Page 100 of The Heart of the Dragon

"True," she said. "But if I know what's coming, we should be able to make different decisions, right? Take a different path?"

"Absolutely! But we have to go now."

She nodded, but she still looked uncertain and more than a little shaky on her feet as we made our way to the portal.

"Please, don't die."

"I won't." I gently gripped her chin and tilted her head to face me. "Not with you there to guide me away from whatever you saw. Okay?"

"Okay," she finally said, taking a deep breath. "But if you die, I'm going to find a way to make your afterlife a living hell."

I smiled even though she wasn't smiling, nor did she smile back. Instead, her fear was still so palpable, it threatened to rip the dragon right out of me. If my treacherous uncle had found a way to dampen my power, this was going to be a lot harder than I'd thought.

With the wetness of more unshed tears still coating her lashes, emotion swelled inside me. Whether her mating heat called to me or not, I needed her. More than I'd ever needed anyone in my life. I leaned forward and captured her mouth, licking at the heat and fear that flooded her. I'd take it all away from her if I could.

But I would never give her up. She didn't know it, but I would have kidnapped her if she had not agreed to come home with me.

Urgent need spiked through my veins, forcing me to break the kiss before I pushed her to the floor and gave us both what we needed.

After. There would be plenty of time after.

I grabbed her hand and walked into the chasm of time and space awaiting us and into a din of chaos amidst hundreds of people taking up all the space in my uncle's throne room.

"What the hell?" He never held court here and it absolutely wasn't a space he'd shared with others for quite some time. I searched the room for any sign of my uncle and his immediate guards, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"I tried to tell you. It's a trap."

She was right. I could sense it. We needed to get out of here and regroup. There were any number of places my uncle could hideas could we. I searched the room for the most obvious answer and opted for the prep room closest to the throne. If he was hiding close by, it would be in there.

"C'mon. I have an idea." I tightened my grip on her hand and pulled her towards the door that would lead us the hell out of this insanity. The hairs on the back of my neck were starting to prickle with unease.

We got less than a dozen steps when she yanked on my hand and stopped us. "No," she pleaded. "That's where we went last time and that's where I watched you die." Her jaw clenched and her nails dug into my skin. The strength of her fear had intensified and I could now taste it on my tongue.

The dragon was about to lose his mind.

I looked at the door that should lead to safety once more and then turned back, leading Rose to the one other room that could get us clear of this mess. Her lips were still compressed into a firm worried line, and her fear still coated my senses, but underneath I could feel a sense of some relief.

As soon as we were clear of this nightmare, we were going to have to figure out what happened to her. The gift of premonition was uncommon, but not unheard of among the fae. Although her inability to separate a vision from reality was setting off alarm bells left and right.

I pushed through throngs of people, wondering how things had gotten so out of hand. The king's guards should be here keeping all these people under control or evicting them from the castle. It was completely out of control.

When I finally reached the waiting room door, I hesitated, my hand on the handle. "Ready?"

She gripped my arm and nodded. "Do it."

I slipped us inside in a break between worshippers. No, not worshippers. Townspeople. Just because my uncle’s ego preferred to refer to the people he ruled over as worshippers, didn't make it true. They were individuals who lived in his kingdom. It was he who technically should have served them.

That thought brought me up short as did the wall of guards guarding the next exit. They should not have their swords brandished in my direction, nor in hers. I couldn't believe the dragon wasn't trying to burst through my skin.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I roared, glaring at each and every one of my own men. A few of them blinked and a couple wavered, but to their credit they didn't back down. They had to thank their training for that shit. What I'd put all of them through may have been called brutal by some, but at least it had stuck and they'd become better soldiers because of it. Not that I was going to let that excuse them when this was all over.

"I am your commanding officer. If you don't sheath your weapons in the next two seconds, I will not be responsible for how many of you burn to death."

"Go back. We have to get out of here now," Rose whispered. Although at least half my men heard her because they were fae with supernatural hearing. They would have heard a pin fucking drop.

"It's either this door or the one you didn't want to take. The main entrance was blocked by the hordes of people." A flash of unease raced up my spine. Whatever Rose had seen in her vision, this was definitely part of that. They'd not only known we were coming, but had planned for this to be the?—

"Trust me. You can't fight them. Not even your dragon can help you now." Her words echoed through the room as the soldiers moved in on us. We had no choice but to defend and pray. I reached for my dragon, and— "Fuck. I can't feel him," I roared, my unease growing with every step forward of the guards. There were at least forty or fifty of them. I could fight and I would to my dying breath. But Rose on the other hand, they could not touch her.

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