Page 15 of The Soul of the Dragon

"That's quite an interesting turn of phrase for a princess," he mocked. "And quite an accusation."

"Call it whatever you'd like. I told you I'm not a princess so there's no need to keep up with that pretense. The King is a dark hearted bastard who tricked my mother into marrying him, and now he wants me."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. And King Aegrond refuses to take no for an answer. And he never gives up."

"As beautiful as the daughter?" he asked.

I gasped when he suddenly leaned forward and wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger. I hadn't even realized he was that close until he touched me. When had that happened?

"She was much prettier than me." Despite the fear and anger this man inspired, I could feel the tears of grief burn at the backs of my eyes. Just thinking of my mother and the fact I would never see or hear her voice again was enough to rip the wound across my heart open again and make it bleed. She'd been everything to me. Mother, best friend, savior...

"I find that hard to believe," he said quietly as he lifted my long hair to his nose and inhaled deeply. Good Goddess. If any other man dared such a thing, not only would I hate it, but my knee would be aiming for his ball sac by now.

But this one?

He'd gotten so close I could feel his warm breath brush across my lips when he spoke. And his enticing scent of pine and man tickled my senses. Heat emanated from him and it made me want to lean closer. He was so big and powerful, and yet so interesting...

Maybe if I no longer possessed my womanhood, the king would let me go. His obsession with magical purity in recent years had frightened both my mother and I. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable option...

Suddenly his hand grabbed a handful of my hair and he yanked my head to the side. "Don't think you can trick me with a pretty face and a little lust in your eyes. That kind of witchcraft is for fools and I am no fool," he snarled the word in my face and the tears leaking from my eyes had nothing to do with the pain in my heart, but the pain of him nearly ripping out my hair.

"You evil bastard," I spat. "Whatever it is you want from me, I wouldn't give it if my life depended on it."

He dropped his hold on my hair and took a step back. "I wouldn't count on that. For a second there, you were thinking about it. I could smell it on you. Hell, I still can. That wetness between your thighs will betray a woman like you every time."

Anger roared inside my head until I could barely think straight. I bent down and picked up the first thing I could find, which happened to be a hefty rock, and threw it at his head. But he was quick, a lot more so than me, and he easily deflected it before it could land anywhere near his body.

"You're going to have to do a lot better than that, Princess."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Kitra," I screamed, the rage so hot inside me I didn't understand it or know how to get it under control. My mouth, however, that would surely be my downfall.

"I'll damn well call you whatever I'd like. Especially since it is I who holds your future in my hands, you little beast. Maybe you're right, though. Despite the looks, you don't have the manners or the temperament to be a princess."

"Ahhhgh!" I bellowed before flinging myself at him with my fists clenched tight and the need to pummel his handsome face until it resembled the mean and ugly words coming out of his mouth gripping my insides.

Somehow in the frantic melee, I got a good look at his eyes and the determination I saw in them nearly took my breath away. And it made his intentions clear. He wasn't going to let me go. Or listen to anything that I had to say. That left me with only one choice, no matter how slim my chance of success might be.

I twisted and turned, using every bone in my body as a weapon. Including my elbow into his gut. But it was just enough to break his grip on me and I took it. I turned and ran blindly away from him. Since I had no chance of escape on the trail that led to the falls, I ran off the path and deep into the thick brush that covered the edge of the forest.

Branches slapped at my arms, and I had to swerve sharply to prevent getting hit in the face by others. There'd been no time to think this through, which left me no choice but to move as quickly as possible and hope for the best.

I was afraid if I took the time to look behind me, I'd find him right on top of me. Or worse. So I just ran and ran and ran. I tripped over rocks, but managed to stay on my feet after a couple of tumbles. I couldn't even hear anything behind me because my ears were filled with the sound of my own frantically beating heart.

I tried not to hold my breath waiting for him to tackle me, but it was hard. The only possible way I could escape would be through the portal to the next realm, which was still too far away. Still I ran, taking whatever chance I could. My lungs burned, my eyes stung, and I had more rips in my dress from it getting caught on the brush.

“Don’t make me chase you,” he called out on a rumbled growl, that sound almost forcing me to my knees.

Only by fear was I able to keep going as my mind scrambled with images of the hulking man running behind me only a hair's breath away from catching me.

"You're only making this worse." His words coasted over my skin, informing me how close he truly was. I saw another large tree off to my right and I wondered if I could climb up it before he caught up to me. It was the only thing I could think of that might slow him down.

I stretched out my legs as much as possible and tore through the woods in my attempt to get there first. I could do this. How many times had I practiced running and jumping into trees? More times than I could count. Two seconds later I was close enough to make my attempt. I leapt into the air and reached for the first branch that could propel me skyward.

But it wasn’t enough. I’d overestimated what I could do without my magic, falling short of my destination, and making it all too easy for him to catch me. The tightness in my chest reminded me once again that I couldn’t rely on old habits…

"Gotcha," he said a moment before his arms wrapped around my waist and hauled me practically midair back against his chest.

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