‘I dream-walk sometimes,’ he cut in quickly, as though rushing to banish the idea from my head. ‘I would never give you a nightmare. You crafted it on your own. I stumbled into it in my sleep.’
The explanation came too fast. Too urgent. Almost pleading. What was happening?
‘You can visit people’s dreams? Is it a part of your nightmare powers?’
A flicker of shock crossed his features. ‘It’s complicated. All dream-walkers have nightmare powers, but you can control nightmares without dream-walking abilities. I never meant to violate your privacy; I tried to leave but then he…’
Isaac’s jaw tightened. ‘You need a mate who respects you. It’s not him.’
Silence pressed between us.
A low, frustrated sound escaped him. ‘Are you angry?’
Slowly, I made my way back to the window, leaning against the wall opposite him. Putting space back where it belonged.
‘No. But you don’t get to judge him without knowing the facts. And next time, please don’t linger in my dreams.’
I swallowed. ‘The fact is, my mother cursed his brother to kill his own mate and then himself, just as she’d been doing with his army. He didn’t know me back when he attacked me. I’d wandered into their soldiers’ resting place, and he thought I wanted to do more damage.’
Isaac inhaled sharply. ‘That’s horrible.’ A pause. ‘But it doesn’t excuse him.’
‘I know it doesn’t,’ I said quietly, realising nothing I could say would change his mind. ‘But he’s not violent toward me. If anything, his overprotectiveness drives me crazy. I’m not some damsel who needs to be looked after, or at least I don’t want to be.’
His expression shifted.
Out of relief, maybe. Though he wouldn’t admit it. ‘Then it’s decided. I’ll train you.’
I blinked. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I teach combat, don’t I?’
Chapter Twenty-Six
Avari
The dragons flew a couple of feet above me, sending my hair into a vicious whirlwind. Brushing the knots out later was going to hurt.
‘Tell me about that cave of yours. Where is it?’ I asked them seconds after they landed on the nearby hill and trotted toward me.
‘A couple of miles from here. We considered one to the east of the Isle, but it’s a bit far from your estate,’ Anya admitted.
‘It’s bigger, but the one nearby suits our needs just fine,’ Roark, the shadow dragon, chimed in happily. ‘And I wouldn’t dare keep a bonded pair apart.’
‘The girl has a tendency to get in dangerous situations; I’m not sure if I could stay away anyway. She could probably get into a life-threatening situation in that field of daffodils we flew over earlier,’ Anya huffed, and the fumes made me nauseous.
The fetor of rotten eggs mixed with decaying matter assaulted my nostrils as I immediately dry-heaved, tilting my face toward the sky for fresh air.
‘I don’t believe that, it was bare, no danger in sight,’ the shadow dragon argued, bewildered.
‘She would find a way.’
‘Erm, excuse me. Keep your stinky breath away, thank you very much. My Gods, what the f— What did you eat?’ I shouted, forcing myself not to vomit.
‘And I told you how annoyingly undignified she can be, right?’ Anya asked him, flashing her canines.
His coal-black eyes stared at me, and something akin to pity flashed inside them. ‘Yes, I believe you mentioned it once or twice. I see what you mean now.’
‘I can still smell that whale carcass. How can she even call that scent a stench? Bunch of weirdos, these wingless creatures,’ she mused, and he chuckled.
