Page 34 of A Cursed Bite (Bound to the Enduar #1)

ARLET

T he world is ice and gold.

The wind howls against us, cutting mercilessly through my clothes. It numbs my skin until I can no longer tell if I am shivering or simply becoming one with the air.

The only warmth is trapped between me and Vann. He sits behind me, his arms locked tightly around my waist, his chest solid against my back. With him, I am safe. Cared for.

It’s given me a much-needed reserve of confidence. Something necessary as we have been flying for hours.

Even when my back aches and my flesh burns under my enchanted clothes, I love flying. Seraph is a marvel in and of herself. She trusted me enough to take flight after months on the ground.

A part of me had worried she would not be strong enough, but her wings carve through the dawn, carrying us beyond anything I have ever known.

I adjust my riding goggles and look down. Beneath us, the continent unfurls in an endless, breathtaking sprawl—there are dense forests stretching into oblivion, rivers glistening like silver threads, and mountains rising to be crowned in mist.

We even pass over the Enduar Mountains. They rise up, the black peaks slicing into the sky. I long to return with Vann at my side .

Soon .

“Come back to us whole,” Liana had told me upon leaving.

That is exactly what I am doing.

King Arion had used dark magic to twist my fate to suit his desires. The curse inside me is a leash, yanking me toward a master I never chose.

I am tired of being a tool.

A would-be wife to a king I hate. A vessel to bear something I cannot create.

So I will sever any connection between us.

I grit my teeth as the wind slashes against my skin, but I don’t lower my head. I don’t shrink back. Let it cut me. Let it freeze me. I will not be molded by their will.

The gods can demand. The kings can claim. The curse can pull but I will not bow again.

I lift my chin, defying the wind that howls around me. I want to rip the sky apart. I want to scream.

I want to be free again.

Eventually, the golden brilliance of sunrise washes over the clouds, spilling in great waves of radiance that bathe everything in shimmering warmth. Below us, the world stretches impossibly far, above oceans that crinkle and ripple like fabric carelessly thrown over a table.

“It’s beautiful!” I shout over my shoulder, my voice barely carrying over the wind.

The arms around me tighten, a firm and steady anchor as the air rushes past, trying to steal me away. My head tips back, caught in the sheer expanse of it all—the vast, endless sky, and the golden light spilling over the clouds like molten fire.

“I will be if you stop squirming,” Vann growls, his voice warm despite the gruffness. “You need to be careful!”

I laugh, remembering the way he held me last night. Bound me. Freed me in his care. It was the sweetest gift I’ve ever been given. Being around him now makes me feel bolder, happier.

Relieved that this will all be over soon.

“Vann? ”

“Yes?” he calls, his voice rumbling through my ribs. His hands tighten just a fraction around my waist as Seraph crests another cloud, her great golden wings cutting through the endless white.

“We’re just having fun, Vann. This is good!” I shout over the wind, my voice light with exhilaration.

Vann hesitates, his grip tightening for a moment. “It will be good when we land.”

I laugh, feeling the rush of the air. “I don’t want it to end.”

He doesn’t respond, but I can feel his tension behind me. Then, without warning, I turn slightly to face him, grinning.

“Will you help me with something else?”

His eyes narrow, studying me for a moment, concern flashing in them, but I can see the spark of trust too. “Hmm.”

He shouts back, “What do you have in mind?”

“I want to feel the wind through my arms. To feel like I am really the one flying.”

There’s a beat of silence, then he nods slowly. “Firelocks.”

“Please?” I ask. “We’ve been flying for hours without problem. Seraph is safe. She’s excellent at flying.”

Something grumbles against my back.

“Fine.”

He takes the reins from me, carefully. His tail—strong and sure—wraps around my midsection, securing me without a word.

I take a deep breath, steadying myself against the wind, and slowly, I raise my arms. My fingers stretch wide, reaching for the sky itself. The wind rushes around me, the sun now beside me, instead of above. The world spins in a blur of clouds and light.

For a moment, I feel weightless, as though I am part of the sky. The wind sings in my ears.

Vann shouts something in enduar, but his grip does not loosen. Not once.

When I let out a bird-like call to the sky, he laughs. The sound of it is full, unrestrained. It carries the joy of the moment.

I can do anything.

I know without any shadow of a doubt, we’ve done the right thing. We’ve done something challenging. Something impossible. And, for a few moments, the sky belongs to me. To us.

A deep rumble vibrates through Seraph’s massive body, her wings tilting as she rides an air current.

My arms come back down and grip the reins with him.

Vann’s voice is close, low against my ear. “Hold on.”

I barely have time to react before the sky darkens, the clouds thickening into a dark gray. The wind changes, too.

Seraph lets out a low, warning growl, her golden wings flapping uneasily.

And then, in the distance, through the gloom—I see them.

The islands.

“Vann! Look!” I call back, pointing.

Below, a great crescent-shaped mass of land sits in the dark waters, its curved form like a moon resting upon the ocean’s surface. Smaller islands are clustered nearby, scattered like broken pieces of a long-destroyed celestial body.

But beyond them, on the horizon, a storm brews. Fast. The sky churns with clouds so dark they swallow the dawn’s glow. Flashes of lightning slither through the abyss, illuminating the massive, spiraling heart of the storm.

Fuck. I’d been so delighted, careless, up to now. But fear stabs into my heart. I lean forward, tightening my grip.

A deep, rolling thunder shakes the air, reverberating through my ribs. Vann leans forward, his grip firm.

“We don’t have much time!”

The wind howls. Beneath us, the water rolls and pitches. I spot something dark bobbing atop a blue-gray wave.

My first glimpse of the boat is almost too strange to process.

At first, I think it’s debris—driftwood. But then I see the movement. The frantic scrambling.

People.

We drop closer, and the ocean rises to meet us. I make out a man.

No tail.

No ears.

Short hair .

Not just any people, but, humans.

I suck in a sharp breath, my mind struggling to catch up with what my eyes are telling me. “?Mierda!” I exclaim. “That’s a human vessel.”

Vann stiffens behind me. I feel his attention shift, following my gaze downward.

“They shouldn’t be here,” I say, barely able to find my voice over the roar of the wind. “This is too far—there’s no land for leagues. What are they doing?”

His answer is lost.

The wind screams around us, a deafening, living force, snatching the breath from my lungs. Rain lashes against me, cold as needles, and Seraph fights against the gusts with every powerful beat of her wings.

Vann’s grip around me is iron.

“We should try to go higher!” I shout over the roaring wind, but even as I say it, I know it won’t matter.

The storm has us now.

A sudden gust slams into Seraph’s side, sending us tilting violently. My stomach drops as we spiral. My vision spins and Seraph roars.

She struggles against the wind’s relentless pull. My fingers claw at the saddle straps, gripping tight, and I feel Vann shift behind me, moving with the dragon’s desperate attempt to steady herself.

The storm howls, pushing, forcing, dragging us toward the unknown. The rain covers my goggles, the wind howls through my bones, and Seraph— Seraph fights. Her wings cut through the air with everything she has.

It isn’t enough.

The sky fractures into darkness, the ocean disappearing as the storm hurtles us forward. Then—through the blur of wind and rain, something looms ahead.

Land.

A jagged, dark shape rises from the mist, cliffs lined with shadowed trees. The sea crashes violently against its base, waves clawing at the rocks, and the wind shoves us toward it without mercy .

I wipe my hands at the goggles, trying to clear my vision.

“Seraph!” I scream, and she roars in response.

Her wings snap open at the last moment, straining against the force dragging us down, and for a single second, I think she’ll right herself.

Then the wind changes direction again.

The island surges closer.

We hit.

Seraph’s claws scrape across rock as she lands hard, skidding over soaked earth, her great body coiling to absorb the impact. I’m thrown forward, the saddle straps biting into my skin as I clutch onto anything to keep from being hurled off.

Vann’s arms tighten around me, his breath a harsh curse against my ear.

Then everything stills.

My pulse thunders in my ears. My body is frozen and my lungs burn.

We crashed, but we made it.

Seraph lets out long, labored breaths and curls her tail to her torso. Vann unties both of us, and helps me to slide off.

I approach the dragon’s front, checking for wounds. When I try to touch her, she muzzles into my hand. Almost as if to tell me, I am all right. Just need rest.

The rain continues to pour, soaking through my clothes, plastering my hair to my face. Salt and wet earth fill my nose. The trees are silhouetted against flashes of lightning.

Strong hands grip me from behind, and twist me around. Vann rips off his eyewear, tossing it to the side, and then picks me up.

My tall sky-blue enduar exhales sharply, his forehead pressing against my shoulder for the briefest moment before he straightens and sets me down. His hands brush down my arms, checking, solid and sure.

“Are you right?” His voice is rough. Eyes scorching.

I swallow hard. “Yes.”

Then he grabs my face and starts to kiss me, hard and slow. I pull back, just long enough to remove my goggles, then I start to kiss him too.

Adrenaline floods through me.

We are safe.

Safe .

He pulls me down into the wet sand, the roughness of it against my skin a sharp contrast to the heat between us. His kisses grow harder, deeper, like he’s trying to pull every bit of the tension from my body, to erase the storm that still shakes the world around us. The rain soaks us further, but it doesn’t matter. Everything feels alive, urgent, and real.

His mouth trails along my neck, my jaw, and then, once he opens my coat and shirt, my breast.

It’s overwhelming, in the best way.

The world fades, leaving only the sound of our breaths, the pounding of the rain, and my beating heart. He moves against me, grinding for a second.

Gods, this was a man who knew how to fuck. Sadly, something that would have to be discovered at a later time.

Who knows how much time passes, enough for me to be hot and wet in different ways across all of my body, but he releases me.

My forehead presses to him.

“Thank the gods you are all right,” I whisper.

He holds my wrist and the adrenaline starts to wear off, little by little. He closes my shirt, fingers trailing lightly over my skin

Vann finally takes his eyes off me and looks around. “We should set up camp.”

I nod, “Then we should use the map to see if we can find out which island we landed on.”