When I was younger I thought that Gabrielle was the woman for me. Back then, I thought I had finally found someone I could share my life with. I was stupid, and I paid for my stupidity. For the longest time, I was sure that I had learned my lesson. People like me were meant to be alone. I had plenty of women after Gabrielle. I enjoyed physical attraction and I found my release as often as needed. Those connections never went anywhere. I made sure not to get attached and rarely saw the same woman twice.
What was about this girl that made my blood boil deep in my veins? Why did I look for her every time I entered a room? Why in hell was I so focused on her emotions?
She was beautiful, I could see that. Every man in the land could see that.
Was that the reason?
Every moment of my day, I kept thinking about her and it was driving me mad. I did not know how to make it stop. I forced myself to look away.
“Get some sleep.” Sol sat up, stretching his neck.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” he responded. His hand found the ax and he moved closer to where I was sitting against a column.
I stood up, flexing my shoulder. I could feel the ache in my muscles from the lack of sleep and the wild race that we had yesterday.
“What do we do, Ty?” Frid’s voice sounded in the darkness.
I turned, surprised that she was still awake.
“We need to go back to Riolle and meet up with Erin,” I said slowly.
“What about me?” Alina asked.
Involuntarily, I turned toward her, noticing her eyes and the loose curls that framed her face.
“I want to know more before we make our move,” I said.
“Aren’t you going to hand me over to them?” she lowered her voice.
“No,” I said.
The way she looked at me right then made me want to do something stupid. In the time I spent trying to keep all my friends alive and fulfill our duties, I had forgotten that I was still a man. And I wanted her so badly that every time I looked at her, something threatened to tear me apart from within.
Her proximity was dangerous. Thinking about her was dangerous. Having my stupid heart feel things again was dangerous.
“Why do you want to meet up with Erin?” Victor joined the conversation.
“He may tell us something we need to know.” I got comfortable by the fire, stretching my legs.
“I doubt the pigeon will be of any help,” Victor said.
“What I want to know is, who ordered her to be extractedfrom the fortress and who imprisoned her in the first place?” I said.
“Ty? Your shoulder! It’s healed!” Frid exclaimed.
“Yeah. My scratches are gone too,” Victor checked his arms.
“Same here,” Alina added.
“Damn... eternal blessing for all dragons, huh? Who knew,” Victor mumbled.
“I can’t believe I’m going to see you sleep.” Frid chuckled.
“That’s right, you never sleep,” Victor added.
I shook my head, placing my hands behind my head and closed my eyes.
