Page 30 of Burned

Good to know I don’t want to kill a dragon, but I sure do want to fuck him, and I’m not convinced that’s better.

Chapter

Eleven

LORD

My pack is lighter. Not by much—maybe a few pounds. What I can’t stop trying to work out as I follow just a few steps behind Alrick, watching the way the late morning sun makes his golden mane of hair glow like spun silk, is why.

“I didn’t give you a lighter pack just because you’re human.”

He looks at me over his shoulder, not breaking his steady stride. If he hadn’t already hinted at his Spartan, militaristic upbringing, his stamina and ability to simply set his course and focus on it without distractions would both be dead giveaways.

“Sorry?” Alrick says, his now heavier-than-yesterday pack bouncing slightly with every footfall.

“The packs.” I fall into step beside him on the open, hilly terrain. “I didn’t distribute the contents the way I did to insult you or because I thought you couldn’t handle it.”

He chuckles. “Did I say you did?”

“No, but you took on more weight when we repacked them this morning.”

“I did,” he agrees without offering an explanation.

I huff through my nose, and he laughs again. The sound doesn’t have any right to be as beautiful as it is. Like birds singing or the gentle call of a babbling river… My dragon purrs in agreement.

Gods of fire, listen to me. One taste of my Viking and I’m turning into some kind of terrible, sappy poet. He won’t bemyViking for long, and I need to remember that. Our time together is limited by how long it takes us to reach the dragon mage and ask her to break our bond. Will I have to confess everything to Alrick in order for the bond to be broken?

Just like every other time the subject has been raised inside my own mind, my dragon thrashes and snarls deep inside of me. Scales ripple over my skin this time too as he tries to push his way to the surface. Even my feet suddenly feel like they’re stuck in mud, like every step forward is harder and harder to take.

I stumble, and the fact that my body is betraying me is enough of a shock that I can’t even catch myself before my knees hit the ground. It takes Alrick another few feet to realize I’m not beside him anymore.

He glances over his shoulder again, then does a double take, concern twisting his face at the sight of me on my hands and knees, chest heaving for gods know what reason. I’m certainly not injured, so why can’t I get back up?

“Lord.” My name cracks on his lips, and he pivots mid-step to rush back towards me.

He drops to his knees as he reaches me and grazes the back of his hand gently over my cheek. The gesture is so unexpected that a hot shiver rushes through my body and my dragon purrs again, the sound audible as it rumbles in my throat. I lean into his touch, curling my fingers in the soft dirt and dragging in a few slower breaths.

“Are you hurt? What happened?” He inspects me not only with his eyes but with probing hands too, squeezing my shoulders like he’s checking for a dislocation. I nearly laugh. As if it’sthateasy to hurt a dragon.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, brushing my hands off on my pants. Alrick grips my bicep to help steady me as I get to my feet. It’s entirely unnecessary, but that doesn’t stop the swell of affection in my chest.

No one has ever helped me to my feet before. Not that I trip often… or ever. And if my brothers or even my parents had ever tried, I likely would have snarled at them for their efforts. I might not have a temper like Nico’s, but I’ve always prided myself on being the one who helps rather than the one whoneedshelp.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alrick stoops to quickly brush the dirt and grass off of my pants for me before realizing what he’s doing and pulling his hand back with a rosy flare in his cheeks.

“It takes more than a misstep to fell a dragon,” I tease.

He smiles, but neither of us moves. Physically, there’s nothing wrong with me, so why can’t I get my legs to work properly? There are miles upon miles of rolling hills and small forests stretching out ahead of us and on either side, and the mountains we’re headed towards are still far in the distance. But the fact that they’re closer now than they were an hour ago, two hours ago,last night… makes a queasy feeling roil in my gut.

Alrick’s smile falters and he follows my gaze into the distance. The mountains are still too far away for him to see with his human vision, so he sweeps the more immediate distance, looking for whatever might be causing me to act so strangely. I wish I could explain it to him, but I’m afraid anything I say will only lead to more questions I’d rather not answer.

When he doesn’t see anything distressing, he looks back at me with a worried furrow between his eyebrows.

“Maybe we should take a break?” he says.

“We’ve only been traveling a few hours. We’ll never reach Xanthis’s cave if we stop to rest multiple times per day. I’m a dragon, I can run for thousands of miles before I’m tired.”

Alrick narrows his eyes a fraction and purses his lips like he’s thinking about something. After a minute, his expression turns resolute, and he brushes his hair off one shoulder.

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