Page 44 of The Lost Princess

My body gratefully sank into the warm waters, relieving aches and pains I hadn’t even noticed. My eyes closed as I let the heat work its own brand of magick. I tried to think of how long it would be until I was strong enough to fly after her. It would be at least three days. Hopefully not a week. All manner of terrible things could befall her by that time.

No, that was unacceptable. I’d have to follow her on foot, which meant disguising myself as a human.

As distasteful as the thought was, I realized it was the only feasible plan. I had tread among humans long ago, but I had never had to pretend with them. Now I’d have to hide my wings, my scales, and my claws.

I’d need to steal a lot more clothing.

A small bolt of fear shot through my body at the thought of getting caught again. I shook it away, knowing such thoughts only would lead to more anxiety in the future. The best way to get over my short trauma was to jump back into hunting. Staying away would only damage me further.

And this was for Kaida, after all.

I would stomach it for her.

My eyes grew heavy, and I must have closed them and fallen asleep in the shallows of the pool. The next thing I knew was Kaida’s scent surrounding me. And fresh blood. I jerked up, water splashing everywhere.

“Are you ok? You seemed pretty beat, so I didn’t want to bother you,” came her calm voice.

I took deep breaths, quelling the panic that had risen in my breast at the smell of fresh blood. I forced my eyes open, and quickly scanned her. Kaida stood only a few feet in front of me in the pool, up to her waist in the water and facing away from me. Her hands worked over her body with a small scrap of fur, and a few berries she’d found on our journey home. They let off a pleasant smell that was quickly covering up the fresh blood. I caught a few traces left under her fingernails and on her hair.

My eyes couldn’t look away from the smooth flesh of her back, and the new muscles that quivered around her shoulders and wing joints. Or the way she effortlessly held up her wings, never once letting them droop after I’d told her it was considered disgraceful.

I tried to focus on the blood again, and not how the water sluiced over her bare skin.

“Did you—”

“I caught dinner!” she cawed triumphantly, turning to face me with a look of absolute glee on her face. I tried to keep my eyes on her face and not on the pink nipples that begged to be touched and worshiped.

“It wasn’t exactly a cleankill, but there’s so many birds flying around here that I figured I’d give it a try. I waited in the cave and when a particularly fat one flew by—WHAM! I jumped him!”

The way she preened had to be coming from her inner draken, and it pulled a smile from my lips. The joy she found in absolutely everything she did was contagious. It was like experiencing my own draken childhood once more.

The cave would be utterly empty without her.

The darkness hit me hard at the thought, and I wasn’t prepared. I hadn’t felt it all day—not even when I’d been attacked and injured. I was starting to realize just how profound Kaida’s impact was on my mind. She was truly my light in the darkness.

She’s leaving you.

Black raced all around me, and I tried in vain to shove it away with my hands.

“Nasi. What’s wrong? Is it madness again?”

Kaida shouldn’t have to see me like this. She shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. I was a disgrace of a draken and not fit to be anyone’s mate. The only honorable thing I’d done so far was refuse her mating bite.

That’s why she’s leaving. You’re not enough. You’ll never be. That’s why you’re here. You ran away from Lyoness.

No. That couldn’t be true. Why would I run? And even if it was, I’d been only a drakling, or only slightly older.

A coward drakling.

My chest heaved up and down, and I couldn’t calm down. I had to get away from Kaida, just in case the darkness won.

I scrambled to get out of the pool, my claws scrabbling on the slick, wet stone. If I went mad again with Kaida here, I didn’t trust myself not to mount her like a wild animal. The very thought made me sick to my stomach.

Rather than be alarmed by my outburst, only honest concern shone from her eyes and she reached for me.

No.No.

I lurched away, finally managing to get over the edge of the pool and out. Through the crack in the wall, barely taking note of the roaring fire and delicious aroma wafting from it. My feet tripped over themselves in my clumsiness, the roaring thoughts sending adrenaline and panic racing through my body. Somehow I ended up next to the fire.

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