“What?” My hand flies to my hair. I did the second-tightest bun of my life at the inn earlier. The first tightest was this morning’s. After a whole day like this, my head hurts.
A red leaf flutters down from the thinning canopy, dropping between us. The bright autumn shade at dusk reminds me of Bale’s coloring in both skin and scales—crimson burning through the dark.
He tilts his head toward the east. “I would’ve chosen the next clearing over.”
My stomach drops. I reach for Fyrestar. “We can go there. There’s still time before the sun sets.”
“No, stop.” He holds out a hand. “I was…It was a poor attempt at humor. This is fine.”
“I don’t want fine,” I grumble. “I want the best.” I start climbing back onto Fyrestar. Rim’s wings unfold. We’re almost ready to go when a firm hand abruptly tugs the back of my cloak hard enough to pull me down.
I don’t know what Bale thought would happen, but I lose my balance and pitch backward. My startled cry mixes with the worried click of Fyrestar’s beak.
Bale catches me against his body, holding me there, my back pressed to his chest, while I get my feet under me. His breath whispers over my hair, and my heart kicks savagely against my ribs, probably thudding into the arm banded around me. Shadow wings suddenly encircle us, going from hot magic to solid in an instant and holding me against Bale. A low, almost irritated growl resonates in Bale’s throat, and the wings melt into shadow again.
I gasp, the heat of his magic dragging through me. The sensation raises goose bumps everywhere. I’m certain I don’t know the extent of Bale’s starborn magic, and he doesn’t often show it. No other dragon shifter can mix forms, and I wish I’d gotten a look at the man with wings, but my back is to him, and his grip is firm.
My voice low and husky, I ask, “Do you ever fly in skin?”
His arms drop away, and he steps back, leaving me freezing. I turn, swallowing. Shadows swirl around him.
“I didn’t mean to yank you down like that, and I said I was teasing.” Walking away without answering my question, he sets down his pack. “This clearing is good.”
“Good…fine…” I can still feel the heat of his shadow wings inside me and shiver like a teasing finger just trailed down my spine. “Words to strive for,” I say hoarsely. “Thanks.”
He swings back to me, spearing a hand through his dark hair. The way he drags it back makes the fiery highlights at the roots even more obvious. “Are you trying to cure me of any need to ever attempt teasing again?” he asks testily.
I clamp my mouth shut, instantly sorry. “No. This was kind of a first.”
“Kind of a first?” He prowls closer, his amber eyes glinting. “What you should’ve said to me is ‘do better.’ Works every time.” A slow smile curves his lips, and my breath stalls in my throat.
“I really wish I’d thought of that.”
He chuckles. “Next time.”
Is Bale implying he’ll try teasing me again? My heart holds a riot in my chest.
My neck and face heating, I move toward a thick tree and set down my pack. I need to get over this infatuation. Time was supposed to make it better, not worse.
My pulse beats loudly, and my skin stays hot, but the trilling thrushes and darkening clearing do me the favor of drowning out my heartbeat and masking my blush.
Fyrestar and Rim take off to hunt for their dinners once they see that I’ve settled in. The team had dinner at the inn before leaving, though my appetite turned difficult again. Bale disappears to one side of the clearing, and I go into the woods on the other to relieve myself and give my obsession with the Dragon King a stern talking to. When I come back, Bale’s there again, it’s almost fully dark, and it’s time to keep watch during vampire hours.
As the night progresses, we both take short forays into the woods. My birds watch from above, flying in low circles, their feathers fully dimmed. Everything is quiet, only native animals moving around until they finally give up on their endeavors and find rest somewhere. By the time the small hours roll around, Bale and I converge in the clearing again, and Fyrestar and Rim find a nearby tree to roost in.
“There’s no one left on the streets of Porthwood to try to kidnap at this hour.” I sit, settling my back against the tree where I left my pack and stretching out my legs.
“If anything happens now, which I doubt, it’s more likely to be a pre-dawn raid when people are moving around again.” Bale sits opposite me, his back against another tree.
“Dawn is more dangerous for vampires—the rising sun doesn’t wait.” I sigh. “Do you think we came here for nothing?”
He tips his head against the trunk, closing his eyes. The hot, amber glitter snuffs out, plunging his face into darkness. “It’s only the first night, Idallia. Patience.”
I shiver at my name on his lips. He has a way of saying it like he owns it. Or maybe I’m just wishing I could be his.
I inwardly grimace, hating even having that thought. Maybe in another life, another time…This life and time have proven that’s not a path I want to take with my teammate, let alone my king. If the feelings turned out to be mutual, it could be great. Until it isn’t. And then the consequences would be Kellan times a million. I might have to leave my job and home. I could lose my birds.
Sighing, I pull an extra cloak from my pack. Now that I’m not moving, I’m cold.
