One female and one male leave the group with the girl. They'll reach Rexon in two days by flight. Hopefully, the girl will settle in while Dramon and I finish our business with the kidnapped woman.

Dramon and I ride on. His hands are heavy on my thighs. I've been on his lap many times before, but I find myself twiddling my thumbs as he leads us through the Valley. Somehow, it feels like our wedding day when I rode with him embedded inside me and the Clan's eyes all over us.

There are heavy grey clouds ahead. It's going to rain soon, and it's looking like a storm.

"I really hope the Seer is done messing with me," I whisper.

"What?" Dramon says from behind me, his rumble echoing through my own chest. I never explained my connection to the Seer, so I expected his confusion.

I clear my throat. Here goes nothing. "I met her when you were flying through her territory in search of me."

His fingers dug deeper into my thighs, nails threatening to rip through the cloth. He isn't fond of the memory of losing me.

"She took care of me when she found me feverish and bleeding and..." I squeeze his meaty hand. "You're hurting me."

He instantly relaxes his hold.

"I left on good terms, but then I started dreaming of her. She said she would show me what's in your heart..." I trail off, knowing that he's about to erupt.

"What do you mean, show you what is in my heart?"

"I didn't know what you thought of me..." I explain lamely. "She wanted to show me if you would take advantage of me being... er, sexually distressed."

"Take advantage?!" he blows, and the Clan comes to a stop behind us.

"You said I was beautiful."

"So what!" he grits out. "I did only mean your flesh!" He breathes heavily behind me to keep his control together. I see him raise an arm to rake his fingers through his hair, and it's then that I realize I've forgotten about his injuries. His head is always high, his shoulders broad, his gaze sharp. He wears his injuries like war badges.

"I am not a poet, Venus, but I know that you are a good female." He leans closer, skimming those lips against my earlobe. "Not just good in my furs, and not just good at wearing my cum."

He doesn't say those words teasingly. He's furious, but he has no way of punishing me. Maybe if we were on good terms, he would have touched me and left me hot and bothered. Or maybe he would have tossed me over his lap and spanked me like my mother did when I was younger and snuck out at night. Instead, he speeds up until we're galloping and I'm getting tossed atop him.

I grit my teeth as I hold his forearms to stabilize myself. This is my punishment. There's a meaning behind it. He's telling me I should consider myself lucky that I'm only on this beast because he would have ridden me harder. Wrung me out until all I could do was lie on our bed and think about my assumptions.

I cling on until I feel the first raindrop on my skin. I don't feel any different, but I don't know if the Seer is done playing with my body.

"We shou-ld stop," I tell Dramon.

The last thing I want is for the Clan to ride through another one of the Seer's plots.

He makes a gesture, and the Clan spreads. They stop by the side of a mountain and instantly unpack. At this rate, we'll never reach the woman. We're taking too many stops, but I'd prefer if everyone is safe.

I help two men put up my tent and brush down Treysa. I'm sweaty from riding under the hot sun, and my nails are caked with dirt, but I feel at peace. When I close my eyes, I lose track of time and fall asleep.

I'm stirred awake when hands sweep under me. I tense, only to realize that Dramon is carrying me. "What are you doing?" I ask him groggily.

"You fell asleep under the sun. You would have burned."

I clear my throat. "Right..."

He takes me into my tent. It's smaller since it's meant for one person.

"The men want to train until it pours," he says as he lays me down. "I will be with them. Do you want to join?"

Usually, this is the part where I let him down. I've never trained with his men before, always afraid of looking like a weakling. Maybe Dramon is right, though. Maybe there's nothing for me to lose.

"Yes."

"Alright then, sleep..." he blinked. "Did you say yes?"

The response makes me giggle. "I did."

Dramon pauses. "Oh." He helps me back to my feet. "This way, then."

I take my cane and follow him outside. The tents are up now, and most men are waiting idly while two of them tend to the animals.

"A new face joins us today," Dramon announces.

I stand taller. Their gazes don't bother me anymore. I've been under enough scrutiny to be used to this attention. There's still this innate need inside of me to minimize my limp and walk as normally as possible.

"Venus," Dramon walks behind me, studying me. "Is human, but that does not make her harmless. You must all study our sparring and learn her strengths."

The men stare at us a little wide-eyed. They probably didn't expect to see their leaders— husband and wife, fighting.

"She's small and fast. That's her top advantage."

Dramon turns and gestures for me to move forward. He wants me to get a head start.

I lower my cane and step forward. With a push, I jump on his back. My knee is bad, but my thighs work just fine. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to suffocate him.

To shake me off, Dramon drops backward. I sling myself around until I'm on his front and he takes the blunt of the fall. My hands continue to strangle him, and my thumbs press into his throat.

He smirks at me, looking pleased as I straddle and restrict his airflow. My body takes the wrong message from the angle and his expression, and now I'm in need of new, dryer panties.

I release my hold on his neck.

"With just the tip..." Dramon begins.

My eyes widen. Is he teasing me again?

"With just the tip of her thumbs, she could have done a lot of damage to my throat. Remember this. We have similar weak points as humans."

Dramon sits up, and I move to slide off him. Before I can stand on my own, he's on his feet and supporting my weight by my butt.

"Pair up and practice. I'm ending this early today."

After three minutes, he's calling it quits?

I tug on his arm, wanting his hand off my butt and my feet back on the ground. Dramon carries me back to my tent and sets me down by the entrance.

"Are you sure you want to end so quickly?" I frown.

"You were great," he compliments me.

"Uh, thank you?"

"Your thighs," he reaches down and touches one. He's so close to my apex that I feel a flutter down there. "They have great grip. Your legs are not as damaged as you think. If you exercise, you may be able to walk again without help."

I don't allow myself to feel hopeful.

"I saw many doctors that said otherwise," I look away. "There is no fixing this."

"What is the harm in trying?" he encourages and kneels in front of me. His hands gently wrap around my calf and lift it gently. "Just do some exercises daily. I will help you.

I don't want to hear it. Exasperated, I shake my head. "There is no fix for me."

"Venus—"

"You would just waste your time."

What was I thinking? I shouldn't let him raise my hopes.

I walk around him, limping terribly since I don't have my cane, and I collapse on my bed. "It's best if I don't return to training."

"Do not let your past win like I did. That is why I could not let Salina go. I let my guilt control me."

Desperate to shift the topic from my knee, I blurt, "why did you feel guilty? It wasn't your fault that she miscarried."

He doesn't reply, so I glance at him.

He looks exhausted.

"Dramon?"

"I was training, and I didn't hear her approach. I turned too sharply, and she fell. It was my fault."

"What?" I whisper.

"I know," he runs a hand through his messy short hair. "I should have been more—"

"No!" I interject. "No, that is crazy. She should have known better than to jump into the middle of a match. That was not your fault, and the witch is diabolical if she has been shoving this idea down your throat."

"You don't understand," he argues. "I was distracted."

"Oh, please. Salina can eat shit. What happened to her is awful but she should not blame others for her misfortune." I roll my eyes. "I'm glad that creature is gone. You did not need her poison."

He's silent for a long time. "I wish you felt this strongly about your leg. I wish you saw the potential I did."

I swallow and roll onto my side. He steps closer, his loud footsteps betraying his enormous body. I feel his warm hand grip my bad knee and lift it gently.

"Relax."

No sane woman can relax while having him hovering over them. The anticipation to have him inside is natural.

He slowly lifts my knee toward my chest. I fearfully grip his wrist to stop him.

"I will not hurt you," he promises.

I release him, and he drops my knee before repeating the process. After a few minutes, it begins to ache, so I stop him again. "I can't anymore," I whisper.

"Tomorrow, then. We will try new exercises?" He looks at me with wide eyes. Like a boy stuck in a man's body.

Sighing, I dip my head.

"Good. Get some rest."

I feel lips on my forehead and then cool air as he walks off. For the rest of the day, I'm unable to remove my hand from my forehead.

— —

That night, I don't sleep. My belly is full and my tent is warm, but I can't stop thinking of my earlier conversation with Dramon. Is there really hope for my leg?

Feeling a little excited, I roll out of bed and stand. I bend my leg up a dozen times, and then gently try to extend it as much as possible. My muscles pull, but the pain isn't unbearable.

I'm trying a new exercise when I lose balance and rumble into the tent.

The pain and panic are instant. I landed awkwardly, and who knows how much damage I've done to my leg this time.

I gasp and tremble, lost in my dark and suffocating tent. I feel vulnerable and so very human. Tears fill my eyes as I forget who I am and lose it.

"Venus!"

Cloth shifts as Dramon digs me out. It only takes him seconds to have me on his lap.

I cling to my bad leg, unable to put words together.

"I was trying—"

"I thought—"

"My leg—"

I'm strong, but this is one insecurity that has a way of melting my resolve.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Dramon asks as he rubs my back.

I shake my head when I realize the pain isn't really that bad. The fear made me imagine the severity.

"It is alright," Dramon tucks my head under his chin and hugs me so tightly that I forget my tent is collapsed around us. His free hand comes to my face and wipes my eyes. "It was only a small bump in the road. You will walk away from this, yes?"

I nod.

He stands, and I open my mouth to protest when he doesn't carry me.

"You can walk. It is all in your head. If you can make Rider Kings fall to your mercy then you can do this, little human."

I cling to his arm and look at my legs fearfully.

"I will wait for you," Dramon says.

My toes squirm. It takes me five minutes to take that first step. Dramon waits patiently as he promised. He's a solid force beside me as I limp to his tent.