Page 30 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
And then another sharp pain exploded across the back of my neck as Zariah sank his fangs into the back of my throat. My gasp of surprise morphed into a throaty moan. Wildly I tried to grind my hips into both of them, but they held me absolutely still as they drank from me, four hands holding me in place by my neck, arms, and waist.
I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t care. I could wander through one thousand kingdoms and not snatch a single moment as glorious as this. Every secret of every mystery could have bared themselves before me, and I would have shut my eyes and shoved them away in favor of this perfect, blissful moment.
“Take us as we take you,” Zariah growled from behind me, his voice reverberating in my chest and through my blood as he was still embedded in my flesh in more ways than one. Zion released me from the front, but before I could protest, he bit down again with his fangs, right into my breast.
I cried out, my fingers digging harshly into his hair and twisting. Hot blood ran down my neck since Zariah hadn’t closed the wound, but I didn’t care. It felt right. This was dark. This was dirty.
This was everything.
I exploded into millions of tiny pieces, just like the glittering stars that twinkled overhead.
ChapterNine
It was blissful sleep, but the moment my eyes shot open, the full horror of everything I’d witnessed slammed into me. I bolted upwards, the arms around me dropping away.
“I need to get down there! What if the queen comes back? They’re just out in the open and exposed and in danger of—”
Zion put a hand gently on my mouth, dragging me back into his arms. “Mother won’t be coming back. Her dragon is a secret she holds closely to her chest—We didn’t even know until yesterday. She’ll be pissed she didn’t kill everyone, but you don’t have to worry about her swooping in to finish the job. The final ball that marks the end of the reaping is tomorrow night, so she’ll be kept busy with that.” He paused, frowning. “Though I agree, we need to move these people somewhere safe. I was waiting until you woke up to take you down to talk to Zephyr.”
I flinched at the mention of the half-brother who’d tried to murder me. Seemed a theme with family members.
“Oh. Uh … all right.”
I’d be damned if I let my people bunker down with dangerous demons and Zephyr, who didn’t seem to give a shit about any of the danger.
“Plus, Zariah is out patrolling. He’s been trying to show them he’s being protective, but … uh, they haven’t exactly been receptive. Zephyr is going nuts trying to keep everyone from bolting. We need you to help with this.” Zion’s eyes went unfocused for a moment, a telltale sign he was communicating with his brother.
His gaze sharpened again on me. “Right. Incoming.”
Before I could open my mouth, heat and gold scales filled the mouth of the cave. Zariah shuffled in awkwardly with his large dragon body, tucking his wings into his back.
“You and I are going to ride Zariah down to the survivors, and reassure them that the gold dragon is meant to protect them. We don’t want to be a symbol of fear any longer. At least not to everyone.”
His face tightened at that in sorrow, and I couldn’t blame him.
I brushed the dirt and soot from my clothes as best I could, and touched my hair to see how bad it was. Oh well, there was nothing for it, was there?
I sighed. “Let’s go.”
Zariah bent his long neck down, and I climbed up using his neck spikes. Zion watched me carefully, then repeated my steps as best he could, settling behind me. I eyed his boots as he carefully tucked them up and away from Zariah’s wing joints.
Ready?
I nodded, then realized the question hadn't come from Zion’s voice behind me. Zariah’s inflection was in my head, reverberating and echoing deeply like it never had out loud.
Exhaustion was getting the better of me. That was the logical explanation.
Carefully, Zariah backed out of the cave and did a smart little turn so that we faced the cliff. In the morning light, the small refugee camp looked pitiful, and they were pointing at us and crying out in fear.
Just get it over with.Zariah’s voice came again in my head. Before I could remark on it, Zion cut over me.
“Agreed,” he murmured in my ear.
With a mighty leap, Zariah leaped into the air, wings spread wide. There was that usual momentary feeling of utter weightlessness—that second of terror when I was convinced we would plummet to our deaths. His wings beat furiously on either side of me, and we leveled out into a smooth glide.
The descent was quick, and Zariah slammed heavily to the ground on his clawed feet. The screams of terror broke my heart, but they, at least, weren’t running at seeing me and Prince Zion perched atop the dragon’s back, unharmed and alive. That, or they were simply too curious to help themselves.
I slid down Zariah’s back too quickly, my arms out in a plea for them to understand. “No! It’s all right! The gold dragon is here to protect you! He chased away the dragon that hurt you—the silver one! Do you remember?”
