Page 73 of Galadon
“Rayna rode out of here as if she were being chased by a horde of Kandoran. I kept waiting for you to come out and fly after her, but you never did.” She wagged a finger at me. “What did you do?”
“The potion wore off today,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “I tried convincing her to take more, but she refused. Killing dragons is more important to her.”
My mother crossed her arms. “I thought you were smart enough to know this was coming. She would never give up a core part of who she is, and you need to learn to accept that. Zorya knows she’s accepted all your faults.”
I clenched my fists. “It’s not that I didn’t consider it, but there are no good options. Either she hunts nearby and potentially kills my allies, or I fly her to Kandoran territory while she’s in a rage and hope we both make it there alive, where she could be captured again.”
“That will always be a risk, Galadon.” She sighed. “Nothing in this life is guaranteed, but if you don’t find a way to get past her being a slayer, you’ll lose her for certain.”
“Then what do I do?” I asked, throwing my hands up in frustration.
She shook her head sadly. “As much as I wish I had all the answers, I don’t. The two of you need to find a compromise you can live with long term. No one else can do that for you.”
I sank into my chair and planted my face in my hands. “Give me some space to think.”
“Very well, but don’t take too much time,” she said as her footsteps retreated.
With every minute that passed, I knew Rayna was getting farther away from me. There was no quick and easy way to track her except not to go south. Still, I couldn’t race after her without a plan. We’d be right back where we started, except her need to hunt would be even worse. Recalling her half-crazed look earlier was bringing back the painful memories of Amari and the look in her eyes the day she attempted to kill me. They weren’t dissimilar. That slayer had also loved me, though in a different way, but it hadn’t stopped her in the end.
How did Aidan do it? His mate was a slayer, and they didn’t face this level of trouble even while he stayed busy leading his toriq. Bailey went out to hunt regularly before she became pregnant again. I should have taken the time to ask questions at the bitkal when I’d had the chance, but I’d foolishly thought I could handle the dilemma myself.
It occurred to me that Bailey had been on edge right before the war began, having gone without hunting as they completed final preparations, but I’d overheard someone say Aidan managed it somehow through his bond with her. That he had a way of temporarily sating his mate. A plan began to form in my head at that thought. Maybe my mother was right that I had to find a compromise if Rayna and I were to have a chance at happiness together.
I raced outside to the landing pad to shift.
“She went east,” my mother shouted from the door of her house.
At least I had a definitive direction now. “Thank you.”
I willed myself to change faster, but it still took five minutes. As soon as I finished, I leaped into the sky, flapping my wings hard to gain momentum. A little over half an hour had passed since Rayna left, but it would take her almost an hour to reach the Takaran border on the east side with her horse. I had to hurry to catch her before she reached it.
Thanks to well-used trails near my home base, I knew which way she went at first, but after those ended, I had to slow down to track hoof prints. By the time I caught sight of her, she was less than five hundred feet from the border.
I landed a short distance in front of Onyx, ensuring he had just enough space to come to a halt. Flames overtook me as I began my transition, but through them, I could see Rayna’s angry and frustrated face.
“Damn you, Galadon. I need to hunt!” she screamed at me.
She tried urging her stallion to go around him, but Onyx refused to budge. The look on the slayer’s face said the horse had his own thoughts on the matter and telepathically told her as much. Rayna finally gave up and dismounted.
Thankfully, I finished shifting a moment before she passed me. “Stop. I need to talk to you.”
“No.” The look in her eyes was even wilder than in my chambers. “I can’t hold on much longer, and you need to let me go.”
“The dragons patrolling this stretch aren’t my allies or friends, but they aren’t bad, either. They don’t deserve to diebecause you can’t calm down,” I said, grabbing her arm so she’d have to face me.
She balled her fists. “Fine. I’ll get past them and go deeper into their territory to find other dragons.”
“You think you can control yourself enough to do that?” I asked skeptically.
She closed her eyes. “For you, I’ll try.”
That was when I knew without a doubt that she belonged to me, and I couldn’t let her go. Even now, when every instinct in her screamed to kill a dragon—any dragon—she still tried to protect me and accede to my wishes.
Rayna jerked, trying to free herself from my hold. “Let me go!”
I only pulled her closer as she wrestled against my strength and even began pounding on my chest. The fact that her blows didn’t hurt said a lot. I couldn’t help admiring the control she had over herself even now. She’d sworn she’d never hurt me and meant it.
“Listen,” I said, taking her by her upper arms to hold her still until she finally met my gaze. “I’m not letting you go until you hear what I have to say.”
