Kaos forces me to face him. “He won’t go near them.”
“How can you know?”
“For the same reason I would not go near them were I still a dragon. He will not risk their touch.” He huffs. “Had you ever seen a dragon before me?” he asks, confusing me.
“No.”
One sharp brow arches. “There is a reason for that. We make our homes in the wilds of the world, for peace, but also to be away from humans. Your species may be rare, but we are rarer still. There is no reason for our kinds to come across each other.” He cants his head. “Unless someone is searching…”
I try to hope, to find comfort in his words, but I can’t, not fully. I think he sees me struggling. My tears keep coming.
“Issa, Zaeyr is in mating heat. Do you understand? Look at me!” he hisses when I drop my eyes. They go right back to him at the command. “The femdragon is calling. She is near mindless at this point. Her pheromones are everywhere, and not even this storm will clear them from the air. Zaeyr will not be thinking of puny humans. He will be searching for her, for me—but not your brethren. Once they find each other, they will go to a safe place and nest, and you will most likely never see them again. They will not want their dragonlings near humans. Do you trust me?”
Do I trust him?I search his green eyes, blinking away my tears. Trust. It’s a heavy question to ask, and one I’ve barely considered—had any time to consider.We’ve only been together for several days.
But those days feel like an eternity, like I’ve known Kaos my whole life. As if he were waiting in the jungle for me, and I was destined to find him the moment he awakened. As if that moment was ours, and no one or nothing else.
I still can’t believe I went dragon hunting, knowing nothing but a simple rumor.
The red comet makes us wild.Perhaps the comet makes us much more than that…
I think of Aida, Delina even, and the guardian huntresses of Sand’s Hunters. They’ve weathered storms, sicknesses, and ape attacks.They’ll weather this.I know it, deep inside. And if Kaos is so assured that his kind—this Zaeyr—will not attack them, then I believe him.
Sand’s Hunters have that name for a reason, and their tribe is nearly double the size of my own Shell Rock.
And they have the caves to escape to. They will go to them like they do during all bad storms. They are stocked, and well away from the shore—hidden.I know this because I’ve seen them. Shell Rock has been invited to shelter there, if we ever had need.
A breath escapes me, staring at Kaos, his calm demeanor, his overwhelming strength, his heady assurance that he tries to relay to me in his piercing gaze. And it does pierce, through my heart and soul.
I trust him.Completely.
“I trust you,” I whisper.
A smile breaks his lips, and he leans down and kisses me deeply. He sucks me more into him, feeling me with his heat again, loving him with everything I have. The first kiss was wild, but this one… this one is eternal.
He pulls away far too soon.
Licking my lips, his own move up to clean the tears from my face.
“We will go to them once the storm settles,” I say as his mouth slides over my cheeks softly.
“Yes,” he agrees. “We will go to them. I did not know you had a brother. I would like to meet your kin.”
His words warm me more than his breath ever could. My hopelessness drains by the second, and I throw my arms around him. “I would like that. He was my ward my entire life… Hewasmy life until recently. He also needs strong male guidance, and you will be perfect.”
He huffs. “I will do what I can. But first,” he pulls away, looking around, “where is your territory? I do not like the rain nearly as much in this new body of mine,” he grumbles further. “And I want you well away from those waves.”
Grabbing his hand and nodding my head to the side, I choose to believe his words. “Come. If we are to make it before dark, we should go now.” And then I remember the rocky shore and uneven terrain ahead. “I hope you know how you use those legs of yours by now. You’ll need them,” I warn, keeping my small, teasing smile hidden from his view.
21
Home
Most of theday is behind us by the time we ascend the cliff overlooking the lagoon of my home. By following the rocky shore, we were able to take the high routes to my home. They are rarely used, unless for hunting—usually too dangerous to traverse for their uneven terrain and the predators that make their home by the water.
But the predators are scarce still, and there’s no raft for us to use—no mermaids to guide us. And even if there were, it would be impossible, and stupid to go out into the ocean during such a storm.
The worst I’ve seen in years.
