Only one man can wield the dragon sword’s power

Magic and Steel – Mt’wan Comraich

Bodyguard to the Lady Mairin, Kedar dared not fail in his duty””or even more dangerous””love her.

Excerpt:

A whistle and another mare, a big gray with a black mane and a speckled rump, was led to the paddock. Only this time, more than a groom escorted the animal. Mairin walked alongside, a hand on the mare’s halter.

“No,” Kedar whispered. He had hoped that Mairin would go with the red mare and not be around the emotion-charged atmosphere of the pairings.

Maybe this will be for the best, optimism reassured.

Or at least thaw the wall, Kedar prayed. He watched Mairin as the gray flicked her tail, flirting with two of the stallions. But what he didn’t expect was the mental link that formed between him and Mairin. From the thoughts coming through the ethereal connection, one thing was certain. Mairin did not consciously control the link.

He felt her gaze linger on his back, but forced himself not to respond.

His breath caught, not at the swirling chaos in Mairin’s mind, but a crystal clear realization she inadvertently broadcast. Kedar’s sense of honor made it impossible for him to give in to my advances.

What stunned him more was the silent addition””But he can now.

To cool the warmth creeping up his neck, Kedar concentrated on the paddock. To his surprise, the space was empty except for Trom. The stallion Mairin rode stood at the rail. Instead of one mare, a matched pair of golden mares whose brown manes and tails marked them as of the same lineage, nickered at the rail, tossing their manes and playing the coquet.

While he had been lost in Mairin’s musings, Kedar realized, the other mares had selected their mates for the night. Hastily, he looked over the record keeper’s shoulder and nodded as if approving the entries.

The two mares whuffed. In response, the seidheirn puffed out his chest, pranced two steps and leaped the fence. He trotted a wagon length down the trail and stopped, looking over his shoulder. His attitude clearly said, “Coming, my dears?”

No, it would not be fair, Mairin’s honesty countered. A dragshi cannot love a true human. Kedar is too good a man to use that way.

While the thought gave Kedar hope, the next sent his pulse racing. Mairin wondered what it would be like.

What had been a mere spark surged into flames when he caught her picturing him unbinding her hair and slipping the straps of her gown from her shoulders.