Chapter 22 #2
Gareth drops onto the bed and bounces once. “A decent mattress. This is just what we needed to be recharged for heading back home.”
Everyone sort of finds a spot to relax, glad to be off their dragons. Glad for the warmth from the fire and the softness of the bed.
“So are the female dragons just going to go back to the island now that they’ve been in the sacred waters?” Alaric asks.
Harper, unsurprisingly, has confirmed our plan with Ebron.
“The females are going to break off from us after this and go in search of male dragons to impregnate them. Some of them have an idea of where the elusive remaining male dragons are hiding out, so there’s definitely hope that they’ll be pregnant pretty soon. ”
“Which means male dragon babies, just what we wanted,” Lucien says, putting another piece of wood on the fire.
There’s a knock at the door, and the lead dragon rider from a moment ago steps in. “Elder Thorne is ready to see you now.”
All three of the princes look ready to collapse, but there’s resolve in their faces.
Lucien plants a kiss on Harper’s cheek. “You just stay here with Sevrin and relax. We’ll be back soon.”
Alaric slaps my shoulder on the way out. “Don’t let her seduce you until we get back.”
Gareth just gives me a serious look. “Keep her safe, okay?”
I nod. “Always.”
The door closes, and it’s just us. The silence is sudden, almost hungry.
Harper leans her head on my shoulder. “They’re not coming back soon, are they?”
“Nope,” I say. “That Thorne has his own agenda, and I’m sure it’s not something we’ll like.”
She tilts her head to look at me, eyes bright. “You think they’ll get him to understand that this is all for the best?”
I snort. “No, I don’t think it’ll suddenly be sunshine and rainbows with that bitter old man.
But he doesn't need to understand it, just accept it, because my people are already making preparations to come to our new Dravari lands. I imagine they’ll be along shortly, and they’re expecting a warmer welcome from the dragon riders at Gore Rock than they’ve received in the past. My sister threw out the idea of just sending warriors here the first time to test the treaty, and I thought it was a good idea. ”
She smiles, then shifts, so she’s straddling my lap. “I think I’m done worrying. Want to find a way to relax?”
It takes a second for my brain to catch up, but then I’m kissing her, mouth hungry and rough.
Her lips taste sweet and feel so damn soft that I’m instantly ready for her.
How long has it been since we last fucked?
Too long, that’s all I know. She pulls my hair, hard, adjusting me to kiss her more deeply, and I nearly lose it.
She breaks the kiss, breathing hard. “I really missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I say, voice raw.
She brushes her thumb across my cheek. “I can’t wait to be home with you.”
I believe her, because I’m dying to be back in her bed. To be back somewhere that doesn’t make me feel on edge.
She tugs at my jacket, yanking it off my shoulders. “I missed this,” she says, hands tracing the scars on my arms. “Missed you.”
I pull her in again, slower this time. Her body is heat and salt and softness, and I want to memorize every inch of it. I want to take an imprint of this woman and carry it around with me always. She’s my heart. My soul. And I want nothing more than her.
She removes my shirt and pushes me back on the bed, crawling up until she’s above me, hair falling in my face. “You’re mine,” she says, like it’s a threat and a promise.
“Yes, My Heart, whatever you wish,” I say, and mean it.
She laughs again, and the sound is so full of life it hurts.
The door bangs open, and before I can even blink the room is flooded with dragon riders, swords drawn. The lead is back, face twisted into some mix between hatred and regret. I stand, putting myself between them and Harper, blade suddenly in my hand.
Rosanthra, something is wrong. We might need you, I tell my dragon.
I will tell the others, but we are still weakened from the flight. We will eat as much as we can, replenish, and be ready if needed.
That had to be enough for now.
“What’s the meaning of this?” I ask, keeping the fear from my voice.
The head dragon rider steps forward, sword leveled at my throat. “You don’t belong here, Hollowborn and Hollowborn lover. It’s time we set things right.”
“Set things right? This is treason!” Harper shouts.
“Treason?” he repeats, his eyes dark as night. “No, Elder Thorne has made his orders clear. Both of you are to die, and we’re to leave no trace of you behind.”
“This isn’t what the king wants!” She pulls out her dagger, clenching it in her hand as she comes to stand beside me.
The leader of the dragon riders grins. “He made a mistake working with the Hollowborns. A mistake Elder Thorne is correcting.”
His attack is fast, but I’m faster. My blade is leveled at him before he’s even halfway across the room. I don’t think, just move—straight for his throat, a low slice that turns the world bright red for a second. He goes down and I kick his body at the next one, buying half a heartbeat.
I pivot, pulling Harper behind me. The second man is smarter, stays out of reach and tries to herd me back toward the bed. I take a wild swing, nick his cheek, but there’s a third coming up behind him, and a fourth at the door, and then the whole room is bodies and blades and shouting.
As three men rush me on one side, another goes for Harper.
I plan to take down the man who’s coming for my woman, but Harper grabs her dagger and stabs it deep into the eye of an attacker, who screams bloody murder.
She doesn’t stop there, just stabs him again and again.
The sound is meaty and wet, and the look in her eyes is pure murder.
“Behind you!” she screams.
I spin and catch the hilt of a sword with my ribs.
It hurts, but not as much as it should. I stab the man and feel the blade cut through leather, before the guy grunts and drops to the floor.
The third attacker knocks the sword out of my hand, but it doesn’t matter—I have a second blade tucked in my boot.
I reach for it, and when he bends to grab me, I jam my knife up through his jaw.
Blood sprays my face, hot and metallic. For a second, everything slows down.
I see Harper swinging her dagger in a wild arc, catching a man in the temple.
She’s screaming, a wordless, animal sound that makes every hair on my body stand up.
The fourth attacker grabs her from behind, pinning her arms, and she thrashes like a hooked fish, kicking at his shins until he loses his balance.
She twists, bites his hand, drawing blood, then knees him in the groin. He goes down and she stomps his head for good measure.
It’s beautiful.
But there are more, too many. Two fresh men crash into the room, both going for me.
I take a hit to the face, then another to the gut.
My dagger is knocked from my grip as I try to catch my breath.
I’m doubled over, vision blurry, but I still manage to sweep one off his feet.
He cracks his head on the stone floor, then I’m rolling on top, smashing his face into the ground until he stops moving.
The other one yanks me up by my hair and rams a fist into my mouth. I taste my own blood, spit it in his eyes, and rake his cheek with my nails. He recoils, and I use the chance to grab his dagger. He tries to pull away, but I drive it into his thigh and he collapses, howling.
I’m up again, searching for Harper. She’s in the corner, two men pinning her arms, a third trying to clamp a hand over her mouth. She bites one of his fingers clean off. He shrieks and falls back, clutching his ruined hand.
I reach for her, but the dragon riders swarm me, a pile of bodies and leather.
I fight, punching and kicking into the sea of bodies, even as they kick and punch me from every direction.
They manage to hold me down, wrenching my arms behind my back.
One of them slams my face with his fist, and the world goes white for a second.
Another pummels my stomach. I can’t breathe, can’t even scream.
When I blink back to reality, Harper’s being dragged toward the door. She kicks and claws, rips out a chunk of someone’s hair, but it’s useless. There are six men on her, and even she can’t fight that many.
“Sevrin!” she cries, voice raw. “Sevrin!”
I lose the rest of her words in a chorus of boots and fists. They hit me again, and again, and again, until my teeth rattle and my vision tunnels.
All I see is Harper, arms outstretched, screaming my name as they haul her away. I try to struggle my way free, but they’ve got me by the arms and throat, choking out any last spark of rebellion.
They keep kicking me. One, two, three, each blow like a little death. I feel every one, but I don’t even care. All I care about is Harper.
Her voice fades into the corridor, echoing off the stone: “Sevrin! Sevrin!”
I lurch up, wild and blind, but they punch me back down. My skull rings, vision seared by red and black.
Harper is gone. The room is full of blood and broken bodies, but none of it matters.
All I can think is that I failed her.
I barely notice when the pain finally stops, when they start dragging me from the room. There’s only one thing that matters: I have to get her back.
I have to.
I have to.
She’s my everything.