Page 36 of Blood of Dragons

He opened his massive jaws and ate the creature in a couple bites, the bones cracking under the pressure of his sharp teeth.

My eyes remained on the fire.

What did she say?

I stayed quiet.

Khazmuda lowered his head to the snow, his breath coming out as vapor. We’d just spent weeks out in the wildlands, but once we returned to the castle the luxuries weren’t satisfying.

My mind was still in the wild…with the woman I’d left behind. “She’s stubborn.”

Where is she?

“A cabin.”

Alone?

“It seemed that way.” A part of me had feared I would drop into a situation I didn’t want to witness. But she was alone, reading a book just like she’d done in her bedchambers down the hall.

That cabin must belong to someone.

“We had so many other things to discuss, I didn’t get a chance to ask. And even if I had, she’s too smart.”

You couldn’t distinguish the area?

“Everything outside the windows is blacked out. I can only see the room she’s in.”

Is that what Bahamut sees?

“No. I think he gave me an attenuated version of his powers.”

Her anger toward you hasn’t softened?

The complicated affection she felt for me was still there. I could see it in her eyes. But all the anger and hurt…that was still there too. “No. And I don’t think it ever will.”

She needs more time. She holds on to her anger with an iron fist—just the way you do.

My eyes remained on the fire, seeing her green eyes staring back at me. “Yes…I know.” We fell into silence, my eyes focused on the campfire while Khazmuda was focused on me, his black eyes a deep contrast against the snow around us.

Then he appeared, his presence silent but powerful. He was seated on the log, conjured out of thin air, his blue eyes reflecting from the campfire. His eyes shifted to me, subtly hostile like always. “What did you accomplish?”

An argument—that was all I accomplished.

When I didn’t say anything, Bahamut conferred everything I omitted. “Nothing, I see.”

“I thought I would be able to see her surroundings.”

“I told you I don’t intervene with the living.”

“But you can see your surroundings as we speak. You know her location.”

“But it would be wrong to give a mortal that unaccountable power. You asked to speak with her, not track her, and if you had asked to track her, I wouldn’t have helped you at all.”

“How is granting me the power over the dead any different?”

“Because they’re dead.” His eyes shone in ferocity. “I’ve given you your opportunity. Now it’s time to revoke it?—”

“I need more time.”