her eyes on the other huntress.
Sakala’s eyes widened, and her sultry smile turned to one of delight. “You are awake!”
“Leave the food and fetch Telani,” Falthyris snapped, corking the waterskin and dropping it onto the pallet.
“Of course.” Sakala stepped farther into the room and set the platter on the floor near Falthyris.
Elliya didn’t miss the way the huntress’s fingers brushed over his shoulder as she rose, nor did she miss Falthyris’s shudder.
Before anything more could be said, Sakala hurried out.
Elliya lifted a hand to take hold of Falthyris’s chin, hooking her fingers around a couple of his jaw spikes. She forced his face toward her with a strength that would have surprised her if not for the deep, burning possessiveness simmering inside her.
“You are mine, dragon, and I will not share you,” Elliya growled. “It was I who claimed you.”
It did not matter if tradition had always dictated the males of the tribe take many wives—Falthyris was hers and hers alone.
He groaned, and his tongue flicked out, catching the air. Sliding his hands down her sides, he grasped her hips and lifted her onto his lap. “There will be no sharing, female. You are mine, and a golden dragon takes but one mate whether it is for a mortal lifetime or all eternity.” He tilted his forehead and pressed it against hers. “You are my forever, Elliya. I feared I had lost you.”
The raw emotion in those last few words pierced her heart—his fear, his desperation, his passion, his love.
Elliya wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. She smiled. “I am a huntress. My heart beats fierce, and it also beats true.” She brushed her lips across his. “It beats for you, Falthyris.”
“And you will tell this to your people in no uncertain terms. I will melt this cliffside if one more female looks at me with heated eyes and runs her fingers over my scales.” His hold on her hips tightened. “Only you may touch me. None other.”
Before Elliya could utter her own threat toward her tribe sisters for so freely touching her mate, loud voices—or rather, one particularly loud voice—carried through the corridor. She and Falthyris raised their heads.
“She has awakened, and you have kept me from her long enough, Telani,” Dian said an instant before he ducked into Elliya’s chamber, followed by her mother.
He stopped short when he saw Falthyris. He retreated a step, eyes glimmering with a hint of fear. His gaze landed next on Elliya, sweeping over her naked torso and her position in Falthyris’s lap, and his demeanor shifted again. He clenched his fists and glared at the dragon.
Dian lifted a hand, jabbing a finger toward Falthyris. “Elliya is mine. The Red Star did not usurp my right to claim her.”
The heat radiating from Falthyris’s chest intensified, as did its glow through his scales. But when Falthyris moved, it was with deliberate slowness, predatory control, and an air of menace that even Elliya could not miss.
Falthyris slid Elliya off his lap, settling her gently atop the furs that comprised her pallet. He lingered to give her a fleeting kiss on her lips before pushing himself up to stand at his full height—more than a head taller than Dian, and far broader in frame. His wings spread slightly as he stepped forward, filling the small chamber with his presence, leaving room for little else. Even with his head slightly ducked, his horns scraped the ceiling.
Dian retreated farther.
“Your claim is as empty as your arrogance, human,” Falthyris said, his rumbling voice filling in what space his body did not. “Look upon her in such a way again, and you shall lose your eyes. Point your finger at me again and you will lose all of them. Speak to me in that manner again, and you will lose your tongue.”
Telani stepped in front of Falthyris, blocking his path. “You cannot harm him, dragon.”
“Oh, but I can, priestess.” Falthyris leaned forward, looking directly over Telani’s head, not taking his eyes off Dian. “He has no need of eyes, fingers, or tongue to spread his seed. And though his silence would be welcome, it may do your tribe better to be rid of his strain all together.”
“Falthyris,” Elliya said. However much she enjoyed seeing Dian cowering and put in his place, she didn’t want him hurt. “He is naught but a spoiled child. Come back to me.”
Falthyris’s nostrils flared, and tiny flames flashed from them. Dian stumbled backward, nearly pulling down the leather door flap as