Page 19 of Daring the Drakarn Warrior Lord
I set the blade down and moved back to her. Caught her shoulders gently, waited until she looked at me. "I thought we were done keeping secrets."
Something flickered across her face. Guilt. Anger. Fear. It was gone too quickly to name, but I felt it through the bond like ice in my chest.
"It was nothing," she said again, but her voice was quieter now. Less certain.
"Tell me anyway."
She pulled away from my grip, moved to where her clothes lay scattered on the floor. She started dressing with sharp, jerky movements. "A couple of novice warriors were idiots. On my way back from the human quarters. They wanted to make a point about how I don't belong here. It's not the first time. It won't be the last. I handled it."
Each word landed like a blow.
Novice warriors. Confronting my mate. Making her feel unwelcome.Threateningher.
The rage that flooded through me was immediate and absolute. My vision narrowed. My wings flared. The urge to hunt, to find these fools and tear them apart for daring to approach her, it consumed every rational thought.
"Who?" The word came out as a growl, barely recognizable as language.
"It doesn't matter."
"Their names. Now."
"I don't know their names." She pulled her shirt over her head, still not looking at me. "I didn't exactly stop to exchange introductions."
"Describe them."
"Darrokar …"
"Describe them." I was moving before I'd made the conscious decision, heading for the door, ready to tear through Scalvaris until I found the warriors stupid enough to threaten what was mine.
She caught my arm. Small hands on my forearm, not enough strength to actually stop me but enough to make me pause.
"Don't," she said. "Please."
"They threatened you."
"They talked. That's all. Just words." She stepped in front of me, blocking the door. "If you go after them, you prove them right. You prove that I can't handle myself, that I need you to fight my battles, that I'm exactly as weak as they think I am."
"You're not weak."
"Then let me prove it." Her grip on my arm tightened. "Let me handle this myself. Let me show them that I can stand on my own without the Warrior Lord rushing to my defense every time someone says something I don't like."
"This is more than words. This is harassment. Intimidation."
"This is politics." She moved closer, her body pressing against mine. "And if you retaliate, it becomes a bigger problem. The traditionalists will say you're choosing me over Scalvaris. That you're willing to punish warriors for speaking their minds. That I've corrupted your judgment."
I knew she was right. Hated it, but knew it. If I hunted down these novices, if I made an example of them, it would only fuel the narrative that Terra was a weakness. A distraction. Something that made me unfit to lead.
But knowing she was right didn't cool the rage burning through my veins.
"I want names," I said. "Descriptions. Everything you remember."
"Why? So you can track them down later?"
"So I know who to watch. Who to keep away from you." I caught her face in my hands, careful of my claws. "I won't hunt them. Not unless they approach you again. But I'm not going to pretend this didn't happen."
She searched my eyes, looking for something. A promise I wasn't sure I could make.
"One was purple," she finally said. "Dark purple scales, yellow eyes. The other was red. Smaller. Faster-looking."
