“Of course not. But I need to go to Merrill’s and check out his store.” He folded his arms, his body language nothing but stubborn, arrogant male.
Fine. If this was what it took to get my privacy back, I’d visit Merrill’s store later. I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.”
I let out a yelp as he leaned down and I was suddenly in his arms.
He strode to the balcony, pushed the door open, and leapt. A chunk of my hair found its way into my mouth and I spat it out as he shot into the sky, invisible wings taking us high enough that I shivered. He immediately dropped lower, where the air was warmer, and I watched the city fly by beneath us. Within a few minutes, we landed behind what was once a human university.
Wait…
I squirmed in his arms as he approached the portal. “Samael,” I said warningly, and he ignored me. The portal was lit with every color of blue, the center so light it was almost white, while the edges gleamed a blue the color of the night sky moments after the sun had gone down.
The last time I’d gone through this portal, my body had rebelled. It was evident that we were going through again, and the way Samael’s hands tightened on my body made it clear he wasn’t allowing me to change my mind about this little “date.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face against his throat. My nose brushed his skin and he stiffened in surprise, but he’d already steered us into the portal.
Pain ripped through me like sharp teeth. I sucked in a breath, but surprisingly, even as though it made me lightheaded, it wasn’t as agonizing as the last time I’d entered it.
Either it was easier to enter with Samael’s arms around me, or I was leveling up. I had a suspicion it was a little of both.
Samael took to the sky again. The sky was a rust-orange in this realm, and the sound of water crashing over rocks would have been soothing if it didn’t mean that we were flying in the direction of Samael’s dragon.
I froze. Was he planning to feed me to the beast?
The last time I was here, I’d snuck through the ward guarding his hoard. To get into the cave, I’d used a look-away spell to hide myself— and my scent— from the dragon. But the moment I’d picked up Misty, that spell had disappeared until the sentient dagger decided it had a better chance of getting out into the world if I was alive.
I had no doubt that the dragon would have memorized my scent.
“Listen,” I yelled over the wind. “I know you and I have had our differences, but surely we can talk about this.”
No reply. I could have a dagger at his throat in a couple of seconds, but he’d probably drop me in retaliation.
The cave entrance loomed, and my mouth went dry. Samael landed outside the cave and strolled through his ward. I slid my Nim Cub out of the lanyard around my neck— yes, I was wearing Samael’s gift, and yes it did look ridiculous with my t-shirt. By the time Samael let me down, I had my knife in my hand and my eyes were adjusting to the dim light.
I had no desire to hurt a dragon, but if it thought I’d be a tasty snack, it was game on.
Samael let out a low growl and I jumped, shooting him a look. He shook his head at me. “You don’t need to be armed, little witch. This is adate.”
I raised one eyebrow. “I think your definition of the word ‘date’ could use some work.”
He ignored that, striding past the welcoming collection of old bones on the right side of the cave. I kept my feet planted and gazed up toward the massive stalactites hanging from the high ceiling. It was dark up there.
“Hello, Scylla,” Samael murmured in a low, caressing tone. I was almost jealous of the dragon, hearing him murmur to her so intimately.
“Wait, she has a name?” I forgot my terror enough to take a few steps toward him, and he smiled over his shoulder at me.
“Of course.”
My gaze was stuck on the huge beast. The dragon was a deep indigo, her iridescent scales darkening to black on her back and lightening to violet near her claws. She was slowly getting to her feet, and every muscle in my body tensed as her bright gold eyes landed on my face.
Recognition gleamed in those eyes. She yawned, displaying teeth longer than my fingers, and I took a step back.
“Relax,” Samael murmured. “Scylla won’t hurt you. Will you, darling?”
Darling? Are you kidding me? The dragon seemed to read my mind, a low snort escaping her throat as a curl of smoke drifted up from one nostril.
“Come closer, witchling. Or are you afraid?”
I rolled my eyes. If Samael wanted me dead, there were many, many ways he could achieve that without needing to bring me all the way here. I took a step closer, and the dragon watched me.
