Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“If you die in my flames, it’ll be my fault,” I finally rasped. The wind snapped my braid across my shoulder. “I’ll have to live with that. Live with killing you.”
He didn’t flinch. “Then I won’t die.”
“You will.” My voice cracked. “That’s what always happens.”
“I’ll be the first exception,” he said. His hand brushed my wrist, a touch as light as breath and as heavy as fate. “I want to be with you too much to die.”
My chest clenched. His certainty was maddening…and as seductive as a kiss. “I…you…” Argh!
“You’re out of excuses,” he stated.
I couldn’t deny it. “Tomorrow, if you still feel the same way after we break the bond, we can think about the possibility of considering having a discussion about it.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “In other words,” he said softly, “I won and you’re running out of time.”
Chapter
Nineteen
Notice the fire in their eyes. That spark is yours.
-Humaning for Beginners: A Dragon’s Tale of Human Management
DAY SEVEN
We spent the day cloistered together, locked inside my chambers, waiting for the potion. Taron sat at the foot of my bed, hands braced on his knees, his gaze shadowed but steady. I perched atop the dresser, one knee drawn to my chest. Every once in a while, our gazes met, then darted away.
The tension, however, never eased. It thickened the air, stretched the seconds, and wrapped tight around my ribs. The words he’d spoken continued to echo in the quiet places of me:
It’s my life to risk.
I’ve trained for this my whole life. I know what it means, yet I choose you.
I hated dragons, past tense. Then, a redheaded beauty flew into my life and made everything else irrelevant.
They might think I’m a weakness at first, but I promise you, they won’t keep such a falsehood for long.
I understand better now. The power of an ancient bond. The cost of what was demanded of you. The terrible things asked of you.
I want to be with you too much to die.
I couldn’t stop turning the proclamations over and over in my mind, each as sharp as a blade and just as dangerous. If we broke the bond, and he no longer wanted to face my fire without it, I would lose him. If we didn’t break the bond, and I burned him like all the others, and he didn’t rise from the ashes, I would lose him.
The shadows of Cedric and Lorik still loomed at the edges of it all, their purpose more ominous than war drums.
Were those traps and border skirmishes real—or misdirection?
Was I running headfirst into their trap?
What was their ultimate plan?
Finally, the door flung open. “It’s ready, it’s ready!” Adelaide burst in, holding a vial of dark liquid aloft like a trophy. My other sisters trailed behind her, faces bright with both excitement and caution. All but Bronwyn, who was logging in her retraining hours before heading for kraken lands.
Taron blinked at the sudden influx of feminine energy. “There’s so many of you.”
Despite everything, my lips twitched. “Imagine holidays.”
He stood. So did I. Without uttering a word, we found each other and clasped hands, our fingers weaving. His grip was firm, grounding. A lifeline in a storm. I clung as if I could anchor myself to him rather than fate.
My heart pounded harder as the girls encircled us.
“You each drink half,” Adelaide explained, beaming. She passed me the vial with reverence. “We’re staying to make sure nothing untoward happens, so don’t even think of kicking us out.”
I stared at the vial before uncorking it with a shaking thumb. An acrid scent rose from it, and that twist in my gut kicked up. Nerves again? Or more?
Taron’s gaze met mine. Not a flicker of hesitation, only steady strength and something I dared not name aloud. Not yet. Not when it might be the last time I ever saw him looking back at me with affection. Longing and hope tangled together and pressed hard against my chest.
I drew in a breath so deep it scraped my lungs. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Was I stepping straight into my father’s plan or shattering it?
Did it even matter? The false bond must be broken. If we didn’t do this, we’d never know if our feelings for each other were genuine or manipulated.
Exhale. I drank. The taste was sharper than poison and bitter as ash, clawing its way down my throat. I shuddered and handed Taron the vial. Without pause, he emptied it and met my gaze again.
We waited. One heartbeat. Two. Ten.
The tonic scorched a hole in my stomach, but nothing else happened.
No shift.
No spark.
Only rising dread that maybe it hadn’t worked.
“Did the recipe say how long it takes to kick in?” I asked Emma, my voice low, wary.
A stricken look crossed her face. “I assumed immediately. But maybe—”
A sudden scream barreled from me, and there was no stopping it as a slicing, rending hurt cleaved straight through my soul. Blood gushed from my eye sockets, ears and nose. The fire in my veins? Snuffed in an instant. My body went cold, wrong, like every cell froze. My knees buckled, the floor rushing up to meet me.