Page 61 of Wings of Frost and Fury
“It seemed like more than that,” I reply. “You agreed so quickly. No hesitation.”
“Why should I hesitate?”
I make an incredulous sound. “Why should you hesitate before claiming ahumansorceress as your fucking life-mate? Can’t you think of a few reasons? Because I can.”
“I am partly human as well.”
“It’s not simply a matter ofspecies.” My heart is racing. I’m at war within myself, torn between the truth of the emotion thatfueled my spell and the very real panic I feel at being rushed into a permanent bond with a dragon.
I swallow hard, trying to stay halfway composed. “You and I have amused each other, I won’t deny that. You’re excellent fun, really. But as for anything permanent between us… I’m not ready for it.”
“That doesn’t matter,” he says, with a dark satisfaction. “We’re already bound.”
Panicked anger lurches in my chest, spurring my heartbeat.
Bound. Bound means trapped.
“Your Prince promised I could go home once I performed the spell,” I remind him.
“The spellhewanted,” Ashvelon clarifies. “That was the initial bargain. You did not perform the spell he requested, so that assurance no longer applies.”
“So you’ll keep me here, as your prisoner?”
“For now, for your safety, yes.”
Hecan’tkeep me here. If I want to escape, I can make it happen. It will take days to fully recover my energy, but when I do, I can work a spell that will force Ashvelon to take me back to the mainland. I can get myself out of here, with or without his permission.
The magic I’m capable of could set me free. But in freeing myself, I’d be abandoning the other captives on Ouroskelle.
Ashvelon lowers his head, bringing his ice-blue gaze to my level, looking deep into my eyes. “Do you really wish to leave?”
“Do you care?” I vent a disdainful laugh. “You seem to think you’re going to get something out of this bond, but you won’t. I will not fuck you again, not now, and not during the mating frenzy. There will be no half-dragon children spawned between us.”
A faint despair flashes through his eyes, but he arches his neck, proud and determined. “I can live with that.”
“I won’t perform any more spells for your kind, unless it’s something thatIbelieve is good and necessary.”
“Very well.”
He’s so fucking calm. It’s infuriating. “Do you understand me, you big walking rock? You won’t get any satisfaction from being my life-mate. No sex, no spells. Nothing.”
“And yet I will still have everything,” he replies. “Because I will haveyou.”
I stare at him. I truly do not comprehend why he looks so content. There’s a quiet joy in those glowing blue eyes of his, peace in the lines of his neck and shoulders, pride in the set of his wings.
“You do not believe that I can be happy withjust you.” His words are a statement, not a question.
I wet my lips and glance around, as if some explanation or solution will simply appear out of thin air. “I don’t believe it, no.”
“Why is it so difficult for you to imagine that your voice, your thoughts, and your presence are enough for me?”
I release a sharp laugh, broken in the middle. “It has been a long time… a very,verylong time… since anyone wanted me for something besides my magic or my body. And yet here on Ouroskelle it has happened twice in one day.”
“You are more than your magic,” Ashvelon says. “More than your beauty.”
My nose prickles and tears pool in my eyes. “Shit, you’re going to make me cry. How dare you, really?”
His chuckle reverberates through the cave, and his long neck glides toward me. I lay my hand over his blunt snout, my palm against the gray scales. He sighs as if my touch is the one thing he has craved all day, and my stomach thrills in response. Emotion wells up inside me—too much of it, all at once, overwhelming my tenuous grip on my composure. Confusionsurges in my soul, churned together with frustration, uncertainty, anxiety, and pain.
