Page 43 of The Lost Princess

I blushed violently and stifled the urge to giggle. Nasi glanced upwards as if asking the gods for patience. It was a gesture so reminiscent of Selena that I sobered quickly. I missed her, if no one else.

“Come. We must keep moving,” Nasi insisted, his wings tinged with fresh, pink skin that blended with his gold scales. At least he was healing.

“Fine …” I grumbled, peeved he didn’t want to kiss me. Oh well. There was always later. Maybe if I asked nicely, or said please?

We kept walking, neither of us feeling in the mood to chat.

ChapterFourteen

NASI

It took most of the day to return, going slowly and carefully, gathering roots and plants along the way to eat. My inner draken was pouting, unhappy with our failure to provide proper food for my mate. I hoped that with enough herbs gathered, we could at least have a stew later on. If I was lucky, I’d be able to catch a rabbit or something else to go with it.

Eventually the sand disappeared as we traveled higher in elevation. It gave way to bare rock with sparse vegetation. The sun no longer felt as hot as it began to dip below the horizon, so we were able to take less breaks and push forward. The trail of broken cactuses left behind us was rather obvious, but I decided not to care. In all my years living here, I never recalled running across any other large, sentient beings who lived in these mountains. Not that I’d necessarily remember if I had.

Heat flooded my face.

Kaida was quiet and withdrawn for most of it, which seemed odd. I worried she no longer saw me as a protector and that she now viewed me as weak, and her quietness stemmed from fear and worry for her future.

It seemed foolish, but I couldn’t shake it.

To be honest, I was embarrassed and ashamed. I’d been caught like a little drakling in a trap, and Kaida had to save me. Though how glorious she’d been! Her rage had been the most exquisite thing to witness, and when she’d used her voice magicks for the first time? Rapture. It almost made the pain I had suffered worth it.

I winced in remembrance. Almost.

And now I was thinking about the taste of her blood, and how it felt sliding down my throat, and—

Stop. Focus.

“You did well, today,” I started roughly, my voice a bit scratchy as I shook off my arousal. Kaida’s head shot up at the sudden non sequitur, then she blushed.

“Oh, uh …. Thank you. I heard you roaring from the cave and knew something bad had happened. I’m just happy you’re alright. I could have … I could have killed them for what they did to you.” Her fists opened and closed reflexively, rage building in her eyes.

I swallowed. It was more arousing than thinking about her blood.

“Yes, well. After you feel better about flying, you should experiment with your voice magicks. Our females are renowned for them,” I offered, shoulders relaxing when I saw the familiar opening of our cave off in the distance.

“About that,” Kaida began cautiously.

I turned to face her, sensing the tension in her voice.

“I think I will leave tomorrow to find my father and … explain. Everything, that is.” She peered at me from under her eyelashes, as if wary of my reaction.

My mouth grew dry. My wings were still newly healed, so I wouldn’t be able to follow her. At least, not the way I wanted to.

“Is that a problem?” she asked.

I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the pounding in my chest. “Of course not. You are not a prisoner here. You are free to leave when it pleases you.” I was proud of how level my voice stayed.

Kaida’s grin stretched her entire face, her arms coming around my waist as she seized me in a hug. “Thank you for everything. Even if I don’t have all the answers yet, you’ve been wonderful.”

My arms automatically came around her, and I resisted the urge to grasp her tightly to me. Her unmated scent tickled my nose, taunting me. Happiness and confidence radiated from her, a complete change from when I first found her.

If nothing else, that scent alone would get me through the cold, lonely nights to come.

We made it back to the cave, and as tempting as it was to simply collapse to the floor in exhaustion, I forced my body to move toward the fire to bring it back to life. The blood I’d taken from Kaida had kept me from dying of blood loss, but I still wasn’t 100 percent. I wouldn’t risk taking more from her much smaller frame. Realistically, wounds of this nature would require the blood of several other draken males to completely restore me. The image of Kaida’s pale, slim body passed out from blood loss was enough to force me to keep moving. I would heal on my own given enough time.

I headed toward the bath. The dried blood across my wings and back was itchy, and I wouldn’t soil the furs with it.

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