Page 24 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

She didn’t know how long she had been going through the various poses when she felt him land softly.

Irritation prickled at the same time her flames flickered under her skin, reaching for him.

She opened her eyes just in time to see his wings disappear.

He was shirtless—because of course he was—but his pupils were still vertical, irises glowing faintly.

“I can see better in the dark when my eyes are shifted,” he said by way of explanation. She didn’t need to ask how he knew what she’d been thinking. She already knew. This damn bond was trying to settle into place.

“By the gods,” she gritted out, any semblance of calm she’d found obliterated when he’d literally dropped out of the godsdamn sky. “Can I not have one night of peace?”

“Your night hasn’t been peaceful since Ashtine returned,” he replied. Then she heard him grumble under his breath, “And mine haven’t been peaceful since you stepped foot in Avonleya.”

“You are the one who seeks me out,” she shot at him.

“I am well aware, Eliza.”

“Then stop.”

“I can only ignore the sudden intensity of your emotions for so long.”

“You can …feel that already?”

He gave a sharp nod. “The male usually feels the bond stronger in the beginning. It’s a primal protectiveness.”

“Great,” she muttered, resuming her movements. She went through another few stances before he spoke again.

“Do you want to spar?”

“No,” she bit out.

“Do you want to talk about what caused the spike in your emotions?”

“No.” She began to move into her next position.

“Do you want to fuck?”

She tripped on her own feet, her foot landing in the wrong position in the sand, and she flung her arm out to keep her balance.

Her eyes flew to Razik. He was staring back at her, arms crossed, that unimpressed look he gave everyone else on his face.

The flickering flames of her fire cast shadows that danced across his features, and she saw his lips twitch the smallest amount.

“I want you to fuck off,” she spat.

She heard his low laugh as she spun away from him, starting her routine over from the beginning.

Refusing to look at him, she began going through all her stances again.

She fell into the lull of the movements, and it was nearly an hour later when she finished.

A faint sheen of sweat coated her skin, but she felt calmer.

More settled. But more importantly, she was so exhausted, she should be able to fall asleep without her endless thoughts keeping her awake.

She hoped that would be the case anyway, because she could still hear Rayner’s words rattling around in the back of her mind, screaming for attention.

There is a very good chance you will need to challenge for the Fire Court throne.

No. That was exactly the life her “father” had wanted for her. Marry her off to the Earth Prince, rule a Court at his side. She had worked too hard at becoming the exact opposite to have to do that.

Turning to trudge back to the palace, she paused mid-step when she found Razik sitting next to the fire. His knee was bent, arm resting atop it while he leaned back on his other hand. Had he sat here this entire time?

“What are you doing?” she asked dryly, her sword hanging loosely at her side.

“Thinking about my cave at home.”

She blinked, unsure of what to say to that. “Are you …talking about your study?”

He huffed a humorless laugh. “No, although I have some of my most valuable volumes at my cave.”

“Your cave,” she repeated.

“In the Nightmist Mountains.”

She could do nothing. Nothing but stand there and stare at him because she was completely dumbfounded and confused and what in the actual fuck was he talking about?

Razik was staring past her, out into the desert, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, she said, “Is there something special about this …cave?”

“I keep treasure there.”

She clicked her tongue, instantly annoyed. “You do not.”

He brought his gaze to hers, titling his head up to see her better. “I do.”

She sent him a frank look. “What sort of treasure?”

He shrugged. “Various things.” His eyes dropped to her sword. “If I had won that, it would be there.”

She looked down at the spirit sword. She’d won it in a race through a hedge maze, beating Razik by mere seconds. Looking back at him, her eyes narrowed. “I suppose now you are going to try to convince me you let me win.”

He gave a scoff of his own. “Eliza, I would never let you win anything. Remember when I spit fire farther than you?”

“How could I forget? You constantly remind me,” she sneered.

“Exactly. I would have reminded you every fucking day if I had won that sword. Come to think of it, no. I wouldn’t keep that sword in my cave.

I would have it sheathed down my back at all times to rub it in your face.

I would give that sword its own seat at the dinner table directly across from you so you would have to stare at it while eating. ”

A bark of laughter escaped her. She took a step towards him before she realized what she was doing and stilled once more. He had gone back to staring off into the night. She flexed her fingers around the sword hilt. He had to be lying.

“Do you really have a cave in the mountains?” she blurted.

His lips twitched again. Godsdamnit. How did he always know how to pull her into these stupid conversations?

“I do,” he answered. “I usually sleep there.”

“In a cave,” she said dubiously. “You have rooms at the estate and the castle, and you expect me to believe you sleep in a cave?”

He nodded. “I fly at night, after Cethin and I are done with whatever has required our attention that day. I usually end up there and just sleep there rather than fly back. I rarely stay at the estate or castle.”

“You could simply Travel back,” she pointed out.

“If I wanted to.”

“You prefer a cave?”

“It’s a very nice cave,” he answered without a hint of mirth.

Another laugh bubbled up. “I am sure it is if it’s full of treasure.”

“It’s a dragon thing,” he replied with another shrug.

She studied him, looking for any sign that he was jesting, but there was nothing. She honestly couldn’t tell if he was lying or not at this point.

A few minutes later, she was still standing there when he met her gaze. He tipped his head to the spot beside him. “Come, mai dragocen . Tell me where you learned serena sabre .”

And damn it all to hell, she did. The sand was warm beneath her feet, heated by her fire, as she made her way to him. He reached up, gently taking the sword from her hand and setting it aside. She lowered down, wrapping her arms around her knees, and tried to dig her toes into the hard sand.

She was so sick of the sand. Beaches. Deserts.

It was all the same. She wanted to go home to the mountains.

Aimonway wasn’t so bad in that regard, she supposed.

It was nestled right at the base of the Nightmist Mountains.

The next best thing to Solembra in a way.

Sand had never bothered her before. She was just …

homesick. Sorin had given her a home when she’d had nothing.

She missed her own space where she could simply be.

You will stay with him in Avonleya when this is all over?

Fucking Rayner and his introspective shit.

She lifted a hand, small flames appearing at her feet. Toying with the fire, the flames mirrored the movements of her fingers. She saw Razik look down at her, and she could tell by the way a muscle in his jaw ticked that he had felt her shift in emotions.

“Who taught you serena sabre ?” he asked.

“I don’t know what that is,” she sighed.

“It is what I just watched you do for an hour. With perfect form, I might add.”

She turned her head to look at him, her temple resting on her bent knees. “You know of it?”

“It is an ancient art form. One not commonly found here.”

“On this continent?”

“In this world.”

She went silent again, contemplating that. “Then how do you know of it?”

“My … Tybalt taught it to me.”

“Why don’t you call him your father anymore?”

“It feels different. With his true son here now.”

“He does not seem like the type of person who would replace you simply because he learned of Cassius.”

“He is not that type of person,” Razik replied, shifting so he faced her a little more.

“Then … Is this what he wished to speak with you about?”

“Some of it, I am sure,” he muttered. “I will have to go speak with him when we return tomorrow.”

She stiffened, the fire she’d been playing with at her feet flaring slightly. The entire purpose of coming out here was to not think about the logistics of how this Source bond would play out when this was all over, yet here it was. Already being thrown back in her face.

“ Mai dragocen ,” he said softly.

“Stop,” she snapped. “Stop calling me that.”

But a large hand wrapped around the back of her neck and pulled her to him.

His lips landed on hers, and she was kissing him back.

She let him deepen the kiss, his tongue demanding against hers, and then he was hauling her into his lap.

Her knees dug into the sand on either side of him.

One hand was still on her neck, holding her to him, the other slid down her back, fin gertips tracing her spine until he gripped her hip.

She leaned into him, his skin warming her better than any fire could.

She felt his magic brush against hers, and she ground down against him on instinct, his black flames seeking both to comfort her and draw her to him.

And she let them. She let him drive out the thoughts that had been plaguing her; the memories trying to haunt her.

“Come back to my rooms,” he growled into her mouth. Then his lips were moving along her jaw, down her throat.

“No,” she whispered, trying to pull back, but he held her in place.

“Then I will come to yours,” he murmured.

“I am staying here when you return tomorrow,” she blurted out.

He went rigid, his fingers tensing around her nape. He didn’t say anything for a long moment before he ground out from between his teeth, “Can you repeat that?”

“Azrael, Rayner, and Callan will go back with you tomorrow. I am staying here with Sawyer. To stay with Ashtine,” she answered, her tone hardening with each word.

“And what am I to do if I need you?” he snarled.

“If you need your power refilled, you can Travel.”

She watched as so many emotions crossed his features, she couldn’t decipher them all. She could tell he was holding back, biting his tongue on words he wanted to say. He sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body shuddering as he exhaled, but he was still rigid beneath her fingers.

She snatched her hands back when she realized they were resting against his bare chest. His lips pressed into a flat line and a faint trace of smoke rose on his next exhale.

“It is not that simple right now, Eliza,” he finally ground out. “Leaving Avonleya requires getting blood from Scarlett and blood from Cethin to return. She has her own matters to tend to. I cannot be tracking her down for blood when needed. What if she is here collecting Cyrus?”

“That’s not my problem,” she retorted.

“Wrong, Milady,” he growled again, moving his face inches from hers. “This became your problem when you volunteered to become my Source.”

“When this war is over, everything will be easier,” she said, shoving down the desire coursing through her. “The Wards will be down, and you will be free to Travel when needed. You just need to endure it until then.”

“Endure it until then,” he repeated.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she replied, pushing against him to stand.

He let her go, getting to his feet just as quickly.

She moved to retrieve her sword, sending it away in a burst of flame.

When she turned back to him, she found his hands loosely fisted at his sides, and the faint outline of scales shimmered beneath his skin, reflecting the soft glow of the fire.

They made his skin darker, and she briefly wondered what his full dragon form looked like.

“Are you going back to your rooms?” he asked tightly.

“Yes,” she answered, wrapping her arms around herself, looking away from him.

“Straight there?”

“Does it matter?” she tossed back.

“It does.”

She rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t, Razik.”

He studied her for a long moment, seeming to debate something, before he nodded curtly. His wings appeared, and he bent his knees in preparation for launching into the night.

“Where are you going?” she asked, lurching forward a step.

He gave her a mocking smile. “Does it matter?” When she stared back at him, her lips sealed tight, he said, “I didn’t think so.”

But she knew. She knew as she made her way back up to the palace that he was flying above her, making sure she got back all right. It was an instinct he couldn’t fight against.

And she hated that it mattered.