Page 58 of House of Ashes
Rhylan led me down the glittering halls to the spiral staircase, taking me down a level to a room where pungent smoke billowed from under cracks in the unmarked door. I reached out to push it open, but he stopped me.
“Sera…” he started, staring down at me with the same frown that was in danger of being permanently engraved between his brows.
I made a face, but kept it light. He’d been kind to me earlier when he didn’t need to be, and when I didn’t deserve it, so…the least I could do was make it clear that I was playing. “Do you need a hug now? Did the long flight tire the big, strong dragon’s wings?”
The frown smoothed out, giving way to a second of confusion and then a playful grin. “Only if you’re offering. Even dragons need a little tender loving care now and then.”
I opened my arms gingerly, all too aware of the ache in my shoulders, and Rhylan leaned against me. As his arms enclosed around my shoulders, I took a deep, slow breath, filling my nose with the scent of spice and smoke, the faintest cinders of dragonfire, and the clean soap of his shirt.
I gently squeezed him, marveling at the thick layer of muscle under my hands, and patted his back, feeling a knot of scar tissue even through the shirt.
He tensed slightly in my grasp, and I looked up, about to ask why that would bother him now, but the flames in his eyes cut off any thought.
Rhylan leaned in, so close I could almost taste him…
“I really should see Kirana.” The words spilled out of me in a rush, and I gently braced my hands on his chest.
With my palms flat against him, I felt the growl emanating through him. And in order to bring myself to pull away, I had to actively summon one of the many hateful thoughts I’d entertained about him while on Mistward Isle.
“I’ll see you later,” I whispered, looking away at the floor and walls, at anything but him.
Rhylan exhaled slowly, but I kept my eyes cast down. It was body language a dragon would understand.
“Later.” His voice sounded thick and frustrated, and only after I heard his retreating footsteps could I breathe again.
For several long minutes I composed myself in the hallway, telling myself everything I’d known from the beginning: that this was a ploy, and that he hated me, and I hated him, and in less than a year we would say goodbye and never see each other again.
It was funny how these reasons grew less and less convincing over time.
Then I opened the door, Kirana squinted at me over a bubbling alembic, and I prepared myself for the onslaught of a lecture that was soon to come..
Morning found me under the bed, curled into my nest of blankets, and I sprung wide awake as soon as the door opened.
It wasn’t Nilsa’s feet in my doorway, but a big pair of beaten-up leather boots.
A cold slash of panic cut through me before I heard Rhylan’s voice.
“Good morning, princess,” he said cheerfully. “I brought breakfast, if you’d like to crawl out of your lair.”
“It’s a nest,” I grumbled, my stomach pinching tight as a whiff of savory bacon caressed my nose. His boots crossed to the table and I heard the soft sound of a tray being laid down, which was alluring enough to get me to crawl out from under the bed. “Also, it’s defensible.”
Rhylan was already seated and filling my plate when I emerged, tossing my messy braid back over my shoulder and following the siren song of food.
Once, I might’ve been ashamed of the loose hair and rumpled clothes, but he’d already seen me at my worst, and he didn’t bat an eye over the red pillow-marks pressed into my cheek. He’d already pulled out my chair for me. “Come eat with me, we’ve got a lot to do today and not much time.”
I blinked blearily at him and dragged myself up off the floor, collapsing into the chair opposite him. “How are you in such a good mood this early in the morning?”
Rhylan raised an eyebrow at me, and nodded towards the window. “It’s almost noon, darling.”
I rubbed my eyes, happy that I could move my shoulder without wincing. Kirana had wrapped it in poultice, stuffed me full of dinner, and sent me to bed with a ‘sleepy tea’ that had had me snoring about five minutes after I finished it. If it was noon, I’d slept for over thirteen hours. “Your sister is a little too good at her work sometimes.”
“Don’t tell her that, it’ll go to her head.” Rhylan handed me a cup of pomegranate juice and stuck a fork in my hand. “Come on now. Much to do. Little time.”
I skipped the fork and opted for using my fingers to shove two strips of bacon in my mouth, watching Rhylan as he salted some eggs. He was practically vibrating with energy, eating with a speed I’d only seen in the ravenous teenage dragons of the Training Grounds.
It occurred to me, five bacon slices in, that he’d never really offered to eat with me before. He was always stuffing food in my hands and ordering the Bloodless of his House to bring up trays, but he’d never actually sat down and taken a meal right across from me.
To my horror, I suddenly wondered if I was chewing too loudly. Oh gods. Had I been crunching the entire time?