Page 91 of A Kingdom of Sand and Ice (Kingdom of Gods #2)

Because telling him would mean watching him turn and run, riding off after the drakonian princess without looking back. And although Dawn knew it was the right thing to do, what any decent soul would do, she had never claimed to be decent. She had always been a selfish girl at heart .

She needed Kai. Needed him to reach Ash. And she could not, would not, let him mount that shadowy beast and chase after a girl who was supposed to be dead.

Her attention shifted to the horse, to the way Kai’s fingers moved across its form with such quiet reverence it made her stomach twist. There was too much tenderness in the gesture. Too much care. She couldn’t bear it.

If he adored his horse so deeply, he would never let her near it.

She pictured herself limping after him all the way to Fireheart while he rode effortlessly ahead. Her blisters throbbed just at the thought. No. She couldn’t endure it. She would lie down right here in the dirt and rot before she followed him on foot another step.

How dare he summon that damn horse only to flaunt it in front of her?

They called witches cruel, but even she wouldn’t torment someone so viciously.

Well…

She would .

‘Why are you pouting, witch?’ Kai asked, his voice laced with amusement.

Before Dawn could summon a retort, he extended his hand towards her. She stared at it, blinking in surprise, uncertain what he expected. They had never touched like that before, so casually, so willingly and the idea alone sent a faint flush to her cheeks.

‘It doesn’t hold the secrets of the universe,’ he said dryly, frowning at her hesitation. ‘Are you going to take it or not?’

‘For what?’

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. ‘To help you up.’

‘Help me up…?’

‘Are you daft, witch? Or simply trying my patience?’ He nodded towards the shadowy steed. ‘To help you onto my horse. You did say your feet were hurting. Now hurry, or I might change my mind.’

Dawn's chest gave a traitorous twist.

He wasn’t going to leave her behind after all. He wasn’t planning to ride on without her, forcing her to stumble along behind him like an unwanted burden. He was offering her a place on the horse, on his shadow. He trusted her. Trusted her enough to share it.

‘I can climb up myself, commander,’ she snapped, chin lifting with defiance.

No matter how deeply the gesture warmed her, she would never give him the satisfaction of seeing what it meant.

With a scowl, she brushed his hand aside and climbed up quickly, unable to keep the triumphant smile from spreading across her face.

It vanished the moment she felt him climb up behind her.

‘But—’

Kai let out a snort of laughter.

‘I’m not fool enough to leave you alone on my horse.’ His arms slid around her, firm and final, encircling her like a barrier of steel. She was caged. And he knew it.

‘I wasn’t going to ride off without you,’ she said, though her tone suggested the thought had very much occurred to her.

The moment she realised he would let her mount his shadow, the idea had taken root.

A part of her had yearned to escape, to run back to Hagan and the safety of her own people.

But she had made a vow to reach Ash, and she intended to see it through.

Dawn shifted slightly, pressing herself closer into Kai’s frame with deliberate intent.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked, his voice sharp enough to slice through stone.

‘Getting comfortable,’ she purred, her grin widening with wicked delight as she moved just enough to feel the undeniable presence beneath her.

‘I will throw you off this horse.’

‘Is that your cock I feel?’ she mused innocently. ‘Oh no… surely not. It’s far too big to be yours.’

‘Would you rather walk?’

‘Not at all, I love to ride,’ she replied, glancing over her shoulder with a look that left no ambiguity in the meaning of ride .

The wyverian prince met her gaze, expression unreadable, until he gripped her chin and forced her to face forward once more.

Dawn let out a breathless laugh. ‘Have I made you nervous, commander?’

‘You do not rattle me, witch,’ he said, low and cool. ‘You inspire nothing in me but exasperation.’

She laughed again, covering her mouth with one hand.

‘Is that so?’ she said, glancing back a second time, catching the unmistakable tension in his body. ‘Because what I feel pressing against my backside doesn’t exactly scream exasperation .’

Without warning, his massive hand clamped over her face, and a second later she found herself unceremoniously shoved off the horse. She landed hard in the dirt with a shriek.

Correction. She hadn’t fallen. He had thrown her.

Cursing, Dawn glared after him as he rode on, utterly unmoved by her indignation.

‘Feel that?’ he called over his shoulder, tone infuriatingly smug. ‘That’s the ground beneath your arse.’

Dawn scrambled to her feet and screamed—loud, raw, and furious. She hurled every curse she could summon, the foulest, vilest words her mind could conjure spilling from her lips like venom. She called him every unspeakable name under the sun, voice echoing through the trees with wild abandon.

But it wasn’t truly because he had thrown her from the horse.

No. She screamed because she was tired. Bone-deep, soul-weary tired.

Tired of fighting.

Tired of pretending.

Tired of being hated by the world simply for existing.

‘Are you quite finished?’ came his voice—calm, detached, yet tinged with confusion.

Dawn glanced up through damp lashes to see the wyverian prince on his horse, his brows drawn together, clearly baffled by the force of her outburst. She turned away, wiping her face with the back of her hand, trying to erase the fury and pain written there.

She couldn’t meet his eyes, not those dark eyes that pretended not to notice what hers so clearly held.

Kai leaned over slightly and extended his hand.

This time, she took it.

And for once, she didn’t pull away.

…

‘You’ll need to disguise yourself,’ Kai whispered against her ear as they approached a modest roadside inn, its windows glowing softly in the twilight.

Dawn stirred awake with a sharp intake of breath.

At some point, she had fallen asleep against his chest, and though his entire body had gone rigid the moment her head had come to rest there, he hadn’t moved.

Hadn’t pushed her away. Not even when every rational thought screamed at him to do so.

‘Do you have enough magic?’ he asked, his voice low, almost reluctant .

Dawn didn’t argue. She simply nodded and lifted her hands.

A soft green mist curled from her fingers, swirling in the air like enchanted smoke.

Kai watched, unable to look away, as the haze enveloped her completely.

When it faded, the witch was gone. In her place sat a young innocent and unassuming drakonian woman.

It unsettled him.

Strange, how wrong it felt. Stranger still, how much he wanted the witch back, despite everything he claimed to feel.

They stopped at the inn, eager for something more satisfying than the forest’s miserable offering of wild berries and mushrooms. Something warm. Filling. Maybe even a few hours of real rest, something that might make the world seem less sharp around the edges.

The drakonian woman at the door gasped the moment she caught sight of Kai, her eyes shining with curiosity and surprise at the sight of one of her kind travelling alone with a wyverian.

If only she knew the truth that the girl beside him was no drakonian maiden, but a witch cloaked in magic and secrecy.

‘You should’ve joined a travelling performance act,’ Kai muttered as they were shown to a quiet corner of the dining room after Dawn had dramatically told the innkeeper about their travels.

‘Shut up,’ Dawn hissed under her breath. Her eyes lit up at the steaming bowls brought to their table, and before she could even savour the scent, she was devouring it with reckless abandon, soup spilling down her chin and trailing along her neck.

Kai stared, equal parts horrified and impressed, as she continued to gulp and slurp without the faintest hint of decorum. ‘Then again, perhaps not.’

‘Oh my,’ the innkeeper exclaimed, bustling forward. ‘I’ll fetch you another bowl straight away.’

Dawn let out a burp, entirely unbothered.

‘Delightful,’ Kai muttered dryly.

She kicked him beneath the table.

‘Try that again,’ he warned.

‘Don’t be so rude,’ she snapped, her hands curling into fists.

‘Is everything all right?’ the innkeeper asked gently, casting a concerned glance between the pair before setting down a steaming dish piled high with roasted meats, vegetables, and golden potatoes.

‘Yes, everything is fine,’ Kai replied.

But the innkeeper lingered, her eyes settling on Dawn with maternal concern. She looked not at the towering wyverian beside her, but at the girl she believed to be a young drakonian—frail, frightened, perhaps in trouble.

Dawn’s lip curled in amusement. She could easily turn, let tears brim in her eyes, and cry out before the entire room, claiming he had taken her, that he had hurt her. The thought had clearly played across her mind like a wicked little drama, because Kai could see it in her eyes. He always could.

But he knew she wouldn’t. Because he hadn’t kidnapped her. She was here by choice. She was following him .

‘He’s got a bit of a temper,’ Dawn said sweetly, flashing the innkeeper a too-bright smile. ‘Wyverians, such big tempers and such tiny, tiny cocks.’

Kai’s foot struck her shin hard beneath the table. The innkeeper flushed a brilliant shade of crimson and quickly excused herself, bustling away without another word.

Dawn giggled, delighted with herself.

‘You are utterly insufferable,’ Kai muttered.