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His metallic eyes never leave mine until his nostrils flare and I watch those black slits blow out wide. A tortured-sounding rumble escapes from his chest as he folds his wings in and eats up the distance between us in two strides.
Before I know it, his arms are wrapped tightly around my waist, and I’m pulled into his large chest. He doesn’t judge that I’m taking comfort in this darkness. No fear of walking into the power of my hell. He does so without care if he gets harmed in the process. All that seems to matter is getting to…me.
“You’re a—” I hear Aiden’s trembling voice before all sounds get cut off when Draven blasts a gust of shadows out, knocking Aiden back on his ass.
A dragon, I think to myself.
The next thing I know, he steps off the balcony’s ledge and we’re soaring through the sky under the dying sun.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Draven
Pain. Hot, scorching agony.
One second, I’m in the training room with Fynn, Cora, Kye, and Emil, and the next, I miss the block of Emil’s wooden sword when a blinding pain stabs into my side. Only, nothing touched me there. I pause to look down at the bare skin on display, twisting to see if Emil managed to sneak a strike in, but no mark exists to show proof of what I feel.
“You good?” I look up to find Emil staring at me with a dip in his brows and his sword hanging down by his side.
I hiss with a slight shake to my head. The stinging pain starts racing down the mate bond in waves and the moment it seizes me, I smash my wooden sword into the ground. It shatters as splinters fly up in the air from the impact, and before they can hit the floor, I shift into my dragon form.
This pain can only mean one thing…Emma’s hurt.
The impulse to protect and keep her close overpowers any other thought. Sprinting to the nearest window, I smash through it as my mind blacks out, launching myself up as I fly over the sea to reach her. The moment I near her open balcony, the scents of metal and roses flood me. Blinding the beast in me to stop at nothing until I have her. The smell grows stronger when I land. Blood. Her fucking blood.
It takes everything in me not to shove my shadows into Aiden’s body and twist his limbs from within when I spot him and how close he is to my injured mate. Because, as soon as I see her, every fiber in my body tenses with the primal need to take her away from here.
Her shadows are raging like dark ribbons lashing around her body, and the black veins snaking under her skin pulse with every breath she takes. She may be a Goddess, but she looks like a demon of shadows that I crave to get lost in. I’d willingly surrender to her sharp tongue and eyes that still see past skin and bone. Eyes that, no matter how soulless they look, can still see and touch every part of mine.
Nothing will ever keep me from her.
In the next breath, I snatch her into my arms and feed the urge to take her away. I barely register Aiden’s irritating voice as I blast him away from us. Wishing to do more damage, but the only thing that will calm me is getting Emma away from here. She doesn’t fight and stays silent as I step off the balcony, my wings catching us on a current and gliding us with the wind. The sun has slipped under the horizon, welcoming the twilight of blues and purples to tint the sky.
I pull her closer to me, savoring the way she curls into my body as I hold her in my arms. It has taken every ounce of my strength to keep my distance from her. And by distance, I mean flying above her palace every night to sit on the roof and peer down at her balcony once the moon is high in the sky. I should have barged in the first time I watched from above and claimed her because I know her body craves me, even if her mind fights the thought of letting go. But I won’t. Not until she’s ready.
The look she gave me on the ship after she rode my leg—like she couldn’t fucking stop—keeps flashing in my mind. The subtle shake of her head to stay hidden, and I did, only for her. Even though my bones ached with desperation to close the distance between us. To snap every finger attached to Aiden that touched her when he wanted to take her above the ship. But I gritted my teeth, silently imagining it instead.
My wings beat powerfully beneath the stars, racing against their prying eyes. When we finally make it to my Court of Asiza, I zero in on my castle and tuck in my wings to dive down to my open room. The moment my boots touch the stone flooring, Emma jerks out of my arms, pushing against my chest and clambering out of my grasp.
“Who?” my voice grates deeply in my throat as I stalk towards her.
“What?” she whispers vehemently, but it doesn’t hold nearly as much venom as she believes. The biting tone still makes my dick hard.
“Who. Fucking. Touched. You?” I growl each word as I close the space between us, towering above and looking down into her blackened eyes.
She remains silent, glaring at me as tension pulls her lips in a tight line with harsh, rapid breaths. So, I try a different approach to ease the beat of her heart to calm down. I lift my hand towards her face, pausing before I close the distance in case she doesn’t want to be touched. Except, she doesn’t flinch away from my hand or say a word, only keeps her stony eyes on me. Gingerly, I catch the loose strand of hair and tuck it behind the shell of her ear, leaving it there as I stroke the pad of my thumb along the angle of her jaw.
“Who hurt you, little demon?” I softly ask, seeing something flash in her eyes before I can register what it was.
She shakes her head and pushes my hand away. The rejection stings, but I mask it before she can see it take root.
“Why did you come to me?” she asks, evading an answer to my question. Which drives me closer to the edge of completely losing control.
I grind out a response for her in hopes it will encourage her to give me an answer. “Because of our bond—even though it’s not completed in becoming one—is strong enough on its own for me to feel you. And that includes your pain, Emma.” Her eyes narrow, studying me as she scans over every inch of my body.
I notice her chest hitching slightly when I lean forward and place my mouth beside her ear. “I’m not going to ask again. Tell me, or I’ll fly right back to that damn palace and torture everyone in it until I learn the truth.” My hand reaches for her waist, barely grazing the blood that soaked through from her wound.
She huffs, letting her stiff shoulders fall an inch as she rears her head back to glare at me. “The new fucking king, who had a bruised ego.” Her glower never falters. It’s hard and unmoving as she holds my eyes. Still, she continues to challenge me, and it makes my cock swell even more. “But I handled it. Let’s just say, he will be sleeping with one eye open.”
