They couldn’t be.
So why did they scale the steps two at a time, the crowds parting to let them pass with ease? Why did they climb and climb, only coming to a stop when they reached the step below the landing we were standing on? Cora, my mind supplied lamely. They were here for Cora.
Because what other reason could there be?
They looked like wild creatures, too brutal, too savage to becontained by the orderly walls of the keep. One was incredibly tall, his shoulders broad enough to block out the sun, heavy with muscle. White hair fell over his face, barely concealing dark eyes that bore into mine. The other had a lean, mobile face, his eyes dancing with amusement, scanning the crowd before they settled on me.
Then there was him.
I had seen hawks and falcons before. Some of Father’s friends like to use them for hunting, and this man had the proud air of one of them as his eyes met mine. Dark, dark blue to be almost black, his hair fell over his shoulders in a messy tumble.
Then he lunged forward.
My vision doubled, seeing the three silver dragons move ponderously towards Auren, just as these men did the same to me. When the dragons’ heads reared back, declaring their intent, the black-haired man’s hands shot out. The impact of them landing on my arms had me going stiff with shock, right before I gasped at the rude imposition.
“There you are.” The man’s voice was rough, full of self-satisfaction. “Woman, you belong to us.”
Chapter 10
Kael
My dragon, Slate, had made clear to me when we reached maturity that there would only be one woman, one female dragon, for the six of us. The way my mother had been treated was enough to keep me out of whorehouses and the arms of amorous barmaids. The fact he would not tolerate any female within ten feet of any of us helped consolidate that decision. So the minute I stepped into the hall of the bloody keep, it felt like destiny’s hand was on my back, propelling my feet forward.
Towards her.
Gods, how could a woman be so damn beautiful? Too pale, eyes too wide, I registered that she was scared. Trying to ignore the way that magnificent bosom heaved, my eyes found hers. Blue as the sky we ride, blue as the ocean, I’d drown in them willingly. My feet took the steps two at a time, needing to get closer to her.
“Kael…” Dain growled. When he put a hand on my shoulder, I shook him off. He had to know what this was more than any of us. His visions of the future, they had to begin and end with her, because I knew mine did. “We need?—”
“Her,” I said, moving quicker, leaving my brothers to keep up or be left behind, because Slate showed me what was happening with him.
The woman’s queen dragon was defiant. My lips twitched at that, knowing the fight would just make the surrender sweeter when it came. Hopefully soon, because all of a sudden, my body fucking ached for her. Maybe that’s why I pushed past the people clogging the stairs, ignoring the woman at my girl’s side.Grab her, some impulse beat hard in my chest.Take her! Make her yours!
That’s why my hands clapped down on her arms. “There you are.” I couldn’t keep the reverence out of my voice, didn’t want to. “Woman, you belong to us.”
Glorying in the feel of how soft she was beneath my fingers, I tugged her close, her gasp every thing I didn’t know I needed. Towering over her, that body of hers was pressed against mine, and I damn near lost control right there. My hand rose, my focus entirely on a strand of light brown hair that fell over her face. Lips parting, it was as if she was opening herself to me already.
“So this is our woman?” Lorien appeared beside me, looking the girl up and down. “Well, the gods have been kind to us.” His leering look had me gritting my teeth. “Because what a woman she is.”
“Excuse me?” Her hands went to my chest, trying to shove me, but that just had my muscles locking tight. I wasn’t going anywhere, not unless I wanted to. “You must have me mistaken for someone else.”
“No mistake.”
Dain took the words out of my mouth, but he said them in a hollow, desolate way I never would’ve used.
“You must be…” She struggled against me, which just had my grin widening. The girl’s dragon was putting up a similar fight, though with considerably more noise. “Because I have no idea who the hell you three are.”
“Kael.” When I pointed to my chest, she pulled free. The colour was back in her cheeks and her eyes flashed like polished sapphires. “This idiot is Lorien.”
“Milady…” He swept a bow on automatic, then shot me a dark look when he realised what I’d said.
“Dain.” I jerked my thumb in the direction of the last of my brothers. “We’re yours and you?—”
I was pulling her right back where she belonged when some other bloke cut me off.
“Get. Your hands. Off the lady.”
For a moment, I thought the stranger was some foppish sort. The sword he was wielding was fine enough for him to be a lordling. The way he held it though, perfectly balanced, right before the tip scored a light trail up my throat, forcing my head up so I stared into his eyes. One eyebrow cocked upwards, making clear what he’d do if I moved, and that had me grinning.
