Black Crown (Darkest Drae, #3)(12)

“Mate.” I tried out the word, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Maybe it took a bit.

Closing my eyes, I leaned back on a rock, doing my best to be comfortable because I was not moving. Tyrrik?

And waited. Tyrrik?

Was he serious? I waited another minute and then sighed long and hard. Lord Tyrrik is the Most Brilliant Drae.

His presence flooded my body, filling me with warmth.

You called?

A short laugh burst from my lips. You’re an idiot. And I didn’t mean it. My fingers were crossed. I quickly crossed them.

You just crossed them. I felt it.

What? Sheesh, this bond is getting Strong with a capital S. I thought we could only see images from each other when our emotions are high. Is it the same with feeling how my body feels? I suddenly realized the implications of just what he might feel during future kissing meetings.

My father would check on my mother by using her vision. He was attuned to her heart rate as well.

I rolled my eyes. Please tell me this isn’t another ‘males can do it but females can’t’ thing.

His lips curved, and I gasped at the purring rumble behind the gesture. I just felt you smile!

There’s the answer to your question then, he thought back. My mother would use the connection to judge when to send my father energy on long flights and in battle.

Tyrrik hadn’t talked much about his parents. He’d been taken from them when he was nine. But I couldn’t sense any hesitation or bitterness as he remembered them. I guess one hundred years was a long time to heal wounds. During our fight with the Druman, I just looked at the strength of your tendrils, but paying attention to how drained you feel will be better. I’m going to practice.

Don’t overextend yourself. I can feel how tired you are from keeping up the veil all day.

A jagged piece of rock was digging into my back, and I shifted over a few inches. Tired was an understatement. So, I drew out, what’s your favorite color?

We’re asking each other questions? His amusement radiated through the bond, and my heart swelled with the warmth of his laughter. Black, he answered. What about yours, love?

Of course it was. I arched a brow. Golden brown.

Like your mother’s honey syrup?

I smiled and slid down the side of the rock, cradling my hands under my head to get comfy. I closed my eyes. Yes. What’s your . . . favorite animal?

Desert panther tastes the best.

Not to eat! I chuckled sleepily. To have as a pet. Do you ever think about the things we can have when the empire isn’t starving and people can do more than survive? I think I’d like a dog. One I didn’t have to consider eating.

I focused and was rewarded with an image from Tyrrik. He was out on one of the top balconies in the Gemond Kingdom, looking out to where I lay. I knew he couldn’t see me from there, but it was comforting to know he was looking out for me.

I think I’d like a dog I wouldn’t eat too, he finally answered. Our dog.

Who said Drae and human traditions couldn’t see eye-to-eye?





“Ryn,” Lani whisper-shouted, shaking me. “Wake up.”

I peeled an eyelid open and, noting the darkness around me, grumbled, “Leave me alone. It’s not morning yet.”

I closed my eyes again, curling up on the not-at-all-comfortable jagged stone, determined to get every last second of sleep I could before I took off. The Phaetyn invisibility power was great, but Lani was right; it took effort to keep it up. Normally, I healed super-fast, but the idea of having to resume that cloaking-cover made me even more determined to get some extra Zs.

A roar boomed overhead, ricocheting off the rocks around us, and I sat up with a gasp, scrambling for a hold as the entire mountain shook. Blood whooshed in my ears as my body stilled, and my mouth dried. There was a Drae . . . here.

Collecting myself, I crouched beside Lani, blinking rapidly to adjust to the darkness. The roar cut off abruptly, and the tremors stilled. Everything stilled, hushing in the presence of the sheer power of the beast above us. I swallowed and peered up into the night sky and then to my companion, my eyes wide, as the sound of beating wings tickled my ears.

Tyrrik? I shouted through our bond.

White fire streamed across the velvet night sky.

Tyrrik’s fire was blue. Which meant that Drae wasn’t Tyrrik, and there was only one other option. Terror pounded against my ribs as I contemplated what it would mean if Draedyn found me. I couldn’t be locked away again. I grabbed my chest, gasping for breath.

Ryn? Tyrrik’s voice was laced with panic. What’s the matter?

An image of our bedroom in Gemond flashed through our bond. I could feel his alarm as he hurried out of the room, not bothering to get dressed. My thoughts derailed for a moment until he skidded to a halt in the hallway and repeated, What’s the matter?

Lani whispered in my ear, “We’re good, Ryn. We’ll be safe under my veil. Tell Tyrrik. Now.”

My mind raced, and I reached for the frayed threads of reason to form a coherent sentence.

If you don’t tell me what’s going on right now, I’m coming to find you. I can feel your fear, Khosana, and I need—

My fear evaporated, and a deep yearning hit me, as if the roar weren’t a threat but an invitation. If I flew into the sky, I’d be able to meet my father. Yes, I’d been told my whole life he was terrible, but the truth was he’d risked everything to keep me alive because he wanted me. He had always wanted me, and even now he wanted—