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Radence was nestled in a deep valley between some of the highest peaks in Északi, all of them dusted in white year-round. It was almost as if the Iron Crown had been brought to life by the Goddess and nestled over the brow of the valley, declaring the expanse as sovereign territory. At the edges of the valley, small farms dotted the landscape, and my sharp Dragon eyes spotted cattle, goats, and sheep herded along by fluffy black and white dogs. The city was densely packed, rings of stone buildings circling one that perched atop a rocky hill in the center of the city, its black spires piercing the sky like iron swords.
“See that tall building in the center?” I asked, pointing to it.
She nodded, following the direction of my finger. “That is the seat of the Iron Realm, Ryza Citadel. It is where King Azim lives.” I swung my arm to our right, where the obsidian frames around the reflective windows were barely visible. “And that is our home, Roc Palace.”
Her teeth chewed her lower lip as she squinted toward the distant palace. I wanted nothing more than to take her home and into my bed so I could suck that lip between my teeth instead. The heat from that image headed straight to my groin, and I adjusted in the saddle to relieve the friction between my pants and the leather. “You’ll see it as we get closer. It is meant to blend in.”
“How much longer will we ride?” she asked, covering her eyes with a hand as she sought Roc in the distance.
“Why? Are you eager to see your new home?” I purred, trailing my knuckles down her ribcage and eliciting a shiver.
She swallowed as she twisted her body to face me. Fear and arousal filled my nostrils, mixing with her rosy scent, concocting a combination more intoxicating than the finest whisky in the Iron Realm. Her aquamarine eyes scanned my face through thick black lashes as she chose her next words. “I am eager to train again. I miss having swords in my hands.”
I cocked my head, a wicked grin playing on my lips. “Are you planning on stabbing me in my sleep?”
Her cheeks flamed, a guilty expression flashing briefly before disappearing beneath the cool mask she loved to wear. “No.”
She did not elaborate, and I did not believe her. I would provide her with a dagger once we arrived, just to see what she would do with it. Our faces were only a breath apart, and she glanced at my lips before returning her gem-like eyes to meet mine. My hand mapped a path from her ribs to the back of her neck, my fingers threading into her thick locks. Her scent was pure ecstasy as I hovered my mouth above hers. I murmured, “Have you finally accepted that we are mates?”
She was taught as a bowstring beneath me, her breaths shallow and her lashes fluttering. Her mind may not believe it yet, but her body said everything those pink lips did not.
I could wait no longer to taste her.
Crashing my lips against hers, I forced my tongue into her mouth and kissed her deeply, tasting a hint of plum as I did so. Fuck, she was incredible. My fingers tightened against her scalp, trapping her in place as I snaked my other hand around her waist, pulling her petite body flush with mine. A soft whimper escaped her lips as she relented, allowing my tongue to dancewith hers. The softness of her lips and hair beneath my fingers drove me mad, and I tightened my grip on her waist. She melted into me, arching her neck to give me more access to her mouth.
With a growl, I yanked her head back, breaking our kiss before I did anything reckless. Her face was flushed, those pink lips plump and bruised from my attention, and her round eyes fluttered in time with the rise and fall of her chest. Releasing my hold on her, I picked up the reins and steered my horse in the direction of our home. Witnesses to our passionate embrace sat silently atop their mounts, and my sprite ducked her head as we passed them.
She acted sheepish, but she wanted it every bit as badly as I did. Drazen shot me a suggestive smirk, his Dragon senses as acute as my own. But he didn’t have to ride half a day behind her, every breath brimming with her heady scent, like I did. There was no hiding the hardness that dug into her damning backside, but she did not move away from me as we continued our trek toward Roc Palace.
I returned The Throne of the Earth to her, providing both her and myself with a much needed distraction. “Look for the word ‘tree,’” I instructed, my voice gravely and filled with unsatiated lust. Her small hands snatched it immediately, and the worn pages lifted her rosy scent to my nostrils as she flipped through the book. I fixed my eyes straight ahead, wishing my magic had recovered enough to move us the remaining distance. The only downside to being a Félvér – our magic took twice as long to replenish.
A golden halobroke through the mountains in the distance, casting everything before us in honeyed hues. Reaching over my mate’s shoulder, I lifted the book from her hands. “Look aroundyou, my sprite. You were trapped too long to miss sights like these.”
Her huff transformed to a gasp as the sky commenced a lightshow only for us. Jagged white-capped peaks were silhouetted against vibrant colors that bled together like melting candy, the ruby reds fading into deep amethyst streaked with a hint of coral. The first stars winked into view, while the crescent moon came to life, chasing its counterpart in an endless race through the skies.
“We can watch this together every night from the roof,” I promised as the soft light brightened the wonder in her eyes.
A brilliant smile pulled at her cheeks, and a subtle nod was all I received as her eyes roved the fading sky. A tiny sliver of ice chipped from around my blackened heart as I watched her, and, fuck me, I wanted her to look at me that way.
I needed to move us home.
In my chest, a near endless well of black fire flared as I whispered the spell, casting a wide net around us and capturing each soldier within it. The trail blurred as if we moved at the speed of light, and Izidora's hands became a vice on my arms as we swayed around a bend in the path. With one last flash, we halted at the base of the mountain that held Roc Palace.
Peeling her fingers from my arm, I leaped off my horse, landing with a heavy thud on the rocky ground. As I clasped my hands around Izidora’s small waist to pull her to the ground, she clamped her hands on my arm, shoving them away with a scathing look. But I ignored it, lifting her and placing her on the hard ground before me. My hands remained on her because I expected her to run at the first opportunity, and she huffed before crossing her arms over her chest and allowing me to corral her. I would not allow my mate to abandon me, not when I knew she would love me unconditionally as long as she released that other male from her heart.
A peppery spice prefaced Drazen’s arrival, though his heavy footfalls were also a dead giveaway. His storming ceased when he rounded in front of me, jaw tight and arms crossed. “I’m fine,” I waved him off. “Take care of the horses and soldiers. We’re going up.”
“You are such an idiot,” he barked, but he grabbed the reins and spun on his heel, stalking to the stables and barracks that guarded the base of the mountain. Five hundred feet above us, the palace I’d built for my mate beckoned us inside, and I was eager to show her everything I wanted to provide for her.
“How are we supposed to get up there?” Izidora chewed her lip, hair tumbling down her back as she tilted her head up and up and up, following the craggy gray rocks until she spotted the black, glassy frames that betrayed the palace’s presence.
“Like this.” I tugged her toward an unassuming smooth section of rock, then flattened my palm against it to reveal a hidden door. It opened with a grinding groan, the heavy rock door a deterrent in itself, though it wasn’t heavy enough to prevent my strong kin from entering. A wide passage lay beyond, and small sconces flickered to life as we passed them. Twenty paces in, an iron door blocked our path, and I pressed my palm into the rough stone wall beside it. The door swung open, revealing a stone slab and an upright tunnel that hollowed out the mountain. Stepping onto the slab, I pulled a trembling Izidora with me, though she balked as I tried to close the door on us. “Relax, we’ll be fine. I don’t like small spaces either, but it will be over before you know it.”
The lip between her teeth told me she was not reassured.
I tapped into my earth magic, and the stone shifted beneath our feet before shooting up the shaft, air screaming in our ears as we rode toward our home. Izidora screamed and flattened herself against the slab, throwing her hands over her head and trapping some of the long locks that whipped wildly in thewind. A manic smile pulled at the corner of my lips; the thrill of the lift racing higher and higher never dulled for me. I slowed our ascent as we reached the second set of iron doors, halting the earth when we reached the level above them. In one fluid motion, Izidora was in my arms, and I carried her across the threshold onto the third floor that served as an entryway.
She shook like a leaf scattering in the fall wind, and she buried her face in my chest until her breaths deepened and heart returned to a steady thump against my ribcage. “Please, don’t do that again.”
