Free Taken by the Dragon King by Caroline Hale Page B

hesitate, looking down at the rocky desert floor. If for some unlikely reason I had ended up on this boulder myself, I’d have to shimmy down on my stomach or risk falling flat on my face. But now Asher’s dark, impatient eyes are staring up at me, tempting me to take a leap of faith.
    My squeal makes him chuckle as I leap forward. His strong hands stop my descent a heartbeat later and I’m breathing heavily in his arms. “It’s not far.”
    Asher’s anxiety gets worse the closer we get to our destination. I wonder how he’ll react if his stash is gone. If human fairy tales are any indication, that dragon temper of his will get the better of him and he’ll flip out. But it’s more than that. This is the only connection he has left to his old life.

Chapter Ten
     
     
    “I’ll have you out of the cold in a moment,” Asher assures me. “It’s right up ahead.”
    There is nothing but a huge slope of fallen stones against a cliff where he’s pointing, exactly the same as the piles of rocks that surround us in every direction. Ash isn’t saying anything, but he’s visibly worried.
    “There must have been many rock slides over the past few eons. I suppose that’s not all that surprising, really,” he grumbles, staring up at the tops of the rock columns. “Here.”
    We’re at least a hundred feet from the canyon wall, kept at bay by the remnants of the mountains that have broken free over the years. “You’re sure?”
    “Yes,” he replies, his brow furrowed. “The entrance was buried about ten feet down when I first came here. It’s probably closer to fifty now.”
    “So… what do we do? Start digging?”
    Asher shakes his head no. “Of course not.”
    “Were you able to walk through ten feet of gravel back then?”
    “I used a portal after I cleared all the way to the cave opening, but decided to rebury it later. I’ve only gone in this way a few times after I found it, mainly to check on the cloaking enchantment.”
    “Well, that’s still more or less intact,” I say, sensing the ancient, unraveling spell beneath my feet as I follow Asher up the slope.
    “The remaining concealment is from a solid gold totem. There were a few other layers of protection that haven’t survived.” Asher runs his fingers over the rock wall, pulling free loose chunks of rock and letting them skid away. “This cliff isn’t as stable as I’d like, but hopefully it will hold.”
    I follow his gaze up the cliff face, wiping my brow. Asher glances at me with concern like he has a hundred times since we started walking.
    “We need to climb back down,” he says, wrapping his arm around my waist.
    “For what?”
    “To keep you at a safe distance from the falling stones when I Shake the Earth.”
    “Shake the Earth? I’ve never heard of that spell.”
    “I don’t perform spells, Lindy,” he laughs.
    “How does your magic work?” I ask, my feet slipping out from under me.
    Asher catches me before I fall, pulling me into his arms as the rocks beneath up start sliding. I can feel his heartbeat against my palm as he swiftly strides us down to solid ground. “It’s not magic,”
    “So what is it?”
    “Power,” he breathes deeply, his broad chest expanding as his dark eyes lock with mine, making me shudder.
    “Oh.” I always thought those were the same thing, but ever since I’ve come into physical contact with Asher’s body, I’m not sure what type of energy radiates off him, let alone how he controls it.
    “Stay here, little witch,” he says, brushing his lips across mine.
    I nod and watch him approach the rockslide, a palpable confidence broadening his shoulders. Literally. His body is larger now like he gets when he shifts, but he doesn’t assume that strange posture. Instead he crouches to one knee, curling his hand into a fist and lowering it against the desert floor as he closes his eyes.
    I sense the disturbance energetically before I feel the tremor rolling through the ground under my feet.