Page 51 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
“Ugh,” Anna said, shuddering. “So embarrassing. But you’re not wrong, I guess.”
“Okay. So why not me and Dirk? It’s not like him returning was the first time we’d seen one another. Not at all. Why did nothing happen before?”
Anna was silent and thoughtful as we exited the private wing, Durion falling in behind us as the guard on duty. A further four guards joined us as we entered the main hallways of the citadel, though only Durion walked near.
“Maybe it was because you were hurt and weak?” Anna said, offering up the suggestion. “Could the slave collar Yarl put on you have messed things up? Or the removal? Maybe both interfered with your dragon and his perception of you. When we came back right before the attack, you were all better.”
“Maybe,” I said, nodding slowly, not sure I believed it.
“Youareall better. Aren’t you?” she asked softly.
“Physically, yeah, I’m fine,” I whispered back.
“But …”
“But at night, sometimes, sometimes the nightmares come back,” I said, hesitating over telling her. “I wake up in a sweat, screaming. I’m surprised you don’t hear it.”
Anna shrugged. “The walls are thick, and so are the doors. For that reason.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. I was scaring Milly for a bit back at the chalet.”
“It wasn’t as bad as you think,” Durion interjected. “Sorry. I just thought you should know.”
“Thanks,” I said awkwardly, not sure what else to say to that. “I’m sure it hasn’t helped Milly be comfortable enough to have hers off yet, having to listen to me shriek like that.”
“It’ll take time,” Anna said.
I think she was trying to sound encouraging, but it came off more helpless than anything.
“I’m not asking you for a solution,” I said, taking her arm and squeezing it. “I just need you to know why I’m moving slowly with Dirk. Until I can figure out what happened to my dragon, I don’t know what to do. He doesn’t have any mate marks. Why not? Why did my dragon not like him enough to return the favor?”
“I don’t know,” Anna said. “Ours started coming in when we kissed, and there was more each time things got a little more, uh, intense. But I’m not really an expert on any of this. I’m making it up as I go.”
I laughed. “You’re doing a great job of it. And I appreciate your patience while I work through … me.”
“You’re my friend, El. I’ll always be there for you,” she said as we exited the citadel doors to the landing field.
It was abuzz with activity. The stones that made up the giant square were fitted together with perfect precision, creating a mosaic that showed a huge image of a dragon head when viewed from the sky.
Right now the stones were covered with dragons. Some were guards, patrolling the perimeter in pairs, while nearby other dragons swooped in and landed, disgorging groups of men,women, and children dressed in rags, clutching precious few possessions to their bodies as they were hurried out of the way by yet more guardsmen.
Behind them came yet more ice dragons, and the pattern was repeated.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at Durion.
“If I had to guess, I would say refugees. People displaced by the Reds. Looks like Casimir has ordered them back to the citadel so they can be taken care of.”
That made sense. Where was Dirk?
I looked to the skies, shielding my eyes with one hand against the brilliant midday orblight.
Beside me, Anna hissed.
“What?”
“They’ve taken casualties. There are three missing that I can count. Holes in the formation. Maybe more among those already landed. I don’t know.”
The bottom of my stomach dropped out. Casualties? I scanned the sky more frantically, trying to find a certain brilliant white dragon, larger than the rest of them.
