Page 40 of Blood of Dragons

“Some have left to protect Thalian.”

“Why do you feel compelled to protect the dragons?” I asked.

He finished his plate, leaving it empty before him. “Because Riviana asked us to. And whatever request she makes, we’ll fulfill it.”

“Then she hasn’t asked you to save the dragons I spoke of.”

“According to Queen Eldinar, she hasn’t spoken in a very long time.”

My empty wineglass sat in front of me, but I was too engrossed in the conversation to refill it. When Inferno and I had approached the elves for help, I hadn’t realized the complexities that lay behind the border.

We sat in silence, and I waited for him to leave now that dinner was finished, but he lingered. I enjoyed his company, but I also enjoyed my solitude, and what a broken heart craved beyond everything else was loneliness.

He continued to watch me, his blue eyes glued to my face. “May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

The question caught me off guard because I didn’t expect him to be interested in my personal life. I expected questions about my life in Scorpion Valley, the power of the Death King, about my time in the Arid Sands and the stones I worked to unearth…but not that.

And then I felt it. A quiet hostility…a tension so audible it hummed.

Heat seared my cheek like a red-hot branding iron.

I swallowed, because I knew he was there.

I turned my cheek slightly and felt my body tense when I saw him.

In his trousers and nothing else, he stood there, looking down at me with angry wrath.

“Shit.” I looked forward again.

Commander Luxe crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, you didn’t,” I said quickly, feeling the blood drain from my face.

He continued to stare at me.

And so did Talon.

I didn’t know what to do.

“If my question didn’t make you uncomfortable,” Commander Luxe said, “then can you answer it?”

I stared straight ahead, hoping that Talon would just disappear like last time. What would Commander Luxe do when he saw him? Would the two men fight to the death in my tree house?

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked. “You look pale.”

“I—I’m fine.” I felt that stare burn a hole in my cheek. “I just feel a little warm.” I waited for Talon to leave, to depart before Commander Luxe realized we had company. But instead, he walked behind Commander Luxe and dropped into the chair directly across from me.

Now he was in my line of sight, and I felt my hands start to shake.

Commander Luxe didn’t seem to notice he was there. His eyes remained on me.

Talon crossed his arms over his chest and sank into the chair. He didn’t have to say a word to show how livid he was. His stare did that all by itself. “Make him leave.”

I inhaled a breath when I heard Talon speak.