Page 102 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

A shiver courses through me.

“You’re cold,” Draven says.

It’s a statement and not a question, so I don’t bother replying.

He heaves a deep sigh behind my back.

I suck in a surprised breath as he rolls over on his side and lifts my upper body from the ground. Moving his hand over myhead, he positions my arm so that its draped down over my stomach instead while he slides his own arm, the one shackled to mine, underneath my body. Then he pulls me towards him.

My heart stutters as my back connects with his chest.

Before I can even ask what he’s doing, he wraps his free arm around my body as well and then summons his wings. Black smoke drifts into the cold evening air. Then a massive black wing spreads out over us like a tent.

Lightning flickers through my veins and my heart slams against my ribs.

Draven lets out a sigh and adjusts his position. Every tiny movement makes his body shift against mine. Once he’s satisfied, he stops moving. And at that point, I’m flush against his chest. I swear I can even feel his heartbeat thump against my back.

My pulse thrums in my ears.

But Draven says nothing. As if this is the most natural thing in the world.

I lie there in his arms, feeling his comforting warmth envelop me, and stare at the black wing around us until I’m sure that he has drifted off to sleep. Then, I finally breathe the words that I was too proud to say earlier.

“Thank you,” I whisper softly into the silent night. “And thank you for saving me from the wolfbear.”

His chest rises and falls against my back as he continues sleeping.

But then, right when I’m about to close my eyes as well, hereplies. And his voice is the gentlest I’ve ever heard.

“You’re welcome, little rebel.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Morning light hits my face. Raising my left hand, I rub sleep from my face and then blink my eyes open. At first, my brain can’t process what I’m seeing.

There is a black barrier between me and the rest of the world. Pale light streams in through the gap between it and the thick grass I’m lying on. Then my mind at last catches up.

Oh. Right. The fight. The fall. The underground forest. Draven’s wing. And his body pressed against my back.

My heart jerks.

It takes all of my willpower to stop my body from doing the same.

Lying completely motionless, I draw in breaths that have suddenly become unsteady.

I’m curled up on my side with Draven behind me. He is pressed so tightly against me that I can feel his chest expand against my back every time he breathes. His left arm is still underneath me, locked to my right one, and his other is draped over my side. His right hand rests possessively on my chest, right over my heart. Which is now beating erratically. I wonder if he can feel it.

Twisting my head, I glance over my shoulder. Draven’s eyes are still closed, and his chest rises and falls with the deep rhythmic breathing of sleep. My gaze flicks down towards his belt and the pouch that contains the ring.

I scowl in annoyance when I notice that that particular pouch is pressed against the ground by his left hip. And since my right hand is trapped to his wrist on the other side, there is no way that I will be able to even reach the pouch. Let alone steal the ring from inside.

So I turn my head back and instead try to scan the area around us. But all I can see through the gap between his wing and the grass is the bottom of a few trees. I heave a sigh.

My gaze drifts over his wing instead.

It blocks out a lot of the light, but from in here, when the light shines from the other side, it’s a little more translucent. It makes the veins that run through the membrane more visible. Intrigued, I follow them with my eyes as I study the wing intently.

I don’t think I have ever been this close to a dragon shifter’s wings before. From a distance, they look hard and severe. But this close, the inside at least looks like it might actually be soft to the touch.

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