FAOLAN
Iacted like nothing was awry on the way to our chambers, but as soon as the heavy wooden door clicked closed behind me, I growled out a frustrated breath.
Fuck.
Panic surged in my chest as I searched inside myself for some other explanation for what I was feeling. Something else…anything.
There was nothing. No other reason my entire being was calling out to go to the soon-to-be princess who I was here to collect and deliver to her prince. You know, the son of the King who would have me quartered for such a betrayal.
I wanted it not to be true, but I knew in every fiber of my being that it was. That stunning female back there was my ryder.
I knocked my head back against the door with brutal force.
This could not be happening.
Fuck the voyage home. Fuck my promise to Nyx. I could not spend a fortnight or longer with her on the ship. I did not have the strength to stay away and fight the pull if I was trapped on the same vessel. The draw to her had only just begun. Surely if I put half the kingdom between us immediately, it would never have a chance to grow? She was not a dragon, so she would nothave sensed it yet. She would be none the wiser, and she could live out her destiny as the next Queen, and I could continue on with my life.
Dragons from Kerani scarcely had ryders. I now understood that it was because they were cut off from the lands where most of their Goddess’s chosen ryders existed. They would never know the call, because the magic of the Wild Mountains prevented it from reaching them. The lucky bastards.
I never thought for one moment I would wish to be back in Kerani, but here I was. I wanted more, but this… this was more than I could handle. She was the betrothed to the heir of the Twelve Kingdoms. She could NOT be my ryder!
I knew what a ryder would mean for me in this society. It would be worse than a death sentence for me. I could not hide it. I might have managed to evade notice by living in the shadows and disguising my scent here and there, but a dragon with a ryder could not be disguised. And I could not live the life that came with the discovery.
I would not.
I searched the room for ideas. I had to leave, and I had to do it now while everyone was distracted.
They’d probably have guards at our doors, or maybe just in the halls. But they would be there, so we wouldn’t leave this wing. No matter how much goodwill and diplomacy came with this trip, they would still guard the duke. We were strangers to this palace and there was always the risk of betrayal—I knew how these things were handled.
I checked the windows and found a small but usable balcony. It would do. I’d have to dive off and shift in the air, but I’d done worse with less height. I could shift in time.
I shoved off my clothes and balled them up, looking for a place to stash them. I hid them behind a chair, hoping it wouldtake time before anyone noticed. It is what it is. If one of them chased me down, so be it. I would at least get a head start.
I climbed up on the edge of the stone balcony. An intense pang of longing threatened to pull me back, but I resisted. I could keep resisting, I was sure. The cool breeze blew in my hair, and I could taste freedom.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Nyx barked. His was the last voice I wanted to hear when arse naked and about to jump off the balcony.
“Leaving,” I conceded. There was no point in lying about it.
“Why would you do that? What if someone sees you?” Nyx barely restrained his anger, but kept his voice low so as not to draw attention to us out where we could be seen on the balcony.
How could I even explain this to him?
“I need to go.”
“You agreed to help me,” he hissed. “I cannot do this without you. What if we’re attacked on the return? You’re the only other dragon to help protect the prince and their betrothed?”
I turned around slowly. “Excuse me? Your brother is also a dragon, is he not?” Did he forget? Or did he not trust Kol any longer?
“You know he’s affected by the poison, and it’s not fully resolved. He’s not himself.”
“You don’t trust him, do you?” I already knew it in my gut, but I was finally putting the pieces together. “That’s why you kept him close rather than leaving him unattended in the capital and why you wanted me here.”
“It’s not his fault, but we still don’t know what they did to his mind. He’s different.”
“You think they still have a hold on him? Like he’s their spy or something?”
“No,” he snapped. His lips said one thing, but his expression told me another.
