“I think I’m allowed that after what happened. Don’t you?” He didn’t look over.
If he wouldn’t even make eye contact with me, how was I supposed to figure out if we were mates? I suppose I could have tried smelling him. That was how it had happened with Anna and Caz, but I couldn’t bring myself to act that strange.
“Maybe. But maybe you’ve got it wrong why I’m here,” I said, trying to be coy as he pushed through one of the doors, holding it open politely for me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So you aren’t on some sort of suicide watch?”
“No.” I shook my head. “ShouldI be? We know you’re hurting, Kolar. Everyone can see that. Nobody blames you. But we haven’t thought you were going to hurt yourself.”
“Good. Because I’m not.” He sighed. “But I also don’t trust my own instincts right now, so I’m not being very good at anything. Especially if I can’t even tell why you’re hanging around.”
“I’m glad to hear we don’t have to worry about you,” I said, taking a huge chance and putting my hand on his forearm.
Kolar stopped walking, looking down at the contact point between us. He didn’t shake it off.
Nearby, the bawling of orders by various formation commanders filled the air. The landing field was abuzz with activity.
The Ice Kingdom was preparing for war. Men and women, warriors all, were streaming in from all corners of the kingdom, responding to the call to arms to defend the land from the Reds far to the north.
Nearby, one such unit was looking ready to head out. They stood in precise ranks, all dressed in the same simple dark-gray sweatpants that were ubiquitous everywhere. Uniforms were useless. They would only be shredded when the warriors shifted to fly to the front lines.
“Milly …” Kolar said, stepping slightly closer, his dark eyes troubled and unsure.
“Yes?” I looked up, waiting for him to finally, truly, lock eyes with me.
He still stared at my hand, my fingers curling slightly over his thick forearm, the corded muscle tense under the pads of my fingertips. Perhaps I was coming on too strong.
A violent storm of air was kicked up as a monstrous dragon swooped in overhead, landing with its back to us in an open space that was far too small. Gray-clad shifters sprinted out of its path to give it space. One was too slow and was caught by a wing, buffeted into a crowd of peers.
“What the hell?” I yelped at the commotion, the tail of the dragon just barely missing us. “Who is this asshole?”
“Florian,” Kolar said. “Back from the front.”
I found myself watching the huge dragon, its scales brilliant platinum under the early-afternoon orblight. The scales caught and reflected the light with a hint of gold around their edges.
Florian must have heard my outburst because the long, sinuous dragon neck curled around its body until the snout could stare down the length of its spine at us. Its eyes were a pale, frosty blue that spoke of crisp water freshly frozen over for the first time in winter.
It snorted in disdain, its eyes shifting slightly. Moving from Kolar to me, I realized distantly.
The instant we locked gazes, somethingsnappedin my head.
“Kolar,” I gasped, my vision blurring. “Something’s wrong.”
I was falling. My limbs were like air, empty and floating instead of supporting me.
“Here.” Kolar’s arm wrapped around my waist as he pulled me in tightly to him. “I’ve got you. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t …”
Mate!
I twitched, inhaling suddenly as adrenaline surged through my system like electric shock. I clutched at Kolar desperately, my fingernails digging in as I tried to climb my way up his arm.
To look past him. At the magnificent dragon all but shining under the orblight.
The verypissed offdragon. Its eyes narrowed with fury as it spun wildly, scattering powerful shifters like ragdolls. Claws dug into centuries-old stone, marring their surface as the beast shot forward.
I knew the issue immediately.
