Dragon Born

Chapter 20

The ride was long and brutal, the wind ruthless and the cold relentless. By the time Histero's lights came into view, I had lost all feeling in my hands and Camden's movements were noticeably sluggish.

The Ackers' dragons escorted us to the cave and undoubtedly notified the family of our arrival. Camden barely touched the ground before he shifted and collapsed onto the stone ground. Naturally, after riding on his back for hours, I fell on top of him.

He moaned but otherwise didn't move. My attempt to roll off him was feeble and pathetic; my arms might as well be boneless with the strength they had left in them.

"Cam!"

"Lyla!"

A pair of arms snared around my waist and lugged me off Camden. The Acker family crowded around the prince, Queen Bethany and Eli managing to get to the front of the line. With the help of her son, she managed to roll Camden onto his back then she began a thorough examination. Liam came by with a towel to give Camden some sense of privacy.

"He's fine," I promised them, then cleared my dry throat. "He wore himself out. He'll be up and running by tomorrow."

"Never mind him. What about you?" Quinn caught my chin and turned my head to face him. His eyes were frantic as they took me in. "Look at you, you're covered in soot." He wiped a smudge from my cheek and saw the small burn underneath. A shadow fell over his features. "Did he hurt you?"

I raised my hands to his face, to assure him I was fine, but they were trembling and wet with blood. After losing feeling in my hands from the brisk wind, I had forgotten all about my hands. I hastily tucked them away before he noticed.

But of course he noticed. He took them one at a time, wrapping them in a cloth they had lying around the den. I didn't have the strength to argue with him or remind him that the cloth should be sanitized before going near any wound. Later, when I had a moment to myself, I would clean them properly.

"I-I'm fine." Only, now that I was in a den full of dragons and their princes, their combined heat reminded me of what I had lost. A shiver racked through me.

Quinn's features melted into sorrow.
King Krona came to us; he regarded me the way he would someone who had insulted his entire family line. "What happened to Camden?"

Snarling, Quinn shoved him. "Back off, Father. Can't you see she needs a healer? Lyla can tell us later what happened. Take Cam to bed, like she suggested; I'll make sure Lyla gets the attention she needs." He didn't wait for permission from anyone; he scooped me up into his arms then walked out of the den.

I rested my head on his shoulder, breathing him in, sinking into his heat. All I could do was stare up at him as his gait gently rocked me side to side. His hair was a mess, adamant to hang barely out of reach of his eyes, threatening to cause trouble if he didn't push it aside. But he couldn't move them with his hands full.

Time and again, this man stood up for me, and time and again I questioned what his feelings for me were. Maybe it was time I stopped being afraid of what was clearly in front of me. Afraid of what could happen if I actually allowed myself to love Prince Quinnton Acker. "Q-Quinn. . ."

His resolute gaze was focused ahead of us in the empty hallway. Shadows from the corners cut across his sharp jawline and donned a mask of seriousness on his face. "Don't tell me your fine, Lyla. Your hands are shredded, you have burns all over, and you're freezing. There's nothing you can say that will make me put you down and walk away."

Moistening my lips, I reached up to his brow and brushed the hair out of his eyes, allowing my fingers to linger on his cheek, to feel the rough texture of his late night stubble. "I was going to say 'thank you'."