Page 59 of The Soul of the Dragon

“Isaac,” Kitra whispered. “We have to go now or we won’t have time.”

I nodded down at her and turned back to Magnus. “This isn’t over.”

“Of course it isn’t,” he agreed.

Kitra grabbed my hand and pulled me through the cavern until we emerged on the other side where a twin waterfall poured water into the pool in front of us.

She tightened her grip on my hand. “Just in case Magnus is wrong, okay?”

I smiled, despite the turmoil snaking its way through my chest. The mere idea that Magnus could be telling the truth had me reeling. And now, with Kitra in full blown, unavoidable, mating heat, we were in more danger than ever. Magnus had to know. He was a dragon shifter, there was no way he could have missed it.

Kitra led me into the center of the fall of water and a moment later we emerged on the other side, but no longer in a pool of water. We were in the middle of a meadow with six fae guards standing in front of us their bows drawn tight and aimed at our chests.

“Wait. I am Princess Kitra Gilwen, daughter of King Gilwen the first andI seek asylum from King Aegrond’s realm. Please, I beg of you.” Kitra’s voice shook, but her grip on my hand remained strong.

“Princess, we are so sorry. We did not know it was you.” The six guards loosened their bows and put away their weapons. “Welcome home.”

“Home?” I asked, more confused than ever.

She gave me a tight smile and a nod. “My father was the king of this realm before his death.”

Well, that was unexpected. She said nothing about being a princess across two realms. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

“Do you wish for an escort? We can get you safely to the nearest village where you can get a message to the King. I’m sure he will want to receive you.”

“Thank you.,” she said, squeezing my hand again. “But that won’t be necessary. I have brought my own escort.”

The fae in charge seemed to give that some thought for a moment and the dragon inside me tensed, before the fae nodded and backed away. “I assume you still know the way then.”

She laughed. “How could I forget?”

They seemed satisfied with her answers as they disappeared down the path to our right.

“Princess of two realms? That’s quite special.”

“It’s all a formality and not at all true. When my father died and his brother became king, I lost that title. And of course as the stepdaughter to King Aegrond, I’d never officially be a princess there either. Not unless he made a formal order, which he absolutely did not. So see? Not a princess at all,dragon.”

She started to pull away from me and I swung her into my arms before she could get away. “That’s a princess in my book.” I gave her no chance to escape or say anything else before I swallowed her protests with a kiss. If I’d thought she was irresistible before, it was nothing compared to now. The sweet candy taste of her mouth was even better than the scent of her mating heat.

We were still standing out in the middle of an open meadow and I was ready to rip her clothes off and take her here on the soft grass. I broke the kiss and gasped for air and a modicum of control.

"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm.

"When I touched you back at the falls. We must have triggered the mating heat. I can't even think straight now."

I watched the alarm fill her eyes and her throat bob with a hard swallow. "It feels like a burn in my core that I can't put out."

"I guess fate got tired of us moving too slow."

She smirked. "Fate can kiss my sweet ass. I'm not going to be beholden to something like that. If we're going to do this, its going to be because it’s what we both want."

"Oh, little beast. I'm pretty sure I wanted it from the first moment I met you in the forest. But when you ran, for sure. That little chase triggered the dragon and he's been pushing me to mark you ever since."

"We're not just animals. It doesn't have to be like that."

"Speak for yourself." I flashed my dragon eyes in her direction and watched her own eyes widen in surprise.

"I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that."

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