Page 19 of Kiss of Frost

A second later, it came. “You, um, you’ve been with men? I mean, obviously, you have. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t want you to think…” She trailed off as I stopped and faced her. She stopped too, and her expression was an endearing mix of embarrassment and curiosity—and a healthy spark of desire.

“The answer is yes,” I said gently. “I take pleasure in men as well as women. I’m bisexual and polyamorous, lass, as all dragons are. In other eras, we didn’t have words for those things. We just were. We bond that way. We love that way. And we love deeply.” I lifted one of her braids and let the silky rope slide through my palm. “Sometimes, I think it was better when we didn’t have the words for it. Definitions can box you in. Make you think things have to be or look a certain way. But the only thing you need to know is that you’re meant for me and I’m meant for you. And when we find our mate, everything will fall into place the way it’s supposed to.”

“You sound so confident.”

“Because I am. Maybe we’ll have some growing pains, but we’ve got all the time in the world to figure it out.” I booped the tip of her nose with my finger. “It’s not like we’re going to meet our mate today, witchling.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Well, that’s a relief.” A delightful kind of mischief sparked in her eyes. “You’re more than enough to handle for now.”

“Oh, lassie, now you’re speaking one of my love languages.”

A roar split the air, the sound so intense it shook the ground under my feet. I moved without thinking, shoving Georgie behind me. Then I ripped my coat off and drew a blade.

Another roar burst my eardrums. Something really fucking big was coming.

“Stay back!” I barked at Georgie, my voice muffled as my ears repaired themselves. Just as they popped, a shadow swooped across the snow. I whirled, one arm flung out to make sure Georgie obeyed.

A dragon dropped out of the sky, his body obscuring the sun. His wings beat the air in great whooshing sweeps, pulling giant clouds of ice crystals from the ground. A long, spiked tail whipped back and forth as the dragon’s icy blue eyes focused on me…and then flicked to Georgie hovering at my shoulder. But his eyes weren’t the only icy thing about him. His entire body was a cold, sinister blue. Solid ice brought to life—so he could dole out death.

“Graeme Abernathy!” I shouted, drawing his stare. “We have permission from King Cormac to approach the Oracle of the North Wind!”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed.

Then he opened his mouth and issued a stream of blue fire.

Chapter Six

GEORGIE

Callum yanked me out of the fire’s path before I could scream.

The icy blast struck the spot where we’d stood, the impact sending a thick plume of snow flying into the air.

“Get down!” Callum yelled at me.

Was he kidding? Air was my element. And this was my quest. I wasn’t about to cower off to the side while he fought my battles for me.

I sprang away from him and ran, my boots kicking up snow. An ear-splitting screech filled my ears. A second later, blue fire seared the ground in front of me. Snow exploded in my face as I staggered back.

“Dammit, witchling!” Callum growled, clamping a hand on my shoulder and spinning me around. His green eyes flashed with warning. “I told you to—”

“I’m sorry but I have to do this,” I said, jerking away. Summoning my power, I swiped a hand through the air and caught a current. It thrashed in my hand, the tail jerking wildly. Gritting my teeth, I spun and flung it toward the ice dragon. The wind formed into a transparent spear that disrupted the air as it streaked to its target. It slammed into the dragon’s flank, sending him tumbling through the air like a log.

Triumph filled me as I tossed Callum a grin. I swiped the air again, harnessing a current and flinging it as hard as I could. It quickly formed into another spear, its tip speeding toward the dragon as he righted himself. Just before the spear struck, it abruptly changed course and broke apart. Shock waves rippled through the air like water disturbed by a skipping rock.

The ice dragon watched the ripples dissipate. Then he swung his gaze to me—and bared his fangs in a smile that promised retribution.

“Shit,” I muttered.

With a mighty flap of his wings, the ice dragon sped forward. Callum seized my shoulder again, and the world went sideways as he shoved me to the ground.

“Stay down!” he bellowed and then shifted to smoke. His clothes hung in the air for a split second before landing in a heap on the snow beside me. Where he’d stood, a thick, black cloud now hovered in the air. It shivered once, then hurtled toward the ice dragon. A heartbeat later, the cloud burst into a brilliant green dragon.

I sucked in a breath. Callum was beautiful—but he was half the size of Graeme Abernathy.

The dragons slammed into each other, their bodies colliding with a boom that echoed off the mountains of snow. Blue and orange flames erupted from their jaws. The blue fire caught Callum in the side of the face, and he shrieked and jerked his head back as he dug his claws into Graeme.

The ice dragon roared and flapped his wings, carrying Callum higher in the sky.

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