagined him making love to another woman and it didn't bother her much, if at all.Well, it bothered her that it didn't bother her.It was almost the opposite.Somewhere deep down, she liked the idea that Ethan was so virile, so potent that she alone wasn't enough to satisfy him. She almost wanted to 'show him off' to other women; to see him take them to bed and watch him do unspeakable things to them while she waited for her turn.The innocent wood elf alternately screwed her eyes shut and forced them wide open trying to erase the thought from her head.It wasn't working.She was finally distracted by a slight creak on the stairs behind her. Hailey had made it down the stairs with nary a sound and appeared to be sneaking. She glanced around and when she saw Alana, she
TO BE MATED 1405
Alana produced a small leather coin purse from her belt. "Anthiel gave me enough silver from the ship's treasury to get what we need."Ship's treasury?" he asked. Other than the cube of gold - which was safely hidden in the captain's cabin - he couldn't feel any other gold on board."Yeah, apparently Lord Borden loaded us up with a bunch of silver before we left Gralden." Alana explained. "He thought you'd have an easier time letting go of silver than gold."He nodded, then started down the gangplank. His foot had left the gangplank and was about to set foot on the metal moorings when-BZZZT!!Ethan jumped backwards and shouted in pain. A white-hot jolt had shot through his foot. For a split second, he thought they were being attacked and felt his flight-or-fight reflexes kick in.Then he realized what it was.It was a static electric shock.He nearly knocked Alana and Hailey over as he landed back on the wide gangplank. Everyone was staring at him looking extremely confused."That wa
Bab terbaru
