Chapter 23
Kaelun
My head is still spinning from the impact of Aurelion’s blows. I brush something wet out of my eye, fairly certain it’s blood.
The funny thing is, I don’t know how I escaped his grip. One moment I was lying there getting pounded, the next it was like something pulled Aurelion. Only I didn’t ask Jah’ruud to help. Did he step in of his own accord? And what does that mean?
We haven’t spoken about the things we did last night. Once I’d cleaned myself up—and that took a while—he was nowhere to be seen. He has been hiding from me all day. I thought he’d abandoned me.
I’m letting the whirling thoughts in my head distract me. I almost get hit again when Aurelion lunges, swiping with sharp claws. He is fast. I’ve never had such trouble dodging anything.
I glance over at the glass where the sand has almost all trickled out of the top into the receptacle at the bottom.
Thank the gods this will be over soon. Only if I lose, I miss the opportunity for another night with her—and hand it to Aurelion.
I wish I could say with confidence that she will pick me after what we shared last night, but I can’t.
At least she seems to have forgiven me for lying to her.
I guess I probably should have told her about Jah’ruud too, only there didn’t seem to be an opportune moment.
Just then Aurelion dives for me, and I try to jump out of the way, but I’m too slow.
I squeeze my eyes closed, brace myself to feel the sharp sting of his claws in my flesh, but as I do, something yanks me forward, and I fall into the sand.
I land heavily, the air leaving my chest in a rush.
Instinctively I curl up, expecting another attack.
Nothing.
Aurelion’s roar echoes through the courtyard arena. “Liar! Cheat! Show yourself and fight me!”
I’m lying right next to him. Why can’t he see me?
I can’t understand it. Then I catch sight of a tall pale-skinned figure at the edge of the arena and blink in confusion. Jah’ruud is standing right there, wearing his human disguise. But if he’s there…
But there’s no time to question it. I need to land at least ten blows to gain a victory.
I jump to my feet, imagining grabbing Aurelion by the back of his neck and hanging on while I rain blows across his face.
The second I picture it, my vision blacks, I’m flung through the air, and I pop out right above the dragon prince.
I’m so surprised, I almost miss my opportunity to grab him.
I literally fall out of the air and onto his back.
Quickly, I grab hold of him, wrap my legs around his body, and do my very best to cut off his air with my arm around his throat.
I squeeze tight, and he lets out a choked sound of surprise. I haven’t gambled on his talons coming into play, though. He reaches up and scratches at my arm. All I can do is grit my teeth and bear it.
I pull on my hand with my free arm and lean close. “Yield,” I hiss into his ear.
Aurelion lets out another enraged roar. He throws me off and I go tumbling into the sand, but now that I have at least a few more hits, I have a chance. Glancing at the sand glass, I dive out of the way when he charges me. I need to land more blows.
I duck under a swipe and somehow appear right in front of him, unable to account for the movement. No time to question it, I sink my fist into his belly and smile at the wheezing cough he lets out as he doubles over. I add my knee and roll out of the way when he reaches for me.
“You filthy cheat!” Smoke pours from his nostrils. His movements are even faster.
Somehow I keep out of his way.
“I’m not cheating!”
“Yes you are!”
Ignoring him, I dive through his legs and jump onto his back once more. I almost have my grip locked around his neck when a sharp stinging pain sears through my arm.
I shout.
The sting of Aurelion’s teeth leaving my arm is almost as bad as them piercing my flesh. I scream in agony and drop to the ground. There are shouts from outside the arena. A feminine scream.
I drop to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
Aurelion spits into the sand. “Fool. You have had what you deserve.”
I roll away, holding my arm close to my chest. It throbs with pain, and I’m scared to look at it.
“What are you doing! I said no injuries!” Yalina drops into the sand beside me, and I have a moment to wonder at the solha kneeling in the dirt over me before she pushes Aurelion roughly. “You bit him!”
“He took me by surprise. My instincts kicked in. He should not have attacked from behind, and he should not have cheated.”
I groan. “What are you talking about?”
He scoffs. “Playing at being intimidated by me, all the time hiding the fact that you’re shadowborn. You let me handicap myself for no reason.”
Shadowborn? I frown. My vision is blurry, and I can’t think straight.
Jah’ruud said something about me too. I try to sit and look for him, but for some reason I can’t tell the sky from the ground. I blink, but my vision won’t clear.
Aurelion growls. “Do not blame me if he dies from the venom. If he was human it would have killed him instantly.”
“I’m fine,” I grumble, but I still can’t sit or move at all.
The next thing I know I’m being lifted in strong arms. Jah’ruud’s voice is gruff. “I will carry him.”
Yalina sounds worried. “I’ll have the healer sent to his rooms. Hurry, but do not jostle him.”
“I’m fine,” I try to say, but my words are slurred. My arm aches.
Aurelion growls. “He deserves no better.”
I can’t respond. Jah’ruud carries me out of the hot sun and into the cool of the building, but it hardly makes any difference. I’m burning. Jah’ruud bends over me. “Dragon venom is deadly even for one of your kind.”
“OK, you really need to do some explaining—”
“Your first wish won’t cover it. I can help you, but you’re running short of time. You must command me.”
My stomach flips in a way that has nothing to do with the speed with which he’s taking the stairs. “But I promised—”
“It doesn’t matter what you promised if you die before you can grant my freedom,” he snaps.
He’s right of course.
The palace walls spin and seem to join with the ceiling, and then, all of a sudden, I’m in my bed with him leaning over me. “Make the wish.”
I frown. What am I wishing for again?
“Damn it, make the wish!”
“OK, OK. I wish.” I blink. Then I remember. “I wish for you to save me.”
Jah’ruud lets out a long sigh. Immediately he places cool hands over the burning, stinging place on my arm where Aurelion bit me.
He whispers words I cannot understand, and the room is filled with a rushing, whooshing pressure.
My ears pop and my head throbs. My throat goes dry, and I try to cry out, but it’s lost in the roar of the wind.
Then, suddenly, it all dies and the room is silent once more. Jah’ruud’s head is bowed over me. There’s a long pause. Then he opens his eyes and looks up and straight into mine. “It is done. Not a moment too soon.”
Tentatively, I run my fingertips over the wound on my arm—or try to. The place where the flesh was raised from Aurelion’s sharp teeth is smooth and unmarred. I whistle. “A close call, then?”
Jah’ruud stands. He looks shaken.
“Were you actually worried about me?” I laugh.
He turns and his expression is murderous. “You may laugh it off, but I was worried. You are the first hope I have had in long centuries of slavery. And… more than that, you are… special to me.” This fact seems to make him even grouchier than his worry, but I have to smile.
“Oh, so last night did mean something to you after all, huh?”
With a growl, he stalks back to my bedside. “Are you always so callous? Of course it meant something to me. Do you think I give myself to just anyone?”
I shrug. “Sometimes you have to.”
He hesitates, and something softens in his face. “You also bear this shame?”
“Don’t think of it as shame. Think of it as survival.”
There’s another moment of silence where we share a look—an understanding.
“You did what you had to,” I say.
He sighs. “Last night you made sure I didn’t have to, and that means everything to me.”
I’m unexpectedly touched by the new softness in him. Reaching out, I place my hand over his, and he looks up at me in surprise. “You never have to. Not anymore.”
He looks down at where our hands are joined then back up at me again. “And for you? Did last night mean something to you as well?”
I smile. “Yeah, it means we’re friends now. We don’t have to fight each other anymore.”
He sneers. “Do you do such things with all your friends, then?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had one before. Let’s say friends with… benefits, then. You’ve got my back, and I’ve got yours.”
“Friends with benefits?” He says it like it leaves a foul taste in his mouth. “I do not take intimacies so lightly as you do.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. This is a big deal for me. Like I said, I’ve never had a friend before.”
He grumbles, but the frown eases from his face.
“Now I just gotta seal the deal with the solha so I can use my last wish to set you free.”