Black Crown (Darkest Drae, #3)(5)

Tyrrik still stood, leaning over the table. He gripped the edges, the exposed muscles of his arms coiled and tight though his unfocused gaze was fixed on the stone table. “He’ll feel her when she transforms remember.”

“Yes, but you pose the greater threat to the emperor,” Lani put in, already nodding.

The Drae released the table and curled his fists. “Ryn is the greater prize. She is a female Drae and his daughter. The emperor will go to great lengths to secure her.”

King Zakai smiled at the Phaetyn who seemed unperturbed by Tyrrik’s anger. If she could feel how near to the boiling point he was, she may not be so calm.

Tyrrik, I thought at him. It will be fine. It takes one-and-a-half days to fly to the forest. If you go out and distract the Druman, they won’t follow. If Kamoi and Kamini have resolved the Phaetyn war, getting Lani settled won’t take long. If they don’t accept her, I’ll bring her back. I’ll be returning in four or five days, either way.

Ryn, I don’t know if I’m physically capable of letting you go.

Well that stumped me. I understood his qualms. I didn’t completely relish the idea of trying to stretch the bond that much. If being apart from him within the confines of Gemond was uncomfortable, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage being a two weeks’ walk away. One-and-a-half days’ flight, I reminded us both.

He’d turned to me, and the others continued their conversation while Tyrrik and I discussed the matter separately.

If we cannot bear it, we’ll only be the better part of a day from seeing each other if we leave at the same time. I paused, knowing this was where my reason would help overcome his instinct. This wasn’t only our best option; it was our only option, which meant we had to make it work. Doing my best to lighten the mood, I quipped, Although, I’m faster, so we’d meet a little closer to you, like maybe sixty-forty.

He narrowed his eyes as he appraised me. Sixty-forty? You think you’re that fast?

Didn’t you hear what King Zakai called me when we arrived? I teased with a smirk.

Tyrrik sat down again, and we looked into each other’s eyes. The conversation dwindled to a murmur around us.

You said if we cannot bear it, Tyrrik thought. Did you mean it?

What if I did say we? I held my breath for his answer, unsure what I wanted him to say in response.

“I hate it when they do this,” Dyter muttered, covering his eyes with his sole arm.

I would not survive if anything happened to you, Tyrrik thought.

I swallowed as the bond between us began to pulse, glowing brighter than the sun, and I was inordinately glad no one else could see it. Because judging by the heat deep in my stomach, the bond connected to a certain part of my anatomy.

I blushed and broke Tyrrik’s gaze. I’ll be careful, but we need the Phaetyn. They’ll be healing all the humans, and you saw Lani fighting. I need to do this. It’ll be worth the risk.

Nothing is worth risking you.

Yeah, well, you’re probably biased, I grumbled. He leaned closer, and my breath hitched.

That’s because you’re mine, he thought, and I blinked at the vibrating conviction behind his words. There was nothing he believed in more. Nothing in the world could shake his certainty that he was mine and I was his.

Tyrrik had accepted the bond wholeheartedly. Even before he knew me, he risked a lot to keep me alive in Irdelron’s dungeons. Since our bond intensified, Tyrrik had flung the doors to his mind wide open even after confessing he feared what I’d find. His instincts had shown him we were mates, and that was enough for him.

I was sure about Tyrrik; really, I was. I just wanted to know him better before I gave everything to him. When my body was a broken mess, my mind had somehow survived, not unmarked, but it survived. I didn’t worry what he’d find would scare him off; I had nothing to hide. But letting him have my soul, mind, and body just because instinct told me so? I’d pushed my Drae energy into him, knowing we’d be bound tighter. I knew letting him in my mind completely, letting my instincts take over, would bind us tighter again. I wanted to be sure I’d thought it all through before granting him unfettered access.

Will we still be able to talk like this? I asked. Even when I’m in the forest?

Yes, that will not diminish with distance. That will be my condition. If you are to go to Zivost without me, I’d like to be allowed to check up on you whenever I want.

I dipped my head as I acquiesced. Understandable. Reasonable even. I accept your condition.

Actually, his stipulation might give me exactly what I was looking for, a way to get to know Tyrrik without his proximity turning me into a donkey who had headbutted the stable door too many times.

Tyrrik broke off our stare, and I sagged forward as though released from a physical grip.

“Ryn will accompany Lani to the forest, and I’ll act as a decoy. The duration of their visit is to be no longer than five days—"

My head shot up. Five days. That was more of a passing remark than a hard clause in our separation contract.

“—and if Ryn is in danger, I will leave this place immediately and get her.” He stared down Lani. “And burn down your forest.”

I gasped. “Tyrrik!”

Lani met his gaze. With an equally serious expression and tone, she answered, “Lord Drae, if the Phaetyn are so far gone as to put Ryn in any danger, you have my blessing to destroy them all.”