Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
brENTON
A zap pulsed through me as Hoshiko flew us through the tear.
When Finley shivered, I pulled her closer to my chest, taking in the way her heart pounded harder and faster. If I could, I would’ve molded us together, not allowing any space to exist between us.
“She isn’t yours,” Hoshiko said. Three words that butchered my heart.
I knew that. I knew she wasn’t mine to hold. She wasn’t mine to breathe in like salvation. The only reason she’d clasped my hand or nuzzled her face against mine was because of the bond’s cruel tug, that ceaseless reminder of what we’d never have.
The bond made it too easy to forget myself, too easy to believe her warmth was something that could actually be.
It would pass, though, and once we were on land where space existed between us, she’d realize her mistake.
It was why I’d drawn away first, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her rejection once again.
I couldn’t keep doing this to myself. I couldn’t continue breaking myself for a hope that would never be mine.
But her tears . . . gods, I could handle her anger, even her indifference.
But her tears wrecked me. I wasn’t holding her out of want.
I was holding her because she needed comfort, and if Etienne couldn’t be here to give it, then I would shoulder her pain.
But when she gripped my hand with hers, I was certain she’d leave permanent grooves on every spot of skin she touched.
“I know,” I told my dragon. “What would you have me do? She cried because I pulled away. I can’t be the cause of her pain.”
“But you’ll permit her to continuously cause you pain.”
Yes. Relentlessly, yes.
I ignored Hoshiko’s dissatisfaction and focused my attention on the heavy mist that clung to the air of Vistos watching it clear and give way to my first sight of the dragon realm.
A sandy beach spread before an open sea of blue.
Waves crashed against what looked like black rocks.
Hoshiko coasted down so that his body skimmed over the restless water.
I ran a hand over my face when it sprayed me, cooling my warm skin. When I licked my lips, I laughed, taking in the taste of salt water. Hoshiko angled his body to the side, making his left wing glide through the waves. More water sprayed on my face.
The sound of Finley’s laughter caught in my throat.
With a final spray, he flew over the sandy beach. I patted his back, pointing at the sand, although he couldn’t see me.
“Is the sand pink?” I asked him.
“It is.” Through our connection, I felt his pleasure. Whether it was delight at being home or me seeing it, I wasn’t sure.
“I am pleased to be home. It’s been . . . several thousand years since I’ve been back,” he said, having heard my thoughts. “I’m also pleased to have brought you to my home.”
I shook my head at the wonder of it all.
I’d read about the ocean and sand from the many books I’d found about the human realm. The pictures in the books couldn’t do it justice.
When he lifted higher to fly us over the large island, I did my best to take in the tall trees and mountains, both of which seemed to stretch beyond the cloudless sky.
Finley did the same. Birds, far smaller than our thunderbirds, but just as colorful and beautiful, flew through the heavily wooded forest.
I looked back, not ready to leave the beach behind, but the beauty of the ocean drew my gaze to the endless blue that seemed to meet the sky in the horizon. A quiet bay stretched to the east of us, where the water was still and calm.
Narrowing my eyes, I tried to see whatever was built over the water, but from this distance, I couldn’t make it out.
“When we have a free moment, I’ll take you there,” Hoshiko said.
“What is it?” I turned my head further, trying to keep it in view.
“That is where the dragon riders and their families live,” he said.
I jerked my head back while this tingling sensation flushed through me, but no one had mentioned anything other than dragons in Vistos. “You have fae living here?”
“Not fae, but humans.”
My stomach fluttered while my thoughts seemed to freeze in my mind, narrowing on only the rush of wind in my ears. “Humans?” I asked aloud.
Finley peered back at me in question. A part of me wanted to ignore her, but I’d never been any good at that, especially when the warmth from her body pressed against me while her intoxicating scent filled me.
I pointed toward what I assumed was an above-water village. “Hoshiko said humans live there.”
Although the wind carried my words away, she heard me. Her body stiffened, her breath catching before her composure slid back into place.
Only her eyes betrayed her. The dark around her pupils spread, swallowing the silver.
“The homes almost look like they’re floating on the water,” she said.
“They’re not?”
When she turned around to take a final look at it, her shoulder brushed across my chest. A subtle, inconsequential touch. Except nothing about her was inconsequential. The bond twisted inside me, making me want more.
I forced space between us, pulling back and wrapping myself in restraint.
“I believe the homes are built on poles,” she said.
Her attention flicked to my chest, to the gap I’d put between us. She noticed. Of course, she noticed. And gods help me, the thought of her crying again because of me burned through my chest.
“The homes are built on stilts,” Hoshiko corrected.
With stray strands of her hair fluttering across her face, her smile curved slowly and small. Not for me, but because Hoshiko had spoken to her as well.
Before she could turn away, I brushed her hair back, running a finger over the pointy edge of her ear. Goosebumps rippled across her skin and she let out a shuddered breath.
My resolve wavered.
Her lips parted, her teeth digging into her bottom lip while her gaze fell to my mouth.
My throat closed. Our bond howled. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. She had Etienne. She wasn’t mine. I wasn’t hers.
But my hand betrayed me. My thumb brushed her lips before I could stop myself. When her tongue whispered against me, a sound broke from deep within me. Primal and guttural.
I was already lost.
I brought that finger to my lips, stealing the faintest taste of my mate. Just one taste. No more. The bond demanded, and I gave in. My chest heaved, my body betraying the same vow I’d sworn over a thousand times.
But no further.
She trembled, her eyes blazing a silver-white. And for a fractured beat, the world narrowed to her. To us.
“Hold on,” Hoshiko said, rattling us both out of this trance.
She blinked, her eyes going back to their pretty silver as she angled her head to the side. She looked every bit the female of my fantasies. The only thing missing was her limbs wrapped around me.
Vith. I had to get ahold of myself.
I cleared my throat and gestured forward with my chin, trying to hide the way my hands shook. “We’re landing.”
At Hoshiko’s descent, she wobbled before she clung to him, the muscles on her neck straining as she did her best to hold on. I pressed my legs over hers, and she seemed to relax. Without my legs holding me to Hoshiko, I lifted a little from his back.
He growled in warning. “Your mate has a good hold of my neck. Worry about yourself as you promised your sister you would.”
“Hold on with your legs too.” I squeezed my legs tighter over hers until I felt her tighten her hold on him.
When I lifted my legs from over hers, she turned wild eyes on me. It wasn’t fear that shone from them, but excitement. Her excitement called to me, made me want things that weren’t mine to take.
I took in a steadying breath, trying to calm the erratic beat of my heart that clashed in my head.
Hoshiko landed us gently, and when I jumped off his back, Finley did the same. She stumbled, though, almost falling to her knees, so I cupped her elbow to steady her, only letting go when I was certain she wouldn’t fall.
But these touches . . . gods, they devoured me.
Burned me alive in both savage and sweet ways.
I didn’t hunt them. I didn’t dare. Yet when she offered the slightest touch of her hand, my control splintered.
I couldn’t deny her, not when pulling away made her cry.
Not when the bond roared within me for more.
So I let myself burn. I took the edges of what she gave me and nothing more.
Never chasing, never asking. Only enduring, with my teeth gritted, as our bond ripped me down to tattered shreds.
I turned, looking at the giant cave before us, cleaved from the very mountain we stood on.
Tall trees stood with stout trunks, some straight and others bent.
The warm, gentle breeze blew their evergreen leaves, which seemed to drape from the very tops of the trees, encasing me in a sweet, floral scent with a hint of salty air.
Elias and Everly stood beneath a particularly giant tree, their bewildered gaze fixed on its top. Nearby, their dragons drank from the edge of a small pond. I moved to join my friends but stopped, looking back at Finley, whose lips were parted and eyes wide in what looked like awestruck admiration.
Her gaze met mine when I put my hand against her back.
“Why don’t we see what has His Royal Kingliness in such shock?” I gestured toward them.
“His Royal Kingliness?” she asked.
Her cheeks held a pinkish tone, which wasn’t from blushing but pleasure. She was stunning when she let her joy shine.
“It’s one of my many pet names for him,” I said.
She shook her head, taking her hand to her messy bun to unfasten it. Black spilled across her muscular shoulders, and I had to fist my hands so I wouldn’t reach for the silky strands of her hair. Already, I knew how soft they’d feel between my fingers.
Distance. I needed distance.
I dropped my hand from her back, and when we stood beside Elias and Everly, Finley let out a startled laugh.
“Are those sling-stones growing from the tree?” Finley asked.