Page 126 of Deadwood
Refusing to answer, Vulcan turned around, his massive tail almost taking me out in the process. Dark magic worked just as harshly on them as it did on fae, and he wouldn’t risk dragonkind—despite his ego screaming at him to let his aggression out to play. He was a lot, but he wouldn’t risk his species.
Our conversation was cut short as the sound of light footsteps crunching over soaked leaves came from behind me. All three of us turned just in time to find Auria emerging from the brush.
CHAPTER 39
AURIA
After Bowen had left me in the shower to finish cleaning the mud off myself, I’d rinsed and dressed in the clothes he’d laid out on the bed, only to find he had left the house altogether. Though it wasn’t wise, I’d gone to find him, but I hadn’t expected to find Vulcan and a white dragon standing with him in the forest clearing, too.
A closer look confirmed it was the white dragon that had saved me during the bandit attack. Somehow, my body knew it was her.
Bowen stepped toward me. “Auria?—”
I held up a hand. “No. Before you tell me to go back, that it’s not safe out here, tell me why you left.”
If there were a brow on his head, Vulcan would’ve raised it. “Trouble in paradise?”
I sent a glare at the monstrous beast. “You stay out of it.” Bowen opened his mouth to reply, but I wasn’t done. “You think some scars are a good enough reason to run away? That my pain is your suffering? Well, guess what, Bowen. It’s not. It’smine, and for you to judge me because you think you have the right to take that on for me is ridiculous. You’re a king, my father’s equal in sense of rank, and you think—” But I hadn’t realized we’d drifted closer until he grabbed my wrist, halting the finger that prodded at his chest.
“I amnothis equal. And if you think I’m judging you, you’re sorely mistaken. Iadmireyou. What you’ve been through your entire life, and yet, you remain loyal to a family that only sees you fit for upping their egos and monetary gain?” He shook his head. “I could never judge you for the evidence of the hell you’ve been put through.”
My breathing was hard as I wrenched my wrist from his grasp. Rather than feel relieved by his words like I’d expected I might, they only enraged me, twisting a knot deep in my stomach. “It’s your ego that’s the problem, not theirs.”
Something like surprise passed over his features. “You’re defending them.”
“They’re all I know! They keep me safe, fed, and I’m fine!”
Our chests bumped into each other as smoke practically billowed from his ears. Gray lines crawled up his neck. “What’s happened while you’ve been out of Amosite? Huh, Auria? Look around.” He threw his arms out for emphasis. “You’re still alive. You’re fed, safe?—”
I pointed to my lip. “Do you call this safe?” My hand moved to my side, cupping my aching ribs. “This?”
Regret filled his eyes, and I hated myself for it. It wasn’t his fault, and yet he took the blame. Carried it on his shoulders like the weight was only his to bear. “That was my mistake for leaving you.”
“You can’t be by my side all the time out here. So yes, I will defend my home, because that is the only place I can expect what’s coming.” I hated the taste of the words as they passed my lips. But what did he want me to say? That he could take away the hurt, carry the burden of my past, and for what? For me to cloud his mind and distract him? He clearly had other things to do than look after me.
He shook his head, and I could tell he was disappointed. I think I was, too.
“If the dramatics are done,” the white dragon drawled from the side.
My anger toward Bowen’s disappearance at the house quickly dissipated as the sight of the snow dragon set in. Though still unnerving where she stood, she was less petrifying than that day in the mountains.
“This is Glacies,” Bowen said, his tone calmer now as he took a step back, almost like it was an admission that I had won. But if this was winning, I didn’t want it. What was wrong with me? Why had I blown up on him after all he’d done since I stumbled into his home?
Instantly, I missed the warmth that emanated from his body. The smoke had gone back into hiding, the lines gone from his skin. I ached for their presence to return, too.
“We’ve met,” I murmured, staring up at her. White eyelids blinked over icy blue irises as we studied one another. “You’re a lot less menacing now, though.”
Vulcan chuckled, steam flowing from his nostrils. “The girl is good at compliments.”
Glacies shot him a glare.
“Thank you,” I stuttered out. “For saving me.”
Glacies tapped a talon on the ground, the sharp edge digging into the mud. “Those dregs deserved nothing but death. A few others, too.”
Before I could respond, her tundra eyes shot in the direction I’d come from as she took a protective step forward.
Leaves rustled behind me, and I spun to find Lander stumbling into the meadow. “Lander?”
