The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

with dark circles beneath them. She had probably spent the night searching for spiders in her bed.
    From the wary jumpiness of all of the Rovers and extra guests around campfires in the courtyard before dawn, he presumed they, too, had had nightmares of their greatest fears. Except Jack and Katrina. Those two had emerged from their room holding hands and smiling at each other as if they’d just discovered the greatest secret in the world.
    Maybe they had.
    “I think the baker and his son are more likely to give us extra bread than his wife.” Vareena directed him around to the oven and away from the nearby hut.
    “Unusual. In my years on the road, I’ve always found the women more interested in charity than the men.”
    “Charity to handsome young men is different from charity to the ghost woman no one fully trusts even when they depend upon her for healing.” The stony blankness that came over her face betrayed more of her hurt than any amount of anger or tears.
    Robb pulled her close against him. “She’s just jealous of how beautiful you are.”
    “I’m a spinster, available, and therefore I must be a whore as well as a witch.”
    “No one will say those thing about you once I take you away from here. Besides, you’ll be too busy marveling at the wonders of our world. I’ll show you bemouths swimming in the Great Bay. They are as big around as the baker’s oven and longer than two of them put together. And their hide is so tough spears bounce off it. But they are the most beautiful iridescent blue. You can see every color of the ocean in their hides. And then there are the dragons flying above. You have to look very close to see them at all. I saw one at King Darville’s coronation three years ago. It was a blue-tip. Light slides around them, challenging the eye to look anywhere but at them, but they are so magnificent, elegant, graceful, and perfectly proportioned that you can’t look anywhere else. There are gold mines deep in the kardia, black holes where no light shines at all and towers in the capital that look like they are climbing to the sky—or to the dragons. If you want, I’ll even take you to the jewel markets in Jihab where you can find the finest loose gems as well as stones set in gold and silver. Or maybe you fancy the spice traders in Varnicia?”
    Robb painted the pictures in his mind of all the places he wanted to see for himself and show her. Let Marcus settle in his little cottage with a wife and a dozen children. Robb still needed to see more of the world. He liked the idea of sharing his adventures with someone.
    His breath caught for a moment. Vareena would make a comfortable traveling companion. But then, so would Margit, or Jack, or even some of the Rovers. He wondered if his attraction to Vareena was merely part of her talent to soothe and calm those in need.
    “Robb.” Vareena looked up at him with puzzled eyes. “Robb, I thought you would take me to my land in Lord Andrall’s province.”
    “We’ll go there to make your claim. But you’ve been trapped in this village all your life. Now you have the opportunity to view the world.” Why were people so fond of one hearth, one bed, one life mate when the entire world awaited them?
    “I want to live on my land, work it, nurture it, know where my place is in this world. Can you understand that?”
    “Yeah.” But he didn’t really. He withdrew his arm from her shoulder. “I think I understand. Marcus has the same dream.”
    “I’m sorry, Robb, but I think I love the idea of owning something permanent more than I love you.”
    “And I was just so grateful for all you’ve done for us, that I mistook it for love.” He had to look away from her.
    After a moment he had the courage to face her again. “We’d best get the extra bread and head back. We’re still needed back at the monastery before we can pursue our dreams.” Separately.
    Somehow removing Vareena from his view of the future didn’t hurt as much as he thought. Jaylor and the Commune still needed him in the field. He still needed to be in the field.
    “I knew we should have talked last night,” he mumbled.
    “If we had, we would still have ended up going our separate ways, but I would not have had the hope of you beside me in the morning to get me through that night of terrible dreams. Twice I considered killing myself—or someone else—just to end the dreams.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
    “Me, too. Thank you for