Chapter 7

Thorne

As we flew over the desert, I couldn”t stop stealing glances sideways at Hanna.

Her dragon was a beautiful, sleek copper-colored creature. It was as bright and shining as her personality.

I”d glimpsed that dragon for the first time through Kaelan”s eyes. I”d felt the same surge of pride and joy that he must have felt when she”d looked at me over her shoulder with mischievous eyes and those quirked, irresistible lips, then held out her arms and let herself fall from the spires of the castle.

Then her wings snapped out, and she”d soared away from me. All I”d wanted was to fly alongside her.

But I had never been the one she was smiling for, and I couldn”t catch up to her.

Now we were flying side by side as I”d longed for...and she was pissed at me.

As we reached the outer edges of the spice kingdom, we turned and skirted along the enormous stone wall---generally unmanned, because it stretched for thousands of miles---and flew along it as our landmark toward the Grey kingdom.

Her gorgeous ocean blue eyes, a window to who she truly was even in this form, tracked back and forth across the wall curiously. Her gaze swept across the little pockets of green oasis that pocked the endless sweep of the desert.

I wished I could know what she was thinking. I”d always appreciated the silence we fell into when we were dragons. Dare was only quiet when he was at peace, and he was only at peace when he was a dragon. But I wanted to hear what was on her mind now.

When Kaelan first met her, his mind was so busy with schemes and plans that he had barely been able to focus on her. But I”d been exasperated, watching through his eyes. While his mind whirled cataloguing defenses and counting guards, I”d been at his mercy for another glimpse of her easygoing beauty. I”d been so annoyed each time Kaelan”s gaze left her to focus on battlements.

It was always so obvious to me, watching from thousands of miles across the sea, that Kaelan would never betray her trust. Still, I”d worn a path down the rug in the library, pacing back and forth, while Dare side-eyed me meaningfully over his books. I”d always been half-in and half-out of our world, part of my mind always mingled with Kaelan”s, waiting for another glimpse of Hanna”s wide smile and bright eyes.

We flew across the mountains, climbing higher into thin air. Fog settled between us, and I lost sight of her briefly. My heart sped until she emerged from the fog again, her long, graceful red wings beaded with condensation. She sneezed, clearing a circle of air around her horned face, and I let out a huff of a laugh. She glanced toward me, her eyes wide, their azure color flecked with silver, then huffed smoke through her nose, her wing brushing mine as she rolled toward me.

Apparently, in her dragon form, she couldn”t stay mad at me.

Maybe there was a bond between us stronger than my asshole behavior. When we changed forms, we were somehow more ourselves than ever before, even though we were scaled and winged.

I wished I could”ve found another way to protect her from Kaelan. One that hadn”t hurt them both so much.

Settlements began to crop up, barely visible through the fog. One shocked farmer stared up at us, his hoe in his hand, his mouth falling open. Dragons were rarely seen in the Grey kingdom.

As we neared the capital city, I found a quiet patch of forest and soared low. Hanna followed me, the two of us finding a clear patch next to the winding silver path of a stream. Low hanging green brushes, heavy with flowers, brushed my wings, and then I was stepping down in my human form onto the soft, damp earth.

There was always a lurch of disappointment in my chest when I transformed the dragon back into a man. As if deep down, we”d all rather be the animal.

Hanna, as a gorgeous, powerful dragon, soared low to earth.

And then she was the gorgeous, powerful woman, her face blossoming into a broad smile. ”That wall stretched forever! I”ve only read about it before. I couldn”t imagine how massive and beautiful it was!”

Then her smile dimmed. I”d felt a thrill when she smiled at me, inviting me to share her joy. Now disappointment filled up my lungs like cold salt water.

”Where are we?”

”We”re outside the capital city. We”ll need to enter through the gates. They don”t need to know they”re being invaded by dragons.”

”There”s only two of us.”

”Two dragons are an invasion,” I promised. ”At least, two dragon are an invasion when it”s the two of us.”

A smile flirted with the edges of her lips before she got it under control. Still, that glimpse of her affection lit a warm glow in my chest, even before she told me, ”Lead on, Thorne.”

The two of us moved swiftly through the trees until we emerged into fields and cut across farmland to read the road. As we neared the city walls, there were markets set up outside, loud and raucous. Hanna glanced around, then at me curiously, but didn”t ask.

Still, I knew she wanted to know everything, and I answered the question she hadn”t asked. ”There are strict rules about the shops and markets inside the city walls---and a high rate of taxation---so there are these market stalls outside.”

”Have you been here before?”

”Yes.”

”What was it like?”

”Dangerous. Stay close.”

She rolled her eyes. ”You are---”

The people milling in front of us suddenly melted to the side as guards left the open gate and began to move down the road. They”d notice we didn”t belong here, given our dress, and I wasn”t interested in inviting questions.

”How much for the cloak?” I asked the shopkeeper at a stall.

His eyes gleamed.

”How about a fair price, or I take it anyway and slit your throat?” I suggested.

His face creased up like a badly folded sheet. ”I wasn”t going to cheat you!”

”Mm.”

He named a price. It was close enough to decent for me not to murder him, but he still looked anxious until I dropped the coins into his hand. I flung the cloak around my shoulders. It was dark grey, the same as everything seemed to be in the Grey kingdom.

Then I caught the edge of the cloak and pulled it around Hanna, bringing her into my arms, hiding her shining copper-blond hair with the dark fabric. She let out a small huff of alarm the second before my lips met hers.

I turned her, my back to the guards. With my dark hair, I blended into the Grey kingdom.

Hanna had never been born to blend in.

She didn”t fight my kiss. My girl was always clever; she understood what I was doing. Her hand slid up my chest, anchoring us together. She kept herself wrapped in the cloak as her face tipped up, welcoming me in.

Slowly, she gave way to my kiss, her hand fisting the fabric of my shirt roughly. Her lips parted, her face tilting slightly to one side.

Hanna had a soft, sweet kiss, all the bite of her snarky speech melting away to reveal her underlying tenderness. Her lips were tender against mine, but the way she pressed her body against mine was full of urgency. I deepened the kiss, barely able to resist unleashing all my pent-up desire for her. I wanted to lick into her mouth, to palm her breasts, to rock my cock against her thighs until they parted for me. But only when—if—she ever wanted me.

The guards” boots stormed past. I pulled away, just enough to be able to see her bright eyes, her parted, swollen lips. Her breath shuddered against my chest, as if we”d kissed each other so intensely we”d both forgotten to breathe.

She looked up at me with an inscrutable expression, and not just because it was dark within the shadows of the cloak.

”Are you mad I kissed you?” My voice had a mocking edge, covering the real feeling pounding in my chest.

”No. I know you had to.” Her eyes narrowed, as if my tone had pissed her off.

Great. I couldn”t stop making things worse.

”All I care about is protecting you,” I reminded her.

”Keep telling yourself that, Thorne.” High color rose to her cheeks, tinting the skin behind her barely-there freckles. Most noble girls would”ve hidden them.

I couldn”t tell which one of us pulled away first. I brushed my hand down my chest as if I were trying to wipe away her scent, the strand of blond hair she”d left across my black shirt. But of course, I could never escape her.

”It’s best if we get clothes that won”t stand out. And if you cover this hair.” I tugged on a strand of her long strawberry hair, and she tossed her head, pulling it out of my grip.

”I have magic,” she reminded me. ”There was no need for that kiss.”

”The city blocks magic just like Caer Far. But... less effectively. Still, it”s safer to just buy clothes than use enchantments.”

”Fantastic,” she muttered. ”Kaelan”s trying to kill us, and we”re going shopping.”

We bought some clothes from one of the stalls. She stepped into the fabric hanging in the back to dress, and a few minutes later she emerged, dressed in Grey kingdom clothes: a band top beneath a cropped jacket and a long, full skirt, with her hair hidden by a beaded scarf.

”You look beautiful,” I told her.

”I know. Where do I hide my knives?”

Soon, the two of us were back on the street and making our way to the magician Ekardo”s house.

The scent of spices and the distant hum of the marketplace filtered through the narrow alleyways of the Grey kingdom, clinging to the afternoon air. I pulled my hood lower over my eyes, casting a sidelong glance at Hanna as we hurried across the cobbled stones; her veil had slipped back, revealing a band of her bright hair, shining as a crown.

Sharp gazes flickered our way. They didn”t linger for long, and that made me even more suspicious. No one wanted us to know they were staring.

”Fix your veil,” I exhaled, and she did, running a thumb under the fabric to pull it forward. But even with her hair hidden, her features were still Isle-born.

The gnomes and orcs fit in better than she did.

I felt the weight of stares boring into us, even though whenever I turned, I didn”t see anyone watching us.

Hanna”s sapphire eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. It was unlike her to ever seem hesitant, but I had pulled her away from every familiar thing into a world she had never seen before.

Ihad never seen the world quite like this, either, with her by my side. Every instinct in my battle-hardened body screamed to protect her from the dangers lurking behind each ornately carved door and inside each alley.

”Thorne,” Hanna whispered, her words barely audible above the calls of merchants and the braying of overburdened donkeys. “We’re attracting too much attention. It feels like they know who I am.”

If they knew who she was, she”d already be a hostage.

”Stay close,” I replied, though I knew it was only a matter of time before---

”Stop right there!” Three guards materialized from the shadows, the emblem of the Grey kingdom---a fierce wolf head---emblazoned on their chests. ”By order of the Crown!”

The lead guard”s eyes lingered on Hanna with a crudeness that made me want to kill. Hanna flashed me a warning look, as if I were the dangerous one here even though all three of them had their hands on their hilts.

By order of the Crown.As if there was any real crown, now that Hanna”s sister had slain her uncle, the former king. Then Honor, busy with her own kingdom, had abandoned the Grey kingdom to the fight for who would reign.

And she had unleashed chaos upon our continent.

”I”ve halted,” I said, spreading my hands to either side in an expression of submission. I was pretty sure it fooled no one.

Hanna glanced around, wide-eyed. I wasn”t sure if her fear was genuine or an act, but suddenly all I wanted to do was push her to safety and snap their necks.

No one would make my girl look afraid.

The street was emptying. Everyone seemed to find somewhere else to be.

”What are you?” The lead guard reached for Hanna, and I tensed, expecting her to break his arm.

But she stayed still, her chest rising and heaving, her eyes narrowed.

He tore the veil away and let the breeze catch the gauzy fabric, which floated through the air until it fell to the damp cobblestones. Caught in the wind, Hanna”s hair seemed to whip around her, as if it were alive. The guards let out a crude laugh.

”Is there a problem, officers?” I demanded, stepping between Hanna and the leering guards.

”Her kind isn”t welcome here,” the second guard spat, his gaze raking over Hanna”s features with undisguised contempt.

Then the third asked, ”But since she is here… What”s the price for a night with the foreign beauty?”

”Mind your tongue,” I warned, low but edged with steel. It was better if they thought she was prostitute than queen, but I didn”t care for that much either.

Hanna”s tension radiated like a bowstring drawn taut.

”Or what? You”ll play the hero?” jeered the third guard, stepping forward with a sneer. ”Let”s see how heroic you feel in chains.”

”Thorne, let”s just--” Hanna began.

”Your whore is ours now,” growled the guard, jerking Hanna toward him.

Fury coursed through my blood. Why the hell didn”t she strike back at him? I knew she could; she must know that the two of us together could end these guards.

”Do we run?” Hanna breathed, looking over her shoulder at me.

I didn”t want to run. I wanted to kill. But she had a point. They might let a prostitute go once we became difficult prey; murder was going to draw far more lasting attention. ”Yes.”

”What the---” the guard began, grabbing for a better hold on her, but she slipped through his grip easily, as if she were insubstantial as the veil. The two of us trampled the fabric as we ran down the street.

”This way!” I called to her as I hooked to the left. I already had a destination in mind.

We started running through the streets. A narrow alleyway, hidden from sight, rose up on our right. ”There!”

Hanna ran into the alley.

I followed her then turned, blocking her in the narrow alley.

”This is a dead end!” Hanna turned in a circle. There was a flash of despair across her face before it settled into decision. ”Thorne, we need to go up--”

”We need privacy,” I told her quietly.

”No,” she told me. ”We don”t need to make enemies in the Grey kingdom. Don”t be a protective dick. I”ve been called worse---”

The guards raced down the alleyway and then the three of them spread out. The lead guard”s eyes were alight, as if he were a hunter who had cornered us and was ready to strike the final blow.

It was funny he thought he had us cornered.

”What”s your business with us?” I asked evenly, meeting the gaze of the lead guard.

Hanna wanted us to melt into the shadows without bloodshed, so I would try.

He sneered, his eyes raking over Hanna.

I wouldn”t try that hard.

”You shouldn”t have brought your prostitute to our good city,” he spat, taking an aggressive step forward. ”We”ll have her examined for disease...”

Hanna”s fingers dug into my sleeve, trying to urge caution. She was a spy, after all. I know she didn”t care how she was perceived; all she cared about was our mission.

But I cared.

I kept my voice level despite the fury simmering just beneath the surface. ”Let us go on our way, and there”ll be no trouble,” I said, though every instinct warned me that trouble was precisely what these men wanted.

And I was happy to oblige.

”Trouble?” The guard”s lip curled in mockery. ”Oh, there will be trouble alright.” His eyes locked onto Hanna”s once more. ”We’ll take the stray into custody. We”ll wash her out with lye and magic and put her to the work you brought her here for.”

I felt Hanna”s shiver of revulsion as if it were my own. The protectiveness that had been a dull thrum in my veins since I met her surged through me, washing out every thought.

”There’s nothing wrong with the people of the isle.” Hanna’s voice was cool and calm. I winced, wishing she”d deny her heritage instead of trying to reason with these men. Reason is a waste of time. Some people only understand violence. ”I’m sure you’ve heard stories, but they aren”t true, and we mean no harm. We”re just passing through--”

The guard”s face twisted into a sneer. ”No harm? What do you call sneaking around an Isle whore, then?”

The world seemed to tip on its axis at that slur, red-hot anger obliterating all else.

”That was one too many insults,” I growled, my hand shooting out, fingers clamping onto the guard”s tunic. I pulled him so close, his breath was foul against my face.

”Thorne, don”t!” Hanna”s warning felt distant as the other guards closed in, swords drawn, their faces masks of fury and contempt.

”Let him go, or you and your bitch will be reunited in the afterlife,” one of the guards snarled.

”I let the first insults go,” I seethed, regretting that enough. I should”ve ended them when they first insulted her. My failure prickled; I shouldn”t have stood by while they insulted Hanna again and again.

My own blade was in my hand without my conscious thought. In a flash of silver, the first guard”s life was over. His body crumpled to the cobblestones with a dull thud.

The remaining guards lunged. One came at me from the left, with a broad sweep of his blade aimed for my neck. I ducked, feeling the rush of air as the sword missed its mark---barely—and countered, my own weapon slicing through the gap in his armor at his armpit. He staggered back, eyes wide with disbelief before crumpling to the cobblestones.

”Thorne!” Hanna”s voice pierced the chaos, a note of exasperation threading her plea.

But there was no time for words. She drew her own sword and knife, ready to fight alongside me, even though the look she threw me was cutting. But she had to know these men were no match for me.

The last guard charged, his face twisted by a snarl of rage though his eyes were wide with fear. He was younger, less seasoned. His attacks were predictable.

I parried and twisted, turning his momentum against him. Then an opening appeared in his side, and I drove the blade deep into his torso. He gripped it with his hands, a look of horror coming over his face, then fell.

When I kicked him off my sword, blood ran down the blade and dripped into the rain-streaked cobblestones.

Panting, I scanned the alley for more threats, but found none. Slowly, I turned to face Hanna. Her blue eyes were ice, her expression unreadable.

”They should not have called you a whore,” I said mildly.

”Did they deserve to die for it?”

”Yes.”

She looked as if she wanted to argue with me---or leave me---but she merely bit her lip. ”We need to hide the bodies. We don”t need to leave a trail of mayhem for our enemies to follow.”

”Mm.” I didn”t mind mayhem if it kept her safe.

We needed to use magical objects within the city to have any hope of our magic working. So I did that now, stacking the bodies, sprinkling them with Alys”s herbs, and igniting them.

In moments, their bodies were nothing but dust, swirling around the alleyway in the wind.

I would do anything to protect her.

Even if she looked slightly nervous about me now.

If I seemed insane, I”d always been insane when it came to her.

I wanted to know what she was thinking, but she had a distant, tense look to her face, and I wasn”t sure how to bridge the distance between her. How could I win her over when my every gesture of affection seemed too cruel for her? And yet, she didn”t seem to mind Kaelan”s cruelties.

”I don”t need you to protect me at the cost of our mission,” she said stiffly, and as my gaze flew to her.

No, she wasn”t nervous.

She was pissed.

”They can”t raise any alarms now.”

My quiet, certain response seemed to inflame her. Her eyes widened in anger. ”Don”t pretend that”s why you made the decision you did. You were running on emotion, not reason. Just like when you tore me away from Kaelan.”

I shook my head, denying her words.

”I don”t need you to be stupid for me,” she said, each word deliberate, hot. ”I”m not yours to protect.”

Each word burnt through me.

Kaelan was always controlled and calm and manipulative. That was part of what Hanna loved about him. He was always purposeful. His cold face, carved with marble, rose in my mind, along with the way Hanna looked up at him sometimes, with affection shining from her beautiful eyes.

Kaelan didn”t deserve her, but maybe that didn”t matter.

”I didn”t think you were,” I said harshly. ”Let”s move.”

We made our way across the city in silence.

When we knocked on the magician Ekardo”s doors, I glanced at her again. ”Are you still angry with me?”

”I”m going to be angry with you for a very long time.”

”I”ll try to care,” I told her.

She huffed a breath and swiveled to give the door all her attention, as if the wood were a scintillating conversational partner.

A window swung open, and a face peered at us through the bars. A tall, dark haired magician stood on the other side of the doorway. ”What do you want?”

”You can tell you”re friends with Alys,” I said. ”You two are both so warm and friendly, you must have been drawn to each other.”

”Alys?” His brows arched. ”How do you know Alys?”

”She”s my sister.”

He glanced me over, then scoffed, as if that seemed unlikely.

”Come around the back of the house,” he said. ”I”ll let you in there. Hurry... I don”t want anyone to see you at my door.”

We went around. He swung the door open for us. He was taller than I had realized at first as he took a step back, giving us a warm smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

As I stepped inside, pain suddenly burned across my arm. Maybe I”d been stung by an insect.

Blood slid down my forearm in a hot, angry trickle. I stared down at it, realizing that I had just been wounded.

“Out!” I shouted at Hanna, trying to make sure she at least made it back out of the room.

I charged at the magician, but the room was fading to darkness. He took a step back, barely eluding me… and he was gone. Lost to the shadows. The smoky scent of powerful magic hung in the air as I searched for another target. I reached for my sword only to find I had somehow been disarmed.

The doors slammed shut just as Hanna reached them, the light outside narrowing and narrowing. It looked for a second as if she would make it to the doors just in time to lose her hand to their momentum as they slammed shut, but she skidded to a stop just in time, letting out a curse. She cast a frantic look over her shoulder at me, blood running down her arm too from a cut as she touched the door.

Then I lost her to the dim light as the echo of the doors slamming shook the floor beneath us.

The only sound was my ragged breathing and hers.

But I knew we weren’t really alone.