Page 24 of Enchanting Her Mate

She lets go of my arm, and I notice her posture stiffen. “Yes, I can. I just need some space to do this on my own. I do not need you to fight my battles for me.”

“But I want to fight your battles for you,” I tell her. “So that you do not have to fight at all.” Why is it so hard for her to understand this? She is strong enough to do this herself, but since I am here by her side, she does not need to. It would be an honor to destroy Tibik for her. I spent several soliqs as one of the king’s assassins on Sufoi. Fighting another person’s battles is something I am extremely proficient in.

“Well, I do not want you to!” she shouts, throwing the tunic she keeps folding to the floor.

“Right,” I say quietly as I stare at the tunic. “You wish for space.”

She nods as she plops down on the edge of the bed.

“Very well,” I reply, shoving my feet into my boots. “Then I shall give you space.” I throw the bedroom door open and storm down the stairs. I do not stop until I reach the main path, and by then, my entire body is trembling with rage.

“Alussanai,” Niro says as he spots me. “Where are you off to?” By the time he reaches me, he must see the fury I am struggling to contain. His expression softens and he nods knowingly. “Come. Fly with me.”

I follow my brother on foot through the forest and into the large clearing. We launch into the sky, and he is the first to turn his giant draxilio head upward and unleash a steady stream of fire into the clouds.

I hear him chuckle inside my head through the mental link we share when we are in this form at the same time.Let it out,he sends.Unleash your pain through your flame.

It is a coping mechanism our handlers taught us not long after we first learned to shift. Before we had control of our power, we were only allowed to breathe fire into the sky, where it would not cause anyone harm.

There is nothing I want more than to cause harm, but only to one person: Tibik. But since Jo does not want me to do so, I will resist the urge. Instead, I will relieve this frustration by chasing my brother through the air, sending balls of fire dangerously (but amusingly) close to his tail.

CHAPTER 14

JO

Rulya concludes the invocation to the goddess, offering a small bouquet of flowers she picked near the falls after middle meal earlier. It is not as nice as the wreath she made, but it is enough that the goddess will appreciate her efforts. Together, the four of us close the circle and place our offerings at the base of the small outdoor altar we set up next to the house.

The sound of shouting and clapping draws me toward the main path, and I continue to follow the sound until I reach the edge of the crowd gathered at the entrance to the training grounds. Flames fill the sky and the crowd oohs and ahhs as they back away from the wide opening to the space, giving me a clear view of what is happening.

It appears to be a competition of some kind between Alu and Nee-roh, who are both in their draxilio forms.

Kayt’s bright red mane catches my eye, and I race to her side. “What is this?” I ask.

“Ugh,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Sibling rivalry, apparently, because an innocent flight between Niro and Alu has led to a weird competition to see who can do the most consecutive flips in the air while still in dragon form.”

Alu is currently shaking her draxilio head as she stretches her wings. It must be her turn next. Nee-roh’s draxilio is bigger and wider than hers, which makes me think she would be better at this.

“Who is winning?” I ask Kayt.

“So far, it’s Niro in the lead with six consecutive flips. But Alu has five, so it’s close.”

“What are they competing for?”

Kayt shrugs. “Pride, I guess.”

The moment Alu launches into the air, my heart leaps into my throat. I do not breathe or think as I watch her impressively large form curl into a tight ball in midair. The light bounces off her cerulean scales, making her look as if her entire body is sparkling in the sun. The crowd lets out an excited cheer after Alu’s first flip, then again after her second.

Her body lowers in the sky after the third flip, and she needs to unfurl herself quickly in order to flap her wings and regain the height she lost.

Flips four and five are smooth, but she sinks again after the sixth. She is now tied with Nee-roh, and I expect her to flap her wings in order to get the height she needs to work in a few more flips, but she does not.

Instead, gravity pulls her draxilio closer to the ground as she ducks her large head into her chest and attempts a seventh flip. But her body tilts slightly to the right, and the clan lets out a collective gasp as she comes close to crashing into the mass of bodies. Then everyone is screaming and running away from the training grounds as Alu struggles to flap her wings hard enough to remain in the air.

She avoids the crowd, but in an effort to right her path, she twists inward and her long, spiked tail collides with the stone beam holding up the open entrance to the food hall. The roof collapses on the right side, crashing into the cooking station and destroying most of the fire pits Waldric and Krahn use to cook our meals.

A hush falls over the crowd as we stand there and take in the destruction. It took the clan three moon cycles to build the food hall. All of us helped. And now, it is so badly damaged that I am not certain if it can be salvaged at all.

Alu shifts into her flightless form and staggers to her feet, shaking her head as if trying to shake the dizziness from her skull. She looks at the mess and shoots a sheepish grin my way. “Many apologies. I lost control and did not see where I was going.”

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