Yeah, he was a psychotic asshole. Blood and gore defined him. No sane woman should feel safe around him, and yet…
Hell, he pulled his anger deep into his gut and stepped outside, breathing in the cold evening air. He ignored the two shifters there and dragged his fingers through his hair, but they tangled in his braid.
Fucking Skaldr.
He shot a cold look at the bastard—who shrugged—wanting to break every bone in Skaldr’s body.
Tone flat, he said, “We’re going to the town at the western borders of Caelvyrn.”
“Duskscale Verge,” Attor supplied. “Midway to the portal as well.”
He nodded, remembering that name. “It would be the best place to track anyone with knowledge of the timings for the changing of the guard, I imagine.”
“Aye. Might take days, though,” Attor warned, rising from the rock. “Most don’t readily talk.”
Dammit, what was taking Ash so long?
Was she nursing the whelp’s wounds? If he walked in there again, he would kill the fucker.
He planted his booted feet on the ground. “We’ll need lodging for a few nights.”
“I’ll handle it,” Attor said.
Race barely heard him, his entire being dragged like a force field toward the female now standing behind him. Her scentwas threaded with smoke, carrying traces of sweet wood—Koal’s fucking scent?
Possessiveness twisted his gut, but he forced himself to step away and to breathe, each inhale a battle for control.
“Might have to go into one of the bigger shifter towns,” Koal added, stopping next to Ash.
Kill him now,his dragon growled.
No, a sane piece of him—shoved way down beneath his rage—fought back.She was asleep.
His irrational dragon side didn’t care. She smelled of the fucker, not of him.
“We’ll start with Duskscale,” Race said, his tone cold.
“I doubt these poor bastards care about the portal guards or their shift schedule when they’re trying to survive,” Skaldr muttered, eyeballing Race like he wanted to dig into his head for answers.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?” Ash asked, hurrying to Race’s side, her expression troubled.
Race shoved his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t reach out and pull her closer. “You mean the she-dragon who came after you? It’s been days. She’s likely lost interest by now. Butyoudon’t venture out alone unless I’m with you,” he warned.
“We will not let any harm befall her,” Attor said. “As the Resistance, one of our purposes is to keep the vulnerable safe.”
Race eyed them coolly. Best to make it all clear now.
“She comes first at all times. I don’t care what it is—her safety will always be priority. She gets hurt, I will leave. I can survive without Lemuria. I have done so for many millennia.”
His warning was absolute. Helping them meant nothing to him.
Ash bit her lip, clearly unhappy about being guarded twenty-four seven, but she remained silent.
“Understood,” Attor murmured, his relief palpable, and Koal nodded.
Skaldr snorted. “Guess it’s back to us still begging for crumbs every step of the way.”
“Skaldr,” Attor growled in warning. “We need all the help we can get. Eracier’s life is not here any longer.”
