Page 91 of Claimed By the Dragon King

I seal my mouth over hers, cutting off the rest of her sentence. When I pull back, I drop my forehead gently to her own. “I do not wish to argue with you, Freyja. I will not force you to remain behind, my fire heart, but I would ask one thing.”

“What is it?”

“That you remain close to me during the battle. I will not be able to concentrate if I do not know where you are.”

She nods against me. “All right, my Dragon. I will do that.”

I pull her to my chest, wrapping my arms and wings tightly around her as she drifts off to sleep. As much as I hate the idea of taking Freyja to war, I trust in the vision I received from the heart tree. And as I close my eyes, I imagine our future together, and allow myself to drift off to sleep.

CHAPTER53

FREYJA

When I wake in the morning, I’m still wrapped up in Aurdyn’s arms and wings. His tail is curled around my thigh and as I shift slightly, he tugs me close to his chest, nuzzling my hair in his sleep.

As I nestle into him, I close my eyes and imagine mornings like this one. A future stretched out before us of love and laughter and quiet moments like these.

A life that will not be.

Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them back. I’m not ready yet. I want more time with my Dragon king.

His eyes snap open and meet mine. Worry flashes behind them as he cups my cheek. “What is wrong?”

“I—” I hate lying to him, but if I tell him the truth, he’ll find a way to keep me here, far away from the battle when he needs me. “I was just thinking of my uncle.” It’s not a complete lie. In truth, I was, but not right at this moment. “I worry for him.”

“We will find a way to free him from the Mages, Freyja.”

He sounds so confident it gives me hope. I just pray to the gods that I live long enough to see him freed of their dark enchantment. My uncle is a good man, and he deserves so much better than this.

I dress in my warm leggings and fur-lined tunic dress and boots. I sheathe my sword at my side and move to grasp my shield, but Aurdyn takes it for me. We make our way to the door, and I turn, casting one more glance around our room, committing it to memory.

I know I will not return here. Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I force myself to turn back to the door and step out into the hallway. I loop my arm through Aurdyn’s and we make our way through the castle and down to the gardens.

Dozens of warriors are lined up in formation before us. Each of them in their massive Dragon forms as they await our arrival.

Aurdyn releases my arm and steps away, transforming in a whirl of snow and wind into his four-legged form. He moves behind me, his two front legs on either side of me as he looms overhead. His large claws dig into the snow as he addresses his people.

“We offer no mercy to the Mages,” his voice booms above me. “They tried to assassinate myself and your queen. We will rid Arganth and Ruhaen of their foul presence and we will not stop until all of them are dead.”

Loud battle cries echo through the gardens from the warriors.

Aurdyn’s large front paw wraps around me and he lifts me to his chest. Snow dances on the cold wind around us as he extends his wings and takes to the air.

The ground disappears below us as the others follow us, in formation.

“Are you warm enough?”His voice rumbles in my mind.

My heart stutters and stops. With all that has happened, I forgot he can read some of my thoughts. Concentrating, I partition my mind, closing off the things I do not wish to share. It is difficult, but it is something taught to every shield-maiden of Ruhaen.

To fight, one must be able to focus, closing off any thoughts that do not serve them. I am grateful for these lessons. Without them, I would have no way of keeping Aurdyn from reading my thoughts.

“You are quiet,”his voice rumbles in my mind.“Are you worried?”

It would do me no good to lie about this. Only a fool has no concerns on the eve of battle.“Yes.”

“Only use your fire magic if you absolutely must,”he says.“Remember that to use it, you take from yourself. You could—”

“I will be careful, my love. I promise.”

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