Solaris

I couldn’t look at him. He’d betrayed me, and I’d almost been killed because of it. By his twin. I didn’t think I could ever look at Kaige the same way again. I hurried by his side in the dark as we moved quietly through the forest. The pain in my chest made my shoulders slump. It was so heavy it was suffocating. The worst part was that I couldn’t decipher if it was his or mine.

The blood bond was back in full force, and its intensity was enough to swallow me whole. I stepped on a branch and stumbled, its dry twigs wrapping around my shoe. I splayed my hands out to brace myself for the fall, but it never came.

An arm shot around my waist from behind, keeping me upright. My shoulder blades grazed his firm chest, and my traitorous body sagged into him. I’d never admit it to Kaige, but I was pretty weak after all the blood I’d lost. It was a momentary lapse though, and I quickly pushed myself free of his hold.

“Solaris—”

He reached out for me, but I squirmed out of his grasp and leaned up against a tree. I had to catch my breath. “Don’t, Kaige.”

“I need to explain.”

The ache in my chest throbbed. My fingers found their way to the source of the pain and rubbed in slow circles. I narrowed my eyes at him, a storm brewing behind his navy irises. “Explain what? You sold me out to save your own butt. I get it.”

He grabbed my arm and whirled me toward him. The navy exploded into bright silver. I clenched my teeth and glared at him. “Let go of me. Don’t ever touch me again.”

His hold relaxed, but he didn’t release me. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how else I can apologize.” He raked a hand through his untamed waves. “I came back for you, doesn’t that count for something?”

“Too little, too late,” I muttered under my breath.

“Gods, Solaris! Don’t you see what I’m risking here?” He threw his hands in the air, letting me go.

My skin was cold where his fingers had been. I shoved down the fuzzy feeling and focused on the anger. “Xander’s your twin. He wouldn’t turn you in and condemn you to death.”

A cold hard laugh exploded from his lips. “You don’t know anything about my brother. If I’m out of the picture, there will be no one in his way to become king.”

I exhaled a long breath. None of this mattered anyway. I just needed Kaige’s help to get out of Draconis. Once I was back in Imera, I’d never see him again.

My throat tightened. I swallowed down the lump and met glowing silver spheres. They luminesced brighter than the moon peeking through the treetops. I steeled my gaze and fixed it on those mesmerizing eyes. “Fine, whatever,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Just get me back to Imera, and we’ll call it even.”

The pressure in my chest relented. It was like a tire with a slow leak. I could finally breathe easier.

Kaige moved next to me and bent down, holding out his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m carrying you. We’ll move much more quickly that way.”

I arched a skeptical brow.

“You wanted me to get you back to Imera, right?”

“Yes, but—”

He scooped his arms under my legs, and the next thing I knew, we were zipping through the forest. I clamped my arm around his neck, digging my fingernails into his shoulder as green and brown splotches whizzed by in a blur. I squeezed my eyes shut as branches reached out to grab us as we raced by. Not one succeeded, since Kaige darted between the gigantic trees like a gazelle. After a few minutes I re-opened my eyes, fairly certain we weren’t going to bash our heads into a monstrous oak.

An icy chill whipped my hair across my face, and I buried my nose into Kaige’s shirt. He smelled like these woods, with hints of cedar and the air after a thunderstorm. With my ear pressed against his firm chest, it was impossible not to hear the pounding of his heart.

My own heartbeat accelerated as if trying to keep time with his. I glanced up, wondering if our close proximity was having the same effect on him. Dark eyes focused straight ahead, his jaw set. Light stubble covered the line of his jaw, and my fingers itched to touch it. Wisps of black hair fell across his forehead. He shook his head from side to side as he ran, but they kept tumbling over his eyes.

Before I could stop myself, my hand shot out and swept a stray lock behind his ear. Grazing his heated skin, a shiver tingled up my spine. He stopped breathing. He had been panting up until that very moment, and all of a sudden his chest ceased to rise and fall. I snatched my hand back and tucked it into my armpit.

He exhaled sharply and swallowed. “Thanks,” he breathed.

“No problem.” I kept my eyes shut, and my hands to myself until we reached the plane.

After a few minutes, Kaige began to slow. I opened my eyes as the trees fell away, and the path opened into a clearing. The small black aircraft glistened under the light of the moon. It was nothing compared to my Cessna, but to my weary eyes, it was the most beautiful thing I’d seen since arriving in Draconis. Well almost.

I unwrapped my arm from around Kaige’s neck, and he lowered me to the ground. His shirt was slick with sweat and clung to his torso, revealing a muscled chest and well-defined abs. For a second, I forgot I was still mad at him for betraying me. His lip curled up into a half smile as he caught me ogling him. I quickly averted my gaze, feeling my cheeks flush with heat.

There was an awkward moment of silence as we stood in the middle of the clearing, just staring at the plane and refusing to look at one another. After all this time, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I was going home. This was a happy moment, and yet I couldn’t chase away the twinge of loss in my gut.

Kaige cleared his throat and pointed at the plane. “It’s not much, but it’ll get you back to Imera.”

“I hope so. It doesn’t look like it could fly above the treetops let alone across the Shadow Lands.” I had to give him some crap after all he’d put me through.

“It’ll do. Don’t you worry about that.” He stomped toward the cabin door, and I followed behind him.

The retractable steps unfolded, and Kaige held his hand out to help me up.

“I got it,” I said, ignoring the gesture. I knew my way around a plane, and I certainly didn’t need his chivalry now.

The small plane was nothing like what I’d imagined a Draconis one to be, especially not one that belonged to the royal family. It was crappier than the one Gavin used for my lessons. There were no seats in the back hold, just empty wooden crates. I hurried into the cockpit in hopes of finding something a little more modern.

I was sorely disappointed.

I sank into the pilot’s chair and gripped the yoke as I stared at the rudimentary control panel.

“What are you doing?” Kaige loomed over me, his forehead slick with perspiration.

I turned the ignition and ran through the pre-flight checklist in my head. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting us out of here.”

“You’re not flying. I am.” He tugged on my arm.

“No way!” I jerked out of his grasp. “I didn’t even know you knew how to fly.”

“Of course I do. My father had Xander and me taking lessons before we were teenagers.”

I scowled. Just the sound of his name made me want to punch something. “Yeah, but when was the last time you actually flew a plane?”

He shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I got it here, didn’t I?”

“Before that?”

“I don’t know. A few months, maybe more. I’ve been a bit busy with preparing for the trials and learning to rule a country.”

“Exactly. I’ve been training everyday with my instructor for the past three months, plus I’m the only one who’s actually flown over the Shadow Lands and Imera.”

He grunted and slid into the seat next to mine. “You are absolutely incorrigible.”

I shot him my best smug smile. “Relax, you can fly it back when I’m long gone.”

There it was again—that pang of loss. I rubbed my palm over the middle of my chest. What was up with that?

I ignored the nagging sensation and flipped on the master avionics switch. The control panel flashed to life.

“Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?” Kaige leaned toward me, peering over my shoulder.

“I think I can handle a little crop duster like this one.” I elbowed him in the gut for good measure. I didn’t need a backseat driver.

I engaged the throttle, and the little plane rocked forward. The clearing wasn’t big, a few hundred yards at most. I hoped this girl had enough power to get us over the treetops before we ran out of runway.

“Kaige, what if someone sees the plane?” If Draconis were anything like Imera there would be soldiers positioned along the border.

“I’ve already taken care of that. I compelled one of the Royal Guards, Maxum. He’ll explain to anyone who asks that I’m doing training exercises.”

“In this crappy thing?”

He arched a dark brow, his mouth twisting. “Luckily, when you’re compelled you don’t ask many questions.”

“Fair enough.” I pulled back the throttle, and the little engine roared to life. “Here we go!”

Kaige gripped the armrests, his body lurching backward as I accelerated. Through the canopy, the thick trunks of towering trees loomed ever closer. I pulled back on the yoke, my knuckles white from the effort. The airspeed indicator climbed, but not fast enough.

“Come on, baby. Come on,” I muttered.

“Solaris—”

“I got this.” I yanked back as far as the control wheel would go as we rumbled down the gravel runway.

My teeth chattered, my entire body trembling from the rocky debris under the wheels. I glanced up at the speedometer—almost there. The edge of the forest was only yards away. A thick gauntlet of trees blocked out the windscreen.

“Pull up!” shouted Kaige.

“I am!”

He leaned across the divide and wrapped his big hands around mine and pulled back a few more inches. The plane pitched forward, the nose angled up and the ground fell away beneath us. My stomach dropped as we soared over the treetops, the wheels scratching against the topmost branches. The little plane jolted up and down for a few moments before settling.

I switched on the auto-pilot and sank back in the chair, releasing a long breath. “See I told you I could do it.”

Kaige’s eyes tore into me, wide and wild. “You almost killed us.”

I glared at him. “Well maybe now you’ll know how I felt!”

He raked his hands through his messy hair, yanking at the ends. “You’re never going to forgive me for that, are you?”

“No. But what does it matter if I forgive you or not?”

His navy eyes bored into mine, a fury of emotions running across the surface. The blood bond pulsed, igniting a tremor in my chest. “It just does.”