Breath of Innocence Read Online Free Page B

he and Rafe had to travel. Camille and Eben could handle it, he was sure, but he doubted Eben would object to staying, and Eben would be able to convince Camille it was the best plan.
    He wandered into the galley and perused their food stores. They were well stocked for weeks, but it would only take a day for them to sail back to Sydney after he left. The skeleton crew they had brought with them was made up of competent and loyal employees bonded to Kol’s family. Roka had yet to hire any of his own and bond them to be loyal to him. He preferred the freedom of only being responsible for himself and the two humans he loved, but knew that would likely change before long.
    He tied his hair back into a tail and began cooking, the best way he’d discovered of rousing the two of them from sleep without actually climbing into bed with them and trying more intrusive means. He didn’t wish to intrude on them this morning after the taste of their true feelings he’d had earlier. He only wished he’d understood before now what was troubling Eben so he could have found a way to fix it.
    Within half an hour, the aroma of fresh baking quiche filled the yacht, luring his lovers to the upper deck. Camille appeared first, sleepy eyed and golden hair trailing in tangled strands over bare, sun-kissed shoulders. The spare top she wore rode up enough to display her tan abdomen and a small glimpse of the glowing mark that adorned her belly. The evidence of her readiness to procreate always incited a surge of need in Roka, but he quelled it this morning. The contrasting absence of the glow in Eben’s mark was as much of a signal to their conflict as their emotions. It would do Roka no good to tell them their own feelings if they couldn’t articulate it themselves, however.
    “You should be sainted,” Camille mumbled around mouthfuls of food a few moments later. “This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had.”
    “After your performance last night, I’m not surprised,” Roka said.
    “So, how is your friend doing? Is he recovered?”
    “Well enough to travel.”
    “I hope he smartens up and learns to ask for help before it’s too late next time,” Camille said.
    “We won’t have to worry about that because I’ll be accompanying him.”
    Eben, silent until that moment, looked up from his meal. “You’re leaving?” His tone was partly excitement, partly apprehension. When their gazes met, Roka nodded.
    “But we’re going with you, right?” Camille asked uncertainly. She was intuitive, but disbelief could breed denial and override any certainty she had of the truth.
    Eben answered for him, still holding Roka’s gaze. “No, he’s not taking us. Do you want to tell us what this is about? I only heard the bit he told us on the helipad. Something about finding a lost dragon, right? An Unbound?”
    “Yes. She must be kept safe from the Council until we can convince them to change our laws. They won’t be able to find her until the Verdanith is assembled so we have that in our favor, but we can’t very well resist helping look for the lost fragment after begging them to reassemble it. And we do want it assembled, don’t we?” His inflection didn’t exactly frame it as a question, and he directed the statement at Eben, more than Camille.
    “Of course we do!” Camille answered.
    Eben remained silent.
    “But…” Camille began, gazing off into the distance as she pondered some plan. “We can look for the fragment. Erika’s probably going to call us, anyway, depending on what kind of information they already have. We can make sure to ‘help’ just enough to give you more time to find her. Where do you think she is? I mean… do you have leads?”
    Half the tension Roka had been holding in his shoulders left him at her eager response. Camille did relish uncovering a mystery. So did Eben and the two had been too long away from an expedition like this. Perhaps that’s all they needed to sort out their issues—clearly one