Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“What have you done?” Rimi asked, sliding off his back as quickly as possible.
Kept you safe? Keres suggested before shifting.
“How are we going to get out of here?”
“How about if we worry about that later? You need rest. I made sure you could get some.” Keres crossed the short distance she’d put between them. The mate bond hadn’t allowed her to stray far.
Scooping Rimi up in his arms, he carried her back to the large chamber. “Where do you sleep, Mate?”
“Pick a rock. Any rock,” she said in a tone that told him how crappy her existence was. Her tone was markedly hopeless for anything different.
Spotting a patch of moss growing at the side of the cavern, Keres set her down close before stripping off his shirt. He draped it over the slight padding and unfastened his pants. Rimi whirled around to face the rock.
“Whoa! I’m not having sex with you.”
“You will, but not now. Now, you’ll rest. I’m only making a mattress for you.”
“I’m not undressing.”
“We’ll take care of that when you’re ready.” He hid his amusement at her harrumph of disbelief as he finished smoothing out his discarded apparel.
When he was naked, he helped her settle on top of his clothes and lowered himself to her side. Snuggling in next to her, Keres held her to his side. Her tense muscles were rigid against him.
“Sleep, Mate. I won’t ravish you while you rest.”
“You’ll ravish me later?” she asked sarcastically.
“Exactly.”
After a few moments, she softened in his arms. Exhaustion overwhelmed her ability to stay awake. Keres was confident that somewhere inside, she understood she was safe. He listened carefully as the dragons continued to rally outside the collapsed entrance. His mate would be safe. Keres would make sure of that.
Chapter 3
Finally, silence filled the interior space. The rampaging dragons had battered the entrance throughout the night before finally giving up. Rimi had slept through all but the very beginning of it.
Keres suspected that after they hadn’t found a way inside easily, they had created as much destruction and havoc as possible. It made sense to him that someone so desperate to get to a female dragon would respond with spite when finding themselves blocked by another. Had they worked together to entomb Keres and Rimi inside the mountain?
He planned to wait until Rimi awoke and then search for a way out. At the moment, there was plenty of oxygen. His mate had eaten. They had water from the nearby spring-fed pool. And he held her in his arms. Keres pressed a kiss to her temple and loved how she squirmed closer with a slight smile as she slept. He’d given up on having this again. Keres vowed to treasure every moment.
Suspecting Rimi had not contacted Oldrik, he reached out. Oldrik. I found her. She’s not in the best shape but has now eaten and is sleeping. Rimi will contact you when she wakes up. The distance would delay the message, but he’d hear back soon.
Not in the best shape? Blasted into his mind a short time later. What’s wrong with her?
She’s been trapped inside her refuge without food for too long. I’ll keep her safe now.
You’ll keep her safe?
Keres could hear the incredulity in Oldrik’s message. Yes. I’ll keep her safe.
How’s your mind, Keres? That message was blunt.
Don’t worry, Oldrik. I won’t harm your sister. Keres had decided to wait until the mate bond had locked fully into place to reveal their connection. Oldrik would worry that Keres had invented that in his previous mental state.
You’ll have her message me?
Absolutely.
Keres disconnected the link and closed his eyes. He would rest now with his mate. He also had missed sleep in recent weeks.
Rimi’s arm crashed into his chin. Keres caught the next flailing strike and pinned her arms to her torso as she shook. She wasn’t doing this deliberately. Something was seriously wrong. Adrenaline flooded through his body.
“Rimi! Wake up!”
She didn’t respond, but continued to jerk. Unsure what to do, Keres pulled her away from the cavern wall to prevent her from striking it. After wadding up his shirt to put under her head, he forced himself to talk quietly and calmly. “Rimi? Are you hurt? What’s happening?”
Her eyes opened to meet his. Keres’s heart lurched at the fear glistening in her gaze. He would do anything to keep her from being frightened like this. When her beautiful green eyes rolled back into her head, he smoothed her hair away from her face and reassured her.
“You’re okay, Snowflake. I’m here with you. This will pass soon.” He rested his hand on her forehead and felt himself yanked into the chaos inside her brain. Immediately, he started looking around for some way to help her. Instead of threads of light zipping through the darkness, the connections in her brain were clumped together like massive traffic jams.