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Chapter 16
REED
“I’m notyour fucking prey. Not a fan of being carried this way.” I called out over my shoulder at Gage, who had his scaled arms wrapped around my chest. His wings made a clapping sound with each beat, and we jostled about as if riding bumpy waves.
He laughed in my ear. “Would you rather face me, Lion King? Groin to groin.” Mirth wove through his words, and I gritted my teeth because he’d been rubbing himself against me on purpose for most of the trip.Pervert.We’d been flying for close to a day to reach Vanore because he’d insisted on a hundred stops to rest his wings. What sort of dragon was he?
“I swear, if I feel the slightest twitch against my ass, I’m jabbing you in the ribs, even if I fall to my death.” Asking Gage to carry me to Tritonia was about saving time, but catching a carriage might have been more comfortable, even if it took longer.
His mouth lowered to my ear, and he whispered, “Don’t worry, pussycat. I don’t swing your way either.”
I nudged him to back off, and his arms slackened. I slipped and panic struck my chest as I grappled to clutch on to his arms. At once, he tightened his hold.
“Now play nice.” He burst out with laughter once again, and I swallowed my response, needing this to be over with already. “We should have caught a carriage.”
“Nah, would have taken too long,” said Gage. “Anyway, do you hate dragons or something? What was with the attitude back in your territory when Elliana and I visited?”
“You trespassed and were throwing your weight around on my land. Of course I was going to give you shit.” Below us, the forest spread out in every direction. Farther in the distance, the bluest skies sparkled beneath the descending sun’s orange glow. “Take us higher toward the cliff over there.” I pointed to our right, where a mountain with a sheer rock wall jutted upward.
“Geez, I need to rest.”
“Again?”
“You’re not fucking light. How much do you weigh? Five hundred pounds? You’re a damn bull.”
I shifted in his grip. “Four-fifty last time I checked. Lion shifters carry the weight of their animal form when in human form. Wait till you take on your dragon form—nothing will be able to pick up your fat dragon ass.” I chuckled.
When Gage didn’t respond, I figured I’d found a sour point, so I changed topics. He annoyed the hell out of me, but he’d agreed to carry me, and I’d seen how protective he was of Elliana. They were traits I expected in my pride, loyalty and a willingness to fight to the death for your family.
“Anyway, what’s the deal with you and Elliana?” I asked as he huffed behind me, his wings flapping double-time to ascend the cliff’s edge.
“We used to date, and we’re back together now.”
I nodded and thought back to my kiss with Elliana, the tenderness in her touch and words. The admiration in her gaze. In her tower, she’d never pushed me away, so perhaps things weren’t all rosy between her and Dragon Boy. But even if they were, I’d grown up with families made up of several parents. If several hearts joined, nothing else mattered but being with those people. Even if it came in the form of sharing. My mother had had three husbands and would often tell me she loved them equally.
Such a system worked if everyone agreed, but my situation with Elliana came with the complication of Gage. He adored her and he might not accept a shared relationship. Well, come to think of it, Elliana might have issues with that too.
What fucked-up thoughts when I ought to have been focusing on freeing Elliana before the witch returned, as well as finding my sister and missing pride members. Part of my reason for agreeing to come to Tritonia was that I hoped this Vanore could also help with eradicating the purple-eyed witch. No guarantees, but I’d try anything.
Gage interrupted my thoughts. “I know you’ve got a thing for Elliana. I’ve seen the way you stare at her, how you kissed in the tower.”
Any second now, I expected him to drop me. Nothing would surprise me, but when he didn’t, I said, “She’s beautiful inside and out. I’ve never met anyone like her before, but if you insist she’s only yours, I’ll back off.”
No response at first, then he sighed. “I think she’d have an issue with me making such a call on her behalf.”
“I don’t know a female who loves being told what to do or how to behave.” I chuckled because all the women in my pride would snap someone’s neck in a heartbeat if they showed a sign of threatening them. They were super protective of their families. After I’d taken over the pride from my father as his eldest son, I opened the rank to females to train as warriors.
A cluster of ravens zipped past us, and the breeze grew cooler the higher we climbed.
“Guess if Elliana felt the same way I did about her,” Gage said with clipped words, as if the topic bugged him, “I’d be a full dragon by now.”
“She’s in a shitty situation and pushing you away until she’s free.”
Elliana had said something similar, and it made sense. Why drag someone you care for into danger? And I adored her nurturing nature, even in times of hardship, and after years of being alone, she still thought of others. But she was a mystery, a woman trapped for so long that she spoke to herself, raised in cruelty, yet she stood tall. My pulse raged through me at knowing someone had done that to her.
“How long has she been talking to herself?” I asked.
“Since I met her. Figure it’s her coping mechanism from being alone so long. Doesn’t make her any less amazing.”
