"Since Mom died, he's been closed off," Reeve replied. "And he?—"
Valentine shut out whatever else his brother had to say and hurried down the hall. He didn't want to think about his mother now. He had failed her when she had needed him the most. He thought learning his lesson by following his visions and saving Yelena would somehow make up for that past mistake.
He was wrong again, because if it weren’t for him, she never would have been there in the first place.
Yelena might hate him for it, but he wasn't going to carry another innocent death on his soul if she decided to martyr herself. It had to end now.
Hunt,his dragon growled.
"Hunt," Valentine agreed, his smile all fangs as he began to stalk his prey.
14
Valentine walked through the halls to the healers' wing where Yelena and Avallach had been recovering. Her room was empty except for a healer cleaning it.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
"Lady Yelena is no longer staying in our care," the healer said, stripping the sheets from the bed. Her scent hit Valentine hard, and he wanted to bury his nose in it.
"Do you have any idea where she could be?" he asked.
The healer's brow furrowed. "I imagine she has gone back to her own apartments. I don't see why..."
Valentine didn't let them finish before he was stalking back out into the halls. He had no idea where to go, so he stopped and tried to think clearly. It was next to impossible with his dragon snarling at him.
Valentine didn't know where Yelena's apartments were. He didn't want to ask the others. He would find her another way.
He hadn't checked for the silvery string of light since he had rescued her. He had believed it was the power of his vision that led him to her. Maybe he could find it again.
Valentine closed his eyes and reached for his magic. The part of him that had tracked her was his dragon, so he nudged it.
I know you are raging, but we can't shift here in the mountain. We must be careful hunters, treading softly, he tried to soothe it. It was the tempestuous part of himself that always needed to be coaxed into patience.
A rush of heat burned through him, and when Valentine opened his eyes, it was with the vision of the dragon. He looked down, and the thread of silver was now attached to his wrist.
Thank you,Valentine said. He didn't know how long its patience would last, so he all but ran through the palace, following the flickering light up twisting staircases, moving higher and higher. His ears popped as he passed viewing platforms for people studying astronomy.Where the hell was she hiding?
Valentine came to the top of another set of stairs that stopped in front of a large wooden door. It was painted blue with a silvery gray dragon design on it.
Valentine swallowed hard, recognizing it at once. He had been drawing that same dragon design for weeks, right down to the two curling horns. He thought it was a new tattoo design.
What the fuck is happening?He didn't know, but he sure as hell was going to find out.
Valentine banged on the door. "Yelena. Open up."
"Go away," came the sharp reply through the wood. It was a pissed off tone that he had never heard her use before that night. He liked how it cut into the numb part of himself a little too much.
"No. I'm not moving until you talk to me. We need to work this out, and if you leave it up to me, I'm just going to jump to the wrong conclusions," Valentine replied. He placed his burning forehead against the wood. "Please, Caelan." He bit his tongue, hating that the name slipped out like a plea.
The door opened. Yelena was dressed in a dark sapphire blue robe, and seeing such a rich color on her was a shock to his system. She usually wore pale creams and soft blues, which made her seem sweet and…as unthreatening as possible.
Facts started to connect in Valentine's brain—the way Taranis had found her a wild thing, Quinn's comments about false innocence, Charlotte trying to tell him that Taranis's court was afraid of her, Lord Afon's snide comments about taking in another feral creature, and finally the personality from the letters they had exchanged.
Yelena reallywashiding her strength just the way Valentine always had. Where he had made his armour so sharp that if anyone got too close, they would bleed, she had gone the opposite way and tried to make herself seem as meek and sweet as possible.
Valentine blinked rapidly, trying to bring his mind back on course. "No pastels?" his mouth said, and he winced.
Yelena's eyes turned to a blue so dark, they were almost black. "If that's all you have to say to me, go away."
