Page 34 of The Dragon of her Dreams

I nodded. Though if she pressed me further as to why, I wouldn’t be able to explain it rationally. I just felt a pull to the ice and snow, to the lands that had always been my home—the stomping grounds where I grew up—where I became a man.

“Okay,” she said suddenly with an officious nod of decision, then slid out of the bed on the opposite side. “I need a shower and breakfast, and we’ll have to send some clothes and things ahead, but I’ll organize it all this morning.”

I gaped at her, my heart hammering anew as a fragile hope blossomed within me.

She hurried into the shower without looking back.

I followed after her in wonder and partly because I just wanted to gaze upon the beauty of her as she bathed herself. “You’ll come with me? Really? Today?”

She nodded again, already stepping beneath the hot spray of the water. “I will. Though I must warn you, I haven’t flown to the North before, so I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make it in one flight. It’s a long way.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I hadn’t thought about that. The flight had been exhausting for me coming over, but I’d refused to be weaker than my half-brothers. “Is there a halfway point where we could rest?” I asked, having never travelled beyond my homelands.

She tilted her head as though thinking about it. “Hmm, I think the Black Mountains, technically. But thatwouldmean an extra night away from your home. Though there might not be another option, the more I think about it, the less confident I feel about being able to do the flight in one day.”

I wanted to rush into the shower to hug her but caught myself and my excitement. It wasn’t like me to express emotion so openly, but my need to go home was swallowing me alive, one large mouthful at a time.

Vanya scrubbed her hair with soap, all business as she got on with the job.

“I don’t care,” I said. “As long as we’re on our way home, my dragon will be satisfied.”

She nodded, her face still thoughtful. “I’ll talk to Marienne and Erik today. I’m sure they won’t mind us stopping in for the night.”

I didn’t know much about the king and queen of the Black Mountains, so I kept my thoughts to myself. I just internally rejoiced that I would soon be home, and I would finally feel safe where I belonged.

AS EXPECTED, EVERYONEwanted us to stay the final few days as planned, but Vanya put her foot down and told everyone that we needed to go. The way she spoke brooked no argument, which was a wonder to see.

Our clothes and personal effects were packed and sent ahead via horse and cart. Then we said goodbye to our families and stepped out into the cold air on the top balcony, ready to fly.

I undid the sash that held my robe closed and turned to look at my beautiful mate, my heart in my throat as I tried to find the right words. “I need to say thank you,” I said in a rush before I could doubt myself. “You stood up for me, you fought to give me this. So... thank you.” It felt awkward as hell to say, to admit gratitude and a debt owed, which was something I definitely wasn’t used to. I’d always stood on my own two feet, been my own man. To be beholden to a mate was as wonderful as it was foreign.

The brilliant smile Vanya gave me in return made up for all the tension in my heart. “Of course,” she said. “I’ll do everything I can to make you comfortable in this new world, please know that. I understand royal life and all its trappings are still very strange to you.”

I nodded with a small smile and took one final look at the kingdom around me. “Let’s go.”

She smiled back and inclined her head. “You first?”

I laughed as I shook my head. “No, definitely not. Ladies first.”

She shrugged and dropped her robe without hesitation, revealing her gorgeous body for mere moments before she took a step up to the balcony railing, then jumped, plunging toward the earth below.

I raced forward to watche my fated mate.

She shifted mid-fall, her gorgeous dragon extending its wings and swooping low over the village in a circle as she waited for me to join her in the air.

I turned around and raised my hand one last time, waving at my father and his family, that familiar ache stealing over my heart again.

King Damon smiled and nodded at me.

Not wanting to make Vanya wait any longer, I turned and threw my robe away at the same moment I dove off the castle walls, shifting to fly after my mate.

The flight to the Black Mountains was long and arduous, and my whole body was aching by the time we got there.

As soon as we landed, servants came running out with cloaks. “Your Highness,” one of them greeted Vanya, “we got word that you were stopping here for the night.”

Vanya took the cloak and quickly wrapped herself in its warmth. “Thank you, Samuel. Yes, that’s right. This is Jaegar, he is King Damon’s son, and my fated mate.”

The servant didn’t even blink, he simply nodded his head and flicked his hand, sending another servant running my way to hand me a cloak.

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