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“Would you like to learn to?”

“Not particularly.”

His head shot up to her with his brows drawing together.

“Why not? You should know how to defend yourself without magic.”

He placed the weapon down and off to the side of the others.

Although he knew she would never need such skills while trapped in his home, if he were to die his wards would disappear. She would have the opportunity to leave.

“I do not think I have the heart to harm another.”

What a silly admission.He made his way towards her, closing the large space between them to stand in front of her.

“What if someone threatens you with fire?” She’d already taken an unsteady step back from his approach, but his words made the colour drain from her face. “There is no time to care for righteousness when faced against someone who wishes to hurt you.”

She gave a shrug while averting her gaze from his.

“Then I would run.”

“What if you cannot run?” Her head lifted, and she took a step back when he took a step forward. Then another and another until he was following her step for step. “What if no matter where you go or how fast you run, you cannot get away?”

He was slowly chasing her, directing her path by stepping further to the sides so she would retreat the opposite way.

“What if, no matter what you do, you become cornered?” Her body met the wall. Her back tightened when he put his hands against the rockface beside her shoulders to trap her there. “With nowhere left to run or hide.”

Her eyes were wide, not with fear but with something else as he held them with his own.

“Then I do not know,” she whispered softly.

Rurik could see the pulse in her jugular was quick and her breathing shallow. He squinted his eyes like that would help him to sense what she was thinking or feeling since he couldn’t pick up anything by her scent.

They stayed in place while he had her cornered.

Her eyes are such a strange colour of blue. They appear like lagoons.

He knew he had her cornered, and he was waiting to see what she would do while he closely inspected her face.

She seemed to be doing the same.

Her face looks sweet.She reminded him of a tiny bunny – soft, gentle, and defenceless. It often made him forget what she really was, that he could sense strong, untapped power.

As if she couldn’t hold his eyes anymore, they drifted down his body and the arms caging her in. She stared at his torso for long moments.

Then she did something he didn’t think she would do.

She reached forward and tentatively touched one of the many scars marring his body. He knew the one she was gently caressing her fingertips over without needing to look. It was the palm-sized blast scar he had just above his hip.

“You have been hurt very deeply.”

Her fingers found a different scar, one that ran across his abdomen. The muscles tensed in reaction. His brows drew together at her touching him like this. He was unsure if he wanted to pull away or not.

Although he’d received many injuries in the past, anything that didn’t go past his skin or scales wasn’t deep enough to scar his body. With the natural regenerative abilities his kind held and the magical healing properties in their saliva when in Dragon form, only certain, deep injuries would be lasting. Even smaller bones like his wings could be spared any permanent damage.

She peeked up to him to see if what she was doing was allowed.

Whatever she saw made her duck her gaze back down to watch herself touch the one on the left side of his sternum, just below his heart. Rurik had almost lost his life obtaining the one she was touching now.