“That bad, then.”
“Kaelen—”
“I’m just saying.”His wings adjusted, catching a thermal that sent us spiralling higher into the lightening sky.“Last time we had this conversation, you wanted me to eat him. Should I still be planning that, or have we moved into more complicated territory?”
Despite everything—despite the guilt and the panic and the complete disaster my life had become—a laugh punched out of me. Sharp and slightly deranged, but real.
“I’ll let you know,” I muttered. “Might be easier than facing him again.”
“I live to serve.”The smugness practically floated off Kaelen.“Though I have to say, ‘eat the man who had his hands all over you’ is a somewhat mixed message.”
“You’re the worst.”
“I’m your favourite and you know it.”
He wasn’t wrong.
The wind tore at my hair as we flew, cold and harsh and exactly what I needed. Up here, there were no castle walls pressing in. No guilt carved into stone corridors. No silver-eyed High Lords who touched me like they were trying to memorise my shape.
Just sky and dragon and the kind of freedom that tasted like?—
Two massive shapes soared through the clouds beside us.
My heart slammed into my throat, black fire already crawling up my arms before conscious thought caught up. Dragons. Two of them. Large and powerful and closing in fast, and gods, we were about to be attacked, we were about to?—
“Relax.”Kaelen’s tone was amused, not concerned.“Actually look at them, wildfire.”
I did.
And nearly fell off his back.
Because those weren’t enemy dragons bearing down on us with hostile intent. Those were Shaelith and Brynelle, their riders silhouetted against the dawn sky, and they were grinning at me like this was the best surprise they’d managed all week.
“What—” I started, but the words died as they pulled alongside us, their dragons matching Kaelen’s pace.
“Morning!” Brynelle called over the wind, her hair whipping around her face. “Fancy meeting you up here!”
Shaelith’s smile was slightly more reserved, but no less genuine. “We thought you might like some company.”
My brain was still trying to catch up. “How did you even—how did you find me?”
“Well.” Brynelle’s grin turned wicked. “Kaelen mentioned to our dragons that you could use some friendly faces this morning.”
I looked down at the scales beneath my hands, narrowing my eyes at the dragon currently radiating entirely too much satisfaction. “You called them?”
“I simply suggested to their bondmates that you were in need of companionship,”Kaelen said, absolutely dripping with false innocence.“What they chose to do with that information was entirely their decision.”
“You’re meddling.”
“I’m helping. There’s a difference.”
“There really isn’t.”
“Agree to disagree.”
Shaelith brought her dragon closer, near enough that I could see the concern behind her smile. “Are you alright? Apparently Kaelen made it sound somewhat urgent.”
Was I alright?
