One.
“They also informed me that he’s hunting for The Shade’s missing princess. Is that right?”
“It is,” Kaan rumbles from just behind my left ear. There’s a lengthy pause, then, “This male did more than simply … capture you in Gore.”
Such a dangerous, prickly question, passed to me like a freshly sharpened weapon I’m wary enough to handle gently. With careful precision.
“Correct.”
He steps so close I’m engulfed in the dense aura of his body heat, a shiver crawling up my spine despite his welcome warmth. “Would you like to enlighten me, Moonbeam?”
My mind tunnels back to a churn of red hair, the smell of blood, soft pale skin that was too cold when I pressed my lips against it and whispered an acrid goodbye—
“He took someone from me,” I rasp.
“Who?”
There’s menace in his voice.
Fiery, ferocious menace.
I swallow, battling the urge to release another violent shiver, his electric rage feeding the feral part of me chafing for release. “Someone I loved.”
A heavy beat of silence, and I can feel the thump of his thoughts like tumbling boulders clanking against each other. “Was he the one who whipped you?”
The words are blazing coals—too hot to handle. Give them a single breath of life and they’ll incinerate.
I leave them there. Don’t touch them or feed them. Don’t even acknowledge their sizzling existence.
I believed Kaan when he said he wouldn’t kill Rekk, understanding the political implications if he were to harm him on Burn soil. I also believe there’s a line that borders that well of self-control. A line I can sense, just like I can sense him standing behind me. A firm, hot-blooded male containing a churn of barely tethered rage.
Sometimes, it’s best to leave things unsaid.
“How long will he be here, being escorted around the city?”
“Another few cycles, perhaps. He’s thorough. I suspect my brother’s emissaries are here to scope our military weight more so than to hunt for his missing daughter, so I’ve got them under arrest in their guest suites.”
A streak of lightning momentarily splits the sky. “Do you know where he plans to go after he’s finished here?”
“I had his saddlebags searched after they were removed from Líri.”
When he says no more, I turn, looking up into broody eyes that see so much.
Too much.
His arms are crossed, the sleeves of his black tunic rolled to the elbows, his hair held back in such a loose bun that tendrils hang around his face. He’s the picture of savage regard—a fierce, sturdy presence. With his beast at my back and this massive, impenetrable male at my front, I should feel small.
I don’t.
He’s only ever made me feel vast. Mighty, even. And perhaps he’s right.
There’s something big brewing within me. Something monstrous. I don’t want to be here when it bursts.
“Well?”
Resolve softens his eyes. “He’s heading back to Gore to chase down a lead. Most dragons can’t fly for as long or as far as Rygun can, so they’ll likely stop at Ovadhan on the way for supplies, then again at Bothaim.”
“The city that straddles the border between The Fade and The Burn?”
“Correct. Neutral territory. Home of the Tri-Council Citadel.”
I nod, my eyes unfocusing, mind ticking. Tracing.
Weaving.
Neutral land.
I snap my attention back to Kaan, opening my mouth—
“I will have everything arranged for your departure once Líri is healed, and will do everything in my power to keep Rekk in Dhomm until the dae after you leave the city.”
A wrestle of words dies on my tongue as a warm sprout of knowledge nestles between my ribs.
He’s letting me go rather than clipping my wings and telling me all the valid reasons why I shouldn’t do this. Rather than telling me we’re yet to have our conversation or demand he come with me to assure I don’t remove him from my mind.
Rather than shackle me in any way, shape, or form … he’s blowing me back to the wind.
My chest becomes heavy with the weight of a realization too multifaceted for me to ponder right now—with itchy feet and a whirring mind and bloodlust nipping at the tips of my fingers.
I can understand why Elluin loved this male with her entire heart …
He threads his hand around the small of my back, tucking me into his chest, warm lips brushing against my temple. “Come back to me, Raeve. To us.”