Page 127 of Between Soul and Vessel
Von
My mate telling me she thoughtIwas the dragon from her dreams was not something I expected to hear tonight, out of all things. Then again, I didn’t expect her to crack me in the jaw, either, but—I dabbed at the blood with the back of my hand—here we were.
“Show me,” I said, conjuring a small cloth.
“How?” she asked, snatching it from me. The fabric began to grow dark, water seeping from her palm. With gentle strokes, she began to clean the blood from my chin, the cut and bruising already starting to heal.
“Our bond enables us to do more than just privately speak to one another. It allows us to walk into each other’s minds, as long as the other partner allows it. Think of the dragon, return to your dreams, but take me with you this time,” I instructed her.
She handed the cloth back to me, and my shadowsswallowed it.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’ll give it a try.”
“Alright.”
We laid back down, and I pulled the blankets over us. I tugged her naked frame against mine, tucking her in close to me, right where she belonged. I slid my fingers across her cheek, tipping her head to the side so I could kiss her lips. Her arm wrapped around my neck, and she kissed me back.
I love you,she said through our bond.
I love you too, I answered back, kissing the tip of her nose.Now go to sleep, Kitten, and show me this dragon of yours.
I’ll see you in my dreams,she spoke softly.
You will, I assured her, kissing her shoulder. I glanced at the candle and cut the oxygen going to it, effectively killing the flame and painting the room in darkness.
Lowering my head back onto the pillow, I gently ran my fingers along her side, stroking her until she finally fell asleep. When her breathing became slow and rhythmic, I closed my eyes and walked into my mate’s mind, the door left wide open for me.
If the birds didn’t stop their incessant chirping, I would roast them all to ash. All day long, that’s all they did. Chirp, chirp, fucking chirp. It was becoming rather irritating. Although, it was not nearly as irritating as the mortal femaleI was stuck in this giant hole with.
She was always up to something, always making noise. If she wasn’t working on her shelter, she was fishing in the lake, and if she wasn’t fishing in the lake, she was trying to dig her way out of here through the partially collapsed hole she had arrived in nearly two weeks ago.
I let out a sigh, stretched out my neck, and placed my head on the ground. My tail swirled in the cool lake water, the only thing keeping my temper at bay. When the Creator sent me on my last mission, I never expected to get trapped here.
Yet, here I was.
Over by the hole, there came a heavy thump, followed by an, “Oomph!”
I jerked my head up, squinting at the female as she rubbed her bottom.
“You are rather noisy,” I growled at her.
“I’m trying to get out of here,” she snipped at me. “Which is more than you can say.”
“It will take you years to dig your way out, and even if you do manage to get back to the surface, how do you know the barrier does not extend to it? Your efforts will be in vain.”
“Well . . .” She got back up on her feet and crossed her arms. She was a mess. Dirt was smeared all over her face, painting the white strands of her hair brown. “I’ll deal with that when I get to it.” She turned away from me and started climbing back up the ladder she had built out of fallen branches, returning to her hole like a little mouse.
I rolled my eyes and went back to my resting position.
It wasn’t much longer, and her grunts became even louder.
My eyes narrowed. She was doing that on purpose.
That was it. I was going to eat her today.
I was feeling hungry anyway, and I couldn’t stand the stomach-curling fish she kept trying to feed me, something I suspected she was doing to stave off my hunger.
Standing on my fours, I went over to the hole. “Come out, Little Mortal. I wish to show you some—
