Kiss of the Dragon Read Online Free PDF

still land a blow. I didn't want to attack him - how would that help my cause? Besides, I was unarmed. My bare hands alone would not be enough to kill the Fairy King, nor did I want them to be. Despite his show of prowess right now, I still had hopes Aliath wanted me as an ally. But I could use the magic of the chimes to finish my dance, to complete my spin. It just needed focus and determination - and conveniently, a hell of a lot of courage.
    I blocked out all other sensations - not an easy task - and concentrated on the execution of the next dance motion. The final step to my spin fighting routine. Just like the rituals I'd been repeating in my chamber for the past week, spin fighting is ingrained within me. I could practically do it in my sleep. Or when under the magical influence of a fairy chime.
    I waited for a variation in the chiming; an increase in speed, a hitch to the tone. It took forever. I couldn't break my current spin without some sort of change to stimulate my actions. I was on a perpetual loop; same spin, same speed, same direction, until the chime dictated differently. I was at Aliath's mercy, I'd known this, but not as much as I knew it right now, as I waited for a shift in that blasted, yet beautiful, chime.
    Finally, it took on a resonant tone, slightly lower, slightly faster, an altogether most unexpected variance than before. It was perfect, I needed increased speed to break from the spin, like the force of an object flung out of orbit from the moon. But the lower tone, the deeper echo provided the exact combination required to direct my movements towards Aliath, but also to slow down enough not to rock him off his chair. It wouldn't last long, a split second, a moment out of time, before the chiming made me spin again.
    I spun out from my current trajectory and twirled through the space towards the Dökkálfa King. It happened so quickly, the guards didn't have time to intercept. One second I was spinning and they were all delighting in my puppet-on-a-string actions, the next I was perched on his lap with my arms around his neck. The force of my arrival making him twist slightly in the seat where we both now sat.
    The chimes stopped immediately. Silence reigned. Well, silence from the fairies, I was breathing too rapidly to be silent at all. Aliath sat stunned, his eyes flashing all manner of shades of green, his hands automatically resting on my hips in an effort to stop my forward motion. There was a gentleman under that fairy guise, he hadn't wanted me to tip off the chair and land on my arse.
    "Your Majesty," I said breathlessly. "That was fun!" I smiled winningly at him, still frantically trying to catch my breath and slow my heart. I hadn't realised how far my body had been pushed, spots were flashing in the corner of my eyes, accompanied by a haziness that could only mean one thing. I was about to black out from exhaustion.
    Had Aliath planned to dance me until I fell at his feet? He'd almost succeeded. And now what would he do? I had interrupted his plans, I had fought back.
    I took a deep breath in and held his gaze, the knowledge that I had bested the Dökkálfa King giving me courage. I grabbed that courage and wrapped it around me, let the feeling build inside me, swelling higher and higher, filling me up, washing over the sides of whatever shields emotions naturally have. I knew the instant Aliath felt it, the moment he could no longer ignore it. He closed his eyes, let out a breath through parted lips and pulled me closer.
    I felt him feeding on me immediately. I recognised the sensations from when he had fed on the same emotion - my courage - before. I felt weightless, drifting serenely on a cloud, floating in a buffer of wellbeing and calmness. Aliath didn't hurt when he fed, he set you free. I moulded against his chest, my body becoming compliant, relaxing further and further the more he fed from me.
    I don't know how much time passed, but not enough to make me pass out or fall