Page 31 of Exquisite Monster (Dragons of Viria #2)
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
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KATALENA
W e flew for more than a day. Back across Viria to the crater where Idroal had first taken me.
My mates had said a few things to me, but not many. There was too much to say, and I couldn’t speak back with my mind. We still might not be able to speak when we landed to rest. I didn’t know our final destination, but I knew we didn’t plan on pausing our journey for long until we’d arrived.
More than anything, I reveled in just feeling them. They touched the bond as only they could, using silent words to wrap me up in love and comfort that wasn’t nearly enough.
We will rest here briefly , Idroal said. The Heirs have rested enough to fly.
My heart pounded as we descended. They were here. I was here. I desperately wanted us to be alone, but I wanted them more. My body was moving before Belleo had fully settled.
I slid to the ground, looked up, and found Sirrus storming toward me.
He didn’t stop, hauling me into his arms and embracing me.
Sheer relief flooded our bond. An easing that was so much more than simply being near one another.
I’d barely noticed how much pain I was in until they were all here with me. Until they could touch me.
He pressed his forehead to mine. Slid his hands over me like he needed to feel every piece to make sure I was whole. “Lena.”
My name was a broken whisper.
I couldn’t stop myself. Tears filled my eyes and spilled over. They were here. They were alive.
Zovai pulled me into his arms and held me close, breathing me in. He felt raw . Like he would pin me to the ground here and make sure we would never forget the feel of each other’s bodies. I wasn’t entirely opposed to that.
But at the moment? I just wanted them to hold me.
Endre—
I looked over my shoulder and found him a dozen paces away, staring at me like I wasn’t real. He wore nothing but ragged pants, the glimmering scar on his chest shining in the morning light.
With as much gentleness as I could manage, I touched the bond in my chest. Words seemed like too much.
He broke, crossing the distance and gathering me up so my feet didn’t touch the ground. One hand tangled in my braided hair, his face buried in my neck. The others joined us. All three of them pressed close, and I never wanted to move again.
I didn’t know how long we stayed there in silence, listening to each other through our bonds.
We’d barely been able to experience the bond before we were torn apart.
It still felt like a miracle. And there was so much more than words passing between us.
Every moment of grief and fear. We would talk about it later after I was used to feeling them alive.
A soft clearing of a throat brought me out of the fog in my mind. Idroal. They spoke softly. “I am truly sorry to interrupt. We cannot linger here. Bathe and eat, then we must continue.”
Arms tightened around me. Letting go of them felt unthinkable. I knew Idroal was right, and yet…
More tears flowed, staining Sirrus’s shirt where he’d tucked me into his chest. I couldn’t let go.
“Thank you, Idroal,” Zovai said.
Let me carry you, Princess. Sirrus whispered in my head. We’re not leaving .
He shifted, and I let him lift me into his arms and carry me around the curve of the sheyten to the edge of the river.
It widened and deepened here. I hadn’t seen it the first time.
Endre dove into the water without hesitation.
Zovai too. Sirrus still held me, thumbs stroking my skin where he could.
When Zovai emerged from the water and donned fresh clothes the others had provided, he took me from Sirrus’s arms. Cradled as I was, I could hear the pounding of his heart. I loved that sound.
“Where are we going?” I asked quietly. In the frantic mess of rescuing them, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Hadn’t cared to worry about it until we’d succeeded.
“Home.”
“Skalisméra?”
He lifted me high enough to kiss my forehead. “No. Our home. We rarely get to stay there, but it is protected. We’ll be safe there for the moment, so we can rest and plan.”
Being safe sounded nice. Rest sounded nice. Just being with them sounded nice. It also didn’t sound real. I wouldn’t believe it until we were there.
“How far?”
“If only the three of us were flying, maybe a day. With all of us as we are, more likely two days.”
I closed my eyes and leaned against him. “All right.”
All the words pressed against my lips, but I didn’t let them out. Not here where anyone could find us and attack us.
Tears built behind my eyes, so I kept them closed. Exhaustion clung to me the same way I clung to them. But I still couldn’t let go yet. The only thing that had kept me going this long was getting to them. Now they were here, and my body simply wouldn’t cooperate. It was too much and?—
“You should eat something,” Zovai said, taking me with him closer to the others.
I tensed, not wanting anyone but them. All the others had done everything for us, and I appreciated it. I would thank them when I could. But I couldn’t bear to be near anyone else.
Sirrus was already retrieving food, and I felt guilty for not wanting to get closer.
“They understand,” Zovai said quietly. “Trust me. They do not hold it against you.”
We retreated to sit against the rocks. I ended up half leaning across Endre’s lap, listening to his heart beat steadily. After this, I didn’t know if I would ever get tired of hearing them live .
“Here.” He placed something into my hand. A piece of fruit. I wasn’t hungry, but I ate it anyway. Our bond told me they weren’t going to eat without me eating too, and I had no idea how much they’d been fed. They were thinner than when I saw them last. Thinner but not starved, thank the Fallen.
They were probably more exhausted than I was.
“I’m sure they would keep carrying you if you need,” I whispered. “You can rest.”
“They would,” Endre said. “But we want to fly.”
Guilt and relief blended together, twisting together. I wanted them to rest, but I didn’t want anyone else to touch me, even to fly. But I would bear it if they needed rest. It was worse for them than for me. They were tortured.
I swiped a tear off my face, already frustrated with crying. Even if I knew it was going to happen. A lot.
All three of them were as close as we could be while simply sitting. Sirrus took the fingers still wet with my tears and kissed them. “We don’t have the time,” he whispered into my hair. “I know. But there is no comparing. We all suffered.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No. But being different does not make it better or worse.”
I ate another piece of fruit, and that was all. All the emotions and tumult inside made me certain that mixing food with flying was a bad idea.
Already the other dragons were preparing to leave, shifting and putting away supplies and clothes into bags, or tying them to their legs the way Idroal favored.
My mates stood too. Endre retrieved my bag, and with it, Varí .
I felt him nuzzle against my hand when I put my hand inside.
If he didn’t love the bag so much, I would feel bad about him being there so long.
But it seemed the collection was another little hoard for him, though his coin was still his first love.
I needed to make him a new pouch. The one on his back was dirty and torn after so much time.
Sirrus didn’t let go of me once we all stood. “With me?” He asked.
I nodded.
Endre touched our bond like I had earlier, calling me to his side as Sirrus shifted into his beast.
He kept me close. I love you .
“I wish we didn’t have to go anywhere. I just want?—”
We are the same, Lena . Believe me. But more than anything, we need you safe. Our beasts will not settle for anything less.
Not like we could stay safe, but I understood.
He brushed a kiss over my lips lightly. Not anything that would distract either of us and make the longing worse. Then he lent his strength to help me climb Sirrus’s scales.
We had so much time while flying, I wished we could talk as we did it. But I did not want my untethered thoughts heard by every dragon with us. Nor could they fly close enough together to hear my whispers, as big as they were.
So we would wait.
I curled into the space between his shoulder blades and matched my breath in time with Sirrus’s wings.