Chapter Thirteen
Cage could hardly wait to get Azy back to The Lindens. He needed to know that she would be safe from any demon Dragon attacks. He was very much looking forward to fucking her in a proper bed, underneath the domed skylight in his master suite.
Once they were back there he could finally feel like they were no longer running from the Black Dragon. A good warrior knew when to retreat back to their home base. The Lindens was highly defensible, and his warriors were well-trained. Every one of them would be prepared to lay down their lives to protect her and any other mate.
“I’ve got a small private jet coming in to fly you, Ninsy, and Fallyn to my home in the Netherlands.”
Azy wrinkled her nose, but nodded. They walked together toward Ninsy’s tent. After they checked in and them them know about his retreat plan, he would take Azy to bed again. His need for her had grown intense while she’d been gone. They had a few hours before everything would be ready for their departure.
Plenty of time to give her a half a dozen orgasms at least.
Then, he could get her to safety. Give her every comfort in the world. After all she’d been through, she deserved it.
But, first they needed to get of this god-damned continent and as far away from the caldera and the Black Dragon as possible.
He would be flying alongside the plane on their trip, ensuring there were no surprise attacks. Demon dragons couldn't take to the skies. But, there was no knowing what the Black Dragon could do.
Jett had completely disappeared after the escape from hell, which pissed him off. Cage needed to ask him a few fucking questions about the Black Dragon. It was hard to prepare against an enemy that they had very little intelligence on. He did not like flying into battle blind.
That’s all they’d been doing. For years.
All they knew was from his and Ky’s experiences in the Black Dragon's realm.
Jakob suggested they try questioning Fallyn.
Ha. Hilarious. She hadn't been afraid of any of them, but had told them to be careful because dragon warriors were probably after their souls.
Ninsy didn't let them talk to her for very long. She was as protective of Fallyn as Juliet's nursemaid.
Cage reached for Azy’s hand, wanting the way she grounded him, centered him. There was nothing beside him, but air.
“What if we don't all go to the Netherlands?” Azy had stopped walking beside him. She stood a meter behind him, staring at the ground her hands clenching and unclenching in fists.
A sensation like too much coffee on a late night after a bar fight had cages heart jumping up and waving a red flag. “Sweetheart, I know you don't like to fly. But we need to get you and the other women to safety as soon as possible. And that means getting as far away from the caldera and Africa. I know this oasis has been a level of protection for us, but I don't want to push our luck.”
He could practically feel the depths of hell creeping up on them now.
“Azy?” She wouldn't look at him. Why wouldn't she look at him? “Azynsa, what's going on right now?”
He wanted touch her, feel their bond. For the first time since he had first seen her in all her sword and glory coming to his rescue, there was a wall between them. He didn't think he had put it there. He only wanted to protect her, to keep her safe.
“For a long time, I feel like I have been in reaction mode. When my father died, I thought I would fall apart. He was my whole world.” She finally looked up at him and tears shimmered in her eyes.
Damn. Their time together had only been about escaping and mating. He swore as soon as possible they were safe and had a little breathing room they would spend long days and nights simply talking.
“I'm sorry about your father. I didn't know. I promise I will be there for you through this.”
Azy took a step back. “You're not listening. It's not about him. It's about me. When the Mami Wata showed up, I never questioned whether I wanted to change my whole life. I didn't think I had a choice at the time, so I went with them.”
Cage wouldn’t have felt like he had a choice then either. He understood what it meant to fulfill family and heritage expectations. Sometimes, no, all the time, he did what was right for the gold wyr. The Mami Wata had done what was right for Azynsa.
Everyone needed to be taken care of sometimes. That’s what family was for. His brother Wyvern’s had proven that to him more times than he could count.
A shimmer of light flashed at her neck and spread outward like a layer of protection over her. His own shard responded in kind.
But, then the light faded, sinking into the skin at her chest. “Not once did anyone ask me what I wanted.”
Well, shit. He certainly hadn't. He never questioned that Azy would be his mate. He had worried they weren't right for each other, but had decided all on his own he would make it work between them. What if that's not what she wanted?
He swallowed hard pushing back the dread in his question, so as to make his delivery flat. He didn't want to influence her response with his own need, as great as it was. “What do you want?”
Azy's face snapped up. The tears were gone, replaced with an emotion he wasn't sure he understood. Surprised that he had asked? Determination to fulfill her own wishes now? Was there anything in there for him?
“I'm not entirely sure. But, I know I don't want to leave here. I don't want to run anymore. It's all we have been doing.”
“We've been surviving. We had to escape, I had to rescue you.” He absolutely understood the look on her face now. It was an all-out fuck you.
“Maybe I didn't want to be rescued. Do I look like a damsel in distress, dragon?”
Azy was anything but that. “I don't think that for a second.”
Cage licked his lips and looked up at the sun. He needed some divine inspiration to help him say the right thing. His gut said to tell her that he was a warrior, that it was his job to protect her. His gut also slapped him for even thinking about that dumbass move. “It was killing me.”
They stared at each other for a moment. He hadn’t said enough for her to get his real meaning. Already his vulnerability with her had him raw. “I could feel your pain as if it was my own. I felt your sadness, your determination, you overwhelms me with your need for justice. I couldn't sit by and watch hell consume you.”
He prayed she would understand.
She crossed the space between them and placed her hand on his cheek. He leaned into her wanting much more than this simple connection.
“Cage. I get it. I felt the same about Fallyn. Maybe we were both wrong.”
He put his hand over hers and looked down into her honey eyes searching for clues how to soothe her and make this right. If he had a chance, he needed to take himself out of the equation. “What do you want?”
“I don't want to run.”
“I know. But, what do you want?”
She twisted her hand and took Cage’s in it. She brought it to her lips kissing his palm in the same way he had done to her.
“I want this to end. The Black Dragon has terrorized too many people's lives. Mine, yours, Fallyns, the Mami Wata and your gold dragons. We need to end it. Let's take the battle to him. What I want is to destroy him”
Ninety percent of Cage’s entire life was about being a warrior, fighting the plague of demon dragons without question. He fought for what was right. He never asked for anything in return. That was not the Dragon warrior way.
He brushed off fear like it barely existed, nothing more than dust motes compared to clouds. He knew now that was because he hadn't fully experienced true fear.
This visceral emotion gripped his heart with a fist of razors, shredding him from the inside out. Because, he knew he couldn't give Azy what she wanted.
He would never let Kur-Jara lay his eyes on her again.
She would be pissed. She would hate him for taking this choice from her.
He would let her hate him. He would hide her from the world. Lock her away in a golden tower. He would bare her hatred like a black mark on his soul, if only it would keep her safe.
He was a coward, and she was his greatest fear.