Page 35 of The Dragon King

He didn’t.

Khazmuda, come on.

Silence.

I’m here to see you.

His voice erupted in my mind, full of his callused anger.Only because I asked—not because your heart desired it.

There’d only been two serious women in my life, and neither one of them ever acted like this.My heart always desires you, Khazmuda.

Silence.

I got distracted with Calista, and I’m sorry for that. Due to the intimate relationship I have with her, it’s hard for all three of us to be together. I think we would all be uncomfortable.

No man has that kind of stamina, Talon.

It took me an entire day to get here, Khazmuda. Going back and forth is not convenient. But we’re about to leave the forest, so this problem will soon be solved.

A moment later, I heard his wings in the dark sky. Then I saw the glow of his scales in the fire as he descended and landed across the campfire. He folded his wings and lowered his head so his face was visible in the campfire.What do you speak of?

Queen Eldinar has agreed to escort us to the dragons.

When?

Whenever she’s recuperated. She suffered grave injuries in the battle.

She lives because of you.

I stared at the campfire.

Looks like she was wrong about Talon Rothschild. They all were.

Not Calista. She’s always believed in me.

Because she knows your heart—as do I.

I continued to stare at the fire.

You’re on the verge of claiming everything you’ve worked for. It’s in your grasp like the pommel of your sword. Yet I can feel your sadness…

My eyes watched the flames dance.

But I can’t determine the source.

It was cruel to tell him. It was cruel not to tell him. But what would be crueler?

Talon?

My eyes raised to his. “Queen Eldinar may take us to the dragons, but that’s not a guarantee they’ll fight for us.”

We’ve searched these lands for the dragons for decades, and we’ve finally found them. Regardless of what they say, that’s still progress. Because dragons are brave and mighty, I’m sure they’ll pledge their scales to our fight.

“I think you’re being optimistic.”

And I think you’re being pessimistic. You’ve turned the elves to friend from foe. No reason we can’t do the same with these dragons.

“Perhaps…”