“Listen, you. If you can’t control your competitive streak, then you should go. You burned Delixian and ruined half of the orphanage’s efforts to raise funds. You’re selfish, Cyrus.”
Am I being too harsh? I feel off. Angry. Itchy. Frustrated. I want him out of my sight so I can think straight again. My head pounds with the ale I’ve had and the noise of the festival.
Cyrus swallows and rubs the back of his neck. He tosses something at Betilda as she runs up and shouts questions.
“You’re right, Kaya. I need to leave you alone. Tell Delixian I am sorry.”
There’s a snap and a wash of light, and then Cyrus is in full dragon form, flying away into the evening sky.
I stomp and fist my hands, long past being able to act like a reasonable person. “Ugh! That male is infuriating!”
Delixian returns with his hand smeared in salve. He looks up and then stares at me. “You’re in love with Cyrus, aren’t you?”
My face goes white hot. “I most certainly am not.”
Laini and Tully rush up and cover me in questions. I do my best to answer them, allowing them to lead me away to some seats by the food table. I eat my weight in rolls, and then try to dance my anger away with my friends.
Finally—wearing a tired smile that doesn’t feel as happy as I wish it was—I leave the festival.
Stupid dragon. He ruined tonight. But I feel bad about shouting at him. I can’t quite untangle where things went wrong and why I feel guilty. It’s a problem for tomorrow.
At home, I collapse into bed with Sio at my feet.
I dream of scales, fire, and a pair of lips I didn’t kiss tonight.
Chapter 27
Cyrus
Iam the worst monster. A menace, for certain. The night is cool and pleasant, but I can’t enjoy it. The memory of Delixian’s mouth on Kaya’s is stabbing my mind over and over again. Sometimes, the thought of Kaya’s accusatory eyes and her angry shouts weaves its way in, too. Damn it. I ruined everything. Our friendship. Any potential romantic relationship. Her night with someone who might actually be trustworthy—Delixian. I should wish them well. I should have been completely fine with the way Kaya melted into his arms. This is what I wanted for her. Someone steady and safe. But the second the wish came true, I found myself engulfed in fire and rage.
I rub at some odd tingling on my chest, then tug on my shirt to look at what’s bothering my skin there.
I nearly fall from the sky.
It’s a mate mark.
Tea leaves and sparkling spots like sugar surround a symbolic heart. This magic states very clearly that my body, my blood, and my soul are committed to claiming Kaya as my true mate.
I fly faster, my fire rising inside me.
For a multitude of reasons, there is no chance for that happiness.
I speed up, slashing through the sky like a meteor. I don’t need to look at the map from the library in the ruins. I know it by heart. I know it as well as the wrinkle that appears between Kaya’s eyebrows when she is worried and the scent of her skin in the morning. The lift of her laughter when she’s had a drink.
I swallow around the sparks simmering in my throat.
“Fuck it.”
I breathe a massive stream of fire into the night, scaring the shite out of anything within a mile, I’m sure. But I have to get this fire out. I can’t think straight.
Faster and faster, I fly away from Leafshire Cove and toward whatever the ancient dragon shifter ghost wants me to find.
It’s all I have right now.
When I land,my mate mark tingling like people say they do when they first show up, I’m faced with a wall of rock. The place the ghost indicated is just a ravine housed in dark purple stone.
There’s nothing here.
