Page 10 of The Bond That Burns

I understood. This wasn’t how I’d imagined the night going either. We’d both have to suffer with disappointment. There was only one person to blame for it. And I was looking at him.

With a tight nod, he turned towards the door.

I started to breathe a sigh of relief.

Blake paused. “We’ll speak more tomorrow.” Then he pulled the door shut behind him.

I gritted my teeth. The asshole couldn’t bear to let me have the last word.

I heard a key turn in the lock and nearly laughed aloud. Well, I was alone like I’d wanted. Alone in a place that should have felt like home, yet where I was every bit the prisoner.

CHAPTER 2 - MEDRA

The next day, I heard the key turn in the lock as I sat in a chair by the window reading.

I was expecting it to be Blake, but instead Viktor Drakharrow marched in.

“Among blightborn, it’s customary to knock,” I couldn’t help saying, as I put down my book and stood up.

He ignored me.

His presence filled the room as he moved towards me. Cold. Oppressive. He had been alive longer than anyone else in the realm. Yet there was nothing reallyaliveabout this man. He reeked of death.

I felt a shiver crawl up my spine as his gaze settled on me. “Does Blake know you’re here?”

Viktor’s lips curled into a faint sneer.

He narrowed his eyes and before I could prepare myself, a wave of force slammed against my mind. I reached out for something to hold onto as my knees buckled, but it was no use. I fell to the floor, unable to brace myself. Pain pulsed through my temples.

I clenched my jaw. The only thing keeping me conscious was the look of frustration on Viktor’s face as he looked at me down on the ground. It wasn’t working, I thought with triumph.

Rallying slightly, I threw up another blockade of walls. Once they’d been paper-thin. Now they were brick and mortar. Isealed every crack. I still wasn’t sure how I was doing it, but I was determined he wouldnotget in.

Viktor’s irritation turned darker. “A little blightborn bitch should not be able to keep out her highblood master.”

“And yet look at me doing just that,” I said sweetly.

His hand shot out and before I could move, my head spun to the side as he slapped me hard. My cheek throbbed. I could taste copper on my lips.

“So which am I?” I asked angrily. “A blightborn bitch or the dragon rider you need? Either you value me or I’m worthless. Which is it?”

Viktor bent down, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Do you wish to be tortured, girl? Because I assure you, I am more than capable. You are a consort in words only. You are not part of this family and never will be. I assure you, I will hold nothing back.”

My pulse raced but I forced myself to hold his gaze, my mind scrambling. “Why not ask me the questions first? You might not need to bash your way into my mind or destroy my body.”

“No, but I’d enjoy doing so,” he murmured, his eyes flickering over me. It took everything I had not to visibly shudder.

He stood upright, squaring his shoulders. He was shorter than Blake, I suddenly noticed. Yet there was nothing diminished about his presence. He was the most terrifying man I’d ever met. And considering my grandfather, that was saying a great deal.

“Fine. Let us try it your way. Tell me, how did you wake the dragon?”

I took a deep breath. My lies had to be perfect. Convincing. This man was not a fool. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

His eyes narrowed. “Be more specific. Surely you can recall something.”

I shook my head. “Do you remember when the tremors started around the school?” I remembered he resided elsewhere. “Please, just ask the headmaster. He’ll tell you all about it. I think that was when it began. Months ago. This wasn’t a recent thing. Nyxaris has been in the process of awakening for a while. But,” I made sure to add. “Nyxaris believes I woke him. He thanked me for it.”

“You spoke to the dragon?” Viktor demanded.

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