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responsibility for it. It was when we had first met, before we had grown to trust one another.
Essentially, I provoked you into breaking some border treaties with the Elven demesne. They shot you
with a poisoned arrow so that you couldn t shapeshift into the dragon while in their territory. You
still have a scar on your chest where the arrow struck.
Reflexively, he rubbed the broad flat, muscled area of his right pectoral. Immediately, as if his
fingers remembered more than he, they found a small indentation in the flesh. And the second time?
A dark expression shadowed her delicate, triangular face. The second time you almost died.
Again, the story is complicated, but basically you, along with some allies, fought a battle against an
invader, one of the elder Elves who had come from a place called Numenlaur. You had several
broken bones, and probably sustained other internal injuries. You couldn t defend yourself against the
attacking army. Luckily, I was able to get to you in time.
The Elves again. Always, so many of his problems seemed to come down to the bloody Elves.
Going down on one knee, he added larger pieces of wood to the fire. The dry wood caught almost
instantly, and the flames leaped higher, bringing light and heat to the cold night air.
Now you ve healed me again, he said. It seems to have become something of a habit.
The shadow crossed across her expression again. I wasn t able to heal you as much this time as I
had hoped.
Lifting his head, he pinned her with his gaze. What interesting stories you tell, he said softly.
But there is a notable lack of information in each one.
She lifted her chin. Everything I ve told you is true.
I can tell that, Dragos said. But what I want to know is, when were you going to tell me that I
am your mate?
Surprise visibly shook her, along with a resurgence of hope so palpable it was painful to witness.
You remembered?
Earlier, when he d looked at the gold ring he wore and the braided bracelet of hair, he had pieced
the facts together. He was the destination, not part of her journey. He was the reason why she had
climbed the mountain to face him.
He thought again of the broken voice in the night.
Come back. Come back to me.
That had been her voice, calling to him. Astonishment came over him. Realizing the truth had been
a matter of logical deduction, but he hadn t counted on the depth of emotion that had driven her to
confront the dragon. She carried so much passion, so much light.
For him.
I miss my mate with all my heart, and I would do anything or give anything to get him back
again.
She had been talking about him. No one had ever given him such devotion before no one that he
could remember. Over centuries uncounted, they had given him fear and hatred, and sometimes
obeisance, and he had considered all of that his due.
And she had brought him diamonds, sapphires and gold. He stared at the sapphire color of her
eyes and the gold of her hair. His favorite things.
He didn t know he was capable of compassion, until that moment. He said, as gently as he could,
No, I still haven t remembered.
Her gaze widened and drifted away, as if not knowing where to land, because wherever she
looked, all she saw was the same horror.
That look drove through him like a spike.
He stepped over the fire, commanding it not to burn, and obedient to his will, the flames drew
aside. Crouching in front of her, he put a hand underneath her chin, forcing her to look at him. He
asked, Why didn t you say something before now?
She put a hand lightly against his forearm, stroking him, and even amidst his heat and anger, the
action soothed him.
How on earth could I tell you something like that, and hope you would possibly believe me?
she asked. I mean, think a minute you had a difficult time accepting the fact that I brought the gifts
in good faith. How do you think it would have gone down if a total stranger had walked up to you and
said, Oh hi, sorry about your head injury, by the way, I m your mate ?
He had pinned her underneath one claw. He had been fully prepared to kill her as she drew close
to him. He demanded, When did it happen?
Last year. We ve been together fourteen months.
And the building that s under construction?
She moistened her lips. It s a that s another complicated concept.
He growled under his breath. That response is not acceptable any longer.
Sometimes that response is all I can give you, she told him. Your loss of memory is not just
about me, Dragos. There is a lot you can t recall, and I can t just tell you in a sentence or two about
things that are based on years of emotions, commitments, and understandings. She gripped his wrist.
You ve lost memories of an entire life, involving a lot of people. Do you remember what I said
about enemies earlier? Not only is that true, but it s also true about friends. You have friends. You
have people who care about you.
He stared at her.
Widening her eyes, she lifted her shoulders in a shrug. I know, go figure. It s hard to believe,
isn t it?
We ve built a life for ourselves, he said slowly, experimenting with the words.
We are building a life for ourselves, she whispered. And we re not going to give up on it, just
because we ve had a bad couple of days. Or when one of us loses his memories for a while and gets
a little bitey.
His eyes narrowed. What are you talking about?
Never mind, she muttered.
The whole conversation was bizarre, and part of him wanted to reject it out of hand. He was a
loner by nature, and suspicious for many centuries-old reasons.
It crossed his mind again that she could still be manipulating him, somehow, for her own gain.
Setting aside the question of why she would do so, he thought of how she could have done it.
Perhaps she had found a way to cloak all of her lies in some sort of truthspell. Perhaps she was
trying to lure him into some kind of trap. Perhaps she was the trap.
His gaze traveled again to the braid of hair at his wrist, and the gold ring on his finger. As much
as he loved owning jewelry, he had never worn any, until apparently now. And that ring was a
wedding ring.
For any kind of subterfuge to be employed at this sophisticated level, she would have needed to
slip both wedding ring and braid onto his human form before he had been injured, and somehow
gotten him to put a protection spell on the braid.
Really, that entire scenario strained his credulity.
But on the other hand, so did the thought of having a mate.
A wife.
A life full of complicated concepts, involving friendships.
Letting all of those thoughts go, he concentrated on the reality at hand.
The reality was, he held her life literally in one hand, his long fingers resting against the warm,
soft skin underneath her chin. Her pulse beat delicately against his hand, and there was no fear
anywhere in her eyes, or in her scent. She leaned forward into his touch, as if she wanted his hands on
her skin.
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