Dragon Tamer

Chapter 26

As soon as I shut the door to my room behind me, I stripped out of the stupid dress and changed into my riding gear. Monsters be damned, I couldn't spend another minute in this castle. I was falling apart and making a fool of myself. Not how I wanted the Dricinos to be viewed as.

I shoved the last of my things in my backpack then swung it over my shoulder. After my last visit here, I knew enough of the castle to be confident in my abilities to find the dragons' den. I could make a quick escape to Elesor and be out of here before anyone noticed I was gone. Assuming anyone will care I'm gone.

Shoving that thought aside, I yanked the door open--and found Camden standing in my way about to knock. Someone had given him a pair of pants to fit into, but apparently they couldn't find him a shirt. The torchlight in the hallway cast shadows over his broad chest and abs, making him all the more heart-breakingly handsome. I couldn't stand to look at him.

"Kali?" He peered at my backpack and frowned suspiciously. "You're leaving? You can't. It's too dangerous."

"It's better than being here," I spat. A part of me wondered why he was here, but the other part just wanted him to get out of the way so I could leave and move on with my life.

He winced then put a hand on either side of the door frame, blocking my exit. "Was it the party? It was too much, wasn't it? If it was the dress. . . my mother won't have you executed; she knows what a twat I can be. I only wanted to fool around. I didn't think people would fear me like that. Having you near made it less overwhelming for me. You're the only one who doesn't look at me differently."

Don't do it. I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to look up at him. My heart went out to him, it truly did, but the instant I looked into those mesmerizing green eyes, I would only be reminded that I could never be his. His people would soon come to realise he hadn't changed at all and that he was worthy of their love and devotion. They just needed time to adjust. He didn't need me.

"I just wanted to say goodbye and go home, Cam," I confessed, the resolve in my voice not nearly as strong as I wanted it to be. "I didn't want to dance with Ronan or to be told I have a boy's name or be paraded in front of everyone like that. That might be your life, but it's not mine. I'm just a dragon tamer."

"I'm sorry." He sounded earnest in his apology, but he still didn't move out of the way. "What do you want to do instead?"

I peered up at him, hoping it wasn't too noticeable I'd been crying before he arrived. "What do you mean? What about the party?"

I thought he had only come here to apologize and stop me from leaving while it was still dark.

He shook his head, finally dropping his hands to his sides. His eyes flashed gold. "Fuck the party if you're not enjoying it. I don't know when I'll see you again; I want to spend tonight with you, however you want to spend it."

It occurred to me to reach up and kiss him with everything I had, to pull him into the bedroom and make love to him. It'd be a night I would never forget. A night he hopefully wouldn't forget too quickly. But I wanted more than that. I wanted to see him every morning when I woke up, to fly to the ends of the world with him, go on our own adventures. But I couldn't have any of it. He was a Dragon Prince. His duty was to stay here and protect his people, not run away with some daydreaming nobody--on the off chance that's what he even wanted. Of course he didn't, though. He could have anyone he wanted. And he picked that woman who'd called him Cammie.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Can we go flying?" That's what I needed right now, to feel the wind in my hair, to clear my mind, see the ocean one last time, to pretend the sun was never going to come up, and see his beautiful dragon one more time.