Page 126 of House of Ashes
“You are that other draga,” he breathed in my ear. “You always have been. So let’s stop playing games and pretending neither of us knows where this is leading.”
Was it fire or ice that spilled through me? I would be lying if I said I hadn’t suspected, but to hear it out loud, my wildest hopes confirmed…
“Rhylan, we can’t.”
“By whose decree?” His hips slowly thrust up against me and I bit my lip. “Who says I can’t claim you? Who would dare to stop us?”
He released my hair, gripping my wrist and holding me down.
“I’ve wanted you for years and now you’re fucking mine,” he growled. A stifled moan of assent escaped me, my hips moving against him, inviting him to take me now, to make his claim, leave his mark…
He wrapped claws around my other wrist, his teeth grazing over my neck, pawns sweeping from the map as it shook under our weight—
A soft gasp in the door halted everything.
I heard the metal pawns ringing as they hit the floor, my own panting, Rhylan’s growling breaths…and we both looked up to see Nilsa standing in the door, clutching a letter in both hands, her face…utterly twisted with an emotion I recognized all too well.
Hate. She hated me, with a venom so fierce it seemed to ooze from her in a solid wall.
At that moment, I appreciated her hatred, because it cleared my mind of the cloud of lust, the bright spark of meaningless hope…
The terrible mistake I had been about to make.
Rhylan brought me upright with one smooth motion, but he didn’t push me away or hide what he’d been doing. Instead he tucked a loosened lock of hair behind my ear. “What is it, Nilsa?”
The Bloodless girl swallowed so hard I heard the click in her throat from across the room. “We’ve received a letter from Doric, your highness.”
Both Rhylan and I looked at her sharply. “What is it?” I asked, striding forward to take the letter from her.
Nilsa held it tight for a few seconds, refusing to relinquish it, and I met her blue gaze. The hatred still burned there, but I didn’t care about that.
I cared that she would disrespect me so blatantly, when I could sink my claws into her and draw blood for that insolence. Only my feelings for Rhylan and respect for the people of his eyrie kept me from making such a move.
And it was cruel of me to feel that way. I wouldn’t be surprised if she despised me because she was in love with Rhylan herself.
But I would not tolerate it from Nilsa. She seemed to read that in my eyes; her lips twisted, but she finally released the letter.
I turned my back on her, slitting it open with a sharp thumbnail and pulling the parchment out.
My blood ran cold at the words on the page.
“You’re right about the exiles,” I said, handing it to Rhylan. “They’ve moved in on the outer edges of Orisien territory, a town called Zerhaln. We’re needed.”
He took the letter, scanned it quickly, and dropped it on the map. “You’re not coming.”
“I— excuse me?” I stared up at him. “Yes, I am. I’m your mate, Rhylan, you can’t go alone.”
“Viros removed all the safety precautions from the harnesses last night. I can’t fight Kalros and worry about keeping you on my back at the same time. And for the record, no, I am not your mate—not yet.” His blue gaze speared me, as sharp as a physical wound. “Which means I’m not obligated to take you into the thick of battle. Not so long as we don’t have the mind-speech.”
I was breathless, as though he’d sunk his fist into my gut. It cost me precious seconds to respond, and he’d already turned on his heel and started striding away when I spoke. “What do you want me to do, force the bond to happen? Our agreement was that we go together, as a pair.”
He glanced down at me when I caught up to him, but his long strides were carrying him quickly. “That’s not in the agreement at all.”
“It might as well be,” I snarled. “What’s it going to look like if you show up and I don’t?”
If he truly left without me…he would crush what little reputation I had left to bank on.
I would look like a coward, too frightened to fight battles alongside my mate, too arrogant to believe I would be needed. I refused to let my House be looked down upon as cowards as well as murderers.