Dragon looked down at her, his blue eyes hypnotically beautiful.
You are true mate. He will come.
She wanted to pretend she didn’t know who Erik’s dragon was talking about, but she knew. Ryker. Ryker would come for her. She’d known, deep in her bones, that he would come for her, and the truth of that had kept her from panicking when Erik kidnapped her. She’d known. That didn’t mean she wasn’t mad as hell and hurting and feeling stupid and betrayed.
They stared at one another for long seconds, and Katy felt like she had made a new friend, or friends, in both Erik and his dragon.
“You really are beautiful.”
The dragon nodded its head as if to say thank you and reached forward with one wing.
Fly with me.
What? Fly? On a dragon? She wanted to, kind of, but the fear of freezing to death warred with the fear of falling off. Still, how many people had the chance to ride a freaking dragon? With a grin, she reached out to touch the soft edge of the dragon’s wing. It was softer than his face, like warm, smooth silk.
A roar thundered through the sky, and Erik’s dragon looked up at the same time Katy did to see a dark shadow coming at them like an arrow out of the sky.
Get back!
Erik’s dragon used his wing to lift her and throw her toward the building. She was flailing, flying backward through the air, bracing for a very painful landing when a pair of strong arms plucked her from thin air and settled her gently on her feet. One of Erik’s Guardians stood next to her, scowling at his king.
Erik‘s dragon launched himself into the air with an answering roar that rattled Katy’s rib cage.
A huge black dragon reached out with sharp talons and struck at the silver, their bodies tangling above the courtyard before both beasts crashed to the ground, ripping and thrashing at one another.
She looked at the Guardian standing next to her. “Why aren’t you doing something?”
“My king forbids interference. He wants the fight.”
Katy clenched her fists. She wanted to strangle the Guardian. Strangle Erik. Strangle the black beast that she somehow knew was Ryker. “You’re all idiots.”
The Guardian crossed his arms and moved to block her body from the fight but said nothing.
“Get out of my way,” she fumed.
“No. You are to be protected.” He turned to her with flames dancing inside his eyes like candles. “Stand back. Do not challenge me.”
That was the last straw. She was seething mad. “Take your fire eyes and shove them where the sun don’t shine, Mr. Guardian Man. Get out of my way.”
The Guardian looked down at her for a few seconds. Katy glared right back.
He laughed and the transformation was shocking. He was…gorgeous. Every single one of these damn dragon-clan people were too damn good-looking to be real. “You are a true mate. Go then. Take your dragon with you before my king decides to do something stupid.”
“Like what?”
“End his torment. There are only two ways a dragon can die. The executioner’s blade, or in battle with another dragon.”
Katy looked up to see the silver and black dragons breathing fire at one another as they plummeted toward the water, neither letting go. The ultimate game of chicken.
“Can they drown?”
“No. They are of the earth itself. Your dragon is a king, Katy. The oldest among us.”
“He’s not my dragon.” Katy denied the truth, but she knew it was a lie. Even now she could somehow feel the black dragon’s heartbeat, his rage, his fire. The sensation of warmth spread through her entire body, made her breasts heavy and her core ignite with desire. Memories of their time together filled her mind as the familiar heat surged in her veins.
Was that what she’d felt that night in his arms? The heated, orgasmic, mind-numbing pleasure she’d had in Ryker’s bed? Dragon magic? Was that what Erik’s dragon had sensed in her? Had Ryker marked her somehow? Made her off-limits to other dragons?
The thought should upset her, but somehow the idea that a magical bond existed between her and Ryker was reassuring. Ryker had known the whole time who she was. Knew he was making love to her that first time, not Emily. He’d said as much at the ball.