Warmth coasts over the tip of my ear, and my breath catches as Rivern whispers, “Jump up, Dove.”
“Okay.” My thighs clench with the proximity of the prince behind me. His utter grandness overtakes all of me. I could get lost in him, and he knows it.
Stick to the plan, Dove,I berate myself. This fae male is dangerous. I have to keep a sense of separation between us. The plan is to leave, make my way back to Haven and do away with the king and his son.
Maybe I can spend one night with the prince and slip away under the cover of darkness? Do fae even need sleep? Anyway, with a dyre wolf after us, will Rivern even allow us to rest? This is my only option, though, so I have to hope.
Grasping my hips, Rivern eases my body up his and whispers, “Lift your right leg, Little Dove.” I do as he asks, my heart rate skyrocketing at our closeness. “Good girl. Now, slide your leg over the saddle. That’s it.” He continues to praise me until I’m comfortably seated.
The bond whirrs happily.
Rivern places the reins in my hands and then effortlessly swings himself up behind me, his cloak billowing across Mage’s back.
“Show off,” I mutter.
Rivern laughs a full belly laugh, filling my insides with all sorts of flying creatures. “Says the little human who can’t keep her eyes off me.”
He didn’t.I elbow him in the ribs, and he sets back to his previous laughter. “Damn entitled fae prince!”
“Well, If I’m an entitled fae prince, that must make you an entitled princess.” The damned little creatures in my belly do a full-on jig at his admission, the bond alight in fiery, melting magma.
His hands skim my waist and glide freely down my arms until he grabs hold of the reins. “Save some of that heat for when we get to Terra, Little Dove.”
I elbow him on his other side. “Ouch,” he jokingly exclaims.I’ll show him fiery.
twenty-six
Saff
My wings push outagainst the sweet granules underneath my baking body. With the two suns high, I can feel the bite on my scales sinking through to my blistering core.
It’s not often I receive this luxury. My keepers—the people with the long tails and slitted eyes—are a necessary animal I must work with in my isolation and salvation.
I must save my energy for my egg. The last of my younglings, kept in the hollow mountains where the golden people have taken residence. They weren’t there when we hid our young. Only after.
After the war the creatorsbegan.
There used to be more of my kind. My precious mate is now but a star in the sky. Gone within the void. Taken by the swimmers.
Puffs of smoke billow from my nostrils.
The tailed people promised to return my egg if I protected their territory. For centuries, I have safeguarded them, and barely a foe has touched this land since.
My creator banished and forgotten.
On my next inhale, an aroma hits my nostrils. It is small, minute. So trivial, the fragrance could be inconsequential… but—
This smell—I take a long inhale, nose flaring.
A rumble sets deep in my throat.Burnt sugar. The only other time I’ve smelt such an aroma was when I fired on the Silver Sands, creating glittering slabs of clear land.
So little the smell, it must originate from beyond the void, beyond this territory. Still, the smell sets my flickering embers alight.
My wings expand, aching to move with this new discovery.
Beating the sweet silvery sand across my clawed feet, I take off into the sky. My shadow glides below my large frame, and I bask in the strength within this freedom. I may not have my youngling yet, but soon… Soon, I will release this fire I’ve been building slowly, deliberately for my precious one. And when I have them safely within my grasp, we will live unbound to the land beneath us.
Purposely, I sail along the void to see if I can catch another trace of the intimate smell.
