Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 62488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“Yes. Perdita and I brought you here,” he confirmed.
“It says the minute a dragon rider touches his mate’s skin, that the bond starts forming,” I hesitated. “But I wasn’t awake for that part, which I assume is what happened.” I licked my lips. “Can you tell me how?”
He nodded.
“I will start from the beginning and tell you everything, okay?” he offered.
At my nod, he started to tell me how he came to find me.
“Did I look bad?” I asked hoarsely once he got to how he’d found me.
He nodded.
No sugarcoating for Nikolai.
“Was I…was I wearing clothes?” I asked.
It was something I’d meant to ask…yet couldn’t find the courage until now.
I didn’t really want to hear the answer; although, I knew I needed to know, if only for my peace of mind.
“Yes. Skylar, my sister, said that you had no internal injuries. She looked when I was out of the room,” he said hastily when my eyes went wide.
I nodded.
“She also said that your injuries were life threatening, and you probably wouldn’t make it through the night,” he said softly.
My eyes widened even further.
“Then how am I alive right now?” I asked bluntly.
He turned to the side, then pointed down at the tattoo.
“Our bond,” he said simply.
“So our bond has healing abilities?” I asked carefully.
He shrugged.
“I guess. I don’t really know,” he hesitated. “All I know is what you know from that book in your hands. There are a few things I learned from Keifer; but, to be honest, he’s just about as clueless in that department as I am. No one even realized this was possible until he mated with Blythe.”
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
“So we’re mated for life?” I asked.
He nodded.
“And there’s no way to break this bond?”
That last question was met with a narrowing of his eyes.
“Death,” he barked.
I held my hands up.
“Whoa there, dragon slayer. I was only wondering. You know you wondered the same thing. You’ve had two months longer than me to come to terms with this. I’ve had a little over an hour,” I growled.
He looked down at his hand, opening and closing it into a tight fist.
When he didn’t say anything more, I continued onto my list of questions.
“It also said that I would share your powers,” I said.
He nodded. “You do.”
“I do?” I asked. “Which ones?”
He grinned.
“I have a little bit of telepathy. I can make some damn fine illusions.” He ticked the numbers off on his fingers. “I can detect heat by infrared. I can move things with a thought of my mind. And there are times that I can channel another dragon’s powers if I am touching a bonded dragon rider or dragon. Make zones of protection around myself. Just different things.”
I blinked.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“What else were you expecting?” he challenged.
I held my hands up.
“I just mean I thought you might have super strength…or control fire,” I teased.
His face relaxed.
“I can do that if I’m touching my brother’s dragon, Declan,” he said. “But a dragon rider gets their powers from their dragon. And Perdita is a shadow dragon. She is originally from the caves that line a certain mountain ridge in the old world. She does her best stuff in the dark, which is where I excel,” he continued to explain. “Whereas Declan, Keifer’s bonded dragon, is a fire dragon. He does the more obvious things that you would expect a dragon to do, such as breathe fire.”
“And you think I’ll be able to control these powers?” I bit my lip.
He nodded. “You already exhibited ‘the bubble’, as Keifer likes to call it, when you were out in the rain. It’s pretty good for protection.”
“Sound protection, or protection against arrows?” I asked.
He laughed.
“Arrows?” he snorted.
I nodded. “Y’all don’t get shot with arrows?”
He shook his head.
“Not for a very long time…if ever. I haven’t…Perdita might’ve, though,” he paused thoughtfully.
I have. I don’t like arrows. And no, the shield doesn’t protect against them, Perdita offered lightly.
I smiled at Nikolai.
“So, what now?” I asked once it’d been silent in the room for a couple of long minutes.
Nikolai sat back in his chair.
“I guess we date,” he finally offered.
I nodded.
“How long are we supposed to date?” I asked curiously.
He raised a brow at him.
“I guess until you decide it’s time to move to the next step,” he supplied.
My brows lowered. “And when will I know what that is?”
He snorted.
“You’ll know. And when you know, you’ll let me know,” he quipped cryptically, offering me his hand.
I took it, and he led me to the shower, turning the knobs until it was at a good temperature.
“Now, get in here and get dried off before I have to call my sister and ask her what I’m supposed to do for someone that has pneumonia,” he ordered.
I was cold, now that he mentioned it.