Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Emma
Several days later
I listened to the steady breathing of Azar as he slept deeply beside me. But I knew at a moment's notice he’d be alert, ready to battle for me. I turned my head and looked at him, the pallet we lay upon so very big, yet he managed to make it seem tiny.
I couldn’t help but stare at him, to get lost in his dark features, at the way the short strands of his thick hair haphazardly lay on his head, at the way some of the dark locks lay against his horns. My fingers twitched to touch them, and I didn’t deny myself, hadn’t ever taken the liberty before now.
But I felt braver when he was asleep, without the penetrating look he gave me, as if he was getting lost in everything about me. It made my brain all mushy in the best of ways.
I reached out and ran my fingertip along one of the dark arches, marveling at how smooth it was. I didn’t know what I expected, but it was like nothing I’d ever felt before, and I continued my exploration.
I wanted to touch more of his hard, defined body, but I didn’t want to wake him. I knew he hadn’t been sleeping very much, knew he stayed awake because he felt the need to constantly protect me.
How strange life can be and change so drastically for the better.
I let my fingertips trail along the arch of his dark eyebrow before finally pulling my hand away. I pushed up slowly, quietly, looking down at him. The furs were pulled up to his waist, and I shamelessly let my gaze linger along his pectorals, down the six slabs that made up his abdomen, and appreciated that sexy V of defined muscles that framed either side of his hips.
I let out a slow gust, picturing him hovering over me, his shoulders and chest blocking out everything else as he slowly pressed into me and pulled back out. It would hurt—that I had no doubt of—but I looked forward to him claiming me. I knew it would be one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
I wanted him, yet he was intent on taking his time and making sure I was completely ready. Did he know I was ready now ?
But I didn’t act on my impulses and instead slipped out of bed. I grabbed one of the tunics Azar had made for me just yesterday. The material hung to my knees, made from the same hide we used to wash ourselves with.
I grabbed a fur at the end of the pallet and found myself walking toward the mouth of the cave, wrapping the hide around my shoulders as I crept quietly. It was warm enough I didn’t need the fur, but I had this chill in my body, this feeling that raced up my spine that had goose bumps forming along my arms and legs. I didn’t know what it was, maybe nervousness, hesitation, because I didn’t know what the future held. Or maybe it was something else. A warning.
I found myself at the entrance of the cave, not foolish enough to step out any farther. I didn’t know if there were any other dragons in the area, didn’t know if that Draco was still close by. It wasn’t as if I could scent him like Azar could. So I stayed close to the entrance, enough that I could run back to the safety of the cavern if something were to happen.
For long moments I just stood there, never having seen much beauty in this world that I called home, but being high up in the mountains and taking in the vast distance, the red upon red that was sporadically broken up by the black, gnarly shaped trees and the towering mountains, showed me a different side of this world. It was beautiful in its own frightening, destroyed way.
I looked in the distance I thought the Pit was and felt that longing sensation return. I missed Tilly. I’d been too afraid to speak to Azar about going and seeing her, not because of fear of him , but because I knew how dangerous it was to go back to the Pit. But my worry was for Azar. They’d try to kill him. So as much as I missed my friend, I wouldn’t risk Azar’s life.
I wasn’t sure how long I stayed out there, but the warm breeze teased my hair and helped get rid of my turbulent thoughts. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, not smelling the stench of humans crammed into an underground network of caves and tunnels. Not smelling their unwashed bodies. There was no suffocating thickness invading my nose of the red dirt that was kicked up from the fields as the wind blew.
At this height, everything smelled clean and free and warm.
A sound carried in the wind had me opening my eyes, and I blinked back into focus. But glancing around didn’t show anything but the hazy skyscape of this world. And then there was a tingling on the back of my neck that had my attentiveness coming onboard.
I was about to head into the safety of the cave when I saw a flash of something big and dark far too close for comfort.
In the blink of an eye, he was a dark cloud in the distance and then landing on the ledge closer to me than I felt comfortable. Hell, even being on the same world made me feel uneasy. My heart was racing, beads of sweat lining my temples. His dragon form was massive, just as big and intimidating as Azar’s.
Up close, I could see a lot of similarities between the two, but where Azar’s horns curved up and outward, this dragon’s—Draco’s—horns were curved backward from his temples before arching forward so the points were facing me.
His eyes were huge and this startling blue. Like ice. Cold. Hard. Unforgiving and deadly if used the right way. And his focus was trained right on me. I swallowed, my nerves strung tight, this voice inside my head screaming to run, to get to Azar. And then with the next inhalation I made, the dragon shifted to his human form.
He looked much the same as Azar, his skin an olive, tanner color, his eyes shockingly the same blue as his dragon form, with a black ring around the blue irises. His pupils contracted and expanded. Back and forth, over and over again, as if it somehow helped him size me up.
He tipped his head to the side, inhaled deeply, and then retreated a step. I didn’t know how I knew, but I was aware he smelled Azar on me, knew I was my dragon’s mate. And he… respected that?
There was a deafening roar, and I could feel the stirring of Azar’s anger, of his possessiveness as it slammed into me so hard and fierce I sucked in a sharp breath. Although I was human and didn’t experience the Cord, I knew there was definitely something supernatural tethering us, a link between body and soul.
I heard the heavy pounding of Azar barreling through the tunnel to me, and then he was in front of me, his body seeming bigger because I knew he was seconds away from shifting. He let out a low growl of warning, leaned his upper body forward, bent his knees, and took on a clear attack stance. He positioned me behind his back.
I leaned to the side and kept my gaze on the other dragon. But he just stood there, his head still cocked to the side as he looked between me and Azar. It was clear he felt no fear.
“Be at ease, Dragao. I have no interest in your female,” the Draco said in a similar accented and deep voice to Azar’s. But it sounded harsher than my dragon’s, and definitely not as pleasing to my ears.
“Yet you’re in my territory. You’re far too close to my mate for me not to assume you don’t want to take her from me.”
The other dragon didn’t respond, just watched us as if hewere curious about how this was all transpiring. He showed absolutely no fear, and in fact I had a feeling he almost found this humorous.
“Your mate is from the weak species,” he commented slowly, his brows lowering as if he were mulling his word choice over in his head.
Azar said nothing, just growled, and he kept his body positioned in front of mine. He did swing one thickly muscled arm out and wrapped it around my lower back, his fingers curling around my hip. Did he actually think I’d move? There was no way I’d draw any more attention to myself. Because although I would definitely stand my ground, even fight to the death to try to survive, that’s exactly what it would be—to the death for me. And I risked getting Azar killed as well with any kind of heroic foolishness.
So I focused on his warm hand on my waist, his reassuring presence. And the truth was, I’d never felt stronger than I did in this moment. Because I had somebody in my corner. I have somebody at my side.
“You will leave now, or I will be forced to defend what’s mine,” Azar snarled out. “And I promise you I will show no mercy.”
His back was rising and falling viciously as his breathing picked up. His voice was grated and low, harsh, a tone I knew was his dragon’s. Azar was a deadly, frighteningly savage creature, and I was in awe.
How could something that wasn’t even human arouse me so much? How could the sound of his dragon pushing through have the danger right in front of us not be the priority?
But the answer was simple. Because the dragon was Azar, and with him I felt completely submerged in all the sensations and emotions I never thought I’d ever experience.
“Be at ease, Dragao,” the other male repeated and smirked, but I could tell it wasn’t an expression that came from a pleasant nature. “I want nothing to do with your territory or your mate.”
“Then you really have no business here.” Azar took a step forward, and although I couldn’t see his face, I knew he was baring his teeth, knew his fangs were long and sharp from his aggression.
But the other male stood his ground and had the arrogance to chuckle, as if Azar wasn’t as intimidating as we both knew he was.
The other male placed his hand over his chest and inclined his head, a gesture that looked an awful lot like respect. “I am Ryezan of the Draco Legion. And I’ve come to seek information from your human mate.”
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Azar growled deeper, his upper body leaning forward even more. “You do not speak with her, let alone look at her.”
“You misunderstand me,” Ryezan said and dropped his hand from his chest, grinning so wide it showed his very white teeth and sharp fangs. “I, too, am mated to a human.”
I felt my eyes widen at that admission.
“In fact, she comes from the same human settlement as your female.”
Every part of my body tightened and tensed at his words.
“What is this you speak of?” Azar snapped, but he did straighten to his full height and used his hold on my hip to pull my chest more firmly against his back, as if he was afraid to not have me close.
“What I mean is exactly what I say. I’ve seen my female, my Cord is awakened, and I wish to seek more information about my mate from yours.”
Azar didn’t say anything and instead let out a low, savage sound.
“I know nothing about her kind. She’s surrounded by males of her species,” he hissed and bared his teeth as if the very idea pissed him off. “I don’t want to frighten her by killing them all in order to take her. But I will. I’ll tear them limb from limb, then light their lifeless bodies on fire with my breath to get to her.”
I shivered at his vicious words.
“Tread lightly. You frighten my female, and that’s punishable by death in my eyes.”
Ryezan held his hands out, and that smirk was back in place. “I mean no disrespect. I just want information on how to safely get my female. And I’d prefer not to frighten her in the process.”
I licked my lips as this inkling started in the back of my mind. There were plenty of females in the Pit, yet something was prickling in my subconscious, this realization. “Y-You saw her outside? In the fields?”
Ryezan nodded once.
“And this was recently… when you saw her in the fields?”
He inclined his head in agreement.
“W-What does she look like?” I knew who she was without him having to describe her. Because if he saw her out in the field, there were only a handful of females who did the hard labor.
I kept looking at Ryezan, my head cocked to the side as I looked around Azar’s side. But I didn’t dare move out from the protection of my dragon’s body. I wasn’t a fool.
“What does she look like?” I asked again, whispering.
I could see Ryezan’s face soften, looked into his icy-blue eyes and knew he was thinking about his mate. He closed his eyes and exhaled, that familiar purring I heard from Azar so many times now coming from Ryezan. It was obvious that when he thought of his female, he couldn’t help the happiness and pleasure that came over him.
“She is… stunning. Absolutely perfect in every way imaginable.” He opened his eyes then, and even from this distance I could see his pupils dilating even more. “Her hair is as dark as night, her face so feminine, fragile. I fear if I’m not careful, I could harm her just by placing my hand on her pale skin.” His purring increased, and I practically sensed Azar’s dragon rising. “And her eyes… as green as the Bakari Sea.”
Oh . No. I knew who he was speaking of before he described her, but even so, now knowing it was Tilly had shock settling into me. She was the only one with green eyes and black hair in the Pit.
And then Ryezan turned his attention right to me and looked me in the eye.
“You do not look at my mate,” Azar said with barely restrained rage.
“Your female… I’ve seen your mate with mine. I need to know more about my female. I need your mate to tell me everything.”
Apparently that was the breaking point for Azar. Ryezan’s demands were met with fury. Azar launched himself at the other dragon, but at the last second Ryezan shifted into his beast form, took flight, and hovered in the air for a suspended moment as he stared between Azar and me.
I wrapped my arms around my waist, unsure if there was going to be another battle but afraid this could very well be the one that took Azar from me.
But it was clear Ryezan was just as possessive of his mate as Azar was with me, which meant he wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t give Tilly up.
The only saving grace of this whole situation was the fact that Ryezan didn’t seem to want Tilly to be afraid of him. But before I could think any more of it, before I could think of how the situation had gotten so frighteningly worse, Ryezan was leaving, his giant black wings like shadows in the sky.
Only when we couldn’t see Ryezan anymore did Azar come back to me. He wrapped me in his arms, my chest to his, my head resting just below his pectoral muscles.
“You know this female he speaks of?” Azar’s voice was deep but low. He kept me close and ran his hand up and down my back in a soothing manner.
I nodded but then cleared my throat. “Yes. She’s the only person in the Pit I really care about. I’m sure she’s so worried about what happened to me,” I whispered.
Azar tightened his arms around me, and I felt him kiss the crown of my head. “Then we will go to her. We will go so you can assure her you’re happy.” He pulled back and cupped my cheeks, the sharpness of his claws softly pressing to my skin, never hard enough to harm. He was so gentle with me. “You are happy, aren’t you?”
I stared into Azar’s black eyes and felt myself softening against him, felt the smile slowly spread over my lips, and knew that as crazy as all of this was… yes, yes, I was so happy. I nodded, and my small smile turned into a full grin. “Yes,” I whispered. “I’ve never been happy before, and this whole situation is fast and crazy, but yes, I’m so happy.”
Azar pulled me in and embraced me for long moments, and then he was leading us to the cave, and there was nothing more I wanted than to lie in those furs with Azar, his arms around me, his lips on mine, and no chance of stopping things from going as far as they could.