Page 22 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
A wave of cold fury matched my thoughts. My dragon agreed. We hated knowing Ella and others were treated that way simply because others of our kind were stronger. That was wrong.
Reaching the cut, I turned sideways and shuffled through as best I could with my hurting leg. The breeze picked up and pushed me from behind, as if urging me to go faster.
I grimaced as my wounded leg sank slightly into a depression in the ground, putting added weight on it. I hated being so weak. If I was stronger, I could spar with Caz or Kolar, or just work out, shed some of my stress that way. But it wasn’t an option.
The meadow appeared through the cut in the cliff at last, and I picked up the pace slightly, eager to finally make my escape.That’s what it was. I couldn’t lie to myself. I was running away, no matter how I tried to explain it.
Just before I stepped onto the soft, grassy meadow, the wind brought a scent with it that locked my muscles in place, even as my wounded leg screamed in pain.
Ella.
Nothing else could be so intoxicating.
Twelve
Dirk
Before I realizedwhat I was doing, I was halfway through the cut. Against my better instincts, I followed the rich, sweet smell that could only belong to my mate. A scent only I could taste on the air. It was mine alone to savor and to cherish.
I drank greedily, knowing it was putting me on a path to ruin I couldn’t stop. One step and then another, each fresh breath bringing with it the unspoken hint of eternity that represented Ella.
I had to stop myself. I reached out, bracing both hands on the walls of the cut, stopping my legs. There was no eternity. The Great Abyss itself stood between us and forever. Having Ella for all time was not an option for me. No final journey into the west.
You chose a path that cannot lead there. That opportunity was forsaken many years ago …
Yet for all that, I couldn’t stop myself from moving closer. Like an orbmoth to the flame, a thundering need inside me was beating down everything else, driving me to Ella with the need to claim what was mine. One step. Then another. I was moving, and I couldn’t prevent it.
The world around me had grown bright silver, courtesy of my dragon as it rode me hard, eager to get to her, to be close to our mate. To feel her touch once more.
We emerged from the cut, my skin taut and covered in the outline of scales as they threatened to emerge, to cover me.
Stop it. You made this mistake once before with her. She doesn’t want you. You have to …
Mate.
The single word burst into my head like the crack of ice, nearly shattering my resistance. But I was no weakling. I was the Ice Prince, and I would not cave. Not this time. Digging my feet in, I forced myself to stop, and then, with even more effort, I reversed course.
Each step was brutal, but soon enough the cut was there, and I even made it several steps back inside. I was winning the battle. A few more, and I could turn and be gone at long last.
A pained cry pierced the night.
Ella!
I surged forward, slicing my arm open on the rock as I flung myself in the direction of the cry with all speed. Pain was nothing anymore. Banished to the back corner of my mind, I ran as fast as my body could carry me.
Something pulled on my side as I ran, but I pushed through it, ignoring it until the sensation faded. All I could think of was getting to Ella. Keeping the attackers off her until she could get to safety.
I burst into a clearing in the forest to find Ella standing there, facing me, backing away with her arms raised defensively.
“Are you okay?” I gasped, looking around frantically for whoever had hurt her.
But there was no one. Just Ella, alone and unharmed. There was no trouble, no brimstone and ash on the air to indicate a fire dragon. Just Ella, staring at me.
“I’m fine,” she said slowly, her eyebrows coming together. “Are you?”
“Huh?” The question didn’t make sense. She was the one who had cried out.
Ella pointed at my side. “You’re bleeding.”
