Chapter 16

Meron didn't even have to knock for Corliss to realize he was just down the hallway from her apartment door. He'd made enough noise walking up the stairs, with his satchel and canvas bags hitting the wall from the way he was carrying them to his curses when he missed a step and stumbled forward. She found herself grinning as she quietly opened her door and leaned again the doorframe to watch his ascent.

Sundown. Just as he promised.

Cursing again as his satchel slipped off his shoulder and hit the floor with a thud, Meron cursed again. Corliss snorted, which caught his attention as his face flamed.

"Looks like you did open the door for me, huh?" he said to her, finally finding his footing at the top step.

"With all the commotion out here, I thought we were being raided by city guardsmen. But no, it's just you."

He snorted out a laugh. "Ha, you're so funny."

Meron continued down the hallway toward her, dressed in a fresh set of black pants and white tucked in shirt, blond hair slicked back, and looking as if he were ready to take her out for the night instead of just cook her dinner in her apartment. He caught sight of the look she was giving him, grinning even as he took in her similar outfit to his.

He stopped just a few feet away, glancing toward the open door behind her. "Are you going to invite me in?"

Corliss shrugged one shoulder. "Don't know. Besides, you like to invite yourself places, so I figured you'd just let yourself in."

"You think me so crass?"

"Obviously."

But he still didn't make a move to enter, waiting for her to say the word. She liked that he was forward and knew what he wanted, but he wasn't going to be an ass about it. This was her choice, though he wasn't going to say it in so many words.

She'd already decided when she opened the door to watch his approach.

"I've decided against my better judgement to like you," Corliss finally told him.

A slow smile spread across his face. "You do, huh?"

"Unfortunately. Do you want to come in?"

"You're just doing this because you're hungry, aren't you?"

"And you know how I work how? Bridget told you, didn't she?"

Meron's laughter echoed down the hallway and he finally went inside whenever she stepped back to let him pass.

It had been a while since she had a male who wasn't part of her family in her apartment. She'd been so focused on school she didn't have time to form any attachments past those first few weeks in Ayveri. Most of the time, they were just a quick fling that lasted only a few weeks.

But Meron...she wasn't going to let it go that far. She couldn't, not when she knew their professional relationship would be pivotal in the future once her mother passed the title Lady on to her. She didn't want to mess that up.

She could look, though.

And she did.

Meron stood in the middle of her sitting room, looking around as if he were trying to understand the female whose apartment he just walked into. The fire kindling in the hearth and the fairy lights she'd strung up overhead flickered in his eyes. He took in the four bookcases brimming with books, including those they'd picked up earlier that afternoon sitting on one shelf waiting for their proper places. Her brown leather sofa still had the indention on it from where she was sitting, curled up against the plush pillows and knit blanket. She'd shut the door to her room just down the short hallway and also the ones for the guest room and small bathing room across from it, so there was no way he'd see inside either, including the mess she'd made while trying to figure out what she was going to wear.

He finally moved when he saw the kitchen just off to the left, glancing at her over his shoulder with another smile. "And here I thought you'd toss those flowers as soon as I was out of sight."

She didn't. They were in a crystal vase in the center island of her kitchen. And she loved them.

She wouldn't tell him that, though.

"I brought you another present, though," Meron continued, pulling his satchel from his shoulder to gently set on the island counter, then the canvas bags filled with food. "I don't think this one's going to last the night, though."

He opened one bag, arm disappearing inside as he searched. After a few moments, he pulled out a bottle of wine, one she recognized as being from Aarden. The spark he must have seen in her eyes had him grinning again.

"My favorite," Corliss told him, reaching for it before he even had a chance to set it on the marble counter. "Another thing Bridget mentioned when you peppered her with questions about me?"

"She did," he said as she went used magic to pull the cork from the bottle. "Said you usually don't use wine glasses when drinking either."

"How barbaric of me," she laughed...and drank straight from the bottle without her gaze leaving his.

Meron was grinning the whole time. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

But Corliss did get wine glasses afterward, pouring some for both of them. Meron was already pulling out ingredients from his canvas bag when she tried to hand him his. He took it, drank down two long sips, and then went back to taking out the array of colorful vegetables, fresh pasta, and chicken wrapped in paper straight from the market. When Corliss tried to help him place everything on the counter, he just slapped her hand away and pointed to the stool beside the counter on the opposite side of the island.

"You. Sit."

"You don't want any help?"

"No. This dinner is my treat, so I'm cooking. You can clean up afterward, though."

"Fair trade."

"And here I thought you'd object."

"Nope," Corliss grinned, then took a sip of her wine.

There was no way she was just going to sit back and watch him. Well, she was going to sit in the stool on the other side of the island because Meron was a whirlwind through her kitchen.

And the first thing he did was grab the frilly apron hanging on a hook in her pantry, tying it around his waist with a wide grin.

"That's a good look for you," she laughed, looking him up and down.

Meron had the bright idea to bow, which made her laugh even more with how ridiculous he looked. "Why, thank you. I just might have to steal this now, though."

Mostly, Corliss supervised and directed him to where everything was located in her drawers and cabinets. Without even having to ask, she knew almost everything he was searching for and told him where to find it. The first thing he did was heat the oven and rinse the raw chicken before placing it in a dish. He riffled through her jars of spices in the cabinet to the left of the stove, picking out several before reaching for a bottle of olive oil on the shelf above it.

"You seem very at ease in a kitchen," Corliss commented, watching as he started chopping up some of the vegetables with expert skill.

"You can thank my mother," Meron told her, a fond smile lighting up his face as he glanced up at her. "She's an excellent cook and taught me everything she knows."

"Including how to not watch your knife while chopping vigorously as you are right now."

Still, he didn't look away, even with the blade coming dangerously close to his fingertips. "Yep."

"Tell me about them. Your parents, I mean."

"My mother...well, other than loving to cook, she's kind and thoughtful and beautiful right along with stubborn and not willing to back down from a challenge. Everyone knows if they need help with something, she is willing to do anything she can without even asking. I've seen her knock a few people off their high horses with just a few words and it's glorious." He winked at her. "Just like another female I've had the pleasure of meeting."

"So, we'd get along well, would we?"

"Splendidly."

"And her name?"

"Renna. Renna Brandt," he answered, moving the cutting board covered with chopped vegetables to the sauté pan he had sitting on the stove. "My father's name is Evander. Out of the two of them, he's the quieter, more subdued one. They met when she was lady's maid at the Eld stronghold for your grandmother and he was a guardsman. With one look, they instantly knew they were fated to be with one another. Not even three months later they were wed, and they luckily had no trouble conceiving me just a year after that as so many do."

Meron went on about his childhood, growing up in one of the smaller villages just outside the Eld stronghold city. Corliss was completely enraptured with the way he told his stories, with his expressions and gestures, the way he made her laugh at the images he painted for her. He had a simple childhood, which sounded absolutely marvelous compared to the one filled with tutors and dinners and fancy dresses that filled Corliss's. By the sounds of it, they were of similar temperament – both running rampant and causing their parents to go gray far earlier than they should have.

"I'm the only child, which I think my mother believes to be a good thing. I've always been a handful and never grew out of it. You can ask Alberich next time you see him. He knows...and definitely has some stories."

"I can only imagine what my brother-in-law would tell me...and now I'm curious."

"Hey, he would have never met Bridget if not for me."

"But then I wouldn't have to deal with their mated and married couple shit all the time when they're around."

"Lady Lis, such language!"

Corliss gave him a rude hand gesture just for emphasis.

"What about you?" Meron asked her then, still grinning even as he stirred around the vegetables in the pan.

"Me? You already know my family well enough."

"Not from your prospective, though."

What was there to say? She absolutely loved her parents and siblings. Anyone could see that whenever they were all together. There were still times where she felt like the odd one out, especially after Bridget married Alberich and became the official Lady of Asturia. That then put the burden of the title Heir of Eld on Corliss's shoulders and...and she honestly didn't really want it.

"Mother and Father," she began, brushing the tip of her little finger along the rim of her wine glass. "Of course, I love them with everything I have, but since I'm titled Heir of Eld, it's of course changed. That's honestly why I've been here in Ayveri for the past few years at university. I just keep taking the courses I know will be useful, but I'm stretching them out so I'll be here longer."

"I heard you haven't been back to Eld since the Summer Solstice festival last year," Meron stated.

"Mostly because my family's come here more often than not, so I've been able to see them. Mother thinks I'm trying to run away from responsibilities of being heir. I'm not, actually, but..."

She trailed off, tracing her fingertip around the rim once more.

Meron shifted by the stove, turning down the flame burning beneath the pan. "You've held that title ever since Bridget married Alberich and renounced her claim on it. It's been decades now."

"And I still have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that it's going to be me and not her. She's more worthy of it than I am."

While letting the food cook on the stovetop, Meron walked over to lean on his forearms against the counter. He laced his fingers together, eyes on her, and waited for her to continue, giving her enough time to get her thoughts straight.

When Corliss finally did meet his gaze, she gave him a small smile. "Being the youngest in a family, you never expect any titles to come to you. I just wanted to live my life, find my mate, possibly have children in the future, maybe even become a professor at the Ayverian university since I love being there and learning so much. I didn't think my life would be this, you know? I wanted something...simple."

Meron's expression turned almost thoughtful. "And here I was, growing up in a simple life in a small village, wishing for something bigger. Guess I got my wish, didn't I?"

"Sounds like we're complete opposites, aren't we, Commander?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," he told her with a wink. "You and I are similar in having the same biting whit and snappy comebacks, wouldn't you say?"

"True," she laughed.

He paused a moment, staring down at his hands then. She wanted to know what he was thinking and didn't have to wait too long before he told her. "Honestly, I never thought I'd be where I am today, but I'm certainly glad the road I traveled led me here."

"And here you are, standing in my kitchen and cooking me dinner."

But Meron wasn't joking like she tried to. He was completely serious as his eyes met hers. "The one and only Commander Meron Brandt in the kitchen of future Lady of Eld Corliss Lucerra."

Corliss smiled into her wine glass as he held her gaze and didn't look away.

Until the smell of very well-cooked vegetables hit them both.

Meron cursed, spinning around so he could turn off the stove, then noticed the chicken was already done as well. And even though he claimed he didn't want any help, the male definitely needed it then. Corliss immediately got up to do so. He didn't even object as she removed the vegetables and he leaned down to pull the chicken from the oven as smoke plumed out from inside.

"Caught it just in time," Meron grinned.

Coughing, Corliss fanned a towel throughout the kitchen. "Just before you set the whole place ablaze, you mean."

Fire she could take care of with just a flicker of magic, but smoke? She didn't have air magic to sweep it from her apartment.

"Please. You and I could have handled a little bit of heat." And then he had the nerve to wink even as she was still trying to clear the smoke. "I would mind a little more between the two of us either."

Her next laugh was mixed with a cough as she hit him with the towel, striding over to the windows to open them. "Of course, you'd say that."

"What? I rarely meet a female who can match me as you do, Lis. Never have, actually. I'm going to hold on to you for as long as I possibly can."

"Oh, how lucky I am!"

"Shut up and get over here to help me finish everything."

"Thought you didn't want help?"

"Well, I changed my mind."

And so, she helped him.

Corliss herself had never really been one for cooking, but with Meron, she was having more fun than she thought she would. Now that they hadn't burned the chicken and vegetables too much, they were able to make the pasta and start on a cream sauce that had her mouth watering as she watched Meron season it. Of course, she was going to be the taste tester when he lifted the wooden spoon for her to try it.

"Does it need anything?"

Her moan as soon as she got a taste was his answer.

"I guess not," he chuckled.

Once they had the pasta, chicken, and vegetables all mixed up, that delectable sauce went over it.

And Corliss had to have a bowl. The biggest bowl she could find.

"You want to come make me dinner every night?" she teased, taking her bowl into the sitting room. Placing it on the low-lying table, she plopped down on the sofa, curled her legs under her, and reached back down to grab it. The first bite had her moaning approval again.

"Is that an offer of friendship or a job opportunity?" Meron chuckled as he sat on the opposite side of the sofa from her, his own bowl in hand.

"Both, if you're willing enough."

He laughed again, then started eating.

While they continued with dinner, they were still talking about anything and everything, from more about their lives to several stories that had them both rolling with laughter. It had been so long since Corliss had this much fun with someone other than her siblings and she definitely wouldn't mind if Meron decided that friendship was what he wanted, too. Even though she wanted to strangle him at their first meeting, it was easy being with him, talking and laughing with him, even sitting in silence before one of them thought of another topic of conversation.

And if it went further in the future after that friendship was established...well, with the way they were both glancing at the other when they didn't think they were looking, neither would have minded.

But not tonight.

It was in one of those stretches of silence after they'd cleaned up the kitchen that Meron turned to her, leaning his side against the counter as he wiped off his hands with a towel. And though she wasn't directly looking at him as she washed her own hands, Corliss knew he was staring.

So, she brought up another topic of conversation he had yet to, even though it was currently propped up against the sofa where he'd been sitting.

"You know," Corliss started, taking the towel from him to dry off her hands. "You still haven't showed me your dragon egg you were boasting about."

A smirk pulled up one corner of his mouth. "My unusually large dragon egg?"

"Males and size...I swear."

That got a laugh out of him. "I guess I'd be willing to show it to you. Gods know how long I'll be toting that thing around with me before it hatches."

She was more than curious, though, having only seen a few dragon eggs in person before. Following behind him, Corliss and Meron took a seat on the sofa once more, though much closer together than they had been. Her fingers thrummed against her knees in excitement as Meron reached down for his satchel and placed it in his lap. She could feel the hum of magic from the extension spell placed on the inside and watched as his arm disappeared inside, rummaging around for the egg.

When he pulled it out...well, she wasn't going to comment on the size of it, especially after teasing him about his preoccupation with it. It was one of the largest eggs she'd seen, though. Its surface was a scaled, smooth, and shimmering onyx that almost glowed with the fire from the hearth behind it as Meron placed it gently on the table in front of them.

"It's beautiful," Corliss breathed out in a whisper.

"It is, isn't it?" Meron smiled, brushing his fingers against the scales. "I'm hoping it'll hatch soon. Not only am I tired of lugging it around with me everywhere, but I also want the bond everyone else describes is like nothing other. Well, other than a mating bond, that is..."

The pull Corliss felt toward it was undeniably strong as she reached out a hand to touch it without even thinking. Meron was still talking, but his voice sounded distant as her heart raced in her chest. Pressing her palm against the side, a warmth spread through her hand, up her arm, and into her chest where it made a permanent home in her heart

Meron went silent beside her, his own hand still there.

Their fingers brushed against one another's.

Eyes locked.

And a thin crack began to form along the egg's top.

Both Corliss and Meron jolted out of their silence, yanking back their hands from the egg as that crack began spread, the entire thing shuttering before the baby dragon inside hatched right there on her sitting room table.