Page 51 of Wild Bond

You’re such a softy, I teased. Skye simply huffed.

At one point, when the sun had reached its height in the sky and late morning turned to afternoon, during one of the times Zade was mysteriously absent, Rake stopped at a food stall and ordered from the young man running it. He handed him a few coins in exchange for what looked like two balls of sugared fried dough on sticks, drizzled heavily in chocolate, and handed one to me.

“Here,” he urged. “Try one of these.”

I took the offered sweet and inhaled the delicious smell of it. I felt Rake’s eyes on me as I took a bite and groaned as the warm sugary flavor melted on my tongue.

Rake took a bite himself. “They have these in Taveran,” he shared, referring to the capital city of Zehvi. “I used to eat them as a boy. Whenever my mother sent me out on errands, I think she always gave me a little extra coin on purpose so I could buy one.”

I smiled at the thought of Rake as a little boy. “So, you did grow up in Zehvi?” I observed, licking my fingers clean of the sugar, and trying not to appear like I was incredibly interested in his answer. I had heard the rumors. Everyone had. And there was, of course, the way he looked.

He nodded. “I did. Though my mother was Baldorian, and she and I moved to Dessin when I was thirteen.”

“Why did you leave Zehvi?”

He paused then said, “We didn’t have much choice.”

When he said no more, I ventured, “And you bonded with Naasir soon after that?”

He nodded again, though I got the feeling he didn’t want to disclose any further information about himself. Which was unfortunate, because I was extremely curious, about the man that walked beside me.

We finished our treats in silence. I was even nice enough to offer Skye my last, precious bite, but she only sniffed it and scrunched up her nose in disgust.

Suit yourself, I thought, popping it into my mouth.

Deciding to share something with him in return, I volunteered, “I’ve never been outside of Dessin . . . until today anyway.”

Rake’s dark brows rose. “Never?”

I shrugged. “This is the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.”

He regarded me with that too knowing stare. “We’re going to have to change that.”

I stopped and turned to him. “What do you mean?”

He started to reply, but was interrupted by a loud, feminine voice.

“Kyan Rakim!”

We both turned to see a beautiful woman approaching. She appeared to be around Rake’s age and had long brown hair that fell in loose waves down her back. The feathery light folds of her gown flowed around her as she halted before us, its violet color offsetting the deep tan of her skin. She didn’t appear to be Zehvitian though, just someone who spent a lot of time out of doors. Long gold earrings hung from her ears and gold bangles clinked at her wrists, as she enveloped Rake in a hug.

“Leah,” Rake greeted not unkindly, though he immediately pulled back.

So, this was Leah. The dragon rider who Rake had once had some kind of relationship with. It was only then that I noticed the rider tattoo on her right upper arm and wondered where her dragon was.

“What brings the queen’s spymaster to my fair city?” Leah asked.

“Training,” Rake answered, gesturing to me. “This is Corrine Darrow and her dragon, Skye. I have been assigned as her flight instructor for the foreseeable future and thought we might as well have a destination in mind while she practices. We came to see the markets. Rin, this is Leah Gantoh, the dragon rider assigned to protect Itrain.”

At Rake’s words, the woman turned to me.

Leah nodded her head respectfully at first to me, then Skye, and then gave me an inviting smile. “So, you are the trainee that I have been hearing so much about. Welcome to Itrain. I hope you have been enjoying exploring the markets. There is so much to see and do here. Though admittedly, I may be a little biased.”

I smiled back and hoped it appeared less forced than it felt. She was being perfectly nice, after all. “We have been enjoying ourselves. The city is beautiful.” I wasn’t lying, but I couldn't help the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy that slid through me and settled in the pit of my stomach as she turned back to Rake. Her face was alight with obvious pleasure at his presence, and a flicker of desire as well, as she regarded him.

I hated the thought of her being with Rake, even if they weren’t together anymore. It would have been so much easier to justify disliking her if she were rude. But of course, she seemed perfect and genuine, and maybe even the type of woman I would want to be friends with under different circumstances.

Realms!

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