There was no going back from what we did, and I just hoped that there wouldn’t be any regret on his part. After all, he’d said he was saving his body for his mate. What if…what if that still wasn’t me?
“Mmm,” he rumbled, splaying his hand against my lower back and resting his head atop mine. “I’d like more of all of that.”
I cackled, smacking my hand on his chest lightly. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
His lips brushed against the top of my head and I felt his jovial mood dissipate, taking my smile with it. “I guess that is for us to figure out, isn’t it? I can’t tell you where we go from here. It’s a feat that my dragon was satisfied enough with marking each other with our scents to put off demanding the bond be established.”
Well, at least that answered my earlier thought.
"I don’t know how long I’ll be able to resist initiating it again,” he admitted with a heavy sigh that made my head move up and down with the breath in his lungs. “What I do know is that we need to head to Sanctum. I know you feel like you haven’t made progress in our training, but you have. Unfortunately, there will always be a gaping disparity in our prowess, due to my magic.”
It was my turn to sigh, deflating with his astute observation. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to protect you or Kaida if something goes wrong.”
I rolled to my back, forcing him to loosen his grip so I could stare up at the sparkling ceiling alongside him. How things had changed since the first time I’d seen it.
Silence wrapped around us as we each fell into our own thoughts. For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t filled with anxiety and pent-up anger. Sinda had been right about pleasures of the flesh, but I’d go to my grave before admitting that to her.
“Whatever happens, know that I will lay my life down before letting anything happen to you or Kaida. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to ensure it.”
His admission, though sweet as it was, had the smallest iota of dread taking root in my gut.
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
SIYANA
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Theo, there is no other option,” I reasoned, dropping his saddle to the ground, knowing he wouldn’t shift until this was settled.
His eyes locked onto Kaida, who was looking around in awe, seeing as this was his first time out of the mountain. It brought me immense joy to see his eyes widen and his tail flick around as his head craned in every direction, taking in the expansive blue sky that provided an idyllic backdrop to the snowy mountain range. I imagined this is how parents felt when their child first experienced the world with them.
It was a beautiful day for us to head toward Sanctum. Despite truly being in the thick of winter now, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky for the time being, and we really needed to take advantage of that before any came. Rain or snow wasn’t high on the list of things I wanted to experience on this journey. Though, I knew it would be a relatively quick one if Theo would just accept my plan.
Despite knowing I was right, he wasn’t budging because of his ridiculous dragon-sized ego.
“We can take breaks,” he reasoned, arching an eyebrow at me. “This is unheard of, wench.”
Kaida walked toward the edge of the alcove and my heart all but leapt into my throat, scared he’d launch into the sky, not understanding we weren’t in a cave system anymore.
Theo was quick to stand in front of him. “No! You are not allowed to fly out there yet.”
My hands flew into the air. “See! There is no other choice but to let him ride on you with me. He’s going to get lost,” I reasoned, my voice growing panicked, “or he’s going to hurt himself pushing that hard to keep pace with you!”
Nerves clawed at my stomach at the thought of either option. He was just a baby. We couldn’t ask that of him. While he’d made immense progress in his training, I wouldn’t risk pushing him too soon. I’d never forgive myself if he was lost in this big world he knew nothing about, or if he injured his wings during these formative growth phases.
Thankfully, even though his endurance wasn’t quite up to par, he excelled at tapping into his ice magic when training with Theo, earning some hard-to-come-by praise. I’d been assured that the only real threat to him at this point would be an older dragon. However, the unspoken truth still lingered–Theo was only including the threats we knew of in our world. Heading into Sanctum opened us up to a plethora of unknowns, the unfamiliar place full of possible risks to all three of us.
Leaving Kaida behind wasn’t an option either–he threw a fit when I brought it up last night. It would be even more dangerous to try to leave him behind just for him to possibly try to escape and follow on his own.
Kaida hunched down, a low growl coming from his belly as he narrowed his white eyes on Theo. My hand lifted to hide the smile I couldn’t contain. My dragon knew something had shifted between us, and he wasn’t a fan.
Last night, when we’d returned, Kaida had run his nose all over me, huffing and hissing. When we sat to share dinner, Theo had entwined our fingers together, lifting my hand to kiss the back of it, but Kaida was having none of it. He’d woken up from a deep sleep, as if sensing the contact, and made it his business to come sit between us, making it impossible for us to hold hands any longer.
I wasn’t sure if he felt jealous of my relationship with Theo, in the sense that they were both dragons at heart. By nature, they were territorial creatures when they claimed an item or person. It seemed I’d quickly become a prized possession to them both. It could have also been spurred on by my offer for him to stay behind while Theo and I went to Sanctum.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Kaida,” Theo argued, holding his finger up in a scolding manner that made me giggle.
