***
Hours passed as Rhaelgyr and I had our ways with each other. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced. Not just that I had no memories, but no impressions or vague recollections. I was forging new memories, and Rhaelgyr was a great man to do so with.
We sprawled across the bed, Rhaelgyr lapping at the wounds on my hips. They didn't hurt, just tingled pleasantly as his tongue passed by. Everything about me currently ached, and I still tasted his blood in the back of my throat.
It was so nice, I wished we could stay like this for a while.
Rhaelgyr made his way up my spine, kissing and licking. He nuzzled into my hair, purring, and I sighed in response.
"Where's your necklace?" he asked, kissing my ear.
I gave a wordless answer, not wanting to move. Rhaelgyr was warm, and I just wanted him to cuddle against me.
"Your necklace, my dear." He massaged my shoulder, breathing into my hair. "You wore one when we first met."
I chuckled languidly. "You noticed such a tiny detail?" I rolled over, cupping his face.
He licked my wrist. "I noticed it as a source of power."
Some of my relaxation left. "It was just a necklace."
Rhaelgyr traced the outside of my thigh. "It was a little more than that."
I didn't argue with him. Why would he lie about something like that? Instead, I concentrated on when I'd lost it. When was the last time I'd had it on?
The dragon paused, lifting his mouth from my breastbone. He frowned, and I bit my lip. "You didn't have it before the sex den." Blue eyes turned away from me. "I don't think you had it at all in the market."
It was just a necklace. I shouldn't be getting worked up about it. But back with the vampires, I'd needed to have it back. It was important, a part of my vocation.
The false vocation I'd thought I belonged to after my father wiped my memories.
I sat up, touching the hollow of my neck. I'd had it with Kurlog, and had it when I first met Rhaelgyr. The dragon said it hadn't been with me at the market.
Sometime between running from Rhaelgyr and meeting him again, I'd lost it. Or had it taken.
I told myself again that it didn't matter. But it felt like it mattered. There was something I was missing. A laugh built slowly. There was a lot I was missing.
Rhaelgyr took my hand. "What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "I thought I could escape my past. I thought it didn't matter." Rhaelgyr tugged me closer, and I hesitated. "But it does matter. All of it matters. There could be any number of things lurking in my past, and I'd never know it."
The dragon wrapped his arms around me. "Then let's discover it."
Pausing, I looked up at him. "Really?"
He smiled, long past his maudling moment. Longing for Falyra was replaced by the idea of a new adventure. "Yes, really. Let's do it." I smiled, caught by his enthusiasm. "You're too intriguing for me to abandon you now."
I nodded my head, spirit rising. It was great to have a plan.
