“Let me out of here!” I cry, my voice echoing through the cell. “Please!”
The only answer is the wind howling outside.
Talons scrape the floor behind me, followed by a low growl. I turn to find three dragon guys stomping toward me. I’m so cold, I can barely speak as I peel the blanket away from my frozen face. Although I can barely see anything through the darkness, I muster an indignant glare.
“If you’re here to kill me, you should know I won’t go down easily. So, do your worst,” I grind out. I’m sure I would sound more convincing if my teeth weren’t chattering so loudly.
One of the alien men rushes into the cells and drops to his knees before me. These guys have lethal claws and fangs. Despite my bravado only a second ago, I close my eyes, waiting for the death blow that I just know is coming.
He grasps my chin in a firm grip and my eyes fly open, finally recognizing Raidyn. Panic and concern are written across his features. “Are you hurt?” He pulls the blanket off my form. “Tell me.”
I’m surprised at how happy I am to see that he’s all right. But I can barely stand the cold. I grip the edge of the blanket tightly, trying to pull the fabric back around me. “I’m freezing to death.” I smack at his hand, still angry that he brought me here in the first place and I’m about to die of hypothermia. “No thanks to you!”
He seems distraught as he wraps his arms around me. Tugging me close to his chest, he runs his hand over my hair. “You will not die, my mate. I will keep you warm. My vow.” He spreads his wings to wrap them around me as well. He’s so large that his massive form practically swallows mine.
And just like that, the romantic in me melts, both at his declaration and at the tenderness of his actions as he embraces me like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him.
At first, I consider struggling, but he’s so warm and I’ve been so cold for the past few hours that I can’t stop myself from nestling into his chest. He rests his chin on the top of my head and runs a hand reassuringly down my back. Almost immediately, I stop shivering as I curl into him.
“You’re not going to let anyone kill me?” I whisper.
“No one will hurt you. I will not allow anyone to cause you harm.” His voice is a low, soft rumble, comforting like a soothing balm over my panicked nerves. For some reason, I believe him. Though I don’t understand why, he makes me feel safe, and right now I’m too exhausted to question the impulse.
He stands, lifting me against his chest. He carries me, bridal style, out of the cell and down the hallway as if I weigh nothing. It’s only now that I notice one of the guards from earlier who brought me the blanket. The one with the dark gray scales. I look over at him. “Thanks for the blanket, but I still don’t forgive you for locking me up.”
Raidyn growls, glaring at the guard. “You are the one who imprisoned my mate, Tai?”
I make a mental note of his name. I’ll make sure he’s one of the first one to get demoted for throwing me in jail.
Tai answers in a string of unintelligible, harsh syllables, but I easily read the regret in his features. Seems he’s worried about upsetting Raidyn. I actually feel sorry for him now—a little. I mean, he did laugh at me, and that was a jerk move.
“I told you you’d be in trouble,” I tell him, then tap Raidyn’s arm to get his attention. His sky-blue eyes turn to me. “If you want to fire him, fine. But nothing extreme like an execution, all right? After all, he did bring me this blanket.”
Raidyn blinks, a hint of a smile quirking his lips, and the guard, Tai, releases a barking laugh followed by more words that I can’t understand.
I narrow my eyes at Tai. “I wouldn’t laugh if I were you, buddy. You’re still on my bad list.”
He laughs even louder, only stopping when Raidyn gives him a dark glare.
“Why can I only understand you?” I ask Raidyn.
“As I explained earlier, it is because you are my fated one. It is a part of the bond between us.”
Fated one.
I remember him saying that before he collapsed. If that’s what he thinks, I’m not going to question him yet. He just got me out of my cell, and I want to stay on his good side. Who knows? Maybe I can convince him to take me back to my people or help me find Lilliana.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome—for an alien, that is. And he has vowed to worship and protect me, words that would make even the most stoic of romance heroines swoon.
“Do not worry, my fated one,” he says. “I will get you a translator chip so that you can understand our language.” He looks to the green dragon man on his other side. “Healer Vonar will install your translator when we reach your room.”
I tense and stare up at him wide-eyed. “Are you talking about another prison cell?”
His wings tighten around me and he nuzzles my hair. “Never,” he promises. “I will never allow anyone to put you in a cage ever again.”
I’m about to ask for more reassurances but stop short when he opens a door to reveal one of the largest and most elaborately furnished rooms I’ve ever seen in my life.
This suite is fit for a queen in one of the books I used to read on the colony ship. A large, four-poster bed intricately
