Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“More or less. But it’s worse than that. It’s like the dark makes their brains sick.” She puts her hand on her chest. “When they bond with their mate, it’s like…having a flashlight in that room. It’s enough light to keep most of the madness at bay, but it’s still there, and still surrounding you, if that makes sense. The babies are something special, though. Because they’re half human and half drakoni, it’s like they’re able to use their mental powers fully in this world. Their minds are so bright…” For a moment she looks sad. “Or so I’m told. When Jurik connects with Luminoura, it’s like someone turned the hall light on and that light is spilling into his dark room. It pushes a lot of the darkness away, and he’s drawn toward that light. It’s different, but it’s powerful. That’s why he doesn’t seem as crazed to you. Without her light calming him—and Dakh—you’d see a very different drakoni.”
“So you’re told?” I echo, curious. “You can’t feel your baby?”
Her expression grows sad again. “I can’t, no. When she’s older, maybe she can connect with me but for now, only Dakh can feel her. I can only feel Dakh because he shared his fires with me. It’s just…how things are.”
I look over at the bulky dragon-man holding the tiny sleeping baby, and they both look as content as could be. So the little one has an impossibly bright light in her mind, and without it, Jurik is in darkness. That makes me sad. “So I’m nothing more than a flashlight?”
“I’m explaining it badly.” She shakes her head. “It’s more like…his own personal light. Or rather, it’s like he can see in the dark now. He knows the dark is there, but it doesn’t smother him like it did before.”
And this is why Azar wants dragons bonded with women. So they’re not crazy and attacking the fort. So they protect it, instead. In a way, it makes sense. “I see.”
“You’ll understand more when you bond with Jurik. I’d tell you that you don’t have to, that you’re free to do what you want, but we both know that he’s not going to give you up.” She grimaces. “But drakoni with their mates, it’s not like a human man with his wife. It’s different. Soul-deep. You’re never alone again. And best of all, you’re not tied to a fort for safety.”
I force myself to smile at that. “Bonus.”
She’s wrong, though. Even if I “mate” with Jurik and we become bonded so we can talk, I still have to go back to the fort. It’s not because of myself, but because of others. It’s like Azar knew what would force me to stay in line and pulled those strings deliberately.
No matter how much I like Jurik and the thought of a soul-deep bond, I won’t abandon the fort. I won’t abandon my friends. I know they wouldn’t abandon me.
Jurik rubs his knuckle lightly along my cheek, reminding me that he’s hovering close nearby.
“While we’re on the subject of the fort,” Sasha continues, waving a hand. “Your man keeps peppering Dakh with questions, but I need to warn you. You don’t want to go back there.”
“Why not?”
“The fort is run by a bad man—”
“They’re all bad,” I break in, thinking of the mayor we had before. He was awful. I’d never felt so unsafe while under his rule. It’s different under Azar. I find Azar creepy and his zombie dragons unsettling, but me personally, I’ve been fed and kept safe. I feel an odd sense of loyalty to the strange man.
“No, you’re not listening.” She squeezes my hand tightly. “He came over with the dragons, and he was a bad man there. He’s a worse man here. You need to be careful—”
Jurik growls, and pries Sasha’s hand off of mine, leaning over the table as if he can protect me from her.
Dakh immediately bristles as Sasha retreats backward, and then the room is filled with vibrating tension. Luminoura—the baby—wakes up and begins to cry.
I get to my feet, pushing Jurik backward and away from the others. His eyes are whirling with black around the edges, and I remember what Sasha said. I’m his light, and he thinks someone’s hurting me. He’s going to lose his shit, because we don’t have a bond yet.
The baby wails louder, even when Sasha moves her dragon-mate’s side and takes her from his arms. Dakh looks…dangerous. Gone is the placid father, and in his place is a black-eyed dragon, his shoulders hunched as if it’s taking all that he is not to attack Jurik for daring to touch Sasha.
“Maybe we should go,” I say over the wails of the baby.
“I think that’s a good idea. We’ll have to talk more some other time,” Sasha promises, lowering the front of her dress as she offers the baby her breast. Her gaze flicks to her mate, and she looks concerned.