Page 71 of Enchanted Crown
“I can sense your anger, you know,” Esta said politely from the doorway. “For both what Morana has done and at me.”
I turned my head to the side. “You flew off into certain danger and asked me to stay behind. It goes against every fiber of my being.”
“I know. I felt it all. I did not feel good about doing that to you. But Morana does not know you can fly. Does not know we are soul bound. Her not knowing this does give us an advantage.”
I leaned back in one of the chairs and looked up at the stars. All of those things were correct. But all of those things took the emotions out of it. Of having such a powerful bond with Esta and not being able to act on it when she needed me.
She walked over and sat down in my lap. “I’m sorry, Keir. How about we go back inside and I make it up to you? Pick right back up where we left off?”
I wanted so much more than that. So it was with a sharpness that I said, “Only if you use the bond to speak to me.”
“You are saying no?” she asked, surprise all over her beautiful face.
“Just as you have rejected me tonight.”
“It is not that I won’t,” she said at a whisper.
A derisive snort came out before I could stop it. “You don’t want me to feel rejected, yet you rejected me tonight and you continue to reject me by not using it.”
She leaned back and gave a defeated sigh. “I thought you understood that Dra Skor would always need me.”
“Yes, I am well aware,” I snapped. “But you are also supposed to beminein the nights. You are so busy running from what isoursthat I do not even have that, do I? You won’t fully accept our bond. Dammit, how else is that supposed to make me feel here, Es? We are soul bound. I have found mysoulmate, and she is rejecting it, rejecting me.”
She flinched as the words found home. She turned toward the stars and took a few steps before shifting.
“Esta,” I snapped. “Where are you going now?” I knew how tired she was. And yeah, I had been angry, but I had also been honest with her.
I do not wish to hurt you,she told me in her dragon form just before taking off into the night sky.I’m heading to my lair.
Great. Now she was flying off to The Drak while Morana was still lurking somewhere.
CHAPTER 26
To say I was still fuming in the morning would have been a severe understatement. I woke feeling Esta’s nearness, only to find her still in her dragon form sleeping on the balcony.
I moved to ring for some bath water. Maybe I could wash the rage off me.
“And Dex,” I added in afterthought. “I’m going to need to use a serious amount of magic today.”
He gave me a nod. “Emric said they’re waiting until after the meeting with the advisors this morning to get the all clear to go do the healings for today. Do you want to go along?”
“Yes.”
The door shut as he went to let Emric know.
“Morning,” Esta said, now in her human form. She was wearing black leather pants again, and I knew she knew I liked them.
Good morning,I responded through the bond.
“You are still angry,” she noted.
We could both feel it. I wasn’t sure why it was necessary to say it out loud.I am.Maybe I’d just speak to her only through the bond until she finally used it. That was the level of petty I felt after onlya few hours of sleep.We are due in the war room in less than an hour,I reminded her.
I soaked in the tub in scalding hot water that I warmed myself. Using that much of my power did nothing to edge off my rage. I needed to fly. And use my magic. And find and kill Morana.
So much of this was unfair. So much of this had been since the very moment I stepped foot in Dra Skor. But even as I dwelled in my anger, I reminded myself that the enemy among us finally had a face. I had a target for this rage, and it wasn’t truly Esta. Even if I didn’t understand her hesitations with our bond.
She’d said it wasn’t regret. She said she needed to come to it on her own terms. But I also wasn’t sure how many nights like the one before I would be able to endure.
