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forty

Dove

S aff and I don’t need words. She recognises heartache, and she sees it in me. It’s part of the reason she chose me.

After my breakdown, we take to the sky.

Wrapping her body along the side of the cliffs bracketing the ocean below, I let out a yip of surprise, and Saff rights herself again.

Patting her back, I say, “I’m not quite ready for tricks yet.”

“Fair, human.” The sound rumbles as if she is chuckling, making me smile.

Together, we have grown quite comfortable in our companionable torment as we skirt the seas and cliffs around Terra. Staying on the back of a dragon is a good distraction from my strange new reality.

“We land,” Saff warns me as she brings her wings in and glides through a large hole in the side of the bottom of a cliff face, releasing them once we find ourselves in a large, sparkling cavernous space etched in the rocks.

My snug grip loosens on Saff’s reins, and my mouth opens in utter disbelief.

“How?”

“The sands below and fire.” A flash of fire pouring through this space crosses my mind. I flinch, but knowing it’s Saff’s memory and not my own comforts me.

I slide down her side, landing hard on the sand below. Gazing around, I take in the labyrinth before me as I make my way to the closest shard of glass. On closer inspection of the red material shooting up from the ground, I realise it’s not as brittle as glass. It seems to be more crystalline in nature. It reminds me of the Goddess statue under the tree, but in more roughened shapes, and showcasing colours of red and blue melding in some places to make a rainbow of purple. I’ve never seen ones with these shadings or placement before. They seem to segment the large, rocky space into rooms.

Another memory hits me of an egg encased in a purple crystal, one cobalt dragon breathing fire on it, followed by another flame of red.

Saff— I turn to look at the hulking dragon in the wide space, big enough to house multiple dragons her size. They are the memories she chose to share with me when she picked me as her intimate. Together, we are an oddity within our world. A dragon and a human girl .

An eerie feeling creeps up my spine, and I shake it off, continuing my perusal of the crystalline area.

“Saff?” I ask as I find the low, jagged circular amethyst crystal with a hole in the centre—the perfect size for a dragon egg.

“My mate hid our egg in the mountains. Safe,” she explains.

“Safe from who?” I ask.

“The Gods. They play. They fight. They war. They create us to destroy us.”

I reach out for the crystal in front of me, finding it cool to the touch. Memories of harsh winds and blinding lightning hit me. A despair washes over me as I picture a large blue dragon being struck in the clouds and sent tumbling towards the earth. My heart hammers.

The idea of losing both my mate and young in the same night fills me with rage. If it’s anything like the loss I’ve experienced, then it’s diabolical in its annihilation. How can you breathe when everything you love is taken from you? How do you cope with an existence they no longer cohabit?

Solace is not something I’ve achieved within this lifetime. How does one mend a heart that has been crushed and severed? Surely, love cannot exist within something so bruised and battered.

“I’m sorry.” Stepping away from the nest, I move towards the dragon, feeling the temperature soar. “What can I do?”

“We find egg,” is her gravelly reply in my head.

Fumes pour from Saff’s nose as she tries to contain her temper. Is this the first time she has been back to this place since…he passed through the veil?

I never left the temple. After my sister… Brushing my hands on my pants, I try to stem the tide growing within. Breath. Breath, Dove. In and out, in and out. The idea of being in the place I lost Wren massacres me. And here Saff is, in the last place she saw her mate and their egg.

My decision was made when I looked into her bloodshot eyes in the grey sands, but this knowledge just further solidifies it.

“I promise to help you find your egg,” I try to soothe. Because I do. I plan on helping Saff find her family. What I would give to know my sister still lived. If only she resided in a secret location, awaiting rescue.

“Then we kill the bad king.”

Through the tunnel, a sound catches both of our ears, a howl on the wind, and we both look towards the yawning opening that leads into the dragon’s nesting place.

“Is that a—” My voice catches. My time has run out.

“Wolf, ” Saff states firmly for me.

Now confirmed, the howl hits deeper the next time it rings out, piercing deep within me. “Gideon?”

Saff puffs her chest out next to me.

I’m in two minds about the dyre wolf who helped me. He doesn’t seem to want to kill me, instead being compelled to through magic. It’s hard to be angry at someone who has no control over the outcome that is dictated for them.

“He’s being compelled to capture me and take me back to the king of Haven.”

“Compelled.” The word is snorted in the corners of my mind, letting me know Saff isn’t happy with this situation.

Wren said not to discount the wolf, but by Saff’s tense form, I can tell she’s not impressed by the immortal shifter.

Gideon is one of the oldest creatures in this land. He must know more than he can share in his current controlled state.

“Do you think he knows where the egg lies?”

A scoffing puff comes from the dragon beside me.

Coming to grip the reins dangling down Saff’s back, I wait for my new friend to give me her front leg to hoist my body up into the seat.

“Do you have enough energy to take me to the wolf?” I ask as I straighten myself, gripping the reins firmly in case of any sudden actions.

She continues to puff out her dislike at the situation. “Let’s just talk to him, and if he tries anything, we fly out of there. I will not leave my seat.”

Saff ignores me, stewing in her indignation. “Please, Saff. He could have the information we need. He was alive during that time, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” is the only response I get.

“Okay, then. If he does anything suspicious, we fly,” I respond, patting her scales soothingly.

A purr comes from her lips.

“We fly,” she repeats.

Stalling after her words, we sit in silence for several moments, and a howl continues to ring out, tinkling along the lines of dragon-made crystal. As I listen to the sound, it wedges inside my body, burying deep, leaving me feeling like I almost need to run to the wolf and answer his call.

He must be close.

Palms slippery on the reins, I whisper, “Please.”

Letting out one last long puff, Saff starts to move her legs, bringing us to the edge of the tunnel we initially flew through to reach the dragon lair, overlooking the endless seascape. Not taking a moment to pause, we are falling, and I grip on tight as Saff spreads her wings out just before we hit the crashing waves against the cliffs below. “Some warning next time,” I screech, my whole body tensing up.

Rumbling comes from the dragon beneath me. “ Let’s find the wolf. ”

It’s smooth sailing until Saff dips at the vision of the obnoxiously large dyre wolf on the sandy coastline next to the mountain range. His tufts of black and silver fur stand on end at the sight of us. Dark amber eyes swallow the earth around him, everything drawn into the depths of his immortality.

Saff circles the patch of coast where the wolf waits for us, settling on the sand a whole two dragon’s lengths away. I urge her to move forward, but she refuses to budge.

“We need to go closer.”

Saff breathes smoke in front of us, creating a mini sandstorm. “ The wolf has better hearing than I. We stay.”

I can’t argue with that. If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll have to get Saff to translate.

“I have questions, Gideon.” I don’t bother projecting my voice, knowing he will catch any minute creak of the saddle beneath me.

Before my eyes, the large beast starts to shift, bones breaking, fur smoothing to a soft brown skin and tufts of black hair frame a gruff face. Muscles ripple through every inch of the man that is Gideon, standing bare on the coastline in front of us.

Looking down is not an option, and I keep my eyes on his top half.

“What are your questions, Songbird?” His voice stretches towards me effortlessly.

Nonplussed by the dragon I’m riding, his jaw snaps with the change of the new form. He rubs his hands over his scruffy, silver-speckled beard, a habit I’ve seen him complete a few times now, especially after his change.

Heat travels through my limbs, not from the dragon beneath me but from the gruff words of the large man now before me. My body faintly shudders as I continue to speak. “We need to find Saff’s egg. Do you know where her mate hid it? Saff was told it is in the mountains?”

“Any other questions for me?” He almost looks smug as he replies.

“No.” There’s nothing else I need from Gideon. If he finds out our plans after finding the egg, he will see me as a threat to his king, and that’s the last thing we need.

My eyes flick over a muscled, broad chest, and I gulp, my stomach doing little flips at seeing Gideon again. A secret I will take to my grave, as my bonded is more than enough to keep me stir-crazy.

“Well, how about we strike a truce, Songbird?” his gravelly voice vibrates over my body.

My mind fumbles at the word truce. What game is he playing? Besides my compliance in coming back to Haven?

Hearing this, Saff puffs a large plume of smoke towards Gideon in a warning. Smoke lingers around the wolf as he stands his ground, not moving a muscle. The picture of an angry dragon provokes not even a slight tremor from the other immortal beast on the beach.

“What do you want, Gideon?” My eyes strain, trying to avoid the temptation begging me to look lower.

He stands the way I imagine a commander of armies might carry themselves, tall and imposing, not giving anything away. Not a tremor nor a twitch of the eye.

“Your cooperation,” his voice travels to my seated position on Saff.

I’m about to say no deal, but then I catch something within the depths of the golden pools staring intently back at me. It’s a question he cannot ask, but I can answer. “Do you know where Saff’s egg is?”

“Yes.” That’s it. He doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he eyes me down like I’m the reward. Squirming in my saddle, my gaze shoots downward.

Goddess, what is that? My blood pounds heavily within my veins in surprise as my eyes flip back up to Gideon’s faintly upturned lips. He gives me the slightest hint of fang, making my blood woosh through my eardrums.

Damn dyre wolf and his massive—

“Ummm” I begin to stumble over my words, rubbing my eyes as the dyre wolf shifter begins to step closer. “Yeeesss. That’s all you have to say?”

He continues to move towards us, and I refuse to let my eyes wander. Surely, what I saw cannot be right. Is he wider than Rivern?

Shut up, Dove. You are not comparing Rivern and Gideon’s dicks.

Saff moves backwards, and I tense. “It’s okay,” I say just for her.

“No trust.” I am beginning to understand. They have history built in a cycle far from my own.

“He let me go once.” I gently brush my fingertips over the exposed scales before me. “Any sign of danger, and I give you full permission to take us away.”

Without another word, Saff consents in her stilled steps.

Unfazed, Gideon continues walking towards us until he is at the left of my saddle. He looks up at me expectantly, and my confusion shows.

“I need space behind you, Songbird.” He gestures towards the saddle .

My brain stops working, and I assess the situation. The only thought that seems to find traction is that the male below me is completely and utterly naked. “You have no clothes on,” I blurt out.

“Yes, it is a side effect of the shifting.” He seems completely relaxed in his nudity, and I make a point of looking him square in the eyes.

“You cannot ride behind me naked.” I balk at the sheer audacity of this male.

Gideon tilts his head to the side and gives me no other option. “I see no other solution.” And without my permission or Saff’s, he effortlessly jumps from the ground to the back of the leather saddle behind me.

Saff grumbles underneath us at the intrusion but does not move a muscle. This new weight is nothing compared to her sheer size and strength.

Keeping my eyes forward, my brain loses all thought as his strong hands grab my hips, pushing me into a hard chest as he eases in behind me.

Gideon’s silhouette is utter warrior perfection. It moulds surprisingly well to my every curve as his arms snake to grasp snugly around my waist. “Don’t want to fall off,” the words brush against my ear, and my whole body turns to liquid. At this point, I am one with the ocean. I consider telling him to throw me back to save what’s left of my sanity.

“Not like,” Saff’s voice stretches out to me through my haze.

I want to agree, however a distraction presents itself. Something thick and protruding that pushes against my arse and back. One that I’ve tried to forget about since first seeing Gideon naked.

Coughing to hide the lack of air entering my lungs, I wheeze, “Where’s the egg?”

Gideon moves his firm fingers along the band of my breeches, tracing the edges where they meet my skin. The utter puddle I’m becoming serves as another diversion to the mission.

“Stop that.” I want to shove at him, but hold steady on the reins, not trusting that I won’t slip completely off my intimate.

He ignores my request, somewhat answering my previous question. “Set out for Haven.”

“What?” I balk. “The egg is in the mountains.” My body shifts in my outrage. With Gideon’s arms around my waist, I stay securely on the saddle, my head swinging to glimpse a scruffy black beard. Sandalwood and intoxicating male sweat engulf me.

“Saff’s egg was taken.” The body under me rises in heat to an uncomfortable temperature.

“WHERE EGG?” The words in my head are growled with such ferocity that I sink into Gideon, and he tightens his grip.

Feeling the ever-present rage fuelled rumbling beneath us, Gideon answers without my translation. “Head to Haven, and I will guide you from there.”

Feet stamping underneath us, Saff soars.

I hastily grab onto the reins. However, I needn’t worry, as Gideon has me firm in his grip.

Concern tickles the back of my mind, and I want to question Saff over the distance. With her stored flames and the length of the flight to Haven, she will be more exhausted than our previous flight. Not wanting to let Gideon see her mounting weakness, I forgo asking any questions and put my trust in Saff.

As the dragon straightens out to a sail over the coastal waters, the pressure of Gideon becomes more apparent, a solid wall of intensity heating every inch of my body. Greedy for the burn, Argus ruffles his wings and basks in the beast seated behind me, every part of his naked form plastered to my own.