He reaches up and gently brushes the teardrop away with the soft pad of his thumb. The gesture is so sweet, it makes me cry even more. It’s been so long since anyone treated me so tenderly. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to lean into his touch.
When I open them, he is regarding me with a softened expression.
“Why do I feel so comfortable with you?” I whisper, not realizing I’ve voiced the thought aloud until the words have already escaped my lips.
His gaze travels over my face like a gentle caress. “Because you are my fated one—my linaya. I feel the same as you.”
His words puzzle me. “Fated one? What are you talking about?”
He lifts our joined hands to his chest as he stares deep into my eyes. “The moment I first saw you, I felt the pull of the fated bond. I knew then that you were mine and I was yours.” He pauses. “And when this happened, I knew it to be truth.”
“When what—” I start to ask but trail off as I follow his gaze to the center of his chest. His red scales begin to glow in a strange, swirling pattern beneath my palm. “What’s that?”
“The fated mark only appears when a Drakarian finds his fated one—his linaya. It happened when I found you. At first, I knew by sight, but this”—he points to the glowing pattern—“proved my suspicion. However, I was uncertain whether you felt the pull, as well. Whether your species was even capable of bonding. No Drakarian has ever bonded with an off-worlder before.”
I gape at him. “I don’t understand. You think we’re destined to be together?”
He nods, his expression resolute. “Yes.” He thumps his fist to his chest. “I feel it here. You are my mate.”
“But we barely even know each other,” I protest.
“That will come with time,” he replies matter-of-factly.
I look down, unsure of how to reply. “My people don’t have a… fated bond.”
He places two fingers under my chin and tips my head up. “I can see this is strange to you, so I wish to reassure you I will never ask you for anything you are not willing to give. If you need time to learn more about me before deciding to take me as your mate, I will wait until you are ready.”
His words are comforting; he won’t push me into anything I don’t want. However, this all seems to be happening so fast.
I need to get back to my people.
As if reading my thoughts, he glances at the food he cooked for me last night. “We must find the rest of your people. But you should eat before we leave.”
I’m eager to return to my friends, especially Skye, but he’s right. After living on emergency rations for the past week, I’m unwilling to waste food. Especially a meal that’s been cooked to my liking.
We sit across from one another and I watch him eat, my mind turning over his conviction about our fated bond. He truly believes we are destined for one another. It’s a lot to take in, and I’m not sure I buy into his belief. How can we possibly know that we’re right for each other? Not only are we two different species—we met less than twenty-four hours ago.
He bites into another raw chunk of meat as if it’s delicious. For some reason, his eating habits don’t bother me as much as they did yesterday. Despite lying to me about his nature, I still trust him not to hurt me. After all, if he wanted to, he could have done so a hundred times over by now.
When we’re finished eating, he heads for the ledge, scanning the area for any sign of danger or the storm worsening. Satisfied that it’s safe, he turns back to me. “Stand back while I transform into my draka form. I will prove to you that I did not lie. I may be the ‘dragon’ you saw, but I vow I will never hurt you.”
I nod, mentally bracing myself for his scary other form.
That’s another problem. I’m terrified of his dragon form. How will we overcome that?
In a whirl of dust and wind, he transforms in the blink of an eye.
The last time I saw him like this, I was on the verge of passing out due to the toxins tainting my blood. This time, I’m able to study him.
My jaw drops and I freeze in place. Varus is an enormous, towering dragon—I mean, draka—covered in deep-crimson scales. He flicks his long, tapered tail as he lowers his massive, horned head. His reflective, green-rimmed pupils contract then expand as he meets my gaze. His nostrils flare, drawing in my scent before he releases a quick huff of air that nearly knocks me over. A nervous laugh escapes me as he gently nudges my arm.
“Varus?”
He tips his head slightly to the side and arches a brow, touching the tip of his wing to my arm. “Who else would it be?” he asks, and I notice a slight upward quirk at the corners of his mouth as he teases me.
I guess this form isn’t so bad now that I know it’s Varus, not a strange monster.
Lowering his body, he extends his front leg. “Ready?”
I’ve never been particularly nimble, and my nerves make it even more difficult to scale his leg. Something wraps around my waist, startling me for a moment, before I realize his tail is carefully helping to lift me onto his back. He places me directly over his shoulders.
The long spines lining his back and tail are flattened, I notice. Probably to avoid accidentally spearing me while I’m riding him.
Once I’ve settled in, he turns to scan the ground below the cave.
“Uh… Varus?”
He turns his massive head toward me. “Yes?”
“You won’t drop me, right?” I grin nervously.
His draka lips curl up in an approximation of a smile. “Never, my mate.”
His words make my heart flutter in my chest.
Chapter 15
Varus
As Lilly sits on my back,
