Page 43 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

Shit.

This could not be that need to fly they were rambling on about the other night? I didn’twantto fly. How could I need something I didn’t want? This was madness. What was wrong with the Goddess? She surely needed a different hobby. Messing with my life was getting old.

Jaxus reached out and lifted my chin. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I—” I couldn’t say the words.

“Kiera,” he urged. “Tell me.”

I sighed. “I think I should—could I—what I mean is—” I let out a frustrated sound and pinched the bridge of my nose. Not able to meet his eye. “I’d like to go with you.” There. I got the words out—through gritted teeth admittedly, but it’s the thought that counts.

A smile broke out across Jaxus’ stupid, delighted face.

I raised a finger and held it high so it was right in front of his eyes. “Do not gloat.”

“I’m not gloating,” he insisted.

“Well, do not do.” I waved my hand around wildly, “Whatever that is. It’s annoying.”

He pressed his lips together, reigning in his glee.

“I don’t want to fly. I want to do literally anything else. The thought has my stomach turning over already. But?—”

“But you need to?” he offered, cautiously optimistic.

“Whatever,” I huffed. “If you drop me or let me fall, I’ll kill you.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t think I can’t make it hurt too. You might be a bigdragon, but my grandmother taught me things about alchemy that there are laws to prevent.”

“Got it.” Jaxus smirked. “You die, I die.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Painfully,” he added to show he understood the level of my threat.

“Exactly.” I nodded resolutely.

With no warning, he shifted. Tearing through his clothes.

“What the?” I gasped, stepping back as he expanded before my eyes.

“I’m not giving you a chance to overthink this. Get on,”he spoke to my mind.

I looked down at myself. “I’m wearing robes.”

His big stupid dragon head tilted towards the doors to the healer’s wing and I rolled my eyes. Of course, there was a cabinet with the basics for shifters inside virtually every doorway in the damn place. It wouldn’t do to have shifters walking the halls with all their bits swinging about, would it?

“Bloody dragons have an answer for bloody everything,” I mumbled as I stalked away from him, towards the door.

“Solutions,”he corrected, mind to mind, as I let the door swing closed behind me.“We have solutions.”

I flipped him a rude gesture through the opaque glass.

“And great eyesight,”he added with an audible chuff I heard from inside.

NINETEEN

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