Page 60 of The Dragon King
“This place reminds me of it in some ways. It was warm like this in the summer, just not as humid.”
“I’m excited to see it.”
“It won’t be the same.”
“But some things never change.”
He left the sand, retrieved fallen branches and dried palm leaves, and put them in a pile before me. Then he grabbed a match from his pocket and lit it on fire. The flames burst high once they came alive but then quickly burned down to a calm level.
He returned to his spot beside me, leaving a foot between us.
I watched the fire burn as the ocean disappeared into the darkness. The air was considerably cooler now that the sun was gone, and the fire was welcome. I continued to look at the flames as I thought about the journey here, about the fact that I was in a place I hadn’t known existed until I’d stepped onto that pier.
I turned to look at Talon beside me.
His elbows rested on his propped knees as he stared into the flames, his dark eyes seeming lost in them. Seconds passed, and he didn’t blink. Didn’t blink for an entire minute. He hadn’tshaved during the journey, so the shadow at his jawline was the thickest it’d been since I’d known him. Normally, his jaw was well-kempt, but I liked this grizzled appearance too. It didn’t matter what he did with his hair or what he wore. He was still the most handsome man I’d ever seen. My heart felt full for the first time in a long time…since before my mother died. “Talon.”
His eyes remained on the flames a moment longer before he turned to look at me, his stare a mix of fatigue and sorrow. The cuts between the muscles of his arms had long shadows because of the brightness of the fire. His hardness was on display, the scars he’d collected through his journeys.
The feelings I harbored were packed into a tight ball inside my chest and locked away, but the bars of that cage were becoming weaker with time. Those feelings had been there before he’d come to Riviana Star, just ignored because I refused to acknowledge what burned in my heart. But now I had to acknowledge it…and wanted to embrace it. “I?—”
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to convince Macabre, and if we can’t, I’m not sure what we’ll do. Even with the black diamonds, I don’t know what we’re up against.”
I hesitated because he’d never interrupted me before, not unless we were in a heated argument. But he completely cut me off like he didn’t hear what I said or didn’t want to hear it. “Black diamonds…?” I’d spent a decade digging for them in the Arid Sands, but I had no idea what they were. “What are they for?”
“They’re different from other substances because of their absorbency. Darker colors absorb more light and, as a result, give off more heat. They work the same way—but with energy.”
I became so intrigued by this that his interruption seemed inconsequential. “Energy for what?”
His dark eyes continued to stare into mine. “When we fought each other outside that forest, you were fused to Inferno. You remember how different that felt?”
It was hard to believe we’d ever raised our swords to each other. It was hard to believe I’d ever tried to run from him, when now I wanted to be with him always. My life had always been about survival so I’d never thought about what my future would look like, but now I pictured a little boy with the same dark hair and eyes. I pictured a life with them that I’d never considered, even in my dreams. “Yes, I felt powerful.”
“Because Inferno shared his abilities with you. You have the same blood, so he can transfer those powers to you. But that energy is finite. In a battle that can last hours or days or a week, you can drain that energy. And if you take too much, your dragon will die.”
I pictured Inferno collapsed on the ground, men moving in to harvest his teeth and spikes for weapons. “Then I won’t use his powers.”
“Youneedto use his powers,” he said. “We need everything if we’re to win this war.”
“So, the black diamonds supply additional energy?”
“Yes. It allows you to use his power and the energy from the diamonds. Once that’s expired, it’ll start to drain from the dragon. It’s unfortunate that despite the unity of the fuse, the energy is only harvested in one direction. It feels selfish to use Khazmuda’s energy in battle when he’s also fighting himself. I wish I could use my own.”
“I do too.” To wield my sword with Inferno’s energy felt selfish. “How did you learn this about the black diamonds?”
“I didn’t learn it. It was shared with me.”
“By who?”
He looked away. “Bahamut. He told me where to find them, and that was why I conquered your kingdoms.”
He’d needed the men for his war, but this was the bigger reason. Flashbacks of that night came to me, seeing the mighty black dragon rip my castle apart. Feeling the burn of the sun on my back from digging in the sand all day. The memories hurt, but nothing could change the way I felt for Talon now. It was as permanent as a scar.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ve already forgiven you, Talon.”
“I know you have,” he said quietly. “But I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life…and for all eternity.”