HAEL
He took her to a fucking brothel.
I was still fuming with rage as Aura soared downward into the heart of MonClem.
Nollie passed out the moment we took to the skies and had been going in and out of consciousness ever since.
I had no idea what happened to her, but I wanted to murder Cash for bringing her there. She clearly had some sort of past trauma with being touched, it was obvious the day I brought her into Viven, and the fucking prick took her to the one place in the Grigg that was known for exploitation.
I hopped off Aura’s back, cradling Nollie against my chest. I wasn’t about to have her dangling from a claw while she was unconscious, and I refused to acknowledge what that meant.
The fact that Aura let her ride on her back was proof alone of what I’d been avoiding, of why I couldn’t control myself around her.
Using my invisibility, I erected a shield over us before anyone saw me carry Nollie up onto my dragon. I was fairly confident that whatever shock Nollie was going through, wouldn’t let her remember the ride either.
Aura huffed steam over us, coming out of her own invisibility thesecond I was off her back. Her piercing gaze lingered on the girl still unconscious in my arms, and it was getting harder and harder to deny it.
I just never thought it was possible…
I’m not going there right now,I snapped into my mind, our bond working so that Aura knew exactly what I meant.
She huffed again, her chest producing a low rattle, but I ignored it. Even if our telepathy was one way—courtesy of the Vinculum bond, only dragons could read their rider’s thoughts—I still knew exactly what she meant. It had been a century since I first bonded to her, and I swore I knew her antics better than my own.
Aura’s rattle grew before she took to the skies, leaving me alone with Nollie.
My eyes scanned the village as she started to stir in my arms. The training grounds were empty, and all the identical cabins lining the perimeter were deserted—for now. But we had to get off the main stretch of land before the Imassura ended or this place would be flooded with riders.
Nollie’s eyes blinked open and it nearly stopped me in my tracks. I watched her as realization dawned, as her face took in my features, then her eyes drifted down to my arms—one wrapped under her knee, the other behind her back—as I held her against me.
“Are you alright?” I asked, my voice quiet, but with how empty MonClem was, I knew she heard me.
I watched her inhale, waited as four seconds passed before her exhale filled the silence.
She blinked again, already trying to shift out of my arms. I obliged, gently setting her feet onto the ground as I watched her steady herself.
Her eyes widened when she finally pulled away from me and took in where we were.
She spun in a circle, noting how the mountain range completely smothered the village, trapping us in except for the single tunnel that led to the Dome. The only way in or out was the passage or the skies by our dragons.
Her eyes went to the sword still strapped to my back. It was nolonger covered in blood, but I knew exactly what she was thinking as she took it in. It was what everyone was thinking whenever they learned I was the Drakin Leader, whenever they’d see me carrying out Elion’s orders.
She closed her eyes, doing another sharp inhale and exhale before she opened them again, this time, looking directly at me.
“Are you okay?” I asked again.
She nodded, her cheeks turning crimson before she whispered, “Where are we?”
“MonClem.”
Her head turned from side to side again, before she asked, “How do you get inside?”
“You don’t.” At least her question was confirmation that she didn’t remember riding Aura. It would help her from getting in trouble if Elion used Lira to question us. “Everyone else flies in or takes the tunnel,” I said.
“Right.”
She looked behind me, toward the large grassy plain past some of the cabins. It was our official training grounds, and although no riders were currently occupying it, the firelight still lit the fields in a glow.
“We should get off the streets,” I said, coming up behind her, praying she wasn’t looking too closely at what was happening.
