Page 17 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
‘What?’
‘Wake up.’
He jolted awake with a sharp breath, chest heaving. Something soft struck him square in the face. Blinking, he found Dawn standing at the entrance to his tent, a blanket draped over his torso—the obvious weapon usedto rouse him.
‘I thought wyverians were meant to be mighty warriors,’ the witch remarked, hands planted firmly on her hips. ‘You snore louder than those damned dragons.’ She cast an irritable look his way. ‘We’re moving. Get up.’
‘Give me a minute,’ he muttered, clearing his throat and raking a hand through his short black hair. He was still trying to comprehend how a dream could have felt so blisteringly vivid…
Dawn snorted. ‘A minute?’ Her gaze dropped to the blankets. ‘Why? Were you dreaming of tits, commander, and now you’re hard?’
Kai pulled the blankets aside, revealing quite plainly the strain in the leather of his black trousers. Dawn’s purple eyes widened for a heartbeat before irritation swiftly reclaimed her features.
‘I was dreaming of you and all the wicked things that mouth of yours could do to me.’
Colour flushed along Dawn’s cheekbones, and for a moment, Kai was tempted to make that dream reality. Instead, she fixed him with a glare sharp enough to level an army.
‘You’re revolting,’ she snapped, turning on her heel. ‘Hurry up. Alina’s in a mood.’
Dawn strode out of the tent, and Kai let out a low laugh, unable to help himself—not when he’d seen the desire in her purple eyes.
The very same that still lingered in his own.
…
Alina Acheron had risen before the sun had even graced the horizon. In the stillness of the hour, she checked each of her dragons with meticulous care, then swept across the surrounding terrain, ensuring no hidden dangers lurked beyondthe dunes. Isla and Arena—the two Dunayans who had chosen to accompany them—were already scouting for game.
She inspected the tents, stitched together from serpent skin, to confirm they remained securely fastened should a sudden sandstorm surge across the wastes. Then her attention drifted, drawn irresistibly, to the woman standing at the edge of the rocky ridge that shielded their encampment from the wind, tending to the phoenix that had followed its master at the last minute. Though Alina had endured days in Mareena Noor’s presence, resisting the urge to stare had not grown any easier.
Mareena Noor was, perhaps, the most breathtaking woman alive. Princess of the phoenixians and a warrior of the Phanax, her figure was honed in elegant strength and graceful curves. Her eyes—red as the deep wine Alina had once savoured in her homeland, what felt like a lifetime ago—held a fire that seemed to smoulder even in shadow. Mareena’s hair was typically pressed straight between slabs of polished stone, but the hardships of travel afforded no such privilege; it had returned to its natural state—soft waves cascading, curling rebelliously at the ends.
She wore the traditional armour of her people: a white suit with long sleeves, cinched and reinforced with leather at the waist, arms, and back for protection. Clutched in one hand was her helmet, fashioned in the likeness of a serpopard—a mythical creature born of serpent and leopard.
Before Alina could address Mareena, her attention shifted to the approaching witch, with Kai Blackburn striding beside her. It was difficult not to look at the wyverian prince. Tall and powerfully built, shaped by war, he moved with the assuredness of a predator. The twisted black horns crowning his head called to mind the cautionary tales drakonians had whispered in childhood—stories meant to frighten her into submission. Theyhad never truly succeeded.
‘A storm is coming,’ Mareena observed quietly as she stroked her phoenix made of golden and crimson feathers. ‘We should seek safer ground.’
‘No. We should pack and keep moving.’ Alina turned away from the group, snatching up whatever she could to begin gathering their supplies.
‘We can’t keep driving the dragons like this,’ Kai interjected, stepping swiftly to her side. Since their last argument, tension had hung thick between them. Alina had kept her distance, watching the wyverian and his easy rapport with the witch. ‘They’ve been flying without rest. We’ve travelled without rest. We used to travel only through the night and now we spend day and night on the move. There’s barely any food left for your beasts. They’ll perish before we even reach the desert king.’
‘I know my dragons better than you.’
‘I’ve never claimed otherwise, princess.’
She ignored him and continued across the camp. Her dragons lay nearby—slumbering, conserving their strength—sprawled in a loose formation that shielded the company from the vast and merciless desert beyond.
‘Can’t the witch use her magic to hasten our journey?’ Alina asked, irritation sharpening her words. She caught the flash of anger in Kai’s black eyes and relished it.
‘I am not a tool,’ Dawn snapped.
Alina pivoted to face her. ‘I will stop at nothing to bring down Hagan.’
‘And what do you think we’re trying to do?’ Kai cut in.
‘And her?’ Alina gestured towards Dawn. ‘Has no one wondered why a witch is so desperate to slaughter one of her own?’ She stepped closer, her brown eyes narrowing withsuspicion. ‘Why do you want to stop Hagan? Surely your ambition lies in destroying the Houses.’
‘Alina, don’t start this again…’ Kai exhaled in exasperation.
