She narrows her eyes. “You make it sound like your offering us shelter and aid would mean we had to trade our freedom in return. Is that right?”
A low growl rumbles in his chest. “We do not condone slavery.”
“Well, what you’re offering my people certainly doesn’t sound like true freedom,” she counters.
“She is right,” I tell them. “The females will feel as though they have to choose a male that we place before them. And—”
“Enough!” my father growls.
Durzain steps forward. “You will lead us to your people so that we may retrieve the females from the desert and bring them back here.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not going to help you find my people. I don’t trust you.”
His brows shoot up to his forehead. “You do not trust us?” he asks incredulously. “You and your people are the reason the prince,” he gestures to me, “was so grievously injured earlier. Is that not right, my king?” he asks.
My father’s eyes lock on hers and it is easy to see that Durzain’s words are seeping into his mind. He is so lost, my father, and so easily swayed. I have known this, but never before now did I consider the danger of allowing him to remain in power until now that my cousin seeks to bend him to his will.
Father levels her with a menacing glare. “Durzain is right. Her people tried to kill you and yet she would question our intentions?”
Skye steps forward. “We thought he was attacking us. We—”
“Silence!” he snarls. He motions to one of the other guards. “Take her back to her cell while I decide her fate.”
“You cannot!” I growl.
“I am King, not you,” he pushes through gritted teeth. “I do this for you, my son. Can you not see that? Her people are a threat to our species.”
“They are not—”
Cutting me off, my father turns to Tai. “Take her back to her cell. Now!”
Tai grimaces in apology and I growl low in my throat.
Without warning, I shift into my draka form and scoop Skye up with my claws.
She cries out in surprise as I race out the door and into the courtyard. Extending my wings, I beat them furiously to climb into the air, desperate to escape with my mate.
Behind me, Tai roars a battle cry. I turn to find him chasing me as we ascend through the clouds.
With my vision obscured, I call to him. “Do not pursue us! I don’t want to hurt you, Tai, but I will if I have to! She is my fated one; I will allow no one to harm or imprison her!”
He pulls into line beside me and I spin, ready to fight.
“You should know better by now, my prince.” He dips his chin in a subtle bow as his blue eyes meet mine. “I am merely giving chase as you head for the western border. I will report your last location to your father.”
I grin, for I am heading south, and he knows it. Tai is not just my guard, but also my friend. He knows where I will head for shelter to hide my mate. “Thank you, my friend. May the winds guide you safely.”
“And you as well,” he replies, then circles back toward the castle.
Skye’s small form trembles in my clawed hand.
“It is all right, my mate,” I reassure her. “You are safe.”
“Where are we going?”
“Far from here. To a place that my father will never think to look for us.”
“Please, don’t drop me.” Her voice is tiny, barely a whisper. She probably believes I cannot hear her, and I suspect she has forgotten I can sense her thoughts through touch in this form.
“I promise I will not let you fall.”
She stills. “You can really hear my thoughts while you’re a dragon?”
“Yes,” I confirm. “Can you sense mine?”
“No.”
Her answer settles in my chest like a heavy stone. Why would the Gods gift us with the fate bond if she can neither feel nor understand its pull? Why does the fate bond mark not glow on her chest as it does on mine?
Perhaps this is a test. Perhaps I must prove that I am worthy of a fated one. Since my mate cannot recognize the bond and accept its pull, I must earn her love and prove to her that I am a good mate. I will do so gladly.
First, I must get her to safety. Away from my father and my cousin. I pray that Varus’ people have already found hers.
Myriad thoughts float through her mind untethered as we soar through the sky. Images of her friend, the strange female with fire-red hair, fills her mind. Despite my attempts to reassure her, she worries about her friend.
But I suppose her anxiety is natural. This world and its people are new to my mate. She trusts me, but my cousin and father have made her wary of me as well. This knowledge is like bitter acid in my throat, but I resolve that I will change her mind. I will show her I am worthy of her trust and that I will do anything to keep her safe and happy.
We approach one of the floating islands along the southern border and a twinge of sadness plagues me as the house comes into view. This was my mother’s favorite retreat when I was a child. We came here many times.
As far as I know, my father never visits the house. The memory of my mother is still too painful for him. That is why I know he would never think to search for me here. He does not know that I have returned to this island a handful of times since her death. I do not speak of my visits because we do not talk about her—ever. The loss is overwhelming, even after all these cycles.
The image of a strange young male floats to the surface of Skye’s mind and my nostrils flare at an unfamiliar saline scent, reminding me of the vast oceans
