Resolve formed in my heart with her words. I would ensure Kaida and myself were prepared for whatever came our way. I’d protect and cherish our bond, forever, but that meant admitting neither of us were ready to face any enemy.
I turned to look at Theo, admitting to myself that he was the best bet we had right now. “I want you to train us. Together and separately. I won’t fly into Sanctum until I am confident we stand a chance, and I’m not too prideful to admit that we don’t right now.”
Sinda’s approval rolled through my mind and I lifted my chin as I stared into Theo’s eyes, waiting for a response.
“Then we will train every day and night once you’ve both recovered your strength, but don’t expect me to go easy on you,” he warned, a dangerous glint entering his eyes that I hadn’t seen since he’d thrown me over his shoulder and paraded me out of my home.
I couldn’t help the scoff that came from me as my brow pinched. “As if. I fully expect to be shown why you’re feared. Because as of right now, I don’t see it.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
SIYANA
I’d liveto regret those words in the weeks that came and went.
As soon as I had an ounce of strength, Theo had me walking and then running laps within the tunnel system, with Kaida learning to fly through them alongside me. Thankfully, with my bond to Kaida, I wasn’t in danger of being a small snack for an unsuspecting dragon. Our path had taken us by large caverns of multiple dragons sleeping peacefully, and none had stirred with my presence.
That was just our morning warm-up, with the afternoons consisting of hand-to-hand combat. At first, Theo had been surprised by my skill and ability to hold my own…when he wasn’t using his magic. However, as soon as he introduced the magic to our fights, I was no longer a match. It didn’t matter how many times I attempted to memorize his moves and tells like I would Brenson. Theo was completely blank, giving nothing away.
Recently, he’d turned to taunting me, as if goading me into an agitated state would make me fight any better. All it did was fan the flame of resentment for him that burned in my heart, the inability to equal him in combat only adding fuel to the raging fire. It served as a reminder of how inept I was in this world,and it felt like salt in the wounds of him not thinking me good enough to be his mate–even if I didn’twantto be.
Our talks diminished to only speaking to one another when absolutely necessary, and only in regards to Kaida’s needs and training now that we’d moved back to our own alcove. Sinda’s mate had stayed away per her request while the quickening had occurred, but he had grown increasingly impatient, and it was safest for us all to leave.
The nights brought a level of tension I’d love to be rid of, when we were forced to lay together on our small bed of shrubbery. Thankfully, Kaida distracted me from the forced proximity with his incessant snoring. Still, sometimes my body reacted of its own volition from being so close to Theo. Occasionally, our limbs would brush when one of us moved, and without fail, we’d instantly still, like we were breaking a rule and trying to not get caught by the other.
The small touches seemed to be occurring more often in recent nights, and it was proving harder and harder to not seek relief from my growing needs. It wasn’t like I had any moments of privacy to please myself. Despite not wanting to seek emotional depth with him any longer, I still had eyes that appreciated the lean, muscular build he put on display as he stripped down to his trousers every night.
This afternoon, when Kaida’s stretch of training with Theo came to a close, the little dragon promptly collapsed, exhausted from the demand his wings were taking as they tried to build his endurance for the trip. In a matter of just weeks, he’d somehow doubled in size, and I was already missing the sweet little baby he’d been when we first met and bonded.
He rolled onto his side and his wing flapped over with the move, smacking him in the face. I winced, wondering if it hurt, but his snores quickly echoed around us, and I relaxed.
Theo stalked toward me as I finished my stretching routine, voice slick with sarcasm as he gestured toward Kaida with a tilt of his head, “Intellect isn’t a flower that grows in every garden, I see.”
“Don’t call him stupid,” I quickly defended, jumping to my feet as fire burned in my belly. “He is still a baby and is trying his best. You see how exhausted he is.”
I took extreme offense to Theo’s words. I was beyond proud of my dragon and the tenacity he showed at such a young age. He should be off frolicking with his sister and other siblings that had since hatched, and I’d be a liar if I didn’t say that I still felt immense guilt for taking him away from his family. Despite the countless times Theo and Sinda had both reassured me that dragons didn’t share the same familial attachments as humans did, I still couldn't help but wonder if he’d be happier surrounded by his own kind.
He gave it all up for me, and I wouldn’t let anyone talk poorly of him.
Theo’s hand lifted to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You assume the worst of my words every time, Siyana. I simply meant that it was amusing to see his wings still act of their own accord. It is typical of younglings.”
I bristled at his use of my name. We’d given up the wench and dragon boy nicknames after the conversation following my awakening from the quickening, as the tension and anger built up to new heights. It still felt odd when he called me that, despite the weeks of him choosing my full name over the nickname. It didn’t sit right within my chest to have such formality.
“Whatever,” I responded, bouncing on the balls of my feet and rolling my neck around. “Let’s get to training. We’re wasting precious time with each day we stay here.”
I desperately needed to work off some of this pent-up energy or I was going to combust.
At this point, I wasn’t even sure I hated him anymore. Perhaps I hated myself for the pull I felt toward him, the temptation of his body as he wound through training sessions, muscles tightening and untightening, sweat glistening.... After everything, I thought the feelings would fade, and yet they only seemed to grow alongside my annoyance. And still yet, it seemed so easy for him. He was formal and detached, showing no signs of frustration other than with my inability to make what he deemed acceptable progress in our training sessions. Worst of all, the only thing my mind seemed to focus on was how he wasn’t as affected by me as I was by him.
Pining after him left me resenting myself, if I was being honest. I wanted to turn it off as badly as I wanted to break this curse and secure the safety of the people in my kingdom. I thought of the women’s lives that had been lost, and the thought of more being taken as I remained stagnant in my training forced me to work harder every day.
As I waited for Theo to compose himself to start our fight, his eyes fixated on the wall behind me, seemingly distracted by something. I glanced behind me, half expecting a dragon to somehow have snuck up on me, but when I saw nothing but an empty tunnel, I turned back with a raised eyebrow. “Hello? Are we going to spar or what?”
“Hold please,” he whispered, lifting a hand, “Lucius is talking to me about a new issue arising.”
My curiosity won over my budding anger at him giving me the hand, and I waited patiently for him to fill me in. There had been a few attempts to kill Lucius over the weeks, but neither Theo or him seemed particularly bothered by it, saying the culprits were easily killed in response. How they weren’t bothered by multiple attempts at his life, I didn’t know, nor could I fathom the grit it required to simply continue on in the face of such adversity.
I watched with rapt fascination as Theo’s face ran through a wild array of emotions, from shock, to intrigue, and finally to confusion. Nowthatwas new. He never reacted to Lucius like that. Each emotion was easily portrayed by the way his lips moved, from agape, to pursed, and then pressed into a thin line. Or maybe I just had an obsession with looking at his lips and needed to get a grip.
