Battle Ground, Indiana

Talon stepped from the cornfield and right into Claire's path. She gasped and froze, her eyes going round as she gaped at him. He froze too, caught up in her gaze like he'd been snared. The sight of her standing before him, close enough to touch, felt so godsdamned right. He wanted to drag her into his arms, to kiss her, to bury his nose in her hair and inhale her scent. He wanted her so badly, every bone in his body ached.

It was careless to risk himself like this—he knew. He'd caught her taking an afternoon walk, and seen the opportunity for what it was. He might not get another chance like this for days. So he'd made his move.

Did she recognize him? After all this time agonizing, did she truly see him and know him? His heart pounded harder in his chest. Then—

"What—?! Who—?!" She took in his manner of dress, eyes drifting down his body, lingering on the sword currently strapped to his back. The blades in his bandolier. Something flashed over her features and her mouth opened. To scream? To shout for help?

I'm your mate! he wanted to cry. Instead, he held up his hands, placating. "Please," he found himself saying. Was that a shiver he noticed racing through her at the sound of his voice? "I...I just want to talk. Do you recognize me?"

Her brows drew together. She rubbed her chest, right over her sternum. Then her eyes narrowed and flashed and she said, "Is this some kind of sick joke? You show up here dressed all old-fashioned because you saw me on TV and thought it would be funny to play a game?"

He couldn't help the small grin that pulled on his lips. Gods, he'd missed this side of her, the side that didn't fear him when everyone else would have cowered or stammered their way through their words. But his lips flattened again almost as quickly. "I wouldn't joke about something like this. I came to bring you home—"

"I am home—"

"Your true home, Claire. With me, in Dragonwall."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "Dragonwall? You...you know about Dragonwall?"

"So, you remember something?" A flare of hope filled his chest and his pounding heart began to calm.

"No. I mean, I don't remember anything. But Irelia said—"

He blinked. "Irelia? Surely you don't mean Princess Irelia?"

Because that would be impossible.

Claire's lips parted and her head tilted. "You know her?"

"I know of her. Explain," he commanded. A mistake as soon as it was out of his mouth.

She drew herself up, then crossed her arms. "I don't owe you—"

The corn stalks behind him cracked and a voice said, "What our good king meant to say, was that Irelia disappeared from our world a long time ago, and is presumed dead. So he is confused as to how she could have said anything at all."

"Jovari," he warned.

Claire's eyes darted between them, taking them both in. "And who are you? Another supposed person from Dragonwall? How do I know this isn't some elaborate prank? Did someone tap our house and listen in on our dinner conversation last night? Is this all a joke to prove I'm some kind of—"

"This isn't a joke," both he and Jovari said in unison. Talon pinched the bridge of his nose then exhaled. "Look, there's a lot you don't remember, obviously. But I promise you, I can explain everything if you'd let me. You've been in our world for about a year, and then you were sent back here and your memories bound—your magic bound."

Gods, he wanted to tell her everything right this minute. That she was his mate. That they were in love. That he'd worshiped her body so thoroughly the last time they'd been in bed together, he could still remember the taste of her on his tongue—

"Okay..." she blew out a breath. "So you're not some kind of news crew looking for a story."

"Does he look like he'd be part of a news crew?" Jovari drawled.

A laugh burst from Claire's lips. "No. I guess you're right. Wait, did you...did you say he was a king?" she asked Jovari.

"I am," Talon said, his chest puffing out involuntarily at the same time Jovari said, "He is."

"So would that make you Irelia's dad or something, since she's the princess?"

Talon snorted. "Irelia was long before my time. She's...it's...a long story. But I'll tell you, if you'd like to hear it?"

"Please say yes," Jovari added.

Claire glanced around. "Maybe we should do this inside. I'd rather not stand out here in case my parents come looking for me." Talon lifted a brow. "Come on," she added, turning and leading them down the narrow lane that bisected the fields.

This was going both better and worse than he'd hoped.

When they reached the edge of the field, she stopped them. "Stay here while I check if the coast is clear."

"You've got to be kidding me," Jovari muttered.

"What?" she said, throwing him a warm grin that instantly made Talon Jealous. He wanted that warm grin on him instead. "I don't want my parents to know that I'm letting strangers into our house. They'll have a fit. At least, until I know you're not like...psychopaths or something."

Talon snorted. If this were any other circumstance, and he wasn't who he was, he'd be furious that she was so callously letting two unknown males into her home. They'd definitely be having a talk about this later, once she remembered. Clearly, she was too trusting.

But he was desperate to fix this, so he nodded and let her slip away.

She returned a few minutes later, informing them that her mother had already left for the doctor and would be back in a couple of hours. She guided them inside. Hungrily, he took in everything. This was the place she'd grown up; he'd only ever seen it in her memories. Seeing it in person was an entirely different experience.

She led them into a sitting room. He froze when he noticed the old woman lounging in an armchair, knitting needles in hand, and a large spool of yarn at her feet. "So, you're the ones Claire just warned me about," she harrumphed, looking them over before returning her gaze to the task at hand. She appeared unconcerned but he'd caught the gleam of curiosity in her gaze.

"You must be Irelia," he chanced.

"Heard of me, have you?"

He snorted. If ever he'd wanted to question the relationship between Claire and Irelia, it was obvious now that they were definitely related. Albiet distantly. "There are paintings in the keep," he said by way of explanation.

"Ah. Of course." She set her things down. Only now did he see the true hunger in her gaze. "My mother? Is she still alive?"

"Long since dead, as is your father. Some fifty thousand years ago, in fact." Irelia's lips parted and she blinked. "How long has it been for you in this world, Princess?"

Irelia's throat bobbed. "Two thousand years, give or take a handful."

Jovari swore. "Time moves differently here? Slower?"

"It would seem so, which explains why Cyrus was gone for so long," Talon mused.

"It also means that every day here is..." Jovari trailed off, doing a quick calculation before he said, "about a month in Dragonwall?"

It was Talon's turn to swear. They'd been gone at least seven months?! Gods!

Jovari must have sensed his sudden panic. He placed a hand on Talon's shoulder and said, "Reyr will handle things. You put him in charge because you trust him. Remember? They will manage without us."

"Reyr?" Claire said the name, blinking.

Talon perked up. "You recognize it?"

She frowned, thoughtful, then shook her head. "I thought...no..."

He exhaled, a sense of heavy pressure settling in his chest. "We cannot delay here, Claire. We must take you home. Tonight, if possible." He reached for her, forgetting for a moment as he tried to take her hand in his. To touch her, desperate for the feel of her skin against his.

She stepped out of reach and made a sound of disagreement in the back of her throat. "I'm not going anywhere with either of you."

"You made a choice—" Talon began, trying not to let her behavior and words wound him. None of this was her fault, after all.

"What he means to say, my queen," Jovari said, jumping in, "is that he cannot do this without you."

Her eyes went round. Irelia gave a bark of surprise that almost sounded pleased. Claire stuttered, "I...did you just call me..."

Jovari went down on one knee. "Your kingdom needs you, Your Majesty. Not just Dragonwall, but the sprites, too. You are still their queen. Until and unless you hand the crown over to Taylynn."

Claire's head began to shake in disbelief. Her eyes darted to Talon, sudden understanding blooming in her gaze. "If you're a king and i'm a queen... Are we...married?! I... No. This is ridiculous. None of this makes sense."

His chest caved in. Of course she couldn't fathom being married to him—bonded to him. Why would she, when she could do so much better?

You are my mate! he almost shouted, once again. But this time, it was shame that kept his lips sealed. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her away. No, it was better to win her over, get her home. They could figure the rest out later.

"You promised to explain everything," Jovari reminded him, coming to his feet.

"Yes, forgive me, Claire. I was getting ahead of myself. How about I start at the beginning—"

"Wait." Claire held up her hand. His lips pressed into a line. "We're not doing this without Leah."

"Leah?" Jovari frowned. "Your pink-haired friend?"

"We haven't a moment to spare," Talon said. "We're doing this now." Impatience sent heat prickling across his skin.

"No. We are doing this on my terms." She pulled a device from her pocket, one of the telephone-things humans used. Her fingers tap-tap-tapped across the screen. He took a long, deep breath, willing patience into his being. At last, she looked up and said, "She's on her way. She'll be here in fifteen minutes." Then she went and sank onto one of the sofas.

Irelia seemed to sense the tension in the room. She chose that moment to make small talk, asking questions about Dragonwall, the great keep, about the rule of succession and who'd taken over after her parents. Fifteen minutes felt like an age,

At last, the pink-haired woman knocked and was admitted. "You said it was an emergency," Leah whispered, eying the two of them with suspicion.

"It is. Thanks for coming. Looks like I might be about to figure out what is going on with my memories." Claire gave her a long hug that made him jealous all over again. He'd been on the receiving end of those hugs and knew exactly how special they were. He watched, certain that his gaze was of the devouring sort.

"Who are they?" Leah asked when they broke apart.

"We're drengr, from Dragonwall," Jovari said, stepping forward. "My name is Jovari, and this is Talon, the king of Dragonwall."

"And I'm apparently his queen," Claire said in a sarcastic voice that illustrated exactly what she thought of that.

Talon's stomach churned. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that she hadn't balked at him, hadn't run from him, hadn't been disgusted by him. Her disbelief was more to do with how absurd this all appeared than the fact that they were mated. So...he let it go.

"A queen, huh?" Leah looked between them, then grinned. "Fancy."

Jovari and Claire both snorted, then shared a look. Claire immediately schooled her features and dragged Leah to the couch. "We should get this over with before my mom gets back."

"Right." He squared his shoulders. Jovari came to stand beside him as he launched into the most epic tale he'd ever told. He told her about how a dragon had fallen from the sky and into her cornfield. How she'd selflessly rescued it, only to find that it wasn't a dragon at all, but a drengr shifter named Cyrus. One of his six shields.

He relayed the details of what brought her into his kingdom, how she'd flown to the capital. How she'd been tried for murder—though he glossed over the unsavory parts, because he was too ashamed to reveal them just yet—and how she'd settled into life at the keep. He told her about Kane, and everything she'd done to fulfill the promise she'd made. From training with a sword to mastering her magic.

He revealed the details of their discovered mate bond, of how they'd danced together at the ball, of how she'd made the decision to train with the sprites. He let her see how much her leaving had hurt him, even though it had been the right thing. How those months away in the forest had been the most difficult of his life.

"And after their queen tried to kill you," he explained, "you were forced to kill her and take up the crown." At this, Claire sucked in a breath. Almost like she remembered. But he could tell that she didn't, not really. "Then you returned to me. We fought to regain Fort Squall, which was when you snuck off to try and save the dragons. Even after I forbade it. You've never allowed anything to stop you from doing what you feel is right."

He could tell from her attention that she was hanging on to his every word. "What happened after that?" she breathed.

"Then we returned to the capital and completed our bonding ceremony. You became mine in every way, and I became yours."

At his words, her skin flushed. He loved when she blushed. A sense of satisfaction made him warm all over.

He told her about the attack on Kastali Dun, of how they'd flown together into battle, and what had gone so wrong afterward. "And that's how you came to be here, with no memory of any of it. The potion that Kane used on you—for I'm certain that's what it was—bound you tightly. Otherwise you'd be able to hear me speaking to you, mind to mind. You'd have access to your magic, your memories, Cyrus's gift, all of it."

Silence fell. He could hear the tick-tick-tick of a clock somewhere in the house. His three listeners simply stared at him. Even Irelia appeared speechless.

"What happened to Kane?" Leah was the one to voice the question.

"He got away," Jovari said, eyeing her curiously. "Every day we spend here, close to a month passes in Dragonwall. He could have already moved against the kingdom."

"But, you said you disguised one of your shields to look like you? So if he doesn't know you're gone...?" Claire let the remainder of the question go unfinished.

"He wanted you gone so that I'd be weakened, or tempted to go after you."

"Which is exactly what you did!" she said. "Don't you think that's a little rash, as a king? To leave your kingdom unprotected like that?"

Gods, he didn't know whether to rush to her and hug her, or fight back. Because she was right. Except, "There is no world in which I will live and rule without my queen by my side. I will not do this alone. Your kingdom needs you, Claire. I need you."

Her expression softened. She scrubbed a hand over her face. "You can't just expect me to...to drop everything and go racing off to save your kingdom based on an elaborate story. It's a good one. I'll give you that."

"Apparently, it's your kingdom too," Leah teased, bumping her shoulder against Claire's.

Claire huffed. "Yeah, apparently."

"Allow us to take you back," Jovari said. "Allow us to prove it to you. Once you see it, once it is confirmed, there will be no question."

"You dropped everything once before," Talon reminded her, hoping to counteract her misgivings.

"It does sound pretty cool," Leah said. "And now you know where your markings came from. You have magic. You're a queen—a real queen. Honestly, I'm surprised you're not immediately on board with this. Hell, I'd drop everything and go if someone was offering me the chance. We both know I have nothing keeping me here, and neither do you."

They shared a look, and Talon found himself holding his breath. Gods, if Claire said yes this easily, he'd give Leah whatever she wanted as a thank you.

"What about my parents?" Claire asked.

Leah shrugged. "What about them. They've got their lives here. They're happy here. Tell them that this is what you want. They can't keep you against your will. Miss A would never hold you back from doing what you wanted, and neither would your dad."

Claire heaved a sigh. "Yeah, but trying to explain this to them."

"They believed your grandmother, when she told them everything."

"No they did not. They merely tolerated it."

"I thought I did rather a decent job of convincing them," Irelia interjected.

"Besides, there are a few ways to prove that this is all real," Leah said. "Have them show your parents their dragon forms. And that place where you rescued the other dragon? Surely there's some kind of evidence. A crater or something, out in the cornfield. That should be all the confirmation we need to know if they're telling the truth."

"And if they are?" Claire asked.

"Then you go," Leah said, shrugging. "I'll miss the hell out of you. You're my best friend. But I'm not selfish enough to hold you back."

Claire eyed her, and something passed over her expression. Talon had become a master at reading her face. So, he wasn't surprised when she said to him, "Okay. I'll go on one condition."

"Name it." She might not know it, but he did. He would give her whatever she wanted. There wasn't even a question.

"Leah comes with me," she said. Leah sucked in a breath.

"And what of me?" Irelia broke the silence. "I've lived out most of my years here, and wouldn't mind returning to the land that berthed me, if only to let my bones lie under the earth from whence I came."

Talon shared a glance with Jovari, who looked on the cusp of protesting, even if it wasn't his call to make. They'd fly faster with just Claire. But he couldn't stop himself as he said, "You're both welcome to join us, if it means we can leave tonight."

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Dear Reader,

The moment we waited FOREVER for. Claire and Talon together again. Except, she can't remember anything, and only knows what Talon told her. So...that might make things complicated? Interesting? Something? 

Next week's chapter is from Claire's POV.

--Mel