“Dragons,” Fallon replied with a nod, his eyes crinkled with excitement.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Laura pulled her hair back and twisted the length of dark waves before wrapping it into a bun. She secured it with some pins before placing her hands on the sink and staring at her reflection.
The rain hadn’t stopped for hours, and though she would have preferred to see the sun, Charon said the clouds helped to hide the dragons.
She looked into her green eyes that were exact replicas of her sister’s and father’s. There hadn’t been time to mourn the loss of her mother and Lacy.
Laura still couldn’t believe they were dead. After all they had done to her, she had wanted to confront them. How many times had she gone over in her head all she wanted to say to them?
Now she would never get that chance. The idea of not getting the anger and helplessness she’d felt at their hands off her chest hurt more than their deaths.
“What kind of person does that say I am?” she asked her reflection.
“You thinking of your mother and sister again?”
She saw Charon leaning against the bathroom doorway in the mirror and nodded. “I so wanted to tell them off.”
“So do it.”
Laura turned to face him. “What? They’re dead, Charon.”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug and said, “I know, but telling them off was no’ going to make them change their minds. It was about you healing. You willna be able to until you say everything you need to say.”
“To the air?”
“Pretend they’re in front of you.”
She’d done it often enough while lying in bed at night. It just seemed so pointless if she couldn’t say the words to their faces. “I’ll think on it.”
The skepticism covering his face told her he didn’t believe a word she said. “Cassie is waiting to take you down to breakfast. She, Elena, and Jane want to talk to you.”
“Are you coming?”
“Laith is going to show me around the nearby mountains so we can pick the best place of attack.”
Laura pushed away from the sink and walked past Charon into the bedroom to grab her hiking boots. “The battle won’t be out there?” she asked, and pointed out the window.
“It’s best to keep the battle as far from the Kings’ home as possible. It’ll still be on their land, just no’ close by.”
“Jason will still know its Dreagan land.”
“Perhaps,” Charon said, a shrewd look in his eyes.
Laura finished putting on her shoes and chuckled. “Have you thought of everything?”
“I’m sure I have no’.”
There was something in his voice that caught her attention. She walked to him and placed a hand on his cheek. “You’re not doubting yourself now, are you?”
“Con assures me the only way a King can be killed is with another King.”
“But?” she urged when he paused.
Charon took her hand and pulled it from his face to cradle before him. “Warriors and Druids can be killed. The selmyr have surrounded Dreagan. The odds of everyone living are slim.”
“That’s the way it is in every war. Why should it change now?”
“Because you’re here.”
Her heart missed a beat. She gazed into his chocolate-colored eyes and wished they had a few more hours alone. “You forget I watched you die. I don’t ever want to see that again. Ever,” she said over him when he tried to talk.
He kissed the hand he held, his mouth lifted in a half smile. “You’re mortal, Laura. I’ll heal from almost anything, but you willna.”
“We can debate this for eternity. You don’t want me to get hurt, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Now that we have that hashed out, we need to realize both of us will be needed in this battle.”
“Stubborn woman,” he murmured before he pulled her into his arms for a slow kiss that set her body on fire and raging out of control.
Laura ended the kiss before she couldn’t and stepped out of his arms. “Get moving, Warrior. You have a battle to plan.”
He gave her a wink and walked out of the room. Only then did she sink onto the bed and drop her head into her hands. How could she help the Druids when she knew nothing about her magic?
She could call it up, and it answered readily enough. But what was she to do with it?
“Bloody hell,” she said.
Charon was right. Sometimes things called for a harsh curse word.
All through the tour of the mountains and glens, Charon couldn’t stop thinking of Laura and their parting words. He was miles away from the mansion, but still he could feel the threads of her magic.
It was as if they were tethered to him, stretching no matter how far he went. Knowing she was still on Dreagan land calmed him.