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convulsion. Because for all he knew, it might be poisoned. There was nothing about this place he wanted to take for granted.
    He felt fine, only his mouth, his whole body, cried out for more. Bending down once more, he drank his fill. Only then did he get up and walk back towards the cabin, making sure he could remember exactly where the source of the spring was.
    “Tara,” he called softly. “Tara. I’ve found water.”
    She emerged from the cabin, her face flushed. “Where?”
    “Come on, I’ll show you.” He held out his hand and she took it. As he closed his fingers over hers, he had never felt so right. So at peace. A simple thing as discovering water and sharing it with this woman had made him feel good. There was no internal conflict raging inside him as to whether he could trust her, whether she was good enough for this dragon lord.
    They were simply two people who were made for each other, if the fates were right, celebrating a small victory over whoever their foe was.
     

Chapter Nine – Tara
    “I think I can hear my stomach sloshing,” she said as they walked back to the cabin.
    “It is, I can hear it from here,” Dòmhnall said, grinning at her. This was the most relaxed she had ever seen him. If they were not in quite such dire trouble, she might actually think he was enjoying himself. Like a vacation from dragon duties, or something.
    “Do you want to try opening those cans?” she asked. “Because if I don’t eat, the next thing you are going to hear is my stomach rumbling. The water was amazing, but it’s not going to keep me from starving.”
    “I suggest we find something to gather food in and go out into the trees around the cabin and see if we can gather something edible. I think I saw some hazelnuts over to the south. If you look around the spring, you might find some edible leaves.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “I guess. Although the idea of living on dandelion leaves is not satisfying.”
    “If you find dandelions, we can dig up the roots and have coffee. That will make us feel better.”
    “Look at you, Mr. Man of the Woods.”
    “As you pointed out earlier, I have lived for a very long time. In the days before you bought everything from the nearest food store, you had to eat what you could find.”
    “I believe you might be beginning to enjoy yourself, Dòmhnall.”
    “I would not go that far. But it is nice, in an absurd way, to have to remember who I was before we went to live in the Stronghold.”
    “Before you shut yourselves away.” She paused—unlike her to even think of sparing his feelings—but then she went on, “Before your heart stone was taken from you.”
    Subconsciously, he put his hand over his heart before letting his arm drop back to his side. “Yes. Before then I was free.”
    “You are free now, Dòmhnall,” she said gently, sensing the betrayal and grief that constantly dogged him.
    “Am I? I have a mate. I have a duty to the other dragons. Then there is the threat of our foes; the vampires have already tried to control us. Now the dryads.”
    “You are not alone. The other dragons look up to you, and you know I will always fight by your side.” She laughed a short snort. “Well, not that I am any use to you now.”
    “I don’t know, Tara. I would assume you would be a formidable force, with or without your magic.” He grinned when he saw her blush, and then said, “You would be able to flay a man alive with your tongue alone.”
    She went to hit him but he ducked away, running to the cabin, laughing. She was about to run after him, when she stopped, she had never heard him laugh before. And she found she liked the sound very much. Something inside her shifted, and her heart felt lighter. There was hope, when before she had seen none. There was hope he would let her into his heart.
    “Now you have insulted me, I will make sure I pick some leaves especially for you.” She smiled sweetly, conveying her meaning. “Perhaps you will find you miss