Page 17 of Naga Warrior's Mate

Relief flooded through her, mixed with something else she couldn’t quite name.“Good.”She squeezed his hand before letting go.“Now make sure you win tomorrow.I’ll be watching.”

“You’ll be cheering for me?”

“Every match.”She grinned.“Can’t have my escape partner losing, can I?”

The hint of a smile touched his lips.“I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t.”She turned to leave but then paused.“Thank you again, Dernin.For everything.”

As she slipped away through the shadows, her heart felt lighter than it had in weeks.

Chapter 9

Dernin

Thefighters’barracksreekedof sweat and defeat.Dernin coiled his tail beneath him on his sleeping mat, focusing on reviewing his match strategies while Bariv’s voice boomed across the room.

“Did you see how I crushed that fool?”Bariv slammed his fist against the wall.“One decisive hit and down he went.That’s how a champion fights.”

Dernin’s jaw tightened as he tried to block out the noise.The cool stone floor against his scales helped ground him, but Bariv’s next words shattered his concentration.

“And when I win this tournament...”Bariv’s filaments quivered with excitement.“That little red-haired prize is going to be all mine.”

A muscle twitched in Dernin’s neck.He kept his eyes fixed on the wall.

“Those curves, those eyes.”Bariv’s voice dropped lower.“I’ll make her appreciate a real fighter.”

The other fighters laughed, egging him on.Dernin’s tail coiled tighter, his scales rasping against the stone floor.

“Hey, snake-boy,” Bariv called out.“You think you’ve got a chance with her?She needs someone who can actually hold her, not some cold-blooded reject.”

Dernin’s golden eyes remained fixed ahead, though his hands had curled into fists.The promise he’d made to Alaysia echoed in his mind, keeping him anchored.Starting a fight now would only jeopardize their escape plan.

“What’s wrong?Lost your voice?”Bariv laughed at his own joke.“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your little girlfriend when I win.”

“Some of us are trying to rest,” Dernin said, his voice carrying across the room with quiet authority.“You’ve had your moment of glory.Let it go.”

“Or what?”Bariv’s filaments bristled.“You going to do something about it?”

“No.”Dernin stretched out, deliberately casual.“I’m going to win.That’s all I need to do.”

The quiet confidence in his voice made Bariv’s next taunt die in his throat.Several other fighters nodded with respect at Dernin’s restraint.

Dernin shifted on the cold stone floor, his tail coiling and uncoiling as sleep eluded him.The barracks had finally grown quiet, but his mind refused to settle.Every time he closed his eyes, he saw waves of red hair and bright blue eyes.

The memory of Alaysia’s scent lingered in his mind—rose and something uniquely her.His scales rippled with awareness.The way she’d stood up to Bariv, her chin raised despite her fear.How she’d approached him alone, taking control of her fate rather than accepting it.

“Damn it,” he muttered to himself, pressing his palms against his eyes.He was supposed to protect her, not fantasize about the curve of her lips when she smiled or how perfectly she’d fit against his chest.His warrior discipline seemed to mean nothing against the pull he felt toward her.

His tail lashed in frustration.She wasn’t some damsel to be rescued.She was plotting their escape right alongside him.The thought of her courage made his chest tight.

He rolled onto his side, trying to focus on tomorrow’s match instead of imagining running his fingers through that flame-bright hair.But even as he mapped out combat strategies, his mind drifted to their conversation earlier—how her eyes had lit up when he’d promised to protect her, not possess her.

“Focus,” he growled to himself.These feelings were dangerous.They’d get them both killed if he let them cloud his judgment.But his warrior’s heart recognized something in her—a fighter’s spirit wrapped in silk.

His scales rasped against stone as he shifted again.The tournament, the escape—that had to be his priority.Not the way his pulse jumped when she said his name.Not how badly he wanted to wrap his tail around her and shield her from everyone who’d ever tried to break her spirit.

Sleep continued to evade him as memories of her fierce determination mingled with softer thoughts he had no business entertaining.Tomorrow he’d fight.Tomorrow he’d be the warrior she needed him to be.Tonight...tonight he’d allow himself to admit, if only in the darkness, that Alaysia had staked a claim in more than just his protection.

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