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Something lurched inside me. A nostalgia made sharp by both grief and longing. The desire was so thick it made my throat go dry.I want to ride like that.
This creature was nothing like a huge, lumbering irkdu. It had grace and intelligence and rugged nobility in the raw power of its wings. Its feathers were so dazzling they almost looked like they were made of metal, dozens of daggers flashing in the light. It soared downwards and landed lightly, its many spindly legs cushioning the blow of gravity.
Gahn Errok sat tall upon his mount’s back – perfect riding posture. As much as I hated to admit it, he looked good up there. Like it was exactly where he belonged.
My breath hitched.I used to belong somewhere like that, too.
I walked forward as if drawn by an invisible force, coming to a stop before Gahn Errok and his mount. I tipped my chin up to meet the mountain warlord’s gaze.
“Alright,” I said. “Let’s talk.” Clearly, me ignoring him or just walking away the way I had last night wasn’t going to achieve anything. We needed to talk this out. So that he understood that I wasn’t interested in him.
Gahn Errok swung his leg over and then jumped down onto the sand. Fuck me, he was huge. I had to keep my chin tipped back just to look at him. I squinted behind my sunglasses, letting my gaze roam his face. His face was broad but not quite as rugged as some of the other Sea Sand men’s. There was a masculine sort of refinement to it. High cheekbones to balance out the strong jaw. A full mouth and dark blue brows above his large, relentless eyes. Like some kind of dark alien angel.
“Must we speak here?” he asked, his bright white sight stars shifting behind me to the crowd of human women watching. Now that he had descended, some of the Sea Sand guards had taken notice of the situation, too, their eyes never leaving us.
“Alright. Hold on.”
I turned to everyone watching.
“I am going with Gahn Errok to speak in private. In...” I glanced around. “In there.” I pointed to a crack that led into the cliffs and would afford us a little privacy.
“I don’t think you should go anywhere with him alone,” Tilly called over uneasily.
I heard a hiss building in Gahn Errok’s throat, but I spoke before he could say something colossally stupid and offensive.
“If I need any help I’ll just scream or something. But I need to deal with this.”
Fiona and Tilly looked at each other, and the Sea Sand guards didn’t exactly look happy about it. But ultimately, this guy was supposed to be my mate. Which meant they couldn’t stop us from from going somewhere together if I agreed to it.
“Come on,” I said, walking away from him. He caught up quickly, and even through the fabric of my hood I could feel the penetrating blade of his gaze.
We entered into the crack, walking through a shadowy tunnel of stone into a small, sunlit clearing. I leaned against a wall of red rock, shaded enough in my spot that I could take off my hood and sunglasses.
Gahn Errok stood in the centre of the clearing area. The sun poured down his body as if the very light worshipped him.I wonder if he’s ever had somebody say no to him before.
“So. That... Um...Display,” I started. I wasn’t exactly sure how to ask what I wanted to. It was something along the lines of, “What the actual fuck were you thinking?”
But that wouldn’t translate easily.
“Were you suitably impressed?” he asked, watching me closely. His face was unreadable. Closed off and cold, his eyes narrowed calculatingly.
“Uh... I guess? Like, yay you, you’re strong? But so is every other guy on this planet. It doesn’t mean anything.”
His lip twitched, his jaw tightening. “What does one derive meaning from, if not strength? If not prowess? If not the glory of a lone man with a boulder on his back fighting until there’s no fight left?”
“Oh, please. You weren’t fighting. You were showing off.”
His brows rose, his mouth falling open to reveal pointed fangs. “You make me sound like a boy playing at being someone he is not.”
I quirked a brow, silently confirming what he’d said.
“You.... This is not fair!” He closed the distance between us in two large steps. I gasped at his sudden proximity.
“This is not fair,” he said again, his voice lower and huskier than before.
I was about to roll my eyes and snap that life wasn’t fair, and hadn’t anyone ever told him that? But he spoke before I could get it out.
“You’ve got my heart. You can do whatever you wish with it, and clearly what you wish to do is crush it. I cannot stop you. Will not even fight you. But it’s only fair that you give me your own heart in return.”
