“Yes. The more time on dragon-back the better. I wish I could teach you myself, but High Lords get such little time outside of the castle. I have a lot going on preparing for the arrival of the Lord of Land from the Kingdom of Terrain and his search party. Just keep your mate mark hidden and act as though you are still planning on going home to be with your mortal mate—eh husband. If he thinks you don’t want to be with me, he should back off,” he explained.
I highly doubted that. The memory hit me sharp—Aurelius moving like a shadow behind Titus at the SkyGuard feast, the flash of intent in his eyes, the way my stomach had dropped.
My fingers tightened around the stem of my goblet. I couldn’t just sit on this.
How could he trust him? I had to warn him.
Concerned, I said, “Titus, there is something you should know. Aurelius tried to kill you that night at the SkyGuard feast.”
He smirked like it was nothing, lazily swirling his wine. “And I tried to kill Cercies earlier that same night.” He exhaled a nostalgic breath and continued. “We have a long history of violence amongst each other. Plus, he already explained he was trying to use his healing light to see if he could find anything wrong with me.”
I studied his face, searching for a crack in that calm. “And you believe him?”
“Absolutely not,” he replied quickly. His thumb brushed once over my knuckles on the table—steadying, possessive. “But I know him, and I will handle it, Pickles. Don’t worry. You are safe to fly tomorrow with him. As much as I hate to admit it, he is the best teacher when it comes to dragons. Try to learn as much as you can—for Mount Orid or the war to come. Either way, you will be safer on dragon-back,” he said eerily.
The candlelight flickered across his jaw as he spoke, and the weight of his words settled in my chest—because he wasn’t talking aboutlessons. He was talking about survival.
Understanding the gravity of what he was saying, I nodded.
We stood and walked to the balcony doors. He placed his palms on my lower back and guided me into him like he already knew where I belonged. The moment his mouth met mine, my thoughts scattered. His tongue swirled and plunged into my mouth—impatient and possessive. Iran my fingers through his hair and sucked on his bottom lip. He answered with a low, satisfied breath against my mouth, like he’d been starving and I’d finally let him eat.
He grinned wickedly. “Now, I have heard you say Aurelius’s name far too many times tonight, so how about we take a bottle to my room, and I remind you why mine is the only name that needs to be on your lips,” he whispered, and his words were as delicious as they were filthy.
Oh god, that sounded so amazing right now. I had been wanting him since the alley in Coralis Falls. I wanted to give in, but it was just one night—I could hold out one night for the herbs to work.
“I need to rest. I have a big day tomorrow, and I know that if I’m in your bed I will not be resting,” I said teasingly. “Besides, I thought you were trying to be good tonight.”
He smiled menacingly. “You’re right. Tomorrow then—after the meeting with Cercise, let’s work on some shield projection. After that, I want you all to myself for the rest of the night.”
I could feel the vibrations from his low, seductive voice spread through every inch of me, My skin prickled. My pulse thudded hard and needy, as if my body recognized he was the source of the of pleasure it craved.
“Tomorrow, I’m all yours, My Lord,” I said, kissing his cheek with my arms around his neck.
I glanced over to the harp still magically plucking its strings, the soft notes floating between us like they were in on the temptation. “Do you think Gleeda would mind if I borrowed her harp tomorrow morning?”
“I don’t think Gleeda would mind if you tossed it off the balcony,” he replied jokingly.
“Perfect,” I replied.
CHAPTER 30
The Dance
DELILAH
My morning began with a swift walk to the castle training facility, a hot cup of herbal tea in hand. The taste was… undesirable, but so was the outcome of an unplanned pregnancy, so I forced myself to swallow every bitter drop. Titus had a new collection of training leathers made for me in my size that were designed with practicality in mind as opposed to sex appeal, although I would admit they were flattering to the shape of a woman’s body.
Per Gleeda’s instructions, I drank one of the vials of elixir, and after training I planned on having her change the dressing on my burn.
When I opened the doors to the outdoor facility, it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the blinding morning sun. I blinked and saw two Fae dressed in leathers waiting for me—Cercies and Calpurnia. Cercies must have had leathers made for her as well.
“I hope you don’t mind, Delilah, but it’s important to me that my mate be able to defend herself. As much as I want to be, I am unable to be by her side and protect her twenty-four seven, so I asked her to join us. Plus, having a sparring partner near your own skill level will only benefit the both of you,” he explained.
“Not at all. I’m happy you’re here. This just got a lot more fun,” I replied while nodding at Cal.
She did a little happy dance in excitement. Training might be my new favorite activity. I could feel the stimulating effects of the training elixir start to kick in, and my heart began to beat faster.
Cercies instructed us to run down the hundreds of steps to the dragon’s keep and back up while he timed us. Embarrassingly, we took far longer than the time allotted by the hourglass, and Cercies exaggerated his disapproval by reclining on a wooden bench with his hands behind his head as if he had fallen asleep waiting for us to return.
