Burning Key

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Corliss's riding boots landed with a dull thud as she jumped off Odanth, muffled by the lush grass of the clearing they touched down in just outside the village of Tergaron. Even with the thick canopy of trees overhead, the heat of summer was there to stay for a while in Eld. She'd already forgone her leather jacket and even rolled up the sleeves of her white tunic tucked into her pants.

Reaching up to grab her hair to move off her neck, she fanned her face with her other hand, turning to look at her mate who had landed beside her. Meron was dressed in pretty much the same, right down to the rolled up shirt sleeves. Sweat was slick on his brow as he began digging through the saddlebag to take out his satchel.

Meron paused as soon as he met her gaze, hand in his hair as he ran his fingers through his blond locks. "What?" he grinned.

"Oh, nothing," she said all too innocently. "You're just pretty to look at, you know?"

He barked out a laugh as he shook his head, securing his satchel over his shoulder. "Right back at you, Lady Lis."

Corliss reached into her own saddlebag on Odanth to get hers, crossing the strap over her chest just as Meron reached over to take her hand. The dragons both took to the skies again, heading toward Tergaron while the two of them took their time.

Meron's hand tightened around hers before he lifted them to kiss her fingers. "Everything's going to be all right. Do you know how excited my parents will be? And what about yours? As for Gaven...maybe we ease the idea on him and make him be the last one we tell? And let's make sure our parents are there so he doesn't try to kill me..."

Corliss pulled them to a stop just before the tree line that would open to the road leading to the village. "Is it bad that I'm nervous? And that I really don't want to tell your parents just yet? I mean, I love them, of course, but..."

"And like I said before, I'm pretty sure they love you more than me, especially my mother," Meron told her. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "If you don't want to tell them just yet, we don't have to. I'd actually like to wait until both of our parents are in the same room and we'll tell them together. What do you think?"

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You'd do that?"

"Of course, I would. Granted, if my mother and yours have the same reaction as Bridget did, we might lose hearing for a little while."

That had her laughing because it was so, so true.

Meron stopped her laugh with a soft kiss, brushing her hair back once more before taking her face in his hands. "What I'm not going to like is not being able to kiss you whenever I want."

"Just until tomorrow night, all right?" she said. "Then we'll casually let it slip at dinner, wait the few seconds it'll take everyone to comprehend what we said, and then run away from both our mothers before they try to ask when the wedding date is."

He cocked one brow, giving her a roguish smile. "When is the wedding date? Because I wasn't joking when I first asked you..."

"Meron."

"You want a ring first? Because I know of a jeweler not too far from my place in the city stronghold..."

Corliss reached up and covered his mouth with her hand, laughing. "Would you shut up?"

His tongue darted out to lick across her palm and she pulled back with a squeal. "Really, Meron? Gross! I swear, you're just getting worse and w-"

He stopped her with a kiss...and he laughed against her mouth when she dragged her saliva covered palm down his cheek.