My breath stalled in my throat. Seeing him threw me off guard. And he was shirtless.
His powerful frame silhouetted against the silvery beach beyond, and moonlight painted his skin like marble, highlighting every carved line of muscle across his chest and shoulders. Dark tattoos spiraled down his arms, intricate patterns that seemed to shift and dance in the pale light.
His long, wild hair hung loose around his shoulders, stirring gently in the sea breeze.
Even hating him as I did, I couldn't deny the treacherous flutter inside my chest that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do withhim.
His raw beauty was unlike anything I’d ever seen.
He was chanting something I couldn’t quite hear. Then the sky above him erupted in movement, and a massive dragon descended like a falling star.
It was Pyrion. She soared above him, magnificent and utterly terrifying.
Her scales gleamed in the sky, her amber eyes glowing as smoke curled from her nostrils.
Now was not the time to be fascinated. This was the guy I was planning to run from. I should mind my own business and continue on to my room.
But I couldn’t help myself. Watching a dragon flying across the sky was not something one would ever see in the mortal lands. Neither was seeing a warrior Fae prince.
I risked getting a little closer. Just alittlecloser so I could see what he was doing.
Wolfe stretched his hands toward the sky, beckoning the dragon forth, and it breathed blue fire down upon him.
I gasped, my heart racing as I thought the flames would incinerate him. But they didn't.
Within the blue fire he stood, untouched, directing it across the sand, where it rippled like stones skipping across the water.
The display was mesmerizing and frightening in equal parts. The flames danced to his will, painting patterns in the air that left trails of azure light lingering in my vision. It was like watching living art.
The dragon descended then landed right beside Wolfe. The flames faded from his body.
Pyrion lowered her massive head toward Wolfe with something that looked almost like affection, and he reached up to stroke the creature's snout with the same gentle reverence he’d used on me when he’d touched my face and told me hate was better than nothing.
He’d meant it.
I’d wondered if the nothingness he’d spoken of was the reflection of the hollow inside my soul.
An unwelcome pang coursed through my chest, and I thought of all the things I’d written about him in my journal. If our situations were reversed, I thought I would choose hatred, too, over nothingness. At least with hatred, you knew where you stood. But nothingness was simplynothing. Hatred did hurt less.
As if he could hear my thoughts, he turned his head slightly in the direction of where I hid.
“You can come out, Ziyka. I know you’re there.” His voice carried across the night air, gentle despite the command. The wrath from yesterday was gone, replaced by subdued resignation.
My entire body went rigid, caught between the instinct to run and the paralysis of being discovered.
My heart sped up as I tried to decide what to do. I’d been watching him, but Wolfe was the last person I wanted to see—let alone speak to. I hesitated until he turned around fully and looked right at me, his eyes locking me in place.
I swallowed hard and decided to go to him.
So much for trying to avoid everyone.
But perhaps…perhapsthis was best. Since I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, this could be my quiet goodbye.
Chapter 24
Elariya
Istepped out from the shelter of the trees, my slippers sinking soundlessly into the cool sand. Each step toward him felt weighted and careful, as if I were approaching a wild creature that might bolt at any sudden movement.
