Page 72 of Aria's Ascension

He took her mate to hurt her. That Zhrovni hadn’t just killed him when he had the chance told her he had something much worse in mind than a quick death.

Fear—true, gut-wrenching fear—flooded her mind. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe past it.

For a handful of seconds, she let the panic consume her, let herself feel the terror, hatred, and rage clawing at her insides.

And then, she carefully, deliberately locked it away. She could feel the alarm coming from Kix, but she blocked that out, as well. She buried everything until the only thing left was cold, quiet numbness and single-minded determination.

Her heart was still racing, but her mind was calm and very, very clear.

Zhrovni had made a mistake in taking her mate.

He was going to die for that.

Chapter 39

Aria sprinted down the tunnel with Kix and the dragon on her heels.

When they entered the main cavern, she heard Rellik call out to her and glanced over to find him, Braxton, Sauran, and another male she didn’t recognize all gathered in the center.

She didn’t answer Rellik’s hail, but the distraction cleared her mind enough for her to realize her plan wouldn’t work.

She’d been headed for the little door the octoflies came out of, but they no longer had any weapons to pry and hold it open. Stopping abruptly, she spun in a circle, searching the space for another way out.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Goddamnit, think!

“The feeding hatch,” she gasped, craning her head back to squint at the ceiling above.

She couldn’t see anything that looked like a door or an opening, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. She hadn’t seen the octofly door, either, until she’d been right up on it.

“Sarasha? Something is wrong?” Rellik questioned, his voice missing the flirty playfulness of before. He sounded concerned, ready to help, but it wasn’t his help she needed.

Reaching a hand out without thinking, she laid her palm on Rellik’s upper stomach, not to stop him, but more as reassurance or comfort. It was a natural move and one she was barely aware of making. Why she was so quick to touch him, she didn’t know and, at that moment, it didn’t matter.

Kix answered for her while she faced Braxton, telling Rellik and everyone else there, “Zhrovni sedated all of us and has taken Tirox.”

“Braxton, you said you could climb. You think you could make it up there?” she asked, pointing to the ceiling.

He followed her finger then gave her an incredulous look. “You kiddin’? Fuck no. I said I could climb, darlin’, not fly.”

“Fly… ” she breathed.

Whipping around, she almost bumped into her dragon. He was standing right behind her, staring down at her as though ready to do whatever she needed.

“Can you shift at will?”

“Do not know,” he answered, his voice a low, apologetic rumble. “Never tried. Zhrovni shoots me with burning liquid to make me change.”

“Could you try now? Please.”

Reluctance tightened his features and his eyes darted to Kix, but after a brief hesitation, he dipped his chin and murmured, “Your desires are mine,á roínseah. ‘My Light.’”

Aria broke away from his stare when Kix laid a hand on his shoulder. Glancing at her firefly, she saw the short nod he gave the dragon.

“Trust. You can control the… change, Thrasin,” he murmured quietly. If Aria hadn’t been standing so close to them, she wouldn’t have heard him. In a regular voice he continued, “I imagine the serum he injects you with forces the transformation. That does not mean it is a requirement to bring it forth.”

Ignoring everything else, she cut in, “Thrasin?”

Her dragon sucked in a short breath and looked back at her, the faintest of smiles tilting the corner of his lips.

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