Page 93 of The Death King

Talon already had everything packed and ready to go. He seemed to have let me sleep as long as he could. He carried everything to the saddle and secured it in place, not looking at me or acknowledging me.

Guess he was still mad. “Morning.”

He continued to ignore me.

Yep. Still mad. “I said I was sorry, and I meant it.”

He stilled then turned to me, his eyes finally looking at mine for the first time.

“I’d love it if we could be friends again.”

“You think we’re friends?”

“I don’t know how else to describe us.”

He turned to me and came closer. “I’m not sure either, but we definitely aren’t friends.”

“Well…can we try to be that?”

His dark eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Yes. Let’s go.” He climbed up the saddle first instead of staying behind to help me.

I climbed up next, and when I reached the top, his arm was extended to me. This time, I took it and let him pull me the rest of the way into the saddle. I sat behind him, circled my arms around his waist, and got my cheek in place. His smell swept over me, and I was instantly reminded of sleeping in his arms, feeling hot like the sun, his gentle breaths as a lullaby.

That peaceful memory was shattered when Khazmuda took flight and jumped to the sky. My hair was whipped behind me, and my eyes clenched shut as the cold made them sting. We were above the tree line in just a second, and then Khazmuda began to glide.

My hold loosened on Talon’s torso.

“You’ll get used to it,” Talon said as he looked ahead.

“I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to this.”

We glided over the trees of the gloomy forest, flying through the fog that never seemed to dissipate. The rest of the world vanished in the cold density. It really was the perfect place for a powerful dragon to hide from prying eyes.

We flew for half an hour before Khazmuda started to dip farther, getting ready to make his landing.

“Keep an eye out for the marshes,” Talon said.

Khazmuda came down and made a hard landing on solid ground.

We were in another clearing, this one smaller than the last, and we climbed down and began to unload our things.

I looked around, peering through the trees as if I might spot the dragon with my own eyes.

Talon barked an order to me like I was one of his servants. “Make a fire.”

I gathered the rocks like he told me and made a pile just outside of where he constructed the tent. Then I stepped into the woods and picked up fallen tree branches because I wasn’t going to cut one like a lumberjack. I carried everything back and dropped it on top of the rocks before I reached for the matches. The first strike was unsuccessful, but I applied more pressure during the second strike and the match lit. A low flame burned at the end, and I tucked it inside the logs, watching the small fire turn into a big one. “I did it.”

Good job. Khazmuda placed a large trunk on the ground against the fire, a place for us to sit.

Talon finished constructing the tent before he hooked his sword across his back. “I’m going to scout the area.” He stepped away into the tree line, and within a couple seconds, he disappeared from view.

Khazmuda placed the other log on the other side.

“Scout the area for what?”

Threats.

“But couldn’t you see from above?”