Page 28 of Beaux and Dragons

“A suitor then?”

In spite of the heat in her cheeks, Ana shivered from her soaked dress.

“We haven’t wood for a fire, but I’m willing to lend you an arm.” The gruffness in his voice disappeared and now sounded more familiar.

It couldn’t be. She told herself that Federico wouldn’t stoop so low as to trick her, but she remembered theearnestness and deep affection when he’d asked to be her betrothed the day of her birthday celebration. She recalled the way he’d ignored her when he’d offered to buy her family estate. Every stray glance she’d caught bespoke a pain he never wanted to touch again. Perhaps this was his way of guarding his heart, not knowing how much she loved him in return. An ache overwhelmed her chest at such a thought.

“Take off the mask.” Ana could barely make out the person beside her in the darkness. “Celestia, can you give me some light”

Her dragon obeyed, providing a dim fire that illuminated the man beside her. The shape of his face, the set of his body, and his cropped hair all matched Federico’s. She drew near, only needing to remove the covering from his face for the last confirmation.

She reached behind his ears, his warmth grazing her fingertips and leaving behind a thrill of excitement. His brown eyes rounded, but he didn’t protest her removal of the mask. It was Federico Vega Perez—the lanky boy with the crooked smile who’d wait for her escape each day from her governess. The one who’d taught her to fly and sent her letters when he was away. How she’d missed their time together, talking about the things she’d never shared with anyone else. He was her best friend and the one who had captured her heart.

Chapter twenty

Confessions

Of course, Ana should have said she loved him and had missed him the moment his face got revealed by dragon light. That would have been the sensible thing to do, but Ana couldn’t be sensible with Federico.

“So, you danced with me and ran off to the track? Why?” Her words came out terse and unwelcoming. “How did you even know I’d be there?”

The glow of a lightning bolt flashed through the cave, revealing all the nooks and crannies the gentle dragon light did not.

He licked his bottom lip as if contemplating the question or whether to answer. Ana couldn’t tell.

When he spoke, his voice dropped into a hoarse sound. “That night at the inn, when Julian and Lucia were discussing the new rules to the races, you had a spark in your eyes. It was your dream come true. I knew as long as your padre didn’t forbid you from going, you’d find a way to be there. I had to protect you and didn’t think you’d accept my help.”

Ana couldn’t understand herself in that moment. Hot pools accumulated in her eyes not at some declaration of love, but at this. The warmth and comfort of being so known and loved.

“Federico Vega, I’ve missed you too.” Though the declaration came much later than his, it did come eventually.

The warm smile that spread over his face could have stolen the breath of every señorita in a ballroom, but it dawned like first morning light just for her. “I was scared you’d never admit to such feelings, especially after the last letter you sent. For what lady could love a poor dragon dung collector?”

“For someone who knows me so well, you should have known I would never say such words.” Tears slipped like hot streaks down her cheeks. “My sister wrote that dreadful missive. I should have written to you sooner, but I wasso embarrassed. Padre also took care to check all of my correspondence.”

“That explains why you never responded to a single letter.” He cocked an eyebrow upward.

“You who knows me and my family so well.” Ana swiped at her face. “You had to have known how I felt about you.”

“Ana Montenegro, you are the worst at admitting any feelings.”

“I am not.”

“Remember the first time you met Celestia?”

“How could I not?”

“Why did you throw mud at me?” He dipped his head low, watching her response through thick eyelashes as if expecting a grand conclusion to simmer to the surface at any moment.

Ana recalled both how cute Celestia had looked cuddled in his arms and how she’d realized how handsome Federico had become.

“See.” Federico poked her shoulder, which did nothing but aggravate Ana all the more at his ability to read her reaction though she hadn’t said a word.

“See what?”

“You’re smiling.” He combed his fingers through his hair and leaned his head back against the cave wall in a self-gratifying accretion that he was correct.

“Can I not remember my first meeting with my dragon without some fondness?”