Page 87 of The Death King
“Is bear okay for dinner? That’s what Khazmuda prefers to hunt.”
“I—I guess that’s fine.”
He turned back to the fire, his handsome features hard in consternation.
I watched him, knowing he had no knowledge of my stare, too lost in his own thoughts.
Khazmuda swooped down from the black sky and landed with a heavy thud. Inside his massive jaws was a bear, and he dropped its carcass on the ground. Hurry. I’m hungry.
Talon left the log and got to work dressing the bear so the meat could be cooked over the fire.
“Can you hear him when I hear him?” I asked, watching Talon work with the blade.
“Yes,” he said without taking his eyes off the carcass.
“So, that’s normal?”
“We both have the gift, so it makes sense.” He addressed Khazmuda next. “No luck?”
I didn’t spot his fiery scales, but I felt his mind.
“Felt his mind?” I asked.
Dragons speak with their minds, so we can feel each other’s minds. He’s here, but he doesn’t want to be found. For a dragon so mighty, his presence should feel like a behemoth, which means he’s trying to close it off to me.
“That means he knows who you are,” Talon said. “I doubt he would shut his mind to another free dragon.”
Perhaps. Or perhaps he prefers solitude.
Talon finished his work and placed the slices of meat on the skewer before he set it over the fire. There was far too much meat for the two of us, so the rest must be for Khazmuda. Talon walked to the bucket and washed his hands clean before he sat on the log and stared at the meat as it started to bubble in the heat.
The fire was bright and warm, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the cold. I could feel it pierce my clothes like tiny daggers, pricking me everywhere and releasing my heat. I hadn’t wanted to be at the castle when I’d arrived there, but now, I would give anything to go back. A luxurious life had made me soft.
Talon turned the spit to evenly cook the meat. The juices started to splash onto the rocks.
Have you had bear?
“Uh, no,” I said.
You’re in for a treat.
I didn’t want to eat bear, but I was in no place to expect more. I didn’t know how to hunt, and with the deadly marshes around, I couldn’t go off and gather berries. This was my only option.
“It’s better than it sounds,” Talon said to me.
“I’d rather eat bear out here than a gourmet dinner with General Titan, so…” It was the first time I truly felt grateful to be with Talon rather than disappointed. His treatment had slowly made me come back to life.
Talon stared at me across the fire, his eyes rising in intensity.
I looked away and immediately regretted what I’d said.
The world was so quiet. Just the hoot of a distant owl and the crackle of the dying fire. The fog had thickened around us so the firelight reflected back to us, made our surroundings even more obscure.
If I were alone, I’d be scared shitless.
But Talon seemed unfazed by the circumstances. Completely unbothered by the inconvenience of outdoor living. If anything, he seemed more in his element, like what he craved above all was to be alone. Just him and his dragon in the middle of nowhere.
My ass was frozen solid on the log, so I went into the tent and crawled into my bedroll. It zipped on the sides, so I closed it up to my neck, keeping everything but my head tucked inside the fleece. A day of traveling and shaking had left me exhausted, but I didn’t drift off, not when I was still so cold.