Page 39 of Dragon Blood

To control her.

And if there was anything that he knew about Astred, was that she would never be controlled.

They drove through the tidy little town of Black River without stopping, though she pointed out the Brandt-owned club that Odson Blackridge worked at, with a “you should go some time. It has a great vibe.”

He lifted a brow. “I’m surprised you know the vibe of any place this far inland from the sea.”

She rolled her eyes. “I do leave my ship now and then.” A smile tugged at her lips as she cast him a sideways glance. “Besides, the waterways into the great lakes make a perfect interior ocean for her to stretch her sails.”

His gaze swept her profile, eased with talk of her ship. The silence returned with the gentle breezes through the open windows, carrying her uniquely embedded scent of wildflowers and hot sandy beaches swirling around him. The recollection of how perfectly she fit in his arms slammed him.

Perfect.

He’d foolishly thought so at one time. Until she’d made it clear how wrong he was. So why hadn’t she left him at the coast or dumped him at the nearest airport?

The cool way she looked at him, and the distance she constantly placed between them, made it glaringly obvious she held her reservations about him.

Keep the enemy close—or some such thing?

Why else drag him along?

The scratch marks?

She’d mumbled something about her mother and changed the subject as though that was all there was to say on the matter. Clearly it must have been enough, because here he was, having made zero effort to wash his hands of her and the Aeleftherian bullshit.

Clearly all Astred.

And the damned little locket Kolina had given him that weighed against his chest beneath his shirt.

Didn’t curiosity kill the cat, Kai?

The face was etched with the Aeleftherian crest. The back with the images of a tiger and a dragon prowling around one another. His father and his mother.

And the tiny clipping of his hair and claw.

Finally, he broke the silence with something less mundane than assisted travel navigation or snack choices.

“What will happen to Kolina?”

Astred’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

There would be repercussions following his disappearance. And Astred’s.

“They’re going to think she helped me escape, and that I kidnapped you, or something stupid like that, aren’t they?”

“Probably.” She glanced at him, then back to the road. “If they arrest her, she’ll be detained while Council hashes out what to do with her. Then a trial. But as a member of my mother’s Honor Guard, she will be afforded respect for her position and a stay on any final actions until a royal judgment has been made.”

“Which your mother can’t do while unconscious.”

“And I’m not there to be pressured into one as her regent.”

Kai nodded, the grip on his chest easing. “Continental road trip it is, then.”

Astred eased off the gas, turning into the entrance to a narrow dirt road marked by a pristine hand-painted mailbox labeled ‘Brandt’.

They’d barely rolled to a stop outside of the vast farmhouse with its surrounding porch when Heidi emerged through the screened front door, scrubbing her hands with a dish towel. The scent of bear surrounded the property.

“Astred? Kai?” Concern chased away her delighted surprise, as she watched them approach the steps, studying their faces. “Coffee? I’m working on muffins if you’re hungry.”

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