Page 7

T he kiss lasted longer than it should have. But with his lips pressed against mine, I felt something deep within me respond. A long-dormant part of my soul suddenly awakened, surprising me with its intensity and power. It felt like a hidden wellspring bursting forth. I tried to suppress it, shove it back into hiding. And for a moment, I felt like I might actually win that battle. Then his arms tightened around me and his hand gripped the back of my head.

Everything about him overwhelmed me. The deep scent that rose from his flesh, the warmth of his hold, and the sweet layers of his kiss. I gripped his shoulder, pulling him deeper into the kiss. When the soft moan slipped from his lips, it shocked me back into the moment. What we were doing was wrong! I couldn’t let it continue. I snapped out of the temporary trance his lips had put me in and pulled away from him.

Unfortunately, the kiss also made me forget about the pain in my ankle.

When I pushed him away, he simply let go without a struggle. And I fell backward, this time hitting the ground with a thud. My ass banged against the unforgiving earth and a jolt of pain shot up my spine. It felt like fire as a stinging erupted in my ankle, spreading rapidly up my leg with a burning intensity.

“Ouch," I cried out and pulled my leg to my chest to ease the discomfort, but it didn’t help. “Damn that hurts.”

Asante kneeled beside me. His hand hovered over my ankle, clearly afraid to touch it and make it worse. “Are you okay?”

“I must have really gotten it twisted in those vines.” I narrowed my gaze at the cluster laying on the ground as if they had purposely attacked me.

“Can you stand on your own, or do you need help?”

“I should be able to manage.” I tried to get up but the moment I put any weight on the leg, I almost fell back over and he had to catch me, again, to keep me from hitting the ground.

“Aren’t you glad we came out here to be with all this real nature ?” he joked.

“Very funny.”

“We need to go back now.” He looked at my ankle. “Do you think you can shift? We’ll fly back and I can send someone to get the serabringers?”

“No!” I blurted my objection out so brazenly that he looked at me like I had lost my mind. I hurried to make an excuse for my outburst. “I don't think shifting would be a good idea for me right now. The pain is a lot more intense now, which probably means it’s a more serious injury. Shifting could make it worse.” I was a better liar than I thought.

I paused, waiting for him to consider my excuse. His expression shifted back from surprise and confusion to concern.

“You're right, you might have broken something.” He looked around us. “That shift could mean putting you down for a while. I’ll have to carry you.”

I thought he meant carrying me in his dragon form, which could be dangerous in my condition, but that’s not what he meant. Without another word, he scooped me up from the ground, careful not to lift my dress. Once he held me to his chest, he looked down at me.

“Is this okay?”

I wrapped my arm around his neck for more support and nodded. The only thought swirling in my mind as he carried me back to the serabringers was how ridiculous I looked. I have never been a damsel in distress, but that’s what I looked like. Right down to wearing a nice flowery dress to complement the moment. This was the stuff small girls were told to look forward to and it made me sick to my stomach.

And of course, the longer he held me, the more I felt the warmth of his body. And the more the kiss replayed in my mind. How would that moment, that lapse in judgement, change things between us? I should have slapped him. I should have cursed him out. But even in that moment of fleeting regret, I didn’t want to.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about this.” His voice was as strong and unfaltering as ever.

“Oh?”

“That’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it?” He glanced at me. “I will keep this kiss to myself. No one will know you allowed it.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

The lift at the corner of his full lips lasted for just a second, but I saw it. “No, of course not.”

“It’s not right for you to make fun of me when I’m injured and can’t get away from you.”

“What do you mean? That’s the best time to do it.”

“I’ll remember this.”

“Sure, but what will you do about it?”

The subtle sound of neighing brought my attention to the serabringers. They were nuzzled together under the tree where we left them.

“Enough of that,” he fussed at them as if they could understand him. I smiled because it reminded me of all the times my father would do the same thing. “It’s time to go.”

“Okay, put me down.”

“What do you mean?” He tightened his hold.

“How else am I supposed to ride?”

Asante looked like he wanted to laugh in my face. “You can’t ride like this. I’ll have to carry you.”

“What?”

“And risk you falling off?” He walked me over to Kune, who folded his wings to allow Asante to put me on his back. After I was secure, he tied Synth’s rein to Kune’s before hopping on his back with me.

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yes.” I looked back at him.

“Good.” He wrapped one arm around my stomach, pulling my back into his chest as he kicked Kune into gear. The two creatures ran forward in unison.

I couldn’t help it. A part of me melted into him as we moved. The warmth of his fire reached through the sheer fabric of my dress and made my entire body flush.

“Hold on,” Asante whispered in my ear before he urged them to move faster.

As my luck would have it, we arrived at the stables in front of a crowd of people. They watched as he carefully climbed down and untied the connected reins. Synth ran back to her stable, no guidance necessary. He then turned back and held his arms out to me.

“Let’s go.”

I hesitated, but the pain still throbbed in my leg. He was right. I wouldn’t have been able to ride alone. I thought of protesting for a moment, but then I realized that complaining would probably just prolong this unintended performance in front of the crowd. So I conceded and allowed him to carry me from Kune’s back.

“Prince Asante!” Domin ran over to us. “Are you alright?”

"I'm fine," Asante stated, a hint of annoyance coloring his voice as he looked at the bewildered man and then nodded curtly in my direction. “She is the one who is injured. Let’s get her to the healers.”

Domin didn’t care about me, but he feigned interest, anyway. “What happened to her?”

“She fell. It should be a simple fix for them.” Asante answered.

“I’ll get this taken care of,” Domin said and gestured to a guard to come help.

“I have her,” Asante said with an air of protective warning.

“As you wish.” Domin responded through gritted teeth. “I’ll go ahead to get them prepared.”

He turned and ran off ahead of us.

“He really doesn’t like me.” I chuckled as Asante carried me.

“He just wants me to be okay. Everyone here does.”

“I supposed that is good. You know I’m not here to hurt you, right?”

“How could you be? I forced you to come here, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” It was strange that I wanted to defend myself. Something inside of me wanted Asante to know that I wasn’t whatever Domin thought I was. But he was right. It wasn’t my idea to be there, so why would anyone suspect I had ulterior motives?

“Did you forget that I have you here against your will?” his brow raised.

“Of course not!” I fussed.

“Sure,” he paused. “It’s almost like you’ve changed your mind. Like you want to be here now.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” I rolled my eyes. “Be quiet. All this talking is making my ankle hurt more.”

We arrived at the healers, and Asante handed me over. They were eager to take me in and fussed about the way he held me.

“Your grip is far too tight.” A short man patted Asante’s arm. “I’ve always told you that.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Eivek.” Asante smiled as he lowered me to the bed. “Please take good care of her.”

“Oh, so this is the one.” A tall, slender woman with bright eyes said. “We’ll give her our very best.”

“Thank you,” he said, and we shared an awkward glance.

The one.

Hearing those words spoken aloud sent a shiver down my spine; it felt strange and unsettling.

“What happened?” Asante’s uncle asked.

“She fell,” Asante began his explanation, but was hushed almost immediately by a hand in front of his mouth.

“It’s your leg that hurts, correct?” Eivek asked. “So, your mouth works just fine?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Great, tell me what’s wrong. And don’t let this one start talking for you. Trust me, he will never stop. He’s just like his father in that way.”

“Must you treat me like a child?” Asante huffed.

“Yes, because in my eyes, you’ll always be one.” He patted Asante’s arm again before turning to me. “So tell me everything.”

I went into detail about the vines that wrapped around my ankle and caused me to fall. I left out the part about the kiss, choosing instead to cut to the point in the story when I landed on my ass.

“I think I might have hurt my tailbone as well.”

“We’ll make sure we’re thorough in checking out your injuries.” He grabbed a small stone cup from the tall woman and handed it to me. “Drink this. It will stop the pain and might make you sleep while we work. It is the ideal condition. The more relaxed you are, the more effective our practices are.”

I looked at Asante for reassurance. When he nodded, I took the cup and drank the warm liquid. It had a powerful spiciness that was only mellowed but the strong earthy taste. I swallowed the liquid hard. Before I could make any comment on the taste, my body went limp.

“Well, that worked faster than usual! Usually takes a bit for it to contend with your inner fire. You must be in a lot of pain if your flame is that weak.”

Part of me was glad to hear him say that, as if it validated all the attention I was receiving. Then I turned to Asante, whose face grew wearier with his uncle’s comment. The flash of concern that this was a bad idea was too late. There I was, slipping into unconsciousness, an ice dragon in the land of fire. What could possibly go wrong?

When I woke up, Asante was gone, and in his place was Uradis.

“You're awake.” She looked down at me with a mothering expression. “How do you feel?”

“Groggy.” I looked down at my ankle and rolled it a bit to see if there was pain. It still hurt, but not nearly as much as before. “That's amazing. There's barely anything at all.”

“The Royal Healers,” Uradis said proudly. “They have some extra tricks up their sleeve.”

“I'm glad.” I scanned the room once more, acknowledging the disappointment that Asante wasn’t there with me. “Where is he?”

“The prince?” She smiled knowingly. “He had some business to take care of. So he told me to stay by your side. But now that you're awake, I can take you back to your room and make sure you're comfortable. We also need to get something for you to eat.”

“You don't have to do all that for me.” The last thing I wanted was to have someone fuss over me. “I’m sure I can manage on my own.”

“You might be okay with turning down Prince Asante’s requests, but I am not.” She raised a brow. “Besides, you're the prince’s intended. Of course I do.”

“So, everyone knows about that now?”

“That his mother caught him kissing you and he proclaimed you were the one to bring him so much joy? Yes, word spreads quickly.” She chuckled. “Besides, the prince carrying you across the field to the healers gave everyone quite the show. If they didn't know before, they’re definitely speculating about the relationship between you two now. Some of them are even whispering that that’s the only reason you're in the position you are in now.”

“Great,” I muttered.

“Let's test your strength.” She stepped away from the bed to give me room. “Please stand. Take your time. We don’t want to cause reinjury.”

I stood, but my legs gave way a little, and before I could steady myself, her hand appeared with a cane.

“Use this for now. You shouldn't need it for long.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, she is awake.” Eivek entered. “Uradis, do you mind if I have a moment alone to discuss prognosis?”

“Of course. Take your time.” Uradis left the room.

There was a part of me that wanted to scream for her to stay. What did he know? I gripped the cane and stared at him, hoping my face was hiding my anxiety.

“It looks like you're going to be just fine. Actually, I'm glad to see how well you're doing with your injuries. I was expecting it to take a lot longer for you to heal, but there's something special about you, isn't there?” He gave me a look that reminded me of Mesi. There was a cold, knowing glint in his eye.

“What do you mean?”

“I'm a lot older than the one who helped me take care of you. So she might not see the difference in you, but I do.” His brow raised. “Ice to my fire.”

“I-,”

He put his finger to his lip to stop my impending rambling. “There are moments when secrets need to be revealed. This is not one of them. I'm going to accept that this is one thing I don't need to know all the facts about. But be careful. I am not the only one here who can discern these things.”

I tightened my grip around the handle of the cane. “Thank you.”

“Does he know?” Uncle asked.

I shook my head.

“Promise me you'll tell him before his heart gets too deep into this. Asante presents an image of hardness, but you've gotten close to him. I can tell by the way you two look at each other. You can see that beyond that tough exterior, he's a gentle person, one who gives his heart fully to whatever he cares about. And he cares about you. I've seen him hurt a lot, and I don't want you to add to that.”

“It won't come to that.”

“Good. Now. Uradis is waiting for you. It's best not to make her wait too long. Rest, eat plenty, and take care of yourself.”

I looked at the door. “You’re not going to tell?”

“I'm old, but I'm not without my ways. I heard the circumstances of how you came here. I also know about the promise mark on his chest. Whatever is between you must stay that way. Asante believes you need to be here, enough to carve a promise across his lifeline to make it happen. And if this is what he thinks he needs right now, I will not take that away from him. All I ask is that you bring him peace and not heartache.”

“I won't be here long enough to do that.”

“So, you don't intend to marry him?” He smirked. “Is it all just a farce?”

“He has a plan.” I chose honesty.

“This makes so much more sense now.” He sighed. “Looks like my nephew got around his mother's pestering ways. Even better. Finish your bargain and leave him whole.”

“I will.”

I left the room to find Uradis standing down the hall from the door. I wondered if she had overheard any of our conversation. Her warm smile when she saw me didn’t seem like one of deception. With a brief nod, I joined her, and she led me back to my room.

Along the way, it seemed everyone was staring at me, and I could see what she meant. Some of them looked at me with awe, others looked at me with pity, and still others looked at me with hatred.

And I understand that look.

I didn't belong. I was an outsider. Someone who came from a background unfitting that other princess. And I was in a position that some would even have killed for.

It was jealousy. Jealousy for something that they didn't know they wanted. Something that they could never have. Something that I didn't want at all.

Uradis and I made it back to my room, and I watched her as she made sure that everything was in place. Shortly after we got inside, there was a knock at the door, and I had to internally pinch myself for hoping it would be him.

It wasn’t the prince on the other side of the door. It was a woman with a tray of food. Uradis let her in so she could put the tray down and quickly ushered her away.

“Where did he have to go?”

“I'm sorry?”

“I know I shouldn't ask this, but it's been on my mind since you told me he had to run away. Is it something to do with the trolls?”

“And where did you hear about the trolls?”

“The walls have ears and mouths,” I said.

“Yes, well, they’re back. We thought they had gone, but once again, they landed on our shores. I just wish we knew what they wanted. You know how they like to conquer new places. It's like a sport to them.”

My heart dropped into my stomach at the thought of a war with the trolls. “They want to take over?”

“Yes, and they know our people are split, so it'll make it a lot easier for them to do so.”

“What do you mean, split?”

“I mean the ice dragons.”

I hadn’t heard anyone refer to my people as belonging with the fire side.

“If we were a united front, it would make it a lot harder for the trolls to just come over here and run us over. We're split. Our forces halved, solely because we don't want to work with each other. But better we cooperate with each other than be run out by others, right?”

All I could do was nod. To lead her down further conversation about the two dragon species would be to betray her in a way I didn't want to. I wondered if she was the only one who thought of fire and ice as being one and the same. I stared down at the bowl and acted as if I was starving.

“That smells fantastic.”

“The best our kitchen offers.” She gave another cursory glance around the room. “Eat up and rest well. Maryl Will be back in the morning to take you to your new kitchen.”

“New kitchen?” I gasped. “There’s a new kitchen?”

“Yes, special requests by the prince. If the cooks didn't hate you before, they surely will now. Should be a fun day tomorrow!” She laughed as she walked out of the door.