Page 62 of The Dragon King

Why?

I miss it.And I didn’t have much time left to enjoy the things I loved.Used to spend the day out on the boat with my father and Silas when I was a boy. All I wanted to do was get out of the sun and go home…and now I would give anything to have another day like that.

I see.

I lowered the sails when I found a quiet spot and dropped my line in the water along with the net, hoping I would catch something in the next hour. I wasn’t sure if Calista would eat it because she seemed to have turned vegetarian after her stay with the elves, but that was okay.

Would you like company?

You’d scare everything away, Khazmuda.

That’s right. Sometimes I forget how terrifying and ferocious I am.

I smirked.No, you don’t.

You’re right. I don’t.

How are things with Inferno?

Despite the fact that he’s been on an island with dragons, he’s lonely. He’s happy I’m here.

I’m glad you two are getting along.

His scales are magnificent.

I smiled again.Not as magnificent as yours.

There was a heavy pause.Thank you, Talon.

I returned to the beach and cooked the fish over a fire. I didn’t have a lot of spices on hand, so I made do with what I had. Fruit was easily accessible from the trees, so I included that in the dish, using the sweetness to complement the saltiness of the fish.

Calista came out moments later, wearing a dress with her eyes still waking up. She dropped to her knees on the sand beside me, her dress rising up to the tops of her thighs. “Is that fish?”

“I went past the reef in one of their sloops.”

“You caught that?” she asked in slight surprise.

“I told you I used to be a sailor.”

“Wasn’t that a long time ago?”

“It’s like gripping a sword. Once you learn, you never forget.” I removed the pan from over the fire and placed it in the sand to cool. “I made enough for two, but don’t feel pressured.”

“I definitely want some. It smells great.”

I divided the dish onto two plates, and we ate in front of the fire, the sun still low in the sky, so it was a cool morning. The waves were gentle, the fire was low, and we ate together like we’d done it together every morning for the last twenty years. The moments I cherished the most somehow also hurt the most.

“You’re a master of the blood. The master of the sea. And now you’re a master of cooking.” She ate everything off her plate before she set it aside. “Did your father teach you how to cook?”

I made a slight scoff. “No. He wouldn’t know the difference between salt and pepper.”

She chuckled. “Then how did you learn?”

I finished my plate and set it aside. “I lived in a hut alone in a fishing village for a year. Picked up on things as I went along.”

We sat together on the beach until the sun started to heat the land. Then we returned to our cabin on the sand, showered, got back into bed, and made the day pass within the blink of an eye. Before I knew it, it was nearly sunset.

A part of me wanted Macabre to say no so I could draw this out as long as possible and cheat Bahamut. But as a god, he seemed to see everything, seemed to know everything. Even though he was barred from Riviana Star, he knew exactly what had happened there.