The scene I had to delete... When I decided to change the whole romantic plot...Woops

                “Is that what this is about?” he walked around to face her. “You think that Taya is a, a, I don’t even know what you might think she is, but whatever it is, she’s not, alright?” She didn’t meet his gaze, she knew that she just couldn’t stand to see herself reflected in his eyes right then.

                “Riona, look at me.” When she didn’t he added, “Please”. 

                With the moon at her back she could see his blue eyes perfectly even without the help of her flames. There were tears in his eyes that hadn’t been shed, and she was sorry for causing them. She felt herself falling into his eyes and the flames that licked at her fingers slowly died away.

                “Riona, I don’t care about some high chiefs daughter. I care about you. I have for a long time.” His hands on her arms tightened, “I’ve cared for you more than just our friendship.”

                She tried to turn away, but his hands held her in place. She met his gaze again. What were they doing? They had to leave in a few hours on a journey that would probably be full of danger, and here they were talking about feelings? She didn’t want to be bothered by it.

                ‘Listen to him, and your heart Little One.’ If she had been able to, she would have smacked Feoras for bringing her here where she could be cornered by Damien. She hadn’t even felt this cornered when she had stayed behind to protect them from the creatures in the forest.

                Damien let her go and turning away sat on a fallen tree. She could see he had his head in his hands. “Do you know why in the months after we ran to the mountains, I hadn’t been around much?”

                She had wondered that, often thinking that it was because he didn’t want to admit to himself that she was using magic. That and she had been a bit more preoccupied after Feoras hatched, she really hadn’t thought about much else other than how to hide a growing dragon.

                “No.” she quietly made her way so that she was sitting next to him. He turned so that he was facing her.

                “I was doing every odd job and task I could get my hands on to earn more money. Even trapping in the same mountains we had rode in, the ones that no one else would attempt. The animals are not as scared of men, and there are more of them.” He laughed. “But of course you knew that already.”

                “Yes, that’s why I hunted there.”

                “Well, I wasn’t hunting for myself or my family. I was hunting to sell the meat, hides,  and antlers.” He kept twisting his hands in his lap. “I was saving the money I earned so that I would be able to buy my own plot of land.”

                “It seems like such a stupid idea now, but at the time it felt right.” He looked up at her again. “The day you and your mother left, I was on my way to see her.” He paused and momentarily he stopped wringing his hands. “I was coming to ask her for your hand in marriage. That was why I had Sparrow packed, I was coming to give it to her as show of how I could provide for you.”

                He stood suddenly and started pacing in front of her.

                “I had known that you weren’t seeing any of the other boys in town, so I knew that you didn’t have any other offers to consider, and I had hoped that you and your mother would accept mine.” His fists balled themselves at his sides. “That was when I saw the huge furrows in the ground, and when I looked around everything looked as though you had left in a hurry without planning on coming back.”

                He kept his face firmly on the ground he paced on. “I thought something terrible had happened. I thought you were dead.”

                Riona felt a catch in her own throat at his words. Yes, she supposed it was possible someone might think that with how they left their home, but they had had to leave fast. They weren’t safe in the valley. Either the spectral Ryders would have come for them, or the people in the surrounding areas would have realized a dragon lived among them and they would try to kill Feoras out of fear.

                Suddenly Damien dropped to his knees in front of her. “I know that we still don’t have the best of circumstances, but would you marry me?”

                The question hung in the air between them. She could feel the electricity between them, and she found herself wanting to say yes as she looked into his blue eyes. Yes, she loved him. Yes, she had cared for him enough to not be running off with the other boys in town, despite their many attempts for her attention and affection.

                “Damien, I…” She couldn’t respond. She didn’t know how to begin to tell him everything that was running through her mind. Instead she closed her eyes and listened to herself, to her heart. When she opened her eyes after what felt like an eternity, he was still there his blue eyes locked on her.

                She reached and took his hands in her own. His were cold so she sent some warmth from her own into his. His eyes registered surprise and she smiled at him. She genuinely smiled. That was something she hadn’t done in months. He made her happy. That was all that mattered. She would fly to the moon and back, even threaten the Ryder that plagued her dreams to protect him.

                “Yes.” It was a simple word but when she said it she felt some of the electricity between them heighten and she reached for him. His lips found hers and she felt heat from a different source than her magic.

                After a time they broke off, but she stayed comfortably perched in his arms.

                “Damien…”

                “Yes.”

                “I do really like this, but I still need to wash off before we leave.”

                “Oh, right.” He stood up so fast she nearly hit the ground before he caught her. “Sorry.” He mumbled as he set her on her feet.

                “It’s okay.” She stepped back and in the light of the rising sun she saw that just into the tree line Sparrow grazed with just a halter on. “Where’s your saddle?”Damien followed her gaze and shrugged.

                “When I saw you two fly off I didn’t have time to properly saddle her up. I just grabbed her and came after you.” She reached for his hand.

                “I’m glad that you did.” He looked at her, a smile on his face as he pulled her into himself. For being out in the cold morning, he felt warm to her as his arms came around her back.

                “I should be getting back to start packing and get the horses ready.” He kissed the top of her head and started towards Sparrow when Riona coughed politely.

                “What is it?” he looked genuinely confused at her coughing for his attention.

                “I still need help with my laces.” She was nearly knocked to the ground in his hurry to help her, and she realized just how nimble his fingers were. She blushed when he worked on the ties that held her pants together at her hip. Holding them up with her hand to avoid any mishaps she let her corset fall to the ground after he finished the laces. She still had her shirt on and was covered.

                He hesitated at the last tie on her pants and left his warm hand on her hip. Once again heat flared in her, somewhere deeper than where her magic lay, but still she didn’t want to do that while she was dirty and on a beach.

                He looked up at her, his blue eyes shining in the dim light. She knew what the young people did in the barns when their parents weren’t looking. They weren’t supposed to know, or act like the adults. But when a young girl was in love with a boy her age, and was promised to a man old enough to be her father, everyone looked the other way. Even the boys and girls that weren’t to be married off, they sometimes snuck off into the woods or hay lofts at the festivals.

                She blushed as she thought of the boys who had tried to get her to go with them. But she never had. She had only wanted Damien, but Damien had never asked her. In fact she was almost positive he had never asked any girl to go away with him either.  They had usually spent the festivals eating by the fire listening to the adults tell stories.

                “I, I think you had better head back now.” He left his hand on her hip as he stood. Once again looking down on her she could see that there was a flush that had crept up his neck. “The others will be wondering where you went to.”

                He bent down to kiss her again, she leaning into him. She really didn’t want him to leave, but they had to start their journey. And she really needed to bathe. He held her tight and when they parted her cheeks felt raw from the whiskers on his face. Turning he made his way back to Sparrow and with one backward glance he rode off.

                ‘Is he really gone yet?’ she knew that Feoras would be able to tell, she didn’t trust that he really had left. She felt him reconnect his consciousness to hers but there was a pause.

                ‘Yes, he’s nearly there. Sparrow is a very fast horse for one that is carrying two beings.’ He seemed impressed that the pregnant mare would be able to carry both her foal and Damien.

                ‘Horses do it all the time.’ She managed to wrestle off the rest of her clothes. It turned out that holding her clothes on hadn’t been a problem. It was getting them to come off of her sweaty skin that was a challenge. She carefully laid them out on a tree hanging over the water and waded in.

I hit the 50 K mark!! This novel's going to be longer than I thought...

                She ran through the forms until she was drenched in sweat and her arms felt like she couldn’t lift them even if she had to save her life. Sunrise was still a few hours off so she perched on Feoras claw and worked through her magic lessons. She started with the simple exercise of lifting items from the ground, and made her way up to setting specific items on fire then putting them out. Just setting things on fire was not enough, she needed to control the flames.

                ‘I want you to throw rocks at me.’

                ‘Little one, I believe you have lost your mind.’ His large brown eye was close to hers and she could see just how sweaty and un-kept she looked, and she realized that she didn’t care.

                ‘Throw them at me, there’s some rubble over towards the wall where you can reach.’ She pointed over to the large pile that had fallen from the top of the battlements. ‘Start with the smaller ones, and we’ll get to the bigger ones.’ She slid down from his claw and unclasped her cloak. Leaving it and her staff on a tree stump Vanya often used for her seat, Riona carefully rolled up her sleeves so that her arms were bare. She had to admit that even she noticed a difference in how her body was looking. Her arms were harder, and her skin had taken on a golden sheen from training in the sun.

                Feoras just stared at her, not moving. She straightened her stance.

                ‘Look, if I can lift and throw them, then I should be able to block them or redirect them.’ Feoras huffed out steam, she could tell that he really wasn’t convinced of her logic, but he reluctantly stood and made his way to the pile.

                ‘If you get squished, I am not explaining to your mother.’ Sitting back on his haunches Riona had to giggle when his head was higher than the wall and his claws searched for the smallest of the rocks to throw.

                ‘Are you ready?’ his question was more than in just the words. He was asking if she was sure that she could stop them.

                ‘Just toss it over here, Firebreather.’ She felt and saw him bristle his wings in agitation. But she also saw his forelegs awkwardly bunch as he pulled back to throw the first boulder.

                She broke their connection, she didn’t want to cheat herself by knowing ahead of time where exactly he was going to throw them. Since she already had been practicing her magic rose to her fingertips faster than she thought possible. Her fingers glowed in the half light, but she kept the flames from emerging, she didn’t want fire, she just wanted power.

                She almost broke and ran as the large rock hurtled towards her head. But instead of moving she imagined herself pushing out her power into a half circle in front of her. In her mind she formed it into a type of shield that the rocks would hit and then deflect to one side or another. She used the same logic as blocking a staff blow. It took more energy to stop the blow than to deflect it.

                Still, the shock of the rock slamming into her shield was more than she had thought it would be. To her surprise the rock crumbled and the pieces slid to either side of her body landing harmlessly on the grass at her feet.

                ‘Are you okay Little One?’ his voice was tentative, and though she had blocked her from his thoughts, he must have felt the impact of the rock against her shield.

                ‘Yes I am.’ she looked at the ground and noticed that she had sunk into the ground to her ankles from the impact. She stood straight and shaking out her arms, moved to the right. ‘Another.’ She readied herself again, this time making the shield even more rounded so that there was less of a flat surface for it smash against.

                This time it worked better. By the fourth rock she had learned to attach the shield to either one of her arms and how to move to let the rock fall away without causing so much force on her. The rock hitting the shield didn’t hurt in the same way getting whacked by a staff did, but she still felt the force behind the rocks.

                ‘Enough, you are shaking Little One, it is time to stop.’ Feoras dropped back down to all fours and slowly made his way to her. She gratefully leaned against him. Her whole body was shaking, and it felt like her legs would not support her for much longer. She was covered in sweat and some of her hair had fallen out of its plait.

                ‘Let’s get you a bath.’ She turned and climbed to the saddle, her whole body aching with the effort. Feoras stood and launched himself into the sky before Riona could even strap her legs in. ‘We don’t have much time before the others wake up.’ He flew straight towards the lake.

                ‘That waters going to be cold, isn’t it?’

                ‘Yes, very cold I should think.’ Riona groaned. She missed the hot bath at the outpost already.

                She must have nodded off on their flight, the next thing she knew she was being splashed as Feoras dropped into the lake. Since she hadn’t even bothered with strapping her legs in, she simply slid from his back into the thigh high water.

                Wading to shore she began the task of unlacing her corset, boots and pants. Her fingers didn’t want to work thanks to the early time cold and her exhaustive training session. She rolled her head around on her shoulders and was tempted to walk right back into the lake fully clothed when a voice made her jump.

                “Let me help you with those.” She whirled around towards where the voice had come from, flame sputtering at her fingertips despite her tiredness.