Heat emanated from the dull glow at his center, warming the sliver of space between us. “Don’t you think it’s past time someone told the truth around here?”
“Are you accusing me of something?” I spat the question in his face.
“Admit it. You’re not some magicless Puritan,” he said, an inch from my nose.
“The royal family I served would disagree,” I said through gritted teeth.
He raked a hand through his hair. “Just tell me who you are.”
“What does it matter?” Sweat dampened my brow, my temperature rising with my anger. “You and Alaric haven’t been forthcoming yourselves. All this time, he’s actually been a man stuck in a dragon’s body.” By the goddess, he’d seen me naked.
“It matters because Alaric is dying—and not one of your ridiculous potions, enchanted herbs, or mysterious brands is going to save him.” Shadows cut through the rage glowing in his eyes.
No. I must have misheard. “He’s what?”
“Dying. And instead of searching for a solution, he’s wasting time here with you. He’s under some romantic notion that a mere slave with a useless birthmark could be the one to save him.”
The dragon… No scratch that. Theshifterwas dying. His curse was killing him.
Flark me. So many things made sense now. Alaric must have seen the mark at the lake that night. That was why he’d saved me. Why he’d insisted on my staying here. The misguided fool. Questions raced through my mind so fast I couldn’t keep up with the flood. Frustration welled inside me. The only target at my disposal—Thorne.
“Want to know what I think?” I spat.
“Not particularly.”
“I think you are an arrogant bastard who is unaccustomed to feeling helpless. You’ve taken an oath to serve the dragon and failed in that duty. You rail at me, projecting your shortcomings when it isyouwho you truly despise.”
Thorne’s eyes flashed. I braced for his hateful response when his palm nailed the center of my chest and shoved. One moment, I was snarling at him, and the next, water closed over my head.
THORNE
Serafina hit the water with a satisfying splash. I wasn’t completely cruel, making sure I’d tossed her into the deep end so she wouldn’t strike her head.
Me? Projecting shortcomings? It was absurd.
If anyone had shortcomings, it was the phony princess who was too ashamed of her position to confess she’d been a slave. As if I cared about such trivial things.
Curse the infernal woman in her mystifying ways. Alaric’s new toy had my thoughts spinning in so many directions I didn’t know which way was up.
When I’d entered the bathing cavern and found a very naked Serafina basking in the heat of Alaric’s dragon fire, something I hadn’t recognized washed over me. She’d been so serene, like a mystical water deity, sunning on her rock. Creamy curves exposed. Red curls blowing against her shoulders. Pale skin flushed with warmth. Totally at ease with Alaric. A flarking Draconis who, with one slip of his control, could have incinerated her.
Then she spotted me and shrieked like a banshee. Just as she had in the pasture after spotting my dragon. It was humiliating,to say the least. Naked women didn’t gaze upon me and scream. I was accustomed to them running into my arms, not away.
Alaric had staked his claim on her, and yet it was my flame that had given her life that day. It was I she was bonded to for eternity. Despite the fact that I had no desire to be responsible for the girl, I was still due a bit of respect. That the two of them so easily excluded me from their little interlude was infuriating.
Arms folded, I stood at the edge. When Serafina emerged, I wanted to see the expression on her face. Wanted to see the shock. The spluttering. To bask in her outrage while I laughed at her discomfort. Letherfeel the burn of humiliation for once.
Bubbles popped along the surface.
I tapped my foot, glaring at the murky water. If she stayed under to catch me unawares and pull me in, she was a fool. I almost wished she would try.
Was it childish to have pushed her? Perhaps. Was it deserved? Absolutely. Alaric may be angry that I’d revealed his inability to shift to the girl. Except if he wanted me to go along with this farce, believing that she was truly the one sent to rescue him, then it was past time she knew.
Where my dragonflame resided, a dull ache formed. Blasted. Where the hell was she?
“Serafina!” I called out like an idiot. Not like she could hear me underwater.
Damn her. She should have emerged by now. My pulse leapt, anxiety spiking my nerve endings. Whether it was mine or Sera’s leaking through the barrier I kept between us, I wasn’t sure. I rubbed the throbbing in my sternum, my flame flickering. Something was wrong.
