Prince of Spies - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,7

and give what reassurance he could.

“We’ll make it, Riki. All you have to do is trust me. I promise. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, now or ever again. You have my solemn vow.”

Riki leaned back to look up at him and Nico kissed her again. As he tasted her lips with his own, there was an instant, blinding conflagration within his dragon soul. Inside, where his dragon slept while in human form, the beast stirred, trumpeting one word over and over in the dark recesses of his being.

“Mine!”

A slight noise from below finally penetrated and brought Nico back to the moment. He let her go, moving the fallen soldiers away from the opening so they would not be so readily visible from below. That might give them an extra few moments before the alarm was raised.

Holding her gaze, Nico moved away to let the change take him. The black mist rose and a moment later, he looked at her through the jeweled tourmaline eyes of his dragon form.

“Climb on my back, sweetheart.” He offered a bent foreleg for her to use as a step. She scrambled up and immediately flattened herself to his neck, wrapping her little arms around him and hugging him tight. He loved the feel of her, the way she clung to him and the heat of the secret place between her thighs over the ridge of his back, but he could not let it distract him. Not now.

They were still in danger. “Hold tight now. We’ll fall for a bit at first until I can spread my wings fully, but don’t worry. I’ve been flying for many years and haven’t crashed yet.”

With a leap they were airborne and to her credit, Riki did not scream. Nico half-expected her to cry out in alarm, given the freefall required for him to launch from such a narrow opening. She clung tightly, but kept her mouth shut, which was all the better for their stealthy escape. There were other towers, he well knew, and other sentries who might notice the subtle beat of his wings. He skirted the towers as best he could but it was some moments before he breathed easier, flying out over open country.

Riki relaxed her death grip on his neck, obviously more comfortable with flying the farther away they got from the palace.

“How are you doing, my lovely?”

“Right now I’m praying that this all isn’t just a dream.”

“I can assure you, it’s quite real. You’re safe now. Or you will be as soon as we can get to the border.”

Nico gained altitude as the night wore on. He knew the cold at this level was difficult for Riki, but better that than risk being seen. A dragon over the skies of Skithdron—particularly a royal black dragon—would bring out their enemies in force. He poured on the speed, hoping to go as far as possible before the sun rose too high in the sky. It was a long way to the border, but black dragons were the fastest of all dragons and Nico had trained himself to fly faster and longer than any of his brethren. Such skills were important in his line of work.

“How are you doing, Riki?”

“I’m a little cold, but I’d rather be cold than dead.”

Nico admired her spirit. He knew the heat produced by his body kept her warm for the most part, but she was poorly dressed for the altitude and much too thin as well. He would have to find her something better to wear during the daylight hours when flying would be too dangerous.

“Snuggle in close to me, sweetheart. My body heat should help a bit.”

“Oh, it does. You’re like a furnace, Nico. My own personal hot water bottle, on a giant scale.”

“Any time, Riki.” Again, he found himself chuckling. “I’ll warm you any time. All you have to do is ask.”

Chapter Three

As they flew through the night, Nico thought back to the mating flight he’d witnessed between his oldest brother, Roland, and his new queen. Lana was the first female black dragon in centuries and although she’d come to her wings later in life than most royal blacks, she trained hard and was flying beautifully by the time she and Roland tried to mate in dragon form. Lana didn’t know it, but Roland had asked Nico to stand by in the shadows, watching in case Lana didn’t come out of freefall in time.

Roland had convinced him the pleasure of being with his wife in any