Page 17 of The Lost Princess

I froze. I had a mother.I had a mother!What did she look like? I tried to focus on the thought of her, and blessedly it came: an older female with a soft voice, scolding me after trying to fly out in a storm with my friends. There was an ocean, and rocky cliffs high above the waves. I saw a figure in my mind, reaching out to me.

Then nothing; the darkness claimed it. Frustration burned through my veins, but I knew it was coming this time. I breathed through it and kept climbing. Perhaps with my female by my side, the memories would come back. I already remembered more today than I had before.

I wouldn’t even be able to tell Kaida how long I’d been living here. Though to be fair, I couldn’t tell her anything right now. I’d settle for her being able to call me by my name, if I could remember what it was. My dick hardened just thinking about her calling my name out to me.

Nuh. Nah. Na? It sounded something like that. I beat my fist into the side of the mountain and a handhold gave way. Cursing, I grabbed the next one. I needed to reign in my anger. I needed to get back to my female.

Then incredibly, I saw it: the mouth of my cave. I pushed aside my chilled bones, my quivering muscles, and the pain that raced along my back and wings. I used my remaining strength to haul myself up over the edge, my chest and arms arriving inside. A shriek and then my female was there, all wide eyes and concerned looks.

I couldn’t help it. I smiled; someone was worried about me. Then the darkness crept in through the edges of my vision, and my grip on the edge loosened. I started to fall back, off the cliff.

“Nooo!” she screamed, grabbing my arms and pulling with all her strength.

Thinking quickly, she grabbed the manacles from the cave floor and wrapped my arm in one, securing it in place with the spike by wedging it between two rocks. Then she pulled me up, using her legs as her main source of strength, lodged against a large rock just inside the entrance. The chains hurt as they pinched my skin, but I didn’t fall any further.

What a smart female! Her legs were the strongest muscles in her body, after all. My mate was clever to realize this. I tried to push myself back up, and use my remaining good wing to propel me forward. Between that and her pulling, I managed to make it inside, immediately collapsing on top of her.

I made a rumbling sound of pleasure in my chest, pleased at my intelligent, resourceful, strong mate. I only wished I could tell her how I felt. I wanted to gather her to my chest and press our mouths together again, but she was squawking once more, making agitated sounds with her mouth. Trying to move me further into the cave, by the fire.

Fine. I was cold anyway.

I made it to the furs with her help and fell heavily. She tittered and grumbled as she gestured for me to turn over onto my belly. I hissed, not wanting her to touch my injured wing. She hissed back, and held up her empty water canteen, shaking it threateningly in my face.

I blinked. I couldn’t fetch water for hernow.

My mouth opened, and a hacking, wet cough came out. I couldn’t stop it. My female looked stricken, unsure what to do. I tried to quiet myself, succeeding after a few minutes. She held up the canteen again, pointing around the cave.

Ah.She wanted me to tell her where the water was so she could retrieve more for us—for me.

A warm feeling flooded my chest. She wished to care for me! I pointed toward the northeast corner where a large fissure was cut into the rocks. You could shimmy behind it, and it led into a small underground pool.

Huffing with determination, my female approached it. She quickly figured out how it worked and slipped behind the crack, disappearing into the darkness. Such a brave female.

I grumbled, arousal being the least of my concerns as fever set into my body. I couldn’t remember the last time I was sick. Had I ever been sick before? I couldn’t remember through the black void of my mind, and I didn’t want to be dragged through the darkness right now. I wanted to stay here in the light, with my female.

The moments stretched on as my ears strained to catch a hint of her return. When I heard the small scuffling of her feet returning, a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. Then a wave of nausea overcame me and I rolled to the side, vomiting all over the cave floor.

My female made the strange mouth sounds again. With a raised brow, I noted she was wearing the golden clothing again, tying it to her body after I had ripped it off her. The fabric clung to her like a second skin, and her hair was plastered to her face. Had she fallen in then?

I didn’t like the clothes that hid her body from me, but when they clung to her most enticingly like that? Perhaps they had a use. She saw me looking, and her face blushed bright red.

With a few grumbling sounds, she sat next to me and offered the water, careful of my mess.

I took a little, but not much. I didn’t want it. Instead, I pushed it back into her hands. I closed my eyes, figuring that if I could just sleep, I’d feel better. The urge to bite her was rising again, and I tamped it down. Why did I want to bite her? I shouldn’t have the urge to hurt my female!

Sleep.Everything would be better after sleep.

My body shook uncontrollably, denying me even that respite. I was so, so cold. The female gave a cry of dismay as my muscles convulsed, and she tried to drag me closer toward the fire. I refused, unable to move and too heavy for her to life.

Fear scent flooded the air, and I wasn’t sure if it was from me or her. I decided to try to crawl toward the hot springs, desperate for relief from the cold. I was too far away; too weak.

The female made more cries of distress, her arms around me as her anxiety bled into the air around us. Her hands combed gently through my hair, and all the tension bled from my body. It was bliss. It was sublime even if I felt awful.

My eyes drifted shut. If this was being ill, I would happily bear it every day if it meant my female laid my head in her lap and caressed me with gentle hands. And if I died from this? Well, I would die happy.

I closed my eyes not knowing if I’d ever open them again.

ChapterSeven

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