Chapter 11
Eleven
Dirk
The lack of a door on the rear of the chalet made getting out undetected much easier. I crept away into the growing dimness of early evening, confident I’d done so without anyone knowing.
The feminine voices coming from Anna’s room told me the women were in there talking before dinner.
Durion and Kolar were out patrolling, just in case the Reds came back, and since I knew their routes, timing my exit was easy to ensure I missed them.
That just left Caz, but I hadn’t seen him anywhere.
Everyone was busy, so I could haul my feeble self through the forest one limp at a time with none the wiser. As it should be. A simple departure in the dark would be best for everyone. Caz would understand, and he would be able to take the others back to the citadel sooner.
I was a liability to everyone in my current state, so it was easiest to remove myself from the situation.
Each step was painful, my leg still not fully healed.
It could support my weight, however, and that was all I needed.
Once I could get in the air, it would be easier.
Doing so would be an ordeal I didn’t want anyone else to see, which was yet another reason I made for the cut in the cliff and not the main landing area.
It was slow going. I wasn’t used to moving with such pain. I hadn’t felt this beat up in a long time. Not since …
I shoved that thought away viciously. Those days were behind me. All of them.
Then why are you so afraid of it all coming back? Perhaps you’re not as different as you think …
I bared my teeth at the betraying thought. It wasn’t true. I was different now. I was Dirk Dvorak, the Ice Prince, brother to Caz.
My dragon perked up, adding another thought to my list: Mate to Ella.
I came to an abrupt stop.
No, you stupid lizard-brain. She deserves someone who can show her love and caring. Not blood and darkness. We have nothing to offer her. Which is why we’re leaving.
The beast in my head tossed its head and thrashed against my mind, angry at my denial.
“Stupid animal,” I growled into the dark night.
Ella needed time away from me. She’d been through so much.
From being caught by Hunters to being sold to an Elite named Yarl who had put her in a slave collar.
Then there was being marked by me against her will, and of course the attack by the Reds just days ago along with the sudden appearance of her dragon.
The attack.
I clenched my fist, using the anger as a focus for my energies as they returned. I wasn’t fit to be Ella’s mate, but that wasn’t going to stop me from doing everything in my power to keep her safe. From a distance.
Once I got back to the Ice Citadel and the capitol city of Kylma, I would begin to dig.
Someone knew something. The anonymous tip about the attack that Florian had received had to have come from somewhere.
Just as clear was the truth that a traitor was among us.
Only a handful of people knew that the chalet was occupied.
I would track them down and find whoever had betrayed us, the one who had told the Reds. And I would kill them.
My dragon bristled with unbridled rage, eager to get its claws on those who would put our mate in harm’s way. For once, I didn’t correct it. Our past still had its use from time to time.
Ella would not come to further harm. I swore that vow on the spot. This time, I would not fail her.
I made my way through the forest toward the cliff face and the meadow beyond, moving a little faster, buoyed by the knowledge I could be something positive for her.
It was bad enough sitting idle when Caz freed her from Yarl’s slave collar. I won’t let her go through that again.
The screams in the middle of the night had been horrible. The sound haunted me still, having to stand by and do nothing. At the time I hadn’t been able to figure out why it affected me so much. At least now that was clear.
A wave of cold fury matched my thoughts. My dragon agreed. We hated knowing Ella and others were treated that way simply because others of our kind were stronger. That was wrong.
Reaching the cut, I turned sideways and shuffled through as best I could with my hurting leg. The breeze picked up and pushed me from behind, as if urging me to go faster.
I grimaced as my wounded leg sank slightly into a depression in the ground, putting added weight on it. I hated being so weak. If I was stronger, I could spar with Caz or Kolar, or just work out, shed some of my stress that way. But it wasn’t an option.
The meadow appeared through the cut in the cliff at last, and I picked up the pace slightly, eager to finally make my escape. That’s what it was. I couldn’t lie to myself. I was running away, no matter how I tried to explain it.
Just before I stepped onto the soft, grassy meadow, the wind brought a scent with it that locked my muscles in place, even as my wounded leg screamed in pain.
Ella.
Nothing else could be so intoxicating.