Page 119 of House of Ashes

“Not in those exact words, but—”

“Then it’s not over.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. He stared down at the fingers curled in his lap. “I can come up with a thousand excuses why we put the safety straps on there. She can’t prove we aren’t mate bonded.”

Kirana cleared her throat. “She technically could, Rhylan. It’s easy enough to separate you two, ask you questions, see if you can answer from a distance…and if you can’t, when you can’t, the game is over.”

That muscle twitched again, and he turned his burning gaze on his sister. “We’re not going to give her the opportunity to try that.”

“Rhylan…I want him to answer for Loralei, too,” she said quietly. “But this has gone from a workable plan to complete madness.”

He closed his eyes. I slipped my hand over his, lacing our fingers together, and he squeezed them tightly.

“Maybe it is madness,” he admitted. “But I’m not giving up. Not yet. As long as Sera is with me, we keep going. We’ve already gone too far, Kirana. There’s nothing to be gained by backing down now.”

“Our lives.” Her jaw jutted stubbornly as she spoke, another expression that seemed to run in the Obsidian Flame family. “We get to live.”

“We knew we were risking death going in, and everyone agreed to it,” he growled. “Maybe you can find peace. I truly hope you do. But as long as he lives, I can’t.”

“Sera?” Kirana turned her gaze on me, and I wanted to shrink away. I didn’t want to be responsible for the lives of everyone in their House, but…Rhylan was right.

There was no way to stand back, to pretend this had never happened. Even if we were to withdraw at the Second Claim, we would still be forced into the position of backing the Shadowed Stars…and there would still be a war. Yura would never bow to them.

And as long as there was going to be war, I wanted to be at the head of the front lines.

“I’m with Rhylan,” I said, forcing myself not to look away from her. If I was going to disappoint her with my vote, Kirana deserved to be looked directly in the eyes. “No matter what happens, we’ve already gone too far. It’s better to see this through, and keep pretending, or we will always be in the palm of Chantrelle’s hand.”

I had calmed enough to realize that all was not lost. Maybe it was Rhylan’s presence at my side, the heat of a dragon soothing me from the cold, but tucked up here against him, it felt like being in a protective shield.

He shielded me enough to let the hope grow again.

“All she claimed was that I was a liar…” I said. “But she didn’t outright accuse me of faking the mate bond with him. Maybe an excuse will be enough…the gods know I was in rough shape when you brought me home. Perhaps I was too weak to ride properly until now. Who wouldn’t believe it? But…I think we should get rid of the safety straps. Give no one a reason to believe anything is out of place.”

“Sera, that’s an awful idea.” Kirana reared back. “They’re on the saddle for a reason.”

Rhylan gazed at me thoughtfully. “After all the mistakes we’ve made, though…”

I pressed a finger to my cheek, feeling greasy salve over the sting. Clarity had returned to me after the hours of mindless panic. “Sure, we’ve made mistakes. And we’ve learned from them. Just promise me you won’t roll over in the sky and we’ll be fine. If we get rid of them, then at the Second Claim, if Chantrelle pulls out that strap as proof and they find nothing similar on us…” I shrugged. “Chantrelle looks like a fool and a liar. We turn it right back around on her.”

“And everyone would be expecting her to lie, anyway,” Rhylan said, a touch of glee entering his voice. “As long as you’re comfortable with flying without them…”

I nodded. “I’ll do it to finish this. I won’t let Chantrelle be the reason we give up.”

Kirana stood up with a sigh, brushing her hands off on her thighs like she was washing her hands of the entire plan. “All right. If you two insist on being suicidal, by all means, go ahead and suit yourselves. I’m going to go get ready for my flight, or Viros will be upset I missed it and I’ll have to go amend that godsforsaken logbook.”

She stalked out of the room like an offended cat, clutching her jars and muttering darkly to herself.

Before I could speak, Rhylan grabbed me, pulling me to his chest.

“Thank you,” he said, brushing his lips over my forehead. “You don’t have to do this, I don’t want you to feel like you’re playing with your life, but—”

I pushed away just enough to tilt my head back and look up at him. “I am playing with my life. Without the mind-speech, it’s all one massive risk. The straps could fail at any moment, and you would have no idea. But if I’m going to do this…then I’m going to see it all the way through. If I have to take risks to ensure your family receives justice, then I’m taking the risks. I refuse to give in to Chantrelle when so much more is at stake.”

“I know.” He leaned against me, and I felt his lips moving against my hair. “I wish I didn’t have to ask you to ride blind.”

I closed my eyes, breathing in his smoky, spicy scent, and wondered…if the mate bond hadn’t happened after last night, it would probably never happen. I had wanted Rhylan for so long that if given the opportunity to manifest, the bond should’ve settled into our souls within three seconds of our lips touching.

Perhaps his desire for that other draga, the mysterious, unnamed siren who haunted my nightmares, was the reason for it. He could have his entertainment and never worry about the bond, because that part of him had already been given away.

I pushed the disappointment aside. I had wanted to end this alone and free; it looked like I would get my wish.

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