Yuletide Hearths Pt. 03

Eagerly, Althena and Pryanna pulled her toward them, and Pryanna finally got to meet the two men who had become their everything. And in just a few minutes, she could see that they were just perfect for her friends. They greeted her with warmth and respect, but their attention was always on their women.

It was love between them.

The spell had brought her a god, fearsome and terrifying, but it was all right because her friends had this.

And maybe her dragon god was not so fearsome and terrifying after all.

After meeting Malcolm and Gavnir, she greeted the witch and the brothers, all whom she had gotten to know over the past week, and finally, she walked over to Slyvern.

"You brought me treasures in the very beginning, so I should have know that you were capable of something like this."

His face was still unreadable, but he bent his head just a little in acknowledgement. "I just needed to know what you want. Is this all right? It will not make you sad afterward?"

"Saying goodbye is always sad, but the memories we make tonight will be worth it. Are you going to stay? You look like you might take off at any minute."

"We are out in the open, and noise carries. I will be around in case we draw attention to ourselves."

So he hadn't planned to enjoy himself, but Pryanna suspected that he might if she forced him too.

There was still so much she had to learn about him, but lately, she suspected that the journey would not be such a hardship.

The brothers had been out-of-touch with the more modern traditions, so they taught them the songs and drank and joyously danced around the mountain. When her face was flushed with the heat from alcohol and her stomach in pain from laughing so hard, Pryanna collapsed on one of the benches between

Althena and Cecily. The fires blazed from the large torches to keep them warm, and she wiggled her toes and sighed.

"I have missed the two of you. I have learned about your men, but now I want to hear about you. What have you been doing while I am gone?"

When Althena and Cecily kept silent, she lifted her head and frowned. "Do not hold back on my account! I want to hear of your happiness! Honestly!"

"We have spend much of our time with Rubina and the brothers," Cecily said slowly. "We were worried about you and we wanted to know everything that we could."

Pryanna appreciated their concern. It was unwarranted, but they didn't know that. She didn't know it either. "You don't have to do that anymore. Live your lives. The spring will be here fast enough. Why would you try to hide that from me? I am grateful that my friends love me."

"One of the brothers sensed something about you," Althena stared to say in a hushed tone. "And we have been trying to work it out."

"Work what out?" Pryanna said.

"Slyvern," Cecily said in voice so soft that Pryanna had to strain to hear it. "He only takes virgins."

Rubina suddenly whipped her head around, terror on her face, and she raced toward them. "No," she hissed. "Not here. Not now!"

But it was too late. Guilt and shame swept through her, although, for the life of her, Pryanna didn't know why she should be ashamed. It had been her choice to make, and he had never asked. The emotion dug in, deep, and once it was there, she could not let it go.

She could not breathe.

Slyvern turned slowly, and the fires around them blazed dangerously. "Pryanna," he thundered. He didn't walk or run or even fly. Smoke appeared, and then he was just there. "What is wrong? Why are you feeling like this? What did they do?"

"She's overwhelmed by the alcohol and seeing her friends," Rubina said. "You should give her space."

He stared at her, and memories flashed in her head. They were foggy at best, hands touching her, hands that were not Slyvern, and a voice in her head. A voice that was not his.

It was a night that she never thought about it, a man that she never thought about, but now, the fog began to clear, and she knew why she felt the shame and guilt. "Tell me. Why the guilty? We have done nothing that should make you feel this way."

The feelings intensified, and she dropped her gaze. Why would she feel like this?

She owed Slyvern nothing, but her chest tightened.

"Unless you have touched another."

A cry escaped her, and she nearly fell to her knees.

"You were not a maiden," Slyvern said hoarsely. Releasing her hands, he backed up a few steps as if she'd scorched him.

Impossible, for he was a dragon. What could burn him?

"You let me take you when you were already claimed by another."

His pain and rage crashed over her, and she cried out. "No, wait. I never lied to you. You never asked, and it was none of your business!"

"None of my business? You are my mate!"

"I was not yours then. I didn't even know you, and now, when the spring comes and you release me, am I supposed to not touch another? Should I just be alone my whole life?"

She was gutted, empty, but she would not stew in guilt when she had done nothing wrong. "You, Slyvern, will never give me your heart, and you know it. So what I've done in the past and what I will do in the future have no bearing on right now!"

"No," he said, his voice so cold that the air seemed to drop ten degrees, and then, like that, the fires were out. "Because as of this moment, we are done. I will not take a mate who has been with another man."

"It's a little late for that," she said bitterly.

It gave him pause. "Perhaps, and so we will both come to regret our decision."

He waved his hand, and smoke swirled around her, choking her, and then the mountain and her friends were gone.

***

As Pryanna disappeared in the smoke, Cecily and Althena screamed and ran toward where she had stood. They and their lovers, too, disappeared.

Then, Rubina's loves were gone, and Slyvern and Rubina stared at each other.

"You knew," he hissed. "You knew and you let me take her away."

Before she could answer, the vision over took her, and she fell into the snow, barely catching herself on her knees. The snow melted away, and beneath her palms, the grass rose, and flowers blossomed. Their fragrant aroma surrounded just before the acrid smoke, and Rubina looked up. Gone were Slyvern and the decorated clearing. Instead, there was nothing but the burnt out shells of trees and the smoke still rising from the ground.

The village was half burnt. Bodies littered the ground, their faces frozen in terror.

Above them, the dragon roared, and when he turned, he saw her. Purple scales turned silver as his wings rushed him toward her, and he opened his mouth.

His fire scorched her, and she welcomed it because there was absolutely nothing left to fight for.

***

Thanks for reading! This concludes Yuletide Hearths. The next segment, Spring Offerings, won't be out until April or May. I know that's such a long way away, but I may do a short story in between, and you can let me know which characters you want to see more of! Cecily and Gavnir? Althena and Malcolm? Rubina and the brothers? Don't worry, Pryanna and Slyvern will most likely make an appearance!