His eyebrow raises ever so slightly.
“I’ll sit behind you and make sure you don’t fall.”
Sit behind me, as in… right behind me? The dragon’s huge. There’s no shortage of space. I turn and look down the long expanse of her back, then up at the witch in front of me.
“Is that necessary?”
“Without my magic, I can’t keep us grounded. I’m used to dragonback, but you…”
“I’ve been on a dragon before.”
“Yes, and it went so well for you,” Roiven says dryly. I glare. There’s a shadow of a smile on his lips, like he finds this hilarious.
“If she hadn’t barreled over…”
“She might have to again, if we hit a bad storm, or a Hellion spots us,” he interrupts. “And if it were any other day, knight, I’d happily watch you fall, but considering I needyouto take the enchantment off me, I’d prefer you make it through this flight alive.”
I give him a nasty look, but I take a seat between two rows of her spines, like he suggested. The spikes in front of me come halfway up my chest. I grab tight.
“Move up,” Roiven says. He’s standing over me.
“What?”
“Against the spikes. All the way.”
I scoot forward until the front of my thighs press against the dragon’s ridges. And then Roiven squeezes in behind me, both our bodies bracketed between the rows of spikes. The space isn’t wide enough to fit us both comfortably. His body crushes against mine, thigh to thigh, my buttocks tight against his hips, my back pressed to his chest. He’s warm, and his clothes areextremelythin, and just because he isn’t erect doesn’t mean I can’t feel the bulk between his legs pressed against my ass.
I draw a shaky breath. I thought he was going to sit in the set of spikes behind mine, not both crammed together like this.
When I try to lean forward, all it does is grind our lower bodies closer. There’s not an inch more space to be gained with the spikes in front and him behind. AndthenRoiven reaches his arms around me to grab onto the spikes, his large, ink-lined hands resting an inch above mine. His chin grazes the top of my head.
It feels, almost, like being held. Something that hasn’thappened in a very long time. Because no, Roiven picking me up and hurling me out a window or into the ocean doesn’t count.
By all that’s holy, he’s the King of Witches. He’s the man I’ve sworn to destroy, the man who killed countless numbers of my people, sank my Hellion, and ruined my life.
But there’s a throb between my legs. My face flushes hot, and I’m glad he can't see my expression.
I can hate him and still like the way this feels. I’m not sure I’m making it through this flight in one piece.
Before I can tell him I’ll risk it and sit alone, Sava crouches and hurls herself upwards. We shoot straight up into the sky. I scream, and regret it immediately when the sound of Roiven’s laugh cracks behind me.
I’m fearless. Really. But I wasn’t ready. I hug the spikes tighter as Sava’s wings boom and shove us higher up.
“Easy, knight. You’re fine,” the witch murmurs in my ear, mockingly. My heart pounds like I’m about to die. And I hate to admit it, but maybe I’m glad his warmth is pressed tight behind me. He’s the King of Witches, and he does this all the time.
If Roiven isn’t about to fall, I tell myself, then neither am I.
The wind drags through my hair and I take a deep breath of briny salt air. I may hate the sea, but I have to admit the view is sort of beautiful.
Sava tilts hard to catch the breeze without warning. I yelp as I start to slide, and my stomach clenches hard, remembering when she rolled and I fell. When I had a Hellion to pull on, the magic at least helped me stay grounded, letting me anchor myself in the direction I wanted. I was fit, too, training regularly and eating well.
Now, I have nothing but my body, and Roiven’s. My hands tighten on the spikes, but I keep slipping further left and I can’t stop. Sava beats her wings and I bounce up out of my seat for a moment, falling to the side.
I could actually fall off, if I keep slipping. She’s in constant motion.
“Help?” I squeak.
The Witch King lets go of one of the spikes. He wraps his arm tight around my waist and grinds me back into place against him. My whole body feels like it’s crackling with nervous energy. My blood pumps hard. His grip on me is so tight.
