Page 51 of Dragon Blood

Not because he saw her bathed in glittering sunlight with an ethereal indigo shine. But because it reminded him of their time together and how she’d made him feel, with everything stripped away, free and easy in their own little world.

Just the two of them and their truest selves. No councils, no community expectations, no cultural divides. Just Astred, and just Kai. Naked bodies and hearts at play.

When her guard was down, and he felt her love.

Their attraction had been instant. Love had followed, swift and intense. Neither had said so, not until the day he’d asked her—he shoved it aside again before the ache returned.

Standing on the bank next to Astred, Kai drew another breath as his thoughts slid again.

It was the potion and the power, pulling him in directions he didn’t want to go. Shoving his pain in his face as he stared at the craggy girth of the trunk, struggling against the next wave.

He was here, with Astred again, because Kolina had walked back into his life, dragging him through long buried memories and feelings.

This time, images of his mother steamrolled him, loosening the resentment from the depth of his gully of pain.

There hadn’t been time to process her return. He hadn’t wanted to.

He’d embarked on this journey for his sister Kymri, to correlate the bright-eyed infant he’d met in his youth with the fierce dragon shifter woman struggling to unite two divided societies that desperately needed unity and healing.

Just as he did.

The child in her belly gave her the strength to grasp both sides, straining against her efforts to draw them together.

She had the support of her mate, her closest friends, and their mother.

She needed more.

Kai’s gaze returned to Astred.

Kymri’s struggled mirrored Astred’s.

He realized then that although he had no idea what his role was in all of this, he could no longer deny that fate had selected him for a purpose.

Kai took Astred’s hand, guiding her toward the impressive, exposed roots, spotting the freshly knapped flint that Charmaine mentioned. He stepped into the alcove of the two largest roots, lowered himself so that he sat with his back to the trunk and invited to Astred to join him, settling between his knees.

“You’ve done this before?”

“I’ve witnessed similar journeys but not done it myself.” He reached for the flint, dragging the sharp edge along the base of his left thumb, turning his hand so that the beading blood dripped onto a section of root already stained from prior journeys.

He handed the flint to Astred, who did the same.

Within moments, their dragon magic accelerated the healing process, closing the superficial wound.

Astred drew a deep breath. Words Kai never thought he’d hear from her hissed through her teeth. “Kai, I haven’t been this scared since I was a child.”

He met her eyes, holding out his hand, palm up. “Me too, Red.”

She hesitated for just a moment, moving closer to nestle into the protection of his arms as they waited for the Nexus to accept their offering.

The potion had just about finished its circulation through his body as the tingling in his flesh, muscle and bone slowly merged with the surging power of the nexus.

When he was aligned, the sound of crackling signaled their acceptance. Bark, wood, sap, and energy slid across his back in gentle waves, drawing him into the trunk. Astred’s fingers tightened on him, and he locked his arms around her as they were slowly consumed by the silky fibers of the nexus.

The sunlight glittering off the river’s surface disappeared as the bark closed them off from the outside world and dropped them into the astral.

Chapter 18

Astredfocusedonherbreathing, fingers digging into Kai’s forearm as the tree ate them. Heart pounding, she gripped him hard, pressing ever deeper into his chest, suppressing the overwhelming urge to resist.

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