Page 61 of The Book of Legends
The words hit deeper than I expect. They aren’t cold. Just true.
“I was scared,” I admit. “I still am.”
Kainen steps onto the balcony and leans against the stone railing a few feet from me. Close—but not too close.
“We all are,” he says. “The ones worth anything, anyway.”
I look at him then—really look.
His jaw is tight, his light gray eyes soft at the edges but sharp at the center. Not black like they sometimes are. There’s something weary in his shoulders, like he’s been holding up too many walls for too long.
“Why did you bring me here, Kainen?” I ask. “Truly?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just stares at the stars like he’s counting the pieces of a life he doesn’t recognize anymore.
“I don’t know what it means to trust someone,” he says at last. “But I think I’m learning. With you. As for the queen, she doesn’t take sides. She bets on the strongest player.”
My breath catches. Not because it’s romantic—it’s not. But because it’sreal. And real is rare here.
He turns to go, then pauses at the threshold.
“I’ll have a guard at your door tonight,” he says, still facing away. “No one will come near you.”
Heart pounding against the quiet, I stay where I am, staring at the sky, wondering if he even realizes he just offered me more than protection.
Then, I gaze ahead, pretending I don’t feel his presence like a storm crawling across my skin, pretending I didn’t taste his kissjust days ago, pretending I don’t replay it every time I close my eyes.
He’s wrong for me in every way.
But I’m already too far gone. Because what scares me more than being hated in this world… is being wanted by him.
As we approach the cliffside where Malachi is waiting, the sky begins to fade into dusk. With his red scales reflecting the waning light and his eyes twinkling like flames in the darkness, he appears befitting of an old ruler.
With a low, dangerously quiet voice, Kainen murmurs, “Up,” as he approaches from behind me.
Looking up at the dragon, I quickly return my gaze to him. “I usually ride behind you.”
He is already mounting behind me as I manage to recover my equilibrium. His buttocks cross over mine. His chiseled chest caresses my back, a formidable barrier of heat, muscle, and sinister coils of want.
I hesitate.
Just long enough for him to close the space between us. His grip on my waist is strong and unyielding, and he effortlessly raises me up, as if I were nothing. As he places me on the saddle—facing him—my breath catches.
As Malachi sways under us, my natural inclination is to grab the reins, but Kainen's hand lands on top of mine before I can react.
“Take the lead.”
I bite my tongue tightly, attempting to divert my attention from the way his body presses against mine as if he were designed to hold me. His mouth is close—so close the stubble on his jaw grazes the shell of my ear. The sound of his voice slides down my spine like a blade dipped in honey. I swallow hard, trying to focus on anything but the way his body fits against mine as if he was made to hold me there.
The wind whips around us like a scream as we soar into the sky, but he is the only thing I can feel.
Every breath.
He is exceedingly precise with every touch of the reins. As Malachi flaps his wings, his legs clench against me. As the wind carries my dress higher and higher, he reaches out and steadies me with his burning, cursed hand that slips down my thigh.
“You're trembling,” he says softly.
“I’m not used to being this… close,” I say before I can stop myself.
