Page 43 of Wrath of the Dragons
My stomach sinks.
Five fights.
Did speaking about the Imirath throne trigger this?
I barely have time to soak in the sight of him once he’s close enough. He throws me over his shoulder and I’m hardly able to hear Ryder laughing over the blood rushing to my ears as Cayden carries me away. He slips through the hidden door and sets me on my feet before ripping his mask off. He crowds my space not a moment later, and my back presses into the wood.
“Why are you here? Did something happen?” His breathing islabored, and he carefully reaches forward to unhook my mask, not that it truly makes a difference. The most I can see is his silhouette, but I prefer it this way, considering he took the feature-altering tonic.
“I’m not hurt.” I dig my nails into the door, tilting my head back as his breath fans against my lips. “Why did you come here?”
“I had to meet with Alexus.”
“You know that’s not what I’m asking.” Ryder and I already spoke about this, but I need to hear it from him. “Why were you fighting?”
When he speaks his voice is a deep rumble that I feel in the marrow of my bones. “It quiets my mind.”
I swallow. “Does anything else quiet your mind?”
He moves one arm above my head, undoing the clasp on my cloak with his other hand, letting it slide off my shoulders before wrapping his fingers around my throat. “It’s quiet right now.” His thumb settles over my jumping pulse point.
I try to find relief by dropping my gaze, but there’s none. I can’t see his eyes, and yet they still burn into mine. He’s always been able to do that. To see me when no one else can. Cayden is bound to me in the same way the moon and stars are bound to the night: we remain together no matter how much darkness surrounds us.
“I—” My throat is so dry it’s nearly painful to speak.
“You’re trembling.” His hand moves from my throat to glide down my arm. I’ve always hated how visible my anxiety is. “Are you frightened?”
“I think so,” I whisper, and his hand stops moving as he stiffens. “Not of you, but of what I need to say to you.”
He cradles my face, keeping me close as if it’s impossible for him to let me go. His thumb brushes over my bottom lip, and my eyes slip shut. I can tell his mouth is so close, and I’m so tempted to close the distance, but his warmth is suddenly ripped from me as he links our hands and tugs me off the wall.
“We’ll talk in my office.” I yelp as he scoops me in his arms and begins climbing up the steps. “Did anyone see you without your mask?”
“No. I kept it on the whole time I was here.”
“Good. Nobody would forget a face like yours if they saw it. Trust me, I know.” I’m thankful he’s not able to see the flush creeping up my neck just yet.
Oh, gods.
Delmira atehisdoor.
Cayden’s steps slow when we reach the first landing, and I inspect my nails after side-eyeing the door and blowing out a breath. “You should really take better care of your investments. This place is falling apart.”
“There are bite marks in the wood,” he flatly states.
“Listen, I won’t judge you if you got a bit hungry but perhaps next time you could try something with sugar in it.”
He sighs as we continue our ascent. “What did I say all those months ago about that prissy royal attitude?”
That I’ve mastered it.“Something about it being one of your favorite things about me.”
“You must not have very many good qualities to choose from then.”
He laughs at my annoyed huff and opens a door at the very top. The narrow hall has a few other doors within it, but he guides me through the first. It’s small but practical, with sparse office furniture in various shades of wood and a few ledgers neatly stacked behind the desk. The red-and-black rug underfoot has seen better days, but I can see why he designed this place as he did. Nothing in here aside from the whiskey reminds me of him.
He sets me down and I turn to face him, but suck in a sharp breath while stumbling into a chair. Noticing straightaway, his brows furrow above a pair ofbrowneyes. He moves to place his hand on my shoulder, but I’m unable to stop myself from flinching. I never imagined what his face would look like without the scar. I suppose it makes him look more classically handsome, but he’s always been beautiful to me, and I prefer him with it.
“What is it?”
