Page 50 of The Lost Princess

There. A perfectly reasonable plan. Nasi would be proud.

Nasi.

As if he could scent the shift of my thoughts even asleep, his claws dug gently into the bare flesh of my midriff. Automatically I wriggled back into him again, enjoying the feel of his hardness on my backside.

I ground into him. Again.

“Kaida,” he grunted into my neck, very much awake, “stop unless you want me to claim you now.”

His voice didn’t sound rough with sleep. Had he been lying here awake with me the entire time? Guilt oozed through my veins. He clearly wanted me to stay. I was also starting to think he needed me to stay to keep away the madness. And I don’t think I minded.

But I had to go back. There was too much unfinished business. The way forward became clear.

I twisted in his arms so I faced him.

“Nasi, I’m going to leave tomorrow morning. I’m going to get the answers I need. Then I’m going to come back for you.”

Nasi went utterly still, not even daring to breathe. He just looked down at me with those dark eyes, blonde hair trailing down toward me as if the sun rose and set with me. It was as if I was his hope and salvation rolled into one. His judge, jury and executioner. The power was captivating, but also terrifying.

I nuzzled into his neck.

“I don’t want to be away from you, so I will come back. You understand I need answers first though, right?”

I kissed his neck, fighting the urge to bite down. Now was not the time for rough passion. He needed sympathy and reassurance.

“You promise?” he whispered into my hair, his hand curling slightly in my long, pale tresses. The whiteness of my locks made his own hair gleam gold in comparison.

“I will always come back,” I answered fiercely, realizing that it was true. I couldn’t imagine my life without Nasi now. I didn’t know what exactly that meant for the future, but that was a problem for later down the road. Right now I had to focus on reassuring Nasi.

And I could only think of one thing that would do it.

“Claim me as your mate,” I demanded, rolling and offering my neck to him.

ChapterSixteen

NASI

Iwas dreaming. This was another hallucination brought on by the madness. Surely it wasn’t real, was it? Kaida lying before me, her outstretched neck a gift from the gods themselves. Her eyes were clear and bright, letting me know she wasn’t under any outside influence or riding high on uncontrolled instincts.

“You don’t … you don’t know what you’re asking for,” I bit out hoarsely, unable to take my eyes off her neck. My inner draken was quickly rising, growing louder and more forceful as the very thing we both wanted most was simply offered up to us.

“Drakens mate for life,” I protested weakly. She had to know what she was getting into. If she allowed me to claim her, I wasn’t letting go. Not for anyone. Not for anything. She’d be stuck with a draken mate who carried invisible wounds.

One of her pale hands caught my cheek, the fine texture of her scales rubbing against mine larger, rougher scales. My eyes closed. How I had missed the touch of my own kind. The past few weeks had felt like I was living in a dream world—a fantasy.

I was afraid that if I blinked I would wake up, only to find it was a further delusion of madness. If such a thing were to happen, it would break me utterly.

“You said yourself you’re a princess. You have responsibilities. I can’t … I can’t tie you down to me.” It felt like someone else was uttering those words—certainly not me. I heard myself say them, even as my inner draken fought against me.

Kaida’s face shuttered, her eyes casting downwards. Without a word she turned on her side, her back to me.

A knife to my chest would have hurt less.

I had to say something to her to reassure her that I wasn’t rejecting her a second time! This was simply too complicated. The timing was never right!

My mouth opened to protest and to win her back. I needed to say something that would let her understand the tumultuous wave of feelings deep inside of me.

I said nothing because I knew I could easily convince her to stay here and never return with just a few words. All she needed was a single reason to give up everything she’d known. She’d do it in a heartbeat.

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