“Well, can you help me turn around again?”
“What if I don’t want to?” he asks.
“Well, I guess I could pull my knife again,” I counter.
The side of his lips tick up. “What if I like our current position?”
I shake my head. “You don’t, so don’t get any ideas.”
“Don’t I, though? Come on, Harper. I'm a man. Having your soft body—” I reach up and throw my hand over his mouth.
“Whatever you were just going to say, don’t. I really don’t want to get blood all over Nox.”
Rauk chuckles, and because we’re so close, I can literally feel it. “We’re going to land to cross through the portal. We’ll get you turned around then.”
I frown. “You used your hulking muscles to turn me around earlier.”
“That was because I was worried you were going to pass out from lack of oxygen and fall off the back of Noxlyn. Now,thatwould be a bloody mess.”
“You done?” I ask.
He smirks. “Probably not.”
Nox pitches forward suddenly, and I’m not ready for it. A strong arm clamps behind my back, steadying me. “We’re descending,” Rauk says, just a few inches from my face.
I scowl at him. “Yeah, no kidding.”
When we land, several of Kaldar’s guards surround us; itdoesn’t escape me that they’re all looking at Rauk with matching looks of aggression. “Why are they all looking at you that way?” I ask him.
“I didn’t exactly ask for permission when I crossed through earlier,” he says with a shrug.
I turn back to the guards. “This is Rauk,” I tell them.
“King of the Dragon Kingdom,” he says low enough that only I can hear him.
“We know who he is,” one of the guards says. He eyes Rauk with such disdain that even in my slightly off state, I pick up on it.
I climb off of Nox’s back and face the sneering guard. “Seeing as he’s the one that just took down around twenty of the guivres who’ve been giving your kingdom problems, you should maybe change the look on your face,” I tell him.
I see several gazes shift to Rauk, who has now climbed down and stands behind me. “Pretty sure I can defend myself, Stabby.” I turn around to glare at him, but the world tilts when I do so. There’s a firm hand at my elbow. “Come on. Let's get through this portal and then get you back on Noxlyn.” The guards don’t say anything else to us as we pass through. Noxlyn enters first, followed by Rauk, then me, and lastly, Redara. I've barely recovered from stepping through when an arm reaches out and grabs me around the waist. I hit a hard chest with a grunt; the impact is so hard, it hurts my ribs. The ground where I just stood erupts in burst of fire so close I can feel the heat of it.
Chapter38
I try to catch my breath for a whole new reason. My eyes strain to see past the bright light of the fire to make sure Redara got through okay. “She’s safe,” a gritty voice says against my ear. Noxlyn snorts and shoots into the air. The guivre is incinerated in seconds, and relief flows through me. I pull forward, and the arm around my waist drops. I stride over to Redara.Did it get you?
Of course not.
I’m glad to see her spirit is back; that should mean she’s on her way to healing. Noxlyn lands, shaking the ground, and Rauk turns to me. “Ready?”
I try to take a deep breath, but it hurts too much. So, I take a shallow one and nod. I’m ready to be back at the castle. I eye Noxlyn’s back, which suddenly looks so much taller than before. “Come on. Last stretch.” I turn to face Rauk. I nod and take my pain and shove it deep into that black box and begin to climb. I finally settle in place. Seconds later, Rauk slides in behind me. Idon’t know if it’s my imagination, but it sure feels like he’s closer even than last time. “We really need to work on that.”
I frown and regret it when it pulls on my injured face. “On what?”
“On your attempt to climb Noxlyn or Redara for that matter.”
I huff. “Yeah, well not all of us are as tall as you.”
I expect a wise crack, but instead, he simply says, “I’ll help you with it.”
