Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven
They stared at each other for a moment: one unmovable, the other fighting desperately for release.
Isla bared her teeth and snarled at him. “Woah,” she hissed. Luoen’s actions immediately stilled. His nostrils flared, his legs shook. The black stallion facing them relaxed as well. Now able to lean forward, Isla realized the amount of power he’d been using to stay rooted.
The Prince let out a deep breath and shook his head, a gesture she was starting to find extremely annoying and repetitive. As he approached her, he brought the rope in, ensuring if she tried to escape again he would have better leverage. He didn’t stop until he sat directly beside her and their horses stood head to tail. Sylvan reached over to stroke Luoen’s neck but she pulled on the reins so her horse wouldn’t have to suffer his touch like she did.
He laughed through his nose. “Friend of yours, I take it?”
“The next man who tries to ride my stallion will die at the bottom of his feet,” she threatened with a growl.
He raised his brows sharply once and nodded. He licked his lips as he looked straight forward. “My men found him outside of the ward the other night. I should have known it was you who left him there.”
“And the other?” she asked, wondering if his men had found Noah and his horse as well.
Sylvan looked back at her, curiosity and something else she couldn’t quite identify flickering in his gaze. “Other?”
“Did you kill him?”
“Him?” he asked, that unidentified emotion expanding to something she thought she could almost recognize as jealousy.
“Based on your echo, I’m assuming you only found Luoen,” Isla surmised. She tapped her heel into Luoen’s side, coaxing him forward. But, after only a foot, the rope around his neck snagged. Isla let out a breath.
The black stallion backed up a few steps until they were once again side by side. “Do you honestly think I’ll let you ride on your own now?”
“What were you going to have me do before?”
Sylvan shrugged and spread his elbows with a pointed look down at his lap.
Isla laughed. “In your dreams.”
He leaned over the space separating them and sent her a devastating smile that made her breath catch in her throat. “Is that the dream that brought you to my bed last night?” he asked.
Isla narrowed her eyes and looked forward. “I wasn’t dreaming of you,” she hissed between her teeth.
“Then what were you dreaming of?” he asked, his voice a whisper.
“Sand. Now, can we go?”
Sylvan chuckled and spun his stallion around. Both horses pinned their ears and squealed. “Hush now, the two of you.” He looked at her and winked. “There’s really no need to fight it. Just give in.”
She rolled her eyes, knowing he wasn’t talking to the horses anymore. She tapped her heels again and Luoen moved forward. The rest of the camp was waiting for them. The man who had been sitting astride Luoen glared until the Prince looked his way. His head dropped in submission as he rubbed his sore ass. Isla smiled and patted Luoen’s neck, who reciprocated with a contented flick of his tail.
In the next moment, the giant black dragon landed with much more grace than one would expect a multi-ton beast to maneuver. Luoen didn’t so much as flinch.
“Impressive,” Sylvan said under his breath beside her.
“What good is a war horse if he can’t sit beside a dragon?” Isla muttered.
Sylvan chuckled. “Fair point. How does the road look ahead?” Sylvan asked the dragon’s rider. She recognized him as one of the men who had come into the tent the day before. Even without her heightened scent, she could smell the ash coming off him in waves. It had taken her five seconds to understand who he was.
The rider raised his voice to be heard from the distance in which he sat above them. “Clear. Beautiful open skies and nothing but a few tradesmen heading to market on the roads. Should reach Aerhart by dawn,” the rider called.
“Dawn?” Isla asked, turning to give the Prince a questioning look.
“I figured it would be best to ride through to the castle,” he said, but then smiled and leaned over the space between them. “Unless you’d wish another night cramped in my tent with me. Perhaps tonight you’ll dream of more than just sand but rather what you’d like to be doing on top of it?”
Something touched her leg and Luoen pinned his ears. She swatted the feeling, thinking it was a fly. “I’d rather sleep on the deck of a squid fisherman’s boat,” she growled. The pestering gesture continued and she huffed before looking down. Then she realized it was the dragon nudging her leg for attention. Once she made eye contact, the dragon started to purr. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she whispered, scratching the underside of its maw before flattening her palm and stroking it gently. “I thought you were something else.”
The men around her were silent. She glanced around at the shocked expressions. None more so than the man sitting atop the beast.
“What?” she asked in confusion. She’d never been near a dragon, but it had pestered her. Was it not appropriate to touch a man’s dragon?
“He doesn’t normally like being touched. No dragon does,” the Prince explained, his jaw set and anger flashing in his silver eyes, making them look sharp enough to cut through crystal. “Especially by women.”
“Unless they’re the dragon rider’s…” She looked up at the man staring down at her with a red face who gulped in fear as he met Sylvan’s eyes. “Mate.”
“Go. Now,” Sylvan ordered, his voice dark and deadly.
The dragon rider nodded eagerly while casting a suspicious look her way. He spoke to the dragon in a foreign language she’d never heard before. The dragon gave a whine but stood to its full height, flapped its wings and took off to the sky. The Prince kicked his heels into the black stallion’s sides, making the horse grunt and flick his head back in aggravation. Isla smiled. The emotion in the Prince’s expression was no longer subtle or hard to distinguish. He was furious. Furious with jealousy. How confusing. How fun. She bit her lip as the rope caught Luoen’s neck and he jogged to catch up to the black war horse whose hooves pounded the ground in annoyance at his rider.
“How very interesting,” Isla pondered aloud. She looked upward at the shadow circling the moving troops from above. “He was rather cute. Perhaps this mate thing is something we could have your permission to explore, Your Highness?”
It was the Prince’s turn to bare his teeth and snarl but no words could escape his roughly clenched jaw.
Isla laughed softly. “Perhaps it’s not sand I’ll dream of tonight, but clouds and fire.”
Sylvan’s hands tightened against his reins and the muscles of his arms bunched as he yanked backward. His horse’s mouth opened and he fought against the pressure of his master’s grip. Sylvan reached across the space between them and Isla gasped as he caught a fistful of fabric between his hands and hauled her closer to him, nearly causing her to fall to the ground. Luoen squealed and the two horses knocked against each other. Sylvan’s breath was short and sharp and fanned her face with its proximity. His blackened eyes gave nothing away, yet told her everything. Though the blackness hid his retinas, she could tell they moved from her gaze to her lips and back. She could hear the clamber of the men moving around them to avoid stopping but she could not take her eyes away from the enraged male beside her who was one more taunt away from shifting. But… she couldn’t help herself. After all, he had made her his prisoner. It wasn’t her job or duty to make it easy for him.
“What’s the matter, Mate Killer? Afraid of a little competition?”
The snarl he wore shifted and though it morphed into a smile, the expression scared her more than the latter. The Prince closed the remaining distance between them. Isla’s shriek of surprise was swallowed whole by Sylvan’s mouth on hers. He stole the air from her lungs as he maneuvered his lips skillfully against hers until they parted for his further exploration. Isla liquified in his touch and, where once he was pulling her toward him, now his strength was holding her up. His tongue flicked against hers and she moaned. Then he shoved her back. Their lips disconnected with a sloppy smack. Isla wavered slightly in her saddle, overcome with the passion he’d just displayed… the possession.
Shaky fingers raised up to touch her swollen lips and her wide eyes swiveled to stare at him. His own lips were wet from their kiss but he didn’t do anything to dry them. His eyes were no longer black but gleaming silver and the brief smirk he flashed her was filled with boastful glory. He leaned toward her again and she jerked backward in case he had ideas of repeating the maneuver.
Instead all he did was whisper, “No, Isla, I’m not afraid at all.”
He sat back in his saddle, spine straight and prideful smirk firmly in place. He urged his stallion forward again with a far more gentle nudge. She sat frozen, shocked into stillness. Her fingers remained over her lips where she could still feel the raw power he’d reined in to only taste rather than devour. Her first kiss and it had been stolen like everything else… Yet… It felt like she’d always imagined… Like she’d always dreamed it would be when she’d found the right person… Her fated mate. The rope caught Lueon’s neck and the stallion made a disgruntled noise deep in his throat before trudging forward, his head hung slightly in shame. Isla looked ahead at the man now riding a few strides in front of her and wondered how the hell she was going to survive being at his mercy.