But he hadn’t said any of that to Aelia. He hadn’t emphasised how he wasn’t like the Dragons of the war. Khaled had taught him discipline, taught him how to rise above their baser instincts.
His eyes landed on the pile of stone he’d just punched his fist through. Well, he tried to rise above them, anyway. Admittedly, it had got a whole lot harder since he’d met her.
Keeran scooped up a small rock and threw it in the air, watching it tumble over on itself before catching it again. Hekept throwing it, needing something to focus on to stop him from tearing after her.
The creature in him bared its teeth at the thought, urging him to do just that.
“As if you haven’t done enough,” he said aloud, shoving back at the beast with enough anger to send it slamming into the walls of his consciousness. It picked itself up, obsidian eyes gleaming, but it stayed silent.
His throat bobbed as he looked over at the wall he’d lifted Aelia onto, his eyelids sliding shut as he remembered what he’d done to her. What they’d done to her.
He’d lost control again, losing himself to that coercive, overbearing, domineering bullshit. What must she be thinking? No wonder she’d run from him. From them.
Keeran let the rock roll from his fingers, his heart so heavy it dragged his shoulders down into a slouch.
His actions had sent her careening through the night, in lands full of thieves and the Astraea, and here he was sitting pretty, waiting for her to return.
Fuck that.
Keeran squared his shoulders and stalked out of the ruined farmstead to the open grassland beyond. When he was clear, he Shifted, taking the form of nightmares, of winged death. He didn’t hesitate, launching himself into the sky and climbing high.
She said she’d wanted space, so she could have it, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to watch her from the skies to make sure she was safe. Besides, what she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Adrenaline dried Aelia’s falling tears in a way nothing else could, her horses’ hooves pounding on the hard earth, matching the thundering of her heart. The wind tore at her, flinging her hair out behind her, and she laughed wildly.
This was exactly what she needed: the freedom, the joy, the excitement. It cleared her head, lending her the perspective she’d been searching for.
She didn’t know how long they’d galloped for, her horse coiling and springing beneath her in a tireless rhythm, the muscled athleticism of the beast unlike anything she’d ever known. She felt a surge of affection towards him as she reined him up, smiling as he fought her, not ready to stop yet, but she kept a steady pressure on the ropes in her hands until he came back to her. He worked hard all day, it wasn’t fair to push him hard at night, too.
He slowed to a stop, ribs pushing into her thighs as he blew hard, the gentle fluttering sound of his nostrils warming her heart. She ran her hand over his neck as she waited for his breathing to settle.
“Shall we take off, just you and me against the world?” she asked, smiling down at him as he looked wide-eyed into thedarkness, the muscles of his back pushing into her as he craned his neck for a better view.
Aelia looked out over the grassland, sucking in a breath. The moon had peeked out from behind the clouds, hitting the seeded heads of the grass and lending them a metallic sheen. They rippled in the gentle wind, turning them to liquid silver. Mesmerised, Aelia tried to take it in, trying to lodge this moment into her memory.
The moon slipped back behind the clouds, taking the magic of the moment with it. The euphoria of her flight waned, leaving her as grey and monotone as her surroundings. She puffed out her cheeks and dropped her head back, looking at the clouds overhead.
He was a fucking Dragon.
Out here, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. She’d already known he was different; having it confirmed shouldn’t have been such a huge surprise. But that revelation, combined with the fact that there was some predestined connection between them, had just been too much.
And it probably hadn’t helped that she’d found out just after he’d taken her body to the point of breaking, pushing her harder than she knew was even possible. It had been terrifying, overwhelming, cruel… and just the thought of it had her wanting to do it again.
Sex would never be the same. But that definitely wasn’t reason enough to stay, she reminded herself, firmly, but she couldn’t help but wonder what more would be like.
Ice water flooded her veins. There couldn’t be more, not without completing the pair bond. From what Keeran said, if they had sex, that would be it. There would be no escaping this insistent tugging in her chest, this feeling of unease that had her wanting to scuttle back to him with her tail between her legs.
Would he be cross with her for taking off? What would that look like now that he didn’t need to hide his identity from her? Aelia shook her head. He’d had plenty of opportunities to hurt her, but other than pushing her a bit hard when they’d fought, he’d never given her any real reason to fear him. Quite the opposite really.
Aelia was pulled from her reverie by her horse plunging its head violently into the grass, pulling her forwards with such force that her head snapped back and she nearly slipped down its neck.
“You’ll give yourself a tummy ache,” she ground out through gritted teeth as she tried to haul it back up, battling with it as it tore a few mouthfuls of the long grass. “Just wait a bit, will you?”
She reached forwards to pull some of the long stalks from its mouth, tutting to herself.
“If we walk home, you’ll be able to eat then, okay?” she scolded, guiding it round towards the camp.
