A table and chairs carved of the same wood sit off to one side, on the gray carpets covering the stone floors. A deep impression in the far wall reminds me of a fireplace. Several tapestries line the walls, depicting dragon men both in humanoid and dragon form, surrounded by natural landscapes.
The room is breathtakingly beautiful.
My lips part as Raidyn carries me toward the bed. Panic grips me. Does he want to have sex? I haven’t even come to terms with this fated bond thing yet. As he bends forward to lower me onto the comforter, I place a firm hand on his chest. “I—I’ve never done this before. I’m not ready to make this official yet, all right?”
His brow furrows. “We will not mate until you are ready. I am merely setting you down so that Healer Vonar can install your translator chip.”
I glance to the side to find the green Healer dragon, Vonar, approaching me with what looks like a cross between a blaster and a syringe. Immediately, I start crawling backward, curling in on myself when my back hits the headboard.
Raidyn spins and growls at the Healer while his tail wraps around my ankle and halfway up my calf. Although I would never admit it, the touch is comforting somehow.
I grip Raidyn’s arm. “You wouldn’t let him hurt me, right?” I ask, watching Vonar warily.
He turns to me with a softer expression, cupping my face. “It will sting a moment, my mate. But that should be all.”
My eyes widen. I have terrible pain tolerance. Desperate, I try to scramble away, but Vonar’s hand whips out to wrap around my forearm and pull me toward him.
I scream out with panic.
Raidyn nearly loses control as he snarls and snaps at the man, who quickly backs away, both hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.
Vonar growls something unintelligible to Raidyn.
Raidyn’s shoulders and head drop. He turns to me. “Do you want the translator?”
I blink. He’s giving me a choice? Despite his reassuring words, I was still worried that I was a prisoner. On one hand, I hate the idea of pain, no matter how minimal, but on the other, it would be nice to understand the aliens without having to rely on Raidyn for translation.
Misreading my hesitance as a rejection, Raidyn’s sends me a look somewhere between devotion and concern. “I do not mind translating for you, my mate,” he whispers. “If you do not wish to wear a translator.”
He really means it; he won’t force me to get this device implanted. Touched, I reach out and take his hand. “Thank you,” I murmur. “But I think I need one.”
His gaze holds mine for a moment before he dips his chin in a subtle nod and then turns back to the Healer.
Vonar steps forward with the device that looks like an instrument of torture, placing the injector behind my left ear. I grip Raidyn’s hand tightly, gritting my teeth as I wait for the inevitable pain.
A sharp click behind my ear followed by a fiery sting makes me gasp. I tremble slightly, struggling not to cry out as the pain spreads across the back of my skull like fire. I double over, clenching my jaw as tears swim at the edge of my vision.
“What is wrong?” Raidyn snaps at Vonar. “Why is she still hurting?”
Vonar’s mouth drifts open. “I—I do not know, my prince. I—”
The pain disappears as quickly as it started, and I lean back. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, I rub the spot behind my ear. “The pain is gone. Thank goodness,” I mumble to myself. For a moment, I was worried something had gone wrong.
Raidyn places two fingers under my chin, tipping my head up to meet his blue eyes. “You are well, my beloved?”
Despite the rational part of my brain insisting that I should be protesting his declarations of love and devotion, I find myself leaning into his touch as I give him a faint smile and nod. “I’m fine now. It still burns a bit, but it’s getting better.”
He turns to Vonar. “Give her your healing fire.”
My brow furrows. “Healing… fire?”
“Yes. Vonar is of the Earth Clan, able to heal injuries and pain with healing fire.”
He says this as if it’s a logical, run-of-the-mill ability.
I tense as Vonar leans in, but I remain still, waiting to see what he’ll do. If I know anything at this point, it’s that Raidyn would not allow anyone to hurt me. So the fact that he’s not flipping out right now means that I’m safe.
Vonar’s warm breath whispers across my skin and the pain fades away to nothing.
When he pulls back, I reach behind my ear, pleasantly surprised when my touch doesn’t hurt. “How did you do that?”
“It is our healing fire,” he repeats patiently.
I turn to Raidyn. “Do all of you have this ability?”
He shakes his head. “Each Clan can breathe either frost fire or flame, but only the Earth Clan can heal with theirs.”
As strange as it sounds, I don’t question him further. All I want to know is what they plan to do with me now.
The Healer places his fist to his chest and bows slightly. “I am Healer Vonar.”
“I’m Skye.” Without thinking, I extend my hand to shake his but immediately recognize my mistake when Raidyn growls low in his throat behind me.
Eyes wide, Vonar backs away. “Forgive me, Sire,” he tells Raidyn.
“Forgive him? For what?” I turn to face him.
Raidyn’s voice is a low grumble as he stares daggers at the Healer. “For speaking to my mate.”
“I can’t speak to anyone now?” I ask incredulously.
He shakes his head firmly. “Not until we are properly mated. You cannot present yourself to him either.
