Page 116 of Ashborne Forged

The door was locked. There were no secret passages into this room—a way she’d kept me restrained as a child, but now, a way I could reassure myself.

The windows and door were the only access to this space. And even mother wouldn’t climb three floors to the window. But the door? I couldn’t see it from the bed, even with the door open. Still, I’d hear it creak, or rattle. I’d hear the chair stop it if the door was pushed in.

And Kham was outside to help if anything went wrong.

Yet, I still couldn’t relax. I tried all the mental exercises we’d been trained to use in shiftwork, to help our bodies move toward sleep, even at odd times, or in uncomfortable positions.

But, my ears remained perked. Muscles tight. Mind constantly turning back to the look in her eyes when I’d said there was a baby.

I was relieved to know I’d correctly assessed her connection with this treasonous scheme we’d uncovered in Fyrehold. But that still left me here to deal with the knot that was unraveling before my eyes.

The devil. I’d made a deal with the devil.

And the frightening thing was, she might honor it. But at what price? What would she attempt to extract if she couldn’t manipulate me into her web again?

An image of her eyes in that moment when she’d realized there was an heir about to enter the world bloomed in my head, and I shuddered.

The cold, keen eagerness. The hunger. The devious intent.

God, she was dark.

‘Rest, Voski.’

‘I can’t. Not when I know she’s near.’

Kham went quiet in the bond, and I knew he’d be considering options. Attempting to identify a way to get me out of here, so I could sleep, but I shook my head.

‘She can’t know I’m afraid. She can know I need her, but I can’t let her know she torments me. She would use it.’

Kham sighed. ‘She is a truly dark soul. My spirit is cold on thoughts of her.’

My brows popped up. The dragons were very perceptive, and Kham especially so, as a gold. But to them, humans posed no serious risk. His faith in God’s plan, coupled with his exceeding strength and the heat of his fire, meant he didn’t fear people, except, perhaps, in how they might hurt me.

But for him to say that…

‘You can feel it in her?’

‘I can feel it in every inch of this place. Darkness sits on the throne here. It’s welcomed. It’s ushered in.’

His shudder gave me a sense of relief. If he was uneasy, then I wasn’t just weak to her.

‘I have never claimed you were weak to carry dread about what happened here, Voski. I only wished for you to face the fear and be free.’

I gave a dry huff. ‘Is this what you had in mind?’

‘Not in the slightest.’

I wanted to smile at his sardonic tone. Hope bubbled in my chest for the first time. ‘Thank you, Kham.’

‘For what?’

‘For being strong enough to acknowledge when you feel something. Anything.’

‘If I’d known that was all it would take to earn your admiration, I would have wept on your bosom years ago,’ he drawled.

I snorted at the mental image of my massive, powerful dragon, sobbing into my chest.

He rumbled, muttering in the link, not entirely free of masculine pride.