Page 34 of To Catch a Prince

“Aye, that shedid.”

“Thank you. I’ll quench my own horse’s thirst, if you don’tmind.”

“So long as you don’t flash your purse, you’re welcometo.”

Stopping, even for a minute, was downright painful, but he wasn’t one to exhaust hisanimal.

There’s another way,said the voice of the monster, and he ignored him. The dragon didn’t seem surprised. He didn’t push,either.

Vincent tensed, feeling like the beast knew him a little too well. No argument was going to make him relinquish the rules of their body now and his dragon was aware of that. But the dangerous watchful creature was waiting for an opportunity, that much was clear. When came a time where Vincent might have a doubt, he would useit.

Not long ago, he would have said that there was no way the dragon would ever win that internal fight. But if they were on a beach today, and a horde of orcs appeared near Talia, just like they had so long ago? If he was too far? There was a chance he might let the monsterout.

He forced himself to recall what had occurred the last time he’d done that. To remember that the monster wasn’t one toprotect.

She was alreadydead.

It was the first time that the dragon talked of it. Even back then, when it had just happened, his beast had remained silent, enraged, before simply withdrawing from theirconscience.

Now, three centuries later, the dragon pulled a memory back from their minds. A memory Vincent had either suppressed or failed tonotice.

Clarya on the beach, in her cougar form. She leapt at an orc, and a spear pierced her heart. Even at a distance, the eyes of the dragon caught it all. The dragon’s acute hearing heard every beat of her heart, until there werenone.

Then, he’d beat his wings, flew over the monsters, and killed themall.

They’d failed the poor innocent girl, but he wouldn’t fail to avengeher.

Vincent felt sick to his stomach when his vision cleared up, returning him to the present. Not because of what had occurred then; because of what he’d done after. He’d blamed his dragon. Every day, for three hundred years, he’d cursed it, calling him an evil thing, amonster.

The dragon hadn’t been sealed by the guilt over what he’d done. He’d stayed away from the man who had given up on him, hating himself, and remaining in shadows where he was relentlessly told hebelonged.

His dragon had remained soaked in self-hatred so long it was a miracle there was anything left of him by the timeshecame.

She. Their mate. Their treasure. The only person who could heal the beast who’d stopped believing inVincent.

Damn, Talia was really everything to him - to them. If anything happened toher…

“Enough. Let’s fuckingfly.”

The instant he decided to let go, his body started to convulse, burn, and bones cracked. Oh, bloody hell, had it been as painful the last time? Thankfully, it didn’t lastlong.

Then, there he was. The thing he’d most dreaded for over three hundred years. The blue-scaled monster, in the streets of a village full of people. Not long ago, Vincent would have believed the dragon would have taken pleasure at seeing them allburn.

He leaped in the air and thrust with his long wings, headingwest.

* * *

Flying wasthe best thing he’d ever done, except perhaps, dry-humping and kissing Talia. Still, it was up there with that. Speed. Raw power. Vincent’s stomach was dropping, and, at the same time, he almost begged the beast to go faster, loving theride.

Closing the distance between Vern and Norda - which would have taken a good hour by horse, took just a fewminutes.

The dragon’s teasing demeanor changed when its keen eyes narrowed in the direction of a black hole, a breach in the transparent golden wall, close to the fortress, but too small to demand attention. The hole was on the left flank of the stone wall nearest his home, and his men hadn’t noticed it yet, focused as they were on the foreign dragon darkening theirview.

Vincent kept on searching, ignoring his men, who’d started to shift, no doubt intending to confront him. Finally, he saw her, coming out of the nearby woods. She’d left her horse somewhere - on foot, she sneaked along the side of the fortress, heading towards the Aetherwall.

His adorable little idiot. What if his men saw fit to attackher?

Vincent’s beast flew down at high speed, landing in the middle of his keep. Men were shouting around him, lances at the ready, demanding he shiftback.

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