by KC Kingmaker
I gritted my teeth and clenched my eyes shut, scared I was going to roll off and splatter on the ground below.
We went up and out, over the city, and when I finally found the nerve to open my eyes, the sight below was beautiful—
The people staring up at us looked like ants. The houses were tiny boxes I could’ve squashed with a heel.
I felt so powerful, even with my knuckles turning white from clutching at Coalt’s spikes so hard—even though it wasn’t my power.
I was one with my dragon shifter.
WITH EACH FLAP OF COALT’S huge wings, we glided further along the pristine sky.
It was the best feeling in the world, just like he’d said.
Once we were well beyond the gates of Cerophus City, leaving the place behind in a swirl of heavy wind, I relaxed a bit.
The wind rushed through my hair, blowing it all around my face, yet it wasn’t very chilly up near the clouds because Coalt’s wings and neck actually protected me from the draft.
I felt freer than I ever had before, like I could take on the world from atop this dragon’s back.
We glided through the sky peacefully for a while. I wondered how far we’d gone. In the sky, I felt a bit lightheaded.
Then there was slight turbulence in the air and I thought it was the strong wind pushing against Coalt from being so high up.
But no—
His neck jerked and wings wobbled. I latched onto spikes with both hands as he swayed.
My stomach dropped as we began to plummet. I couldn’t stop the hysterical scream from escaping my lips, and now the weightless feeling was terrifying.
But Coalt was ready for it.
He rode out the disturbance, drifting along the sky like he was riding a wave. We seemed to be floating at a certain altitude, and then whoosh, we were plummeting a few hundred feet. He recovered every time, until I could make out the trees and the plains below.
All the jerky rhythms were making me air-sick. My stomach lurched and I thought I would vomit. But the last thing I wanted to do was lose my dinner all over Coalt’s brilliant scales. I didn’t know if they were waterproof.
I kept it in, despite not feeling nearly as free and liberated as I had before. And speaking of dinner—
My stomach coiled again and I gasped. My backpack!
In my anger to be apart from Coal after jumping into the fray to save his ass, I had left it at the fucking warehouse.
Ugh, all those stale muffins from Blythe, and the food from Clive’s wife . . . wasted. And the tent! We’ll freeze to death!
I had worked myself into a proper panic by the time Coalt landed with a hard thud on the prairie grounds. He galloped his four legs to stay upright with the momentum and keep from somersaulting.
When he slowed to a stop, he made a mournful, guttural sound, collapsing to his knees.
I hopped off just as he was beginning to shapeshift back into his Unscaled form.
He was on his hands and knees like a dog when he came to, panting heavily.
I rushed over to him with his clothes, draping them over his body. “Coalt! Are you all right?” I put a hand on his shapely back and felt the strong muscles contracting with spasms.
Heat knotted in my belly and dampened the juncture at my thighs. His body temperature was sky-high.
He nodded wordlessly, still gathering himself.
“H-Hey, at least you didn’t hit any trees this time!” I stammered, trying to cheer him up a little.
The shifter rolled onto his back, giving me an eyeful of his glorious front and all the impressive appendages and muscles, but I quickly averted my gaze because I felt dirty just ogling him when he was clearly in pain and trying to catch his breath.
“Couldn’t afford it,” he gasped, his voice pinched.
“Afford what?”
“To hit any trees. Had precious cargo this time.”
The smile he shot me was pained but wide, and I chuckled. It was nice he still had a witty sense of humor even in his current state. When I’d first met Coalt Firesworn, I thought he’d been a man incapable of fun. He had seemed so serious and stern, but the more I got to know him, the more I realized he could turn off his badass-ness like a faucet.
The warehouse? A time for badassery. But now that we were relatively safe in the wilderness? He could let loose a little.
A short while later, Coalt seemed as good as new. In fact, it seemed like the shifting had rejuvenated his spirit. He was still reeling and sapped of energy, but there was an intensity about him that radiated off his body like living fire.
He shrugged himself into his clothes—disappointingly, in my opinion—and tied his sword belt around his waist.
We weren’t near a road. We were literally in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded on all sides by a sea of tall grass. “Any idea where we are?” I asked hopefully.
He scratched the top of his head and twisted this way and that. It wasn’t a good sign.
“Um. Sort of.”
I raised a brow. “You don’t seem too sure of yourself.”
“I’m always sure of myself.”
“Understatement of the season, Coalt.”
He turned to me with a smirk and I blushed. Somehow, his almost laughable amount of confidence was a turn on. It was somewhat of a joke at this point.
He pointed a thick finger in the distance. “We need to go that direction. I do know that. Do you see that outline of trees?”
I squinted. In the darkness, it was impossible. I mean, maybe those darker blobs against the dark sky were trees? “Not really.”
“Ah, right. Weak Unscaled eyesight.”
“Shut it.” I cuffed his shoulder.
He scoffed and pretended to wobble in place like he was going to fall down. When he turned to me, our eyes met and silence fell over us.
Oh, shit. Not this again.
In that moment, it wasn’t hard to realize I was falling for him again. The way my body reacted to his proximity, even though I’d wanted to rip his head off just hours earlier . . .
He reached out and gingerly tipped my chin up to him. “I am sorry, Leviathan. For all the hurt I’ve caused. For everything.” His voice was velvety and smooth. In the moonlight surrounded by wilderness and gently swishing grass, it felt incredibly romantic.
Before the moment could escape, I clutched his shirt, went on my tiptoes, and shoved my lips against his.
My eyes closed as our lips gently parted, our tongues tangling together.
The kiss started off gentle but it grew in passion and intensity as the seconds passed. It was the only way I knew how to do it with Coalt.
Our bodies fit together flawlessly when we embraced. When his warm hands explored my skin, it brought out blissful feelings I’d never known before.
In short, I couldn’t not give the bastard another chance.
“SO LET ME GET THIS straight,” Coalt said. “You want to get the dragonrune sword and bring it back to Chief Garnu. Alone—”
“Not alone,” I interjected, raising a finger. “You’ll be hiding in the shadows like a sneaky serpent.”
He chuckled. “I’m not very stealthy, in case you haven’t noticed.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, your arrogance might be holding you back, making you a loud presence. But we can change that.” I shot him an innocent smile and he just rolled his eyes.
“Anyway,” he drawled. “You bring the sword back to Garnu. You collect the Sheets. You follow him when he takes it away—”
“Sneaky like a shadow.”
“—then escape and tell me where he’s stored it. I come in, blow down the house with fire—”
“Or your wings or feet—are those considered arms, or legs?—”
“—and fly off into the sunset with the sword in hand.”
“And me on your back. Yes. That about sums it up.”
He eyed me warily. I couldn’t say why I was so energetic and chipper, but I felt like it had to do with our little breakthrough and t
he fact I’d just been flying through the fucking sky.
“I don’t know, Levia . . .”
I waved him off. “Oh, don’t be such a sourpuss. We’ll make it work. What makes you think these forest fae people will have the sword, anyway?”
We had been walking for hours through the night. I knew we’d have to stop soon. But while the terrain was flat and passable, it made sense to put as much distance between us and Cerophus City as possible.
Plus, I could see the trees in the distance now, and we both seemed excited to be getting to this fabled fairyland.
He shrugged at my question. “What other leads do we have? I have to imagine, or hope, that the Sleepershade was a clue meant to alert me. Maybe we’ll have someone working with us for a change?”
“Wishful thinking never got me very far.”
“Aye, nor me,” he muttered drearily.
We set up shop shortly after finishing with our half-baked plan—not that we had much “shop” to set up. My tent was gone. The furs were gone. All we had were the clothes on our backs.
We just had to be thankful it wasn’t as chilly as the past few nights, though it probably would become frigid and unbearable again over the coming days, knowing our luck.
We found a patch of boulders to rest against so we wouldn’t be completely out in the open. The boulders and small cliffs rising on the plains every so often appeared as if the gods had tossed them here eons ago, or possibly cracked the earth with a fist to smash the turf together.
It took about five breaths of sitting with my back against a boulder for my eyes to start getting droopy.
“I’d like to teach you some fighting techniques tomorrow, Levia. Perhaps when we get a break in the hike.”
His voice sounded far away. I had the vague presence of mind to know he was sitting right next to me. “I thought I was pretty good at the warehouse,” I mumbled, blinking slowly.
“You were amazing. I never knew you were so skilled.”
“You learn a few things from life on the streets.”
“Yes, it sounds like a rough time.”
“I don’t need your pity, Coalt.”
“It’s not pity,” he said gently, and I felt his warm hand on my shoulder. It nearly jolted me awake.
Yes, he was right. It was empathy. Something I didn’t know dragon shifters were capable of.
He continued. “I just feel if we’re getting into more danger, there’s always more to learn.”
He was right about that. Coalt was a trained soldier, as he’d shown by fending off eight attackers while I had watched in stunned amazement. It had taken me a moment to realize he was probably going to lose—or have to shift into a dragon to win—before I’d jumped into action.
If I was ever going to fight back-to-back with Coalt Firesworn, I needed to learn some of his battle tactics from years of training. It definitely couldn’t hurt.
And perhaps it would bring me closer to him.
“Sounds good to me,” I said dreamily, starting to drift off. I tilted my head and rested it against his strong shoulder. Strands of his auburn hair tickled my cheek.
I smiled as my eyes closed shut. There wouldn’t be any sexy times now, not when things were so tenuous and unsure between us.
But for now, this was enough.
22
Coalt
I didn’t want to let Levia know how exhausted I was since shifting. It had taken a lot out of me and I didn’t want her to think me weak.
The truth was I desperately needed my dragonrune sword because each shift was draining more and more of my life force. Before too long, I’d have little left.
I had no idea what the Miran Forest would have in store for us. It had been the home of the fringe forest fae for generations. I had to pray to Fernus that it would lead us closer to our goal.
Yes, our goal.
Leviathan had surprised me yet again, by seemingly forgiving me. And this came after I thought all hope was lost—that her penchant for discarding unwanted men was too high for me to transcend. Then she had made a plan, however underdeveloped it might be, that would benefit us both.
She was a true team player, willing to compromise and toss aside differences for the greater good.
After seeing how fiercely she fought and how fiercely she loved, my respect grew for the Unscaled woman tenfold. She was teaching me about things I didn’t know I lacked—things that had never been an issue for a dragon prince from the Summer House, such as the notions of empathy, willpower, forgiveness, and even devotion and patience.
She was an amazing woman and partner, and someone I’d be grateful to call my mate. If we made it that far.
We had already consummated whatever it was we shared. Now I could only try to build on that and not piss her off any further. Because if there was one thing I knew about Leviathan Sunfall, it was that she deserved respect, and she could hold a grudge if you didn’t show it to her.
Something mysterious about her bubbled close to the surface. Deep-seated anger and resentment. It showed itself in the sorrow often passing across her lavender eyes; the way she knotted her hands into fists.
I thought after all I’d learned about her, I was beginning to understand where she came from. But I was now more lost than ever.
In truth, I didn’t know a thing about her past, which was where I assumed her rage sprouted from.
I’d never so freely and openly discussed my past with anyone before. And there was still so much to tell her.
At first, I’d thought I couldn’t trust her, like any Unscaled savage. I’d always known them as an inferior race to the dragon shifters. But there was nothing inferior about Levia.
My hope was she would share the intimate details of her own past, in time. When she was comfortable. I would try not to pry too deeply, though I was so intrigued.
For now, I simply needed to let things play out.
Don’t take the dominant role in this relationship unless she absolutely asks for it.
Be more patient. Don’t let my usual frustrations take over. Our connection is tenuous at best right now, so don’t let that thread snap.
And most of all, don’t fuck up again.
THE NEXT MORNING, WE hit the road early. Or the plains, rather, since there was no road to speak of.
I saw the disappointment on her fair face when she noticed how far the Miran Forest truly was. The shadows of last night had played with her depth perception, making it seem closer than it was. If anything, we still had a day of trekking just to get to the edge of the trees.
Once we were inside, well, it would be much different than the woodlands from before. The slog would be twice as burdensome.
We began our travels without anything to fill our bellies. She’d accidentally left her backpack in the warehouse at Cerophus during the heat of our argument. I tried not to let her think too much about it lest she be reminded of said argument. I wanted to try to steer her as far from that unhappy moment as possible.
With our stomachs grumbling, I assured her I would find us food before too long. I was a skilled huntsman, and we wouldn’t starve out here in the wilderness. Not on my watch.
With the high sun baking us as we trudged through the plains, she spoke up.
“Tell me about these forest fae, Coalt. What can I expect?”
I snickered. “Well, the first thing to toss aside are expectations. You can’t do that with these people.”
I looked over and saw a frown on her face. I slowed to let her draw up alongside me, then I put a hand on her shoulder. “I only mean the forest fae are a tricky bunch. We will be okay.”
“It sounds like you know from experience.”
“Yes. These are not the knee-high fairies of folklore, my dear.” I let the “my dear” slip, but tried to recover before she could tense up or make any kind of disapproving face at me. “They will not grant you wishes and they probably won’t approve of us encroaching on their land.”
“You mean the entire forest is
theirs? Because it looks huge.”
“Indeed. They settled the Miran ages ago. The fae are an ancient people—they inhabited Caan before dragons did, in fact.”
Her head shot up. “Oh? I didn’t know that.”
I nodded. “Are you aware Caan is not our home plane?”
“Nope. Didn’t know that either.”
I smiled at her. “That’s a story for another time. Anyway, the fae are not a gentle, miniature people. They’re magical, yes, but just as likely to steal the clothes off your back as they are to provide you anything useful.”
She let out a low grumble. “And these are the people we’re placing our trust in to help find the dragonrune sword?”
I sighed. “We have nothing else to go on, do we?”
“True. Tell me more about them, please. I find this stuff fascinating.”
I was happy to oblige—anything to make Leviathan content. “Well, let’s see. The ‘forest fae’ are called that because they’re a fringe society of a larger people. They’ve cut themselves off from fae civilization—any civilization—and have grown rather feral because of it.”
“And dangerous, it sounds like.”
“Absolutely. When we approach them, just make sure to stick close to me.”
“I was planning on it.”
She took my hand in hers, threading our fingers, and a sense of longing bloomed inside me. The dragon shivered up my spine, aching for release.
It felt so right to be holding her hand, and even more unexpected. It was a simple gesture for her to make yet it meant everything to me.
I gave her a small grin and noticed the coy blush of her cheeks. It appeared we were both walking on eggshells.
“In fact, they’ll probably find us before we find them, so there won’t be much ‘approaching’ needed on our part,” I said, continuing where I’d left off, as if nothing extraordinary had just happened. “Miran Forest is thick and difficult terrain, so we’ll have our work cut out for us. Only the forest fae truly know their way around every branch of—”
I froze as movement dashed across my peripheral vision—a shadow in the tall grass.