Page 27 of Randall
“You’ve barely slept.”
“I’m fine,” I volleyed back. Darvon gasped, and I cringed at how my curt tone had come across. I loosely grabbed his arm and pulled him to face me. “I’m sorry. You’re trying to be kind, and I’m being rude. It’s just…”
“I understand.” Darvon placed his palm against my cheek, a timid smile curling the corners of his mouth. “You’re worried about him. So am I. We only just met, but we won’t be parted long.” He lowered his voice, sliding his hand down my neck torest over my heart. “We are together in our vision. This is just a setback. He’ll be in our arms again soon.”
I covered Darvon’s hand with my own. “You’re right. Of the three of us, he was the best choice, but I’m worried he’s not at full strength. He’d drained his reserves surviving the brutally cold water. The limited amount of sleep and the meager amount of food he’s had couldn’t have been enough to restore him.”
Darvon looked at me oddly. “You didn’t feel it? I would have thought…”
“What are you talking about?” I prompted when he didn’t continue.
“Randall, we mated. He pulled energy from us. Gods, it was the weirdest feeling, like air being sucked from my lungs. You didn’t feel it?”
“No. Just…” I closed my eyes and peered inside myself, searching my core and finding two threads of power extending out. One was short, leading to Darvon only a few inches from me. The second one was stretched thin, but it was there. I followed the thread and found my mate warming himself in a small patch of sunshine. Through his eyes, I could see the dragon on its side. I saw the oozing wound and felt Flynn’s worry.
The call of my raven dragged me back to myself. I held up my arm, and he alighted on my wrist, then hopped to my shoulder and knocked his head against mine. Darvon grabbed my upper arms as the urgent vision of Flynn imploring us to hurry hit me so hard I would have staggered if not for Darvon’s hands on me.
“Randall.” Darvon’s voice, full of fear, snapped me back to our present surroundings. “Randall, we have to help, but we can’t leave these men here by themselves.”
“What?” I shook my head, clearing the vestiges of the vision from my mind. “Why not?”
“They’re vulnerable and still scared.”
“They’re soldiers.”
Darvon huffed. “They’re soldiers who were attacked by demons and chased by a dragon. Let’s take them with us. If we show them that the dragon means them no harm, they’ll be fine.”
I stared at my mate, amazed by his naivety. Pushing my hand into his hair, I grabbed a fistful and stared at him. “Humans are unpredictable. I’m sure your mother taught you this. Likely, they’d see a wounded dragon and think now is the perfect time to kill it.”
Darvon cut his gaze to the men huddled by the water’s edge. “I suppose… but if they are men of Obrusa, then they will answer to the word of their prince. How close are Valter and the others?”
A new raven’s call from high above us drew our attention.
“Let’s find out.” I tossed the first raven into the air and kept my arm raised as the second one circled closer. “Come.”
The second raven glided to land on my wrist and, like his brethren, hopped to my shoulder. This vision did not fill me with despair but rather with hope, for the prince and his mates were indeed nearing. Their group, however, was smaller than I anticipated.
“Where’s my brother?” Darvon gasped. “Why isn’t he traveling with Prince Valter?” He was right. I saw the prince with Baron and Duke. There was a carriage with the thick tapestry curtains drawn, which I assumed held Baron’s three sons, driven via the reins passed through into the main cabin. Jarrah, Marius, and Quinn weren’t with them, however. Instead, there was Artor. He was shrouded like Baron in a long dark cloak, and I wondered what the Queen was thinking. Then I thought about the why. I had an inkling but held my tongue, unwilling to alter Fate’s course.
“Did I hear you say the Prince is coming? Prince William?”
The soldiers stood in a loose semicircle around the one who spoke. I cursed under my breath, mad at myself for letting thevision drive me deep enough that I hadn’t even realized they’d approached.
“The prince, yes, but not William. His Highness Prince Valter is traveling with his new mates. I believe they’ll be upon us within an hour’s time,” I answered. The soldiers shuffled their feet, glancing at each other. Their nervousness unsettled me. “What is it?”
“Is it true? He mated a bloodsucker and a dog.”
I stared at the one who’d spoken, who boldly stood his ground as I stepped forward. The men on either side of him slowly backed away as I approached. When the soldier attempted to move, I locked his feet to the ground and his hands at his sides. While I didn’t care for the fear in his eyes, this display was necessary. No one would ever disparage the prince where I could hear.
“Ask your question again,” I whispered harshly into his ear as I circled around him.
“Wha-what?”
I chuckled as the man who seemed to be leading them moved into his soldier’s view. He looked just as furious as I felt. “Answer the mage.”
The soldier straightened under the intense gaze of his captain and then dropped his head, putting chin to chest. “Yes, my lord. Sorry, my lord. I humbly apologize for my disrespectful manner. I just… just wanted to know if the rumors were true… that the prince chose a vampire and a werewolf as mates.”
“Better.” The leader swung his gaze from his man to me. “We are all curious to know.”
