Page 2 of Soul of Fire

“That’s fine. Don’t answer me,” Jorgen interrupted, watching us with a particularly amused expression. “Please let us know when you’re done gazing longingly into each other’s eyes.”

“You’re one to talk,” Branka quipped, elbowing him in the ribs.

Jorgen retaliated with a pinch to her backside.

“Everyone expects me to be all gooey around you. It’s downright unsettling when Arik does it.”

I hid my smile by pretending to be very focused on the clasp of my cloak.

“We’re stopping because Idunn and Bryndis are tired,” Arik said as he finally pulled his shirt over his head. “Stormhold is at least a three hour flight, and you know how volatile newly mated females can be. Especially when sleep-deprived.”

Branka and I let out twin snorts of indignation.

“Bryndis is perfectly alert,” Branka insisted.

“Idunn being tired has nothing to do with her temperament,” I said at the same time.

Oh, it does,Idunn yawned into my mind.I intend to incinerate first, ask questions never where my mate’s safety is concerned.

As do I,came the huskier female voice of Bryndis.

“Traitor.” Branka looped her arm through mine. “I’ll never get used to that. Her voice goes all echoey when she’s speaking to both of us.”

“Echoey?” I laughed.

“You know what I mean. I’m almost jealous that you can hear her.”

“It’s not something I can control,” I reminded her. I had no idea that I could hear all dragons until I’d been bonded for weeks,and it still unsettled me when one of them popped into my head unexpectedly.

I leaned down to grab my pack with my free arm and grit my teeth to avoid yelping in pain.

Fine, are you?Arik took the bag from me in a smooth motion and slung it over his shoulder next to his own. As dragons, we carried our packs in our claws, but it felt much heavier than it had when Idunn and I were flying over the ocean.

He frowned as he wiped another dribble of blood from my upper lip with his thumb.

I’m atinybit sore,I relented. His gray eyes were shot with silver as he seemed to strip me bare, like my soul and my thoughts were an open book.It was a long flight.

You did well,he conceded as he drew ahead of our party to guide us to the gods knew where.Remind me to kiss all of your sore parts better when we stop for the night.

I stumbled as a vivid picture of where those kisses might be placed flashed across my mind.

Idunn purred, and something inside me went a little molten.

Branka caught my elbow. “You okay?”

“Perfect.” I scowled at the back of Arik’s head.You’ll pay for that.

Despite initially fighting the idea that I’d be forced to bond with a mated dragon, thus tying myself to another without much choice in the matter, I didn’t regret anything I’d done with Arik.

If anything, I wanted more. I wanted things that I wasn’t ready to say out loud to anyone, not even my dragon.

Arik’s responding laugh made fire lick my insides.

Looking forward to it.

“Goddess, help me,” I muttered.

“What’s that?” Branka frowned, and I realized she still didn’t know I could hear Arik in my head. I’d revealed that I could hear the other dragons when the odemarksdyr had attacked Ironholm a week ago, but this unusual part of our bond was still very much a secret.