Page 106 of The Death King
“I don’t think we have a choice. We need him.”
THERE ARE ALWAYS OTHER WAYS, CALISTA. I TOLD YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT I’VE SAID, AND I SINCERELY HOPE YOU DO. IF THERE ARE FREE DRAGONS SOMEWHERE IN THESE LANDS, WE COULD RECRUIT THEM OURSELVES, SAVE MY KIN, AND THEN USURP KING TALON FROM THESE LANDS AND RULE IT TOGETHER. YOU’LL REGAIN YOUR CROWN—AND I’LL REGAIN MY KIN.
I stared at him. My breaths increased, palpitations in my chest.
YOU’RE A LOYAL PERSON. I CAN SEE THAT. BUT YOU OWE THAT MAN NOTHING.
My breaths continued to grow faster. They started to hurt.
I’LL SUPPORT WHATEVER YOU DECIDE. I HAVE NO ISSUE WITH KHAZMUDA, BUT FOR AS LONG AS HE’S LOYAL TO TALON, I CAN’T TRUST HIM. SO, IT’S YOU AND ME, CALISTA. TOGETHER AS ONE.
“Does that mean…you’ll fuse with me?”
YES—IT DOES.
I sat upon the back of Inferno, having to grip the spikes along his back because I didn’t have a saddle to hold me in or Talon to squeeze as an anchor. Inferno slowly rose from the ground and left the top entrance to the cave. The second we were free of the mountain, the cold air blasted me in the face. It was sunset because an entire day had passed.
Inferno left the mountain and moved into the trees, quickly swallowed by the mist.
I noticed he moved differently from Khazmuda, that no two dragons were alike. Their wings took to the air in unique ways, their weights changing their flight.
He slowed then glided through the trees, moving below the mist and then coming in for a landing.
I gripped the spike hard and prepared for the powerful shake that would vibrate through my body.
But he was gentle, so gentle that my body barely rocked when we hit the earth. I unclenched my eyes and loosened my hold on the spike. The first thing I did was look at the ground—and I felt a pair of dark eyes stare back.
Talon stood there in his armor and cape, looking at me with an intensity he’d never expressed before, moving his eyes all over my body to make sure a scratch hadn’t ripped through my clothing. Despite seeing me in the flesh, he still looked concerned.
I began to climb down, having to grip the scales one by one because there was no rope for a saddle. I eventually made it to the bottom and dropped down, my boots hitting the wet soil that absorbed the mist.
His hands were immediately on me. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
He turned me around and his hands automatically cupped my cheeks, his eyes hard on mine as they shifted back and forth. The concern was genuine. I could see it in that hint of gold.
“I’m okay.”
He withdrew his hands and stepped away. “You’re different.”
“How?”
He looked me over again. “I can’t explain it…”
Khazmuda walked up to Inferno, and the two seemed to be engaged in conversation because their heads were close to each other.
“You fused.” He said it quietly, more to himself than to me.
I nodded.
In disbelief, he stared. “How? You only spent hours together.”
I started to walk away from Inferno, choosing to have this conversation out of his earshot.
Talon picked up on my intentions and walked at my side.
“We just connected. I can’t explain it better than that. Sometimes you meet someone, and it just…clicks. That’s how it was for us.”