Chapter 2

"Take me with you." Ali's blue eyes grow wide as soon as the demand leaves her mouth.

She's out of my reach now, though I could easily scoop her up and press her to me, as all my instincts roaring through me seem to demand. I grit my teeth though, pressing down a smile.

Her foot taps against the ground, her brow furrowed and hands on her hips. She's so defensive, this little Starbound woman, so fierce, despite her slight frame, delicate features and innocent sky-blue eyes. She barely reaches my shoulder, and despite our size difference, I know she'll fit me perfectly. Every inch of me. My hands ache with the need to touch her.

So does the rest of my body.

"Well?" Her chin juts up. "Shouldn't you be happy? I just said I want to go with you somewhere."

A small smirk raises the corner of my mouth, and I narrow my eyes at her. She's a sly one. For all the sweetness she showers on the servants I've hired, the sweetness I've seen her use on her sister and Danielle, Ali is clever and plays on her innocent appearance. And she's mean. To me, only ever to me… not that I don't deserve it.

She's planning something. I can tell immediately, from the way she holds herself, the way she bats her eyelashes at me now like I'll ignore the fact she despises me.

But as sly as little Ali is, I'm no fool either. There's always a reason, a why.

"You want to come with me," I repeat slowly, scratching a hand through the morning scruff on my jaw. "Did I hear you correctly?"

"Yes," she says, and I don't miss the flicker of doubt and fear that flashes in her gaze, quickly hidden.

The answer to my unasked question darts through my mind, and I seize on it. She wants to leave Ulson, the seat of my power, because she plans to run. My mouth twists to the side in barely hidden amusement, and I cross my arms over my chest. Is it my imagination, or do her eyes flicker to my muscles there? Curious, I flex one, just to see what she does, rewarded with her throat bobbing before she drags her gaze back to my face.

Not so unaffected by me after all, for all the fire she spits at me. It's fire I deserve, after what I did to her, out of my mind in my scorpion form. I like it. I like that she has a backbone, for all she hides behind her too-sweet fa?ade with everyone else.

Maybe it's not too late to have her see reason about our mating bond.

To have her see me.

"Why would you want to go with me, little Ali?" I step closer, to see what she'll do. "You have made it clear just how little you like to be in my presence. Why would you want to go on a month's long journey with me?"

Let's see how well she lies.

She tosses her hair, and the light flaxen strands catch the golden light behind her, making her appear angelic, a deity crowned in starshine. I know better. Her spirit is more like the fire of the Vrayan sun, and it burns as hot as my lust for her, leaving me as cold as the Ulson desert night, thanks to the guilt I can't quite rid myself of.

"Why shouldn't I want to leave? It's not like I've made great memories of this place, what with you nearly starving me to death." Her eyes turn watery, and familiar bitterness rises in my throat. "Besides, my sister abandoned me here, and…" Her voice drifts off.

"I hurt you, and for that I can never apologize enough." I narrow my eyes at her, watching a fat tear roll down her cheek, her blue eyes seemingly guileless. If she thinks to manipulate me with tears to get her wishes, then she'll be surprised to find I've already made up my mind. That I'd decided before I sought her out this morning.

I have no doubt my woman wants to flee, and thinks to do so on the road. I tilt my chin up. High, wispy clouds float across the sky. Foiling her escape plans could become a nuisance, but there's no way she will succeed.

"It will be dangerous," I hedge. "You will be much more comfortable here. Sleeping on the road is not as exciting as it seems." It only seems fair to give her an opportunity to rethink.

A thin shoulder shrugs. "It's not as if I sleep great here anyway." Ali's expression is tight, and she squeezes her eyes shut, running her hands down the same dress she's been wearing since she tore through the portal to Vraya weeks ago. This pain… this isn't an act.

I hear her nightmares every night. I know I've caused them.

The regret washes through me. I wish it had been different between us. I wish I had been myself. I will never forgive myself for what happened to Ali, for what I unknowingly did to her.

"I have some conditions," I finally say.

Her mouth opens in surprise.

I hold a hand up, no doubt stopping another cutting remark. "You will travel with me."

"Of course I will, that's what I just asked for." She rolls her eyes.

"You will travel on my horse. With me," I clarify. Keeping her tucked in tight to me as we travel will be the sweetest torture. I shouldn't enjoy the way her eyes narrow in irritation, but I do. She thinks to hide behind meaningless words and sunshine around everyone else, but I see her. I see her jagged edges and her hurt and I like it all.

"Fine."

"You will wear the new clothing I purchased for you. It's appropriate for travel. You'll be more comfortable in it."

She nods her head once, scrutinizing me.

"You will sleep on my pallet at night. Beside me," I can't help the grin on my face now.

She shakes her head so vigorously blonde hair cascades across her face. "No. I don't want you touching me."

A low growl builds in my chest. "I would never touch you like that, not unless you asked me to. Your sister and Danielle have told you the same; that is the greatest sin for our kind." I step closer to her, and she's mad enough that she doesn't back away. I want to stoke that anger, until she's unreasonable and fiery again. I want to see what she'll do.

My torso brushes against her, and I tuck her wayward hair behind an ear. Her face is a cold mask, shutting me out completely.

I lean close enough to brush my lips against her ear. "You'll be begging me to touch you before our trip is done, just wait, little Ali. You'll see." I grin at her.

Fire flashes in her eyes. Her hand raises, but I easily catch her wrist in my fingers, stopping her before she can slap me, or rake her fingernails across my skin.

"Do you still want to come with me?" I raise an eyebrow, knowing this is the true test. If she really wishes to escape me on the road, she'll say yes despite how much I've angered her.

"I have a condition of my own." She tilts her head back, perusing my face.

"What?" She might not know it, but I'd give her the three Vrayan moons if she wished for them.

"You can't shift while I'm with you." A shiver wracks her body, her gaze veering to the shade trees lining the courtyard.

"Agreed," I say slowly. I hadn't planned to anyway, considering how clearly my Ali has shown her distaste for my other form, not unless we were to meet extreme danger on the road. Agreeing is no small feat, but I'm not helpless in this form, either.

She tilts her head, the same strands I tucked behind her ear falling loose again. "You promise not to touch me?"

"I will touch you if you require aid."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," she snaps. A furrow forms between her eyes, and regret pounds through me. She thinks so little of me.

Backing away, I hold my hands up, the universal sign for surrender. "I will not hurt you, not in any manner."

Her frown signals disbelief. An eyebrow arches high, and I know she's thinking of what's passed between us. I swallow hard, sick over what she thinks of me, of what I did to her. Curse or no curse, I've hurt her. I'm not sure I can repair it, but, stars above, I will try.

"Here, let us swear on our agreement." I offer a hand, my palm up.

Cagily, she stretches hers out to meet mine, and I take it, my rough hands dwarfing her elegant fingers. "I swear to abide by our agreement, I swear it on the stars above and below."

She repeats the oath, our hands entwined, and a dull light flares around her. If she's surprised by it, she doesn't show it, her gaze distant. The pull of the mate bond is even stronger between us now, and a fresh surge of guilt rushes through me. I should have explained the binding nature of the sacred oath, explained how it's unbreakable. I forget too easily how little she knows of the Starbound ways.

It's too late now.

"Only to Donniri—" her frown deepens, her struggle to remember the name clear.

"Donnora," I supply, suppressing my grin.

"Right. That's what I said. Only to Donnora lake and back to your home," she says, as though she's reassuring me that she'll return here, which makes me all the more certain of her plan to run as soon as we are out of Ulson. She hates it here, only forced to stay because it's dangerous everywhere else, and she's been weakened by her stay in the tower.

"Our home," I correct, one corner of my mouth lifting in a smile. I could ask her to swear another vow, one that says she won't run, but my directive to ride with me and sleep beside me was binding enough. If she runs, she'll be pulled back to me with the force of the oath between us.

She glares at me, lips pinched thin, hands on her hips.

I grin fully at her, relishing the challenge. Relishing the idea of sleeping next to her every night, having her body against mine as we ride across the Vrayan countryside to Donnora.

She is already mine, even if she refuses to acknowledge it. Ali is a challenge, and I've never backed down from one. I won't start now. My smile intensifies, and her calculating gaze darts between my eyes.

Despite the cloud hanging over our relationship, I am happier than I've been in years. A century, even. Maybe ever. A large bird of prey soars overhead, wings shading us temporarily. We both look up, and I don't miss the small tremor of fear that passes through Ali. My jaw clenches, happiness evaporating in light of my mate's clear panic.

"It is a hawk," I say softly. "It's not… not one of them. We took care of them." The harbingers, I mean, but I don't say it, not wanting to further induce her fear. They attacked in force weeks ago, nearly dragging her with them through the sky when I was out of my mind and trapped in scorpion form. They haven't shown up again. As far as I know, we killed their whole pack. I don't say that either, not wanting to tempt fate. Tempt it any more than we already have, because it may not be clear to Ali, shifting nervously in front of me, eyes glued to the sky, but fate is at work here, with us. With everything that's happening in Vraya.

"When do we leave?" she finally asks, still tracking the bird's progress overhead.

"As soon as you are dressed and ready. I already have the necessities packed."

"What about my stuff?" She sniffs, though this is the first I've heard of her considering anything I've given her to be hers.

My grin stretches wide, and I push my hair from my eyes. "That would be part of the necessities, would it not?"

Realization dawns across her face, and her scowl deepens. "You were taking me anyway."

It's my turn to shrug, and I make it careless, flippant. "You will stay by my side. You are safer with me."

"But you, but you," she stammers, her expression growing more thunderous by the second. "You made me agree to your conditions. Goddammit, Lesath."

"What can I say, little mate," I pause, sizing her up. "You're not the only one with ulterior motives."

For once, I'm glad that we have not yet mated, and that her Starbound powers are yet untapped, still locked up tight. Because the slant of her mouth and the set of her eyes promises violence. Furious, she wheels away, practically running from the courtyard.

I should feel guilt, even now.

Instead, I rub my hands together, altogether pleased with how my plan worked out.