Page 52 of The Soul of the Dragon

Immediately, the air scented with her arousal and I stared down at her, not moving a muscle. What had just happened?

"Of course I'm nervous," she finally answered when her breathing evened back out. "We've got imps with poison hunting us, the King's guard following behind us, and probably another dragon in the sky just waiting for us to make a move. Who wouldn't be nervous?"

While her reasoning was logical, it made me smile nonetheless. But as much as I wanted to reassure her, she was right to be worried. Although, whether she liked it or not, I would doanythingto protect her. A fact I chose in that moment to keep to myself.

"Do you trust me to get us there?"

She took some time to answer. Too much time and I frowned. The answer was no, no matter what she said. Although I didn't entirely blame her, I would have thought we'd been through enough that she could at least trust me to help her find the amulet.

It's what happened after that point that would be the true problem.

"I trust that you are being honest when you say you can do it. I am concerned, though, that you are still underestimating Magnus."

I bristled at her assessment. “That's where you're wrong Princess. I can sense how strong he is and his determination to capture you is as solid as they come. But he is not stronger than I am. Only my twin is matched to me.”

"Where is he? Your twin. And why is he not here with you? I would think that two dragons would be better than one."

The dragon growled. "Ian and I do not see eye to eye on this mission. In fact, we rarely do. He did everything he could to stop my father and I from taking this step."

"You must really want that amulet. I think when we get somewhere safe, I'd like to hear more about your twin and what this amulet means to you."

"If I do, will you give it to me willingly?"

She didn't answer, but the look she gave me said it all. No. She would not.

Too frustrated to continue this conversation, I crossed the clearing, removing my clothes as I went. I then called the magic and welcomed the heat of the dragon as it washed over me and my body transformed. The need to bolt into the sky under a stream of dragon fire pulsed over me. An impulse I had to suppress for both our sakes.

If I couldn't keep myself under control, then this plan had no chance of success before we even left the ground. Hopefully, she remembered the instructions I'd given her as we walked. As long as she sat centered between my wings and held onto the horned ridges of my spine, no matter what happened, I could keep her safe.

If Magnus was out here, I doubt he'd risk the imps and their poison again. Even with magic, the after effects still felt like sludge in my veins. The plan was to fly low and slow to keep from attracting any unnecessary attention.

An inner smile crept into my belly as I felt Kitra climb onto the wing I'd lowered for her. And my satisfaction grew as she settled into position exactly as instructed. If I could communicate telepathically with her I'd be letting her know what a good girl I thought she was.

She seemed to have enjoyed my praise the night before and I hoped I got another chance to tell her before we were forced to part ways.

As she laid as flat as she could against my back, I opened my senses as far and as wide as I could. The guard had gained on us but were still too far away to attempt anything and I still sensed no dragon. The imps, however, were still the ultimate wild card.

They could be anywhere or nowhere, and I had no way of knowing.

With a quick flap of my wings, I lifted into the sky and laughed when Kitra's muffled scream from behind her hand hit my ears.

ChapterTwenty-One

Kitra

If I had thought flying through the sky in a dragon’s claws was bad, it was nothing like this. No, this was so much more terrifying.

I did my best to hold on, but I wasn’t sure how long I could. The muscles in my arms were already screaming at the strain.

If not for the fact that I didn’t think Isaac could hear me over the wind whipping around us, I’d have been screaming at him to let me back down. I could walk to the cursed falls.

I’d never had a thing about heights in my life, but I’d also never gone higher than tree level until today. And if I had a choice, I never wanted to do this again.

With desperation pushing at my mind, I forced myself to take a deep breath and then open my eyes. It was no less terrifying this way, but it did give me a tiny sense of control. Or at least a little less panic. I attempted to look down so I could see where we were, but my stomach pitched as the trees whizzed by just below us.

So much for slow.

Okay, looking down was a bad idea. Taking another deep breath, I did my best to release it nice and slow while keeping a death grip on a hard ridge of Isaac’s back. My heart raced and the poor little organ pounded so hard in my chest it hurt.

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