Chapter 40
Roksana
Abuffeting wind woke me up from the sleep I had fallen into somewhere mid-flight.
It was a blessing that I slept at all.
After a rather tearful goodbye with the bies, Cinared took to the skies.
My heart was pounding like a blacksmith’s hammer as he beat his wings, gaining altitude, the rhythmic movement of his body threatening to oust me from my seat.
Sweating and clinging to Reynard as if my life depended on it, I begged the dragon to land.
He rumbled something, and soon, his flight became less like the wild beating of a kestrel and more like the smooth gliding of an eagle.
This, and Rey’s warm embrace, helped settle me down.
‘How far are we from Truso?’ I asked, yawning.
Rey’s arms tightened around me, and when I looked up, he was smiling. ‘Welcome back, sweetheart. It won’t be long. An hour or so, judging by the terrain.’ He chuckled when I sat up and tried to peer down at the landscape below.
‘How can you see when it’s so dark?’ I asked. ‘Just my luck. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the city from above, and I’m more blind than a man with one eye.’
The dragon roared with laughter, exhaling a plume of fire.
‘For this, I’ll fly you wherever you want, whenever you want.
I’ll show you the world from the sky… Anything you want to see, my Sanika.
’ His lisping voice rumbled in the air as he lowered his altitude.
‘But right now, hold on tight. The wind is picking up, and it will be a little rough.’
I grasped a spike of Cinared’s crest just as the dragon’s neck dipped on its final descent, then turned to Rey. ‘Did you tell him the pet name you gave me?’
‘No, and he wasn’t that thrilled when I asked him for a ride,’ Rey whispered in my ear, wrapping his arms around me. ‘I have a sneaking suspicion this grumpy bastard dug through my memories, and I’m certain he likes you more than his bonded rider.’
‘Of course I do. And I didn’t need to dig anywhere. You’re projecting so hard that you are giving me a headache. Sanika and Cinared, how fitting. The first light of the dawn for the fire that rules the sky.’
I bit my lip, unsure how to react, but I no longer found it surprising that Rey had bonded with this dragon. Their personalities were a perfect match, though I’d bet my chopped-off braid neither would openly admit it.
‘Is he always so intense?’ I whispered, and the dragon rumbled.
‘I can hear you, Sanika.’
I sent Rey a pleading look, but the bastard only chuckled. ‘Cin doesn’t think he did anything wrong. After all, he graciously agreed to share you instead of hoarding you all for himself like his other treasures.’ Rey tapped his head, indicating the shared thoughts.
‘I found her when you tried to force me to fly south. It’s only right I get to keep her,’ the dragon rumbled, but there was no heat to his words. Rather, his voice vibrated with mischief. Emboldened by this, I smacked his neck.
‘You, cut it out,’ I said before turning to Reynard, ‘and you, stop enabling him.’
Rey laughed while the dragon sent forth a plume of fire that lit the night sky like falling stars. I sighed, feeling warmth building in my chest. Here, between the clouds, with the stars shining brightly above us, we were free from the troubles below. I wanted this moment to last forever.
‘I’m doing my best, but he’s incorrigible.
’ Rey interrupted my musings with more teasing.
‘A dwarf, a bies, and now this overgrown lizard; how many more rivals will I have?’ I turned my head, expecting to see the darkness of jealousy in his eyes, but he grinned, leaning forward and kissing my temple.
‘It just proves my impeccable taste in women and my supremacy in wooing them.’
‘One more mention of women in plural and I’ll ask the dragon to singe your wick. He likes me better, so I’m sure he won’t object.’ I gasped when the dragon folded its wings, plummeting downward. ‘Rey, what…?!’
My body shook, my forehead missing Cinared’s crest by inches with the impact of him landing, an impact I didn’t see coming, preoccupied with our banter. ‘You did that on purpose,’ I muttered, taking the king’s hand so he could help me slide from the dragon’s back.
‘You were so scared when we leapt into the sky that distracting you during our landing felt like a good idea,’ Rey said, catching me when my legs gave way, unused to flying on a dragon.
Cinared lowered his head, and the tip of his forked tongue gently caressed my cheek.
‘You were safe on my back, Sanika. Yet you struggled to calm down.’ The dragon lowered his head, looking at me with a tenderness I wouldn’t expect from someone I barely knew.
‘Rest, and if that berserker causes you too much trouble, send him my way; I’ll sort him out,’ he said, his voice lowering to a purr when I reached out and stroked the massive snout.
‘It was my first flight. I’ll do better next time, if you allow it,’ I replied softly. I didn’t believe in love at first sight, but if I did, I would have to admit I was falling for the dragon.
Rey sighed, observing our interaction with an unreadable expression. ‘Since when are you so eager to sort me out?’
‘Since I saw the flickering hope I’d lost shining in Sanika’s eyes.
Her Elder blood called me from the sky; she is the reason we bonded.
I found a kindred soul in a world the streams of time had left empty.
Look after her, Reynard. She is more precious than either of us deserves.
’ He bowed his head and then withdrew, looking at the night sky.
‘I’ll return in the morning and take you… If you still want to have that flight.’
I’d lived over thirty years, and not once in my life had a man made me blush the way this dragon did. I was lost for words, but somehow, I spoke through my tight throat. ‘Thank you, Cin.’ Then he took to the sky.
‘You definitely made an impression on him.’ Rey’s wistful tone dragged my gaze back to earth. ‘Come on, sweet Viper. Let me look after you before this bastard rips my leg off for keeping you outside on a chill night.’ He grinned before scooping me up as if I were as light as a feather.
‘No, wait. I only need kava and something to eat. We need to call the council and Tova. I have the schemata…’ I grabbed his neck when he leapt forward. The surroundings blurred as Reynard ran. He was rushing up the stairs of the Dragon Terrace as if it were nothing.
‘Tomorrow, Viper.’ He smiled, keeping his eyes on the path. ‘Tomorrow, I’ll be a king, and you can be my shadow. I promise you the world won’t end if we carve out a few hours for ourselves.’
We paused briefly at the entrance to the castle, allowing the guards to open the heavy, ornate doors. Our arrival sent the servants into a frenzy. The entire place suddenly came alive, humming with buzzing activity as he carried me to his private quarters.
‘A bath and a meal for two; nothing fancy, just nutritious,’ Rey told the head maid who accosted us.
‘No…’ I began protesting, too anxious about my friends to indulge myself in rest and food. Rey looked at me, and a small, intimate smile ghosted across his lips.
‘Send messages to the Dark Brotherhood, Master Tova, and Lilliana at the House of Lillies,’ he said. I gasped, listening to his instructions. ‘Tell them Lady Roksana is safe and sound but spending the night in the palace. They are welcome to visit tomorrow.’
‘Thank you,’ I said when we entered the bedroom.
‘I know how much you care for them. I won’t let them worry about you, or you worry about them when I want you all to myself.
’ He laid me gently on the bed, closing his eyes when I kissed his cheek.
‘However, if Tova charges in here to drag you back home, I swear I’ll lock him in the deepest, darkest dungeon. ’
Behind us, the servants came and quietly set up a tray with food while others rushed to the bathing chamber, filling his massive tub with hot water. I moaned as fragrant steam billowed through the door.
‘Feed me, bathe me, and I’ll let you keep him locked up this one time.’ I stopped because he pressed a piece of sweet pastry to my lips.
His eyebrow raised at my hesitation, as if wondering why I hadn’t opened my mouth yet.
So I did, slowly taking the food until my lips closed around his fingers, licking the sweet stickiness of the jam coating them.
‘I’ll have to congratulate the chef. This distinct taste of dragon must be hard to achieve,’ I said.
‘Fuuuck…’ he murmured, irises flashing golden while his body stiffened under me, ‘You’re right; bath first. I just wanted to feed you. Please, let me look after you tonight.’
He meant well, but his plea reminded me of my condition and what he would see.
Survival no longer held back the memories of that time, but I didn’t want to confront the darkness festering inside me.
I wanted to erase it, to forget it all. I never again wanted to see, to feel, to smell Tivala’s dungeon, the dirty hands of his goons groping my body, beating me, cutting my braid.
I fucking won, and I won’t let that bastard taint my life any longer.
‘Y-You said this night is… that this night is for us,’ I stuttered, heart hammering in my chest. ‘Then pamper me, my king. Hold me and chase the shadows away.’
A shiver ran through my body. It was the closest I’d come to confession, but the words didn’t want to come.
I didn’t let it stop me, embracing Rey instead and hiding my face against his chest. I needed him and the safety of his touch, his strength, his devotion.
I needed this gentle warrior to eradicate every memory until there was only him.
‘Sana?’ he whispered, stroking my short hair.
‘Be gentle with me, please. That’s all I need,’ I whispered.