Page 216 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
“I need you to hold onto my neck,” Ryker whispered, his hot breath against my ear easing the fright away. “We need to move fast, before they smell us.”
He lowered his hand and turned his back. As soon as my arms coiled around his neck, grabbing onto his chest, legs circling his waist, he became a blur once more.
But not before I felt the bones scraping underneath his skin, pushing against his muscles.
I felt rather than heard his groan of pain.
The roars faded along with the world as we raced away from the trolls and the ravine, back into the safety of the forest. I hid my face in the crook of his neck to be able to breathe. He moved too fast for the merest inhale.
By the time Ryker stopped at the edge of the trees, I couldn’t hear the roars any longer.
Then again, my ears were ringing from the strain, and I’d only been a passenger.
I disentangled myself from him and instantly missed his warmth. As soon as my feet touched the ground, Ryker bent over. Ripples erupted down his back, slithering down his legs, as if his body was rearranging itself.
I wanted to reach out so badly my palms ached, but I was afraid the smallest touch would hurt him more.
With a gasp, he righted himself, his body once again whole. Only after three steady breaths did he face me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, concerned.
“Areyouokay?” His palms covered my shoulders, slowly feeling my spine, as if to make completely sure I was indeed fine.
“I asked first.”
“You fell.”
“You rearranged your bones. Or whatever that was.”
Silence fell between us and the forest behind us didn’t dare interrupt.
“I’m fine,” we both said at the same time.
Then began laughing at once. Ridiculous–but I liked it.
“It’s the starting and the stopping that are hardest,” he said. “I need space and time to do it. Not ideal in a battle.”
“But great for saving outsiders from trolls.”
“Has anybody told you that you’re particularly unlucky?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’m a Vegheara, of course bad luck follows me like the plague.”
Even before Dria Vegheara’s time, our bloodline had been cursed to suffer–a perfect training ground for that stubbornness of ours.
But we’d also been blessed to triumph in the end.
At least until now, and I hoped I wouldn’t be the weakest link in that family tradition.
“Your sled was the only one that veered off course,” Ryker said, turning serious. “You’re the only one who fell off–”
“To be fair, I’d never been on a wolf-drawn sled before. An accident was bound to happen.”
“–only to find yourself in the middle of a troll gathering.”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m safe. I’m alive. And you came after me.”
“I did.” His face softened as he touched his forehead against mine. Luckily, the fear inside of me didn’t spring up to ruin the moment and just let me enjoy the feeling of his skin against mine. “And I always will.”
