“The sleepless nights or too many disasters?”
“Both.”
Stepping into the shadows of a nearby building, Azh ignored the thickening crowd of pedestrians scurrying to work with various levels of dread and anticipation. Most had their attention glued to their phones. The few who bothered to notice them stumbled over their feet as they caught sight of Azh.
Male or female, it didn’t matter. He was so brutally gorgeous it was impossible not to react.
Expecting him to pull open the door so they could enter the building, Wynn took a step back as she felt the heat of his magic. His hand was moving in a circle, as if he were opening a portal.
“Wait,” she protested. “You’re not going to feed me to your mother, are you?”
“Never.” He stepped forward, disappearing into a soft silver mist.
Wynn followed, her steps reluctant. She didn’t think he’d feed her to his mother. But his confidence in her courage meant he might lead her back to the lions’ den...or rather the dragons’ lair...without considering the fact his people might want her dead.
A few steps into the mist, she was forced to suddenly stop as she rammed into Azh’s broad back. She grunted. She knew he was solid, but damn. He felt like a brick wall.
Regaining her balance, she rubbed her nose that had been squashed against his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”
He turned to study her with a faint smile. “This space is between our hidden lair and the world. The barrier is created to prevent anyone from using magic when they’re here. That way no one can come in and no one can leave.” He held up his hand as her lips parted to ask how he could pass through. “Unless the treaty allows them access. You’re safe here.”
She glanced around. She wasn’t worried about the lack of a bed. She’d spent a lot of nights on the ground. But there was something unnerving about trying to sleep when she couldn’t see the danger coming.
“Are you staying?”
The words escaped her lips before she could stop them, but before she could pretend she couldn’t care less if the dragon decided to disappear into the mist, Azh stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He brushed a kiss over her lips, his flames wrapping her in a possessive warmth. “Rest.”
Chapter 12
Comforted by the heat from Azh’s magic, Wynn tumbled into a deep sleep. It was the first time she’d felt truly safe for over a year. Strange, considering she was in a weird space between her world and the dragons’ lair. Not to mention having a lethal predator watching over her. A creature who could destroy her with one stray hiccup.
Lost in the darkness, she floated in peace for what felt like hours. Then, slowly, the sense of floating changed to soaring.
She was no longer Wynn. She was Gabriela, soaring across the sky with her wings spread wide and her head tilted toward the suns that burned with a delicious heat.
Climbing higher than any dragon should dare, she folded her wings tight against her sleek body before tilting forward to plunge toward the ocean with an exhilarating speed. Pleasure shuddered through her as the wind whipped past her, the younger dragons scattering to give her room.
She tried to clear her mind. This was her happy place. Free from the grinding demands of her kingdom and the nagging worry that there were traitors plotting against her.
With a hiss that released a large cloud of steam, she angled her path toward the temple in the clouds. A second later she was transforming her shape to enter the forbidden chamber. She wrinkled her nose as she crossed the vast floor and climbed onto the dais before settling on her throne. The familiar scent of heavy metal that marked this world as Kazak, the dragon homeland, was nearly drowned out by a sour stench.
Not for long...
The voice whispered in the back of her mind. A silky soft voice that had appeared a century ago, warning her of the impending danger and urging her to take steps to protect herself and her people. This morning she’d accepted it was time.
If she listened to her royal council and waited to deal with the brewing trouble, it might very well be too late.
As if the thought of the aggravating male made him materialize out of thin air, she felt the brush of powerful magic before a tall, slender male dressed in a long robe stepped into the chamber. The elder dragon was bald with a narrow face marred by four scars that went from his left temple to his ear. The result of a battle with the former king that had left him on the verge of death for a millennium.
“Go away, Zion,” she commanded.
The male bowed in a gesture of respect, but his expression was hard when he straightened. As one of the few dragons who’d survived the long-ago civil war that had shattered her people, he’d earned the right to speak.
And he used that privilege with annoying regularity.
“Not until I’ve had my say.”
