Page 52 of A Kingdom of Shadows

A world that is also so easily destructible.

Darius suddenly descends, and the jolt in my stomach has me laugh, earning myself a rumble of approval from him as we near the woods and he dodges between trees.

As he rises once more, he starts going faster. I grab onto him again, shouting, "Slow down!" But he doesn't, and I lose my footing on him. There's a moment of panic before I realize what he's doing when he swivels his head at me, showing part of his fangs as if he's smiling.

I raise my brow, giving him a look that says, "Don't you dare," before he rises himself into a straight angle and I fall backward, screaming. My breathing quickens, my arms flail to the sides, and I can't see Darius because my hair is flapping all over my face. Raging, I shout his name, and as I lock my eyes shut, hurling into the trees and the earth below, something grabs my arm and pulls me into a secure position.

Prying one eye open, I look to my right, where talons are curled around my arm. As I glance up, I see Darius tip his head to the side before diving into the woods and releasing me onto the ground. I'm coated in sweat, adrenaline charging through my veins. I press a shaking hand to my chest when I suddenly hear the crackling sound of magic as Darius shifts behind me.

I turn and hardly give him a second before I shove him. "You said you wouldn't drop me!"

"I said I wouldn't let you fall to your death. There's a difference," he rephrases it with a grin. It makes me want to punch him—no, it makes me want to rub dirt all over his clothes and watch him whine like a child about it.

"I knew I should have said no—" I start muttering, moving past him, but he clutches my arm and swings me around to him.

"And then what?" His eyes narrow as pine trees block the sun from his face. "I heard you up there. You were happy for once."

His words strike me for a moment because he sounds so genuine.

My expression falls before I build it back up again with armor at the ready. "I don't need you to fly me around so that I can feel happy." Yes, I do. Fly me everywhere. Fly me to the stars, the moon, and the world beyond us. Please don't stop even when I'm too stubborn to say otherwise. I shudder those thoughts away and lift my chin at him. "I'm content as it is."

He doesn't listen to the beat of my heart this time, despite me attempting to lessen the chances of it thumping too loud that anyone would likely hear anyway.

Instead, he shakes his head, and a forced chuckle escapes him. "If you think I can't tell when you're lying without me listening to your heart, then—" He closes in, and my mouth dries at how he lowers himself to whisper upon my lips, "—You underestimate how much I know you by now, Nara."

My eyes betray me as I stare at the curve of his mouth, their closeness, and that if I am just to jolt forward, our lips will touch. "Then—" I swallow, "—Then you tell me what makes me happy if you know me so well by now." I step back, flustered and heated, but Darius's heavy gaze flickers past me.

"Nara—" he starts to say, but I shake my head.

"No, don't. You know what? I don't want to know; in fact, I will tell you right now—"

"Nara—" His tone is more of a warning now, and I scowl at him as he tries to reach for my hand.

I slap it away. "Will you stop—"

A twig snaps over my shoulder. Darius's arm wraps around my middle, spinning me around as he places his palm over my mouth and drags me behind a tree.

What in Solaris?

I shout into his hand, dropping my head against his chest as I glare up at him, but his eyes are alert, peeking past his shoulder. His grip on my mouth loosens as I follow the direction where he's looking at. At first, all I notice are huge crusty feet with long molded toenails on moss-toned flesh. Then I see two massive trolls go past where we were just moments ago.

I scrunch my brows, staring at their bulbous noses and wart-filled faces. Flies swarm them as they scratch and pick at their nose.

"Wait until Yago sees the animal I've got," one of them, built and hairless, says. His voice is nasally and old as he lifts a branch in mid-air.

"That's no animal, you idiot." The other smacks his head, grunting before pausing and sniffing the air. "Oi, you smell that?"

Panic threads through me as they both start looking around.

"Human," the troll says, a sinister excitement blending in with his voice.

Darius's grip around me tightens. I look up at him, eyes wide as I try to reach for my blade.

"Impossible." The first troll hacks up phlegm. "A human can't be here."

"Believe it, Fleet looks like we've got ourselves a treat tonight if a human is about."

Their grating laughs have me wincing. I begin thrashing in Darius's arms, knowing the trolls will find us if we do nothing, but when I look over my shoulder at him, his eyes are closed—concentrating.

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