Sorrow filled my voice as I asked, “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”
His mouth opened as he struggled to find the words he wanted, but I shook my head and made it simple for him.
“There are no words to make this okay. Don’t waste our time continuing to search for them. I need to pack my things and say my goodbyes to those I love.”
I felt the hollowness of my words and hoped the subtle distinction that he wasn’t a part of that group was loud and clear.
A loud sigh came from King Takkar as he opened the heavy doors. “You will have everything you need provided to you at my castle, and we don’t have the time for you to say goodbye to whomever. It will take us all day and into the night to make the trip on horseback.”
Horseback? He was a king and could shift into a dragon, yet we would be riding horses?
Once again, I sensed something was off, and I nestled that information away. I assumed we’d either fly back or have a carriage and escort befitting his rank.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him the least he owed me was my goodbyes, but a scuffle from the corridor took my attention.
“Sia!” a familiar voice yelled.
My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat.Tillie.
“Sia!” she screamed once more as guards informed her she wasn’t allowed into the room.
Despite being my lady-in-waiting by choice, she was still a member of the royal family. The guards never defied her. Clearly my father had warned them to not let her in.
The terror in her voice had my throat tightening and my feet moving swiftly toward her. A large arm jutted out as I made to pass through the doorway, my eyes clashing with my dearest friend for the briefest of seconds before the guards hauled her down the hall, kicking and thrashing within their grasps.
“Tillie!” I cried out, pushing against the arm that blocked me.
“We are leaving, now,” the dragon stated dryly as his hand traveled down to grip my wrist tightly, drawing my eyes up to his cold, uncaring gaze. “I don’t have time for your sorrowful weeping and empty promises to stay in touch.”
I glanced back to my father, seeing if he would try to rectify the wrongs one last time, but I was met with a blank stare from a man I was beginning to realize I never truly knew the heart of.
“Unhand me right now!” Tillie screamed as a guard let out a curse, and I felt my fire return with her fight as I whipped my head back to my enemy.
I bore my teeth at him, feeling the familiar energy I had when sparring with Brenson wash over me. “I will gouge your eyes out with my nails if you block me from going to her one more time!”
He lowered his face until our noses were a mere inch apart, his presence overwhelming me, yet sparking my indignation even more with his attempt to intimidate me.
“I think I’d like to see you try that,” he whispered darkly as his serpentine pupil widened, like a predator enthralled with the thrill of a hunt.
Chills covered my arms. “Let go of me now, or else,” I stated calmly, preparing myself to make use of the dagger hiding under my dress.
“That’s enough out of you!” a guard yelled just before a grunt of pain came from Tillie.
I didn’t think, moving on pure instinct as I used my free hand to draw my dagger out, cutting my dress in my rush. I glared up at the hulking shifter, holding the tip of my steel to his abdomen. Our breaths mixed as we held each other's gaze, a battle of wills taking place.
Who would yield first?
“Unhand me and let me say my goodbyes,” I ground out, “and then we will be on our way.”
He made a noise of contemplation, tutting, before responding, “On second thought, I think I will take that dagger to use to clean my teeth the next time I go hunting.”
Before I could even process what was happening, his intense gaze ignited with a spark of lighter blue, sending a chill down my spine. The spark wasn’t natural–was it magic? I felt the icy tendrils spread from his hand, creeping up my wrist and enveloping my entire arm in a matter of seconds. The sensation of coldness seeped into my very bones, stopping at my shoulder as if it had been commanded to do so.
All I could do was stare in horror at his display of magic. I knew dragon’s abilities came from an elemental deity, but there wasn’t much knowledge in our books on the details of how it was used as drackya. Our singular librarian told me it was closely guarded information that the dragons ensured remained within their own lands. Naively, I’d assumed they could only use such power while in their beast form.
“Drop the dagger. Or I can shatter your arm from your body,” he stated, seeming a mixture of annoyed and bored with my antics. “Your choice, dear wife. It doesn’t matter to me if you lose a limb or two.”
My lips pursed with unbridled fury.
