The Fount of Dragon Fire

Epilogue

Epilogue

A gentle tugging around her face opened Camry's eyes, drawing her slowly from sleep. For a moment, she couldn't remember why she couldn't see and she reached up to push the blinder from her eyes. The hand that had been touching her cheek grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"No peeking." Ash's voice came to her in the darkness, chuckling gently.

Camry smiled, remembering why she had been blindfolded in the first place. She turned her head around, listening to the sound of their SUV driving on the road. She couldn't tell where they were and they had been driving so long that she didn't have a clue. The fact that she had fallen asleep hadn't helped matters, but that was part of the fun.

Ash wasn't telling her where they were going. He had planned the entire trip and packed their suitcases himself so that she couldn't even guess from what she needed to bring. He seemed rather proud of himself for how well this was going. It all hinged, however, on Camry being completely in the dark about what their vacation was.

Hence, the blindfold. He had been tugging it back into place so that she couldn't wake up and look out and spoil the surprise to early.

"Are we close?" She asked eagerly, her head turning around as though she were trying to see.

"Almost." Ash put his hand over hers and she squeezed it excitedly.

She was near bouncing in her seat as she felt the car turn then come to a slow halt.

"You ready?" Ash asked, pulling off his seatbelt. He kept the vehicle running as Camry nodded. "Okay, take off the blindfold."

Eagerly, she grabbed for the cloth and pushed it up and out of her eyes. After so long under its shade, the bright sunlight blinded her temporarily.

As her eyes adjusted and it faded, she gasped at the sight of the cottage, set atop a beautiful mountain backdrop. It wasn't exactly the same, but the area and the building itself were similar enough that she recognized it immediately despite the intervening years.

"Oh, Ash..." She gasped, putting a hand to her heart. For some reason, she felt tears pricking her eyes just to see it.

In the driver's seat, Ash smirked with pride at her reaction to his surprise. "You like it?"

"I love it. We're staying here for our vacation?"

"Well, actually," his smirk only grew, "the cottage is ours."

"Huh? What do you mean 'ours'?"

"It belongs to us. The cottage and the land. It's not much. It's pretty much just the cottage, actually. But it is ours."

Crying out, Camry threw herself across the front of the vehicle to put her arms around him. He laughed as he held onto her.

"Come on, let me show you the inside."

She nodded excitedly as she threw open the door. The cold wind immediately hit her and she shivered, her short sleeve shirt not at all suited to the weather. However, Ash came around from the back and brought her the jacket he had hidden. Camry smiled as he put it around her shoulders.

"This is really our cottage?" She asked, breathless.

"All ours." He kissed her nose. "We can come up here whenever we want."

"How did you afford this?"

"Well, the land itself was a gift."

"From who?" She reeled in surprise.

"Beau. And his various contacts." He smirked. The former president may not be in office any longer, but he still had clout with those who were.

Last year, as a favor, Ash had requested this land. It had been bought by Geovation from Eldon Norcross, but after the investigation into the company had toppled their stocks and eventually pushed it into bankruptcy, the land had been confiscated by the government. The proximity to a large dragon nest meant that no one had actually wanted it. Ash was the first and only person to inquire about owning it.