Page 7 of A Kingdom of Shadows

"Are you sure you don't scare easily?"

I hesitate for a second, staring at the challenging gleam in his eyes before lifting a brow. "Do you?"

"I asked the question first, Goldie."

"And I asked the question second," I quip, and he chuckles in resignation.

"You know you're the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"Thank you." I smile briefly. "Now, goodnight," I add in a harsh tone shutting out any other possible chatter as I sink to my knees and rest on my side, facing away from him.

I regret it the second I close my eyes.

Thoughts plague my mind. Memories, the dungeon, the Ardenti I had to kill, and... Lorcan all come rushing into me like a crashing wave in a storm. I can't fight the tightness in my throat gripping at me so firmly that I clutch onto my chest or the strain of my eyes as I clench them. But too mulish to say a word, I lie here, waiting for my thoughts to dissipate into an empty void.

Chapter Three

Another day had passed in this forest, and another day where we had not encountered anything that might threaten us. I should consider myself lucky in that department, but with one look to my right as Darius would tease me about not falling headfirst into a bog, I began to reconsider the word 'lucky.'

After all, many of our arguments dealt with my impatience, and Tibith quickly tried to make us see how this was no place to fight.

We have yet to listen.

Until now, where we had decided to sit down and rest in another opening of the forest.

Tibith is further away from us, rolling along the grass, and when I turn to look at Darius beside me, he is staring at him with a smile.

"What's it like?" I ask. His gaze cuts to mine in question. "Without your powers, what does it feel like for a dragon?"

He cocks a brow, and I already know what he's thinking.

I roll my eyes. "It's a genuine question, not ones I would ask per the bet we placed."

He tips me a curious glance beneath dark brows. "Are you that interested in dragons then that you want to know more about us? Or am I just that special to you?"

Why did I even ask? "Never mind."

I'm about to turn the other way when he sighs and says, "It feels like something is blocking my powers."

I pause, then twist to look at him as he leans back, his arms straining as he rests all his body weight on them.

"A lid to a jar screwed on tight, if you will." His brows furrow the more he stares out ahead. "My magic is there on the surface, burning to be let out, but it will not come, no matter how hard I try to summon them."

"Not even when you would like to shift?" I cannot deny that when I saw him in his dragon form, I was not floored by the power he exuded... because I was. Terribly so.

He casts me a sideways glance, shakes his head, and flashes me his teeth as his canines sharpen in length. "Still have these, though."

"I'm sure biting will come in handy while in this forest," I tease, a soft laugh leaving my lips as he chuckles and shakes his head at the ground.

Moments like this make me think about how everything has changed for us. The girl who had promised her boss to capture a powerful dragon shifter is now working at his side to bring justice for his kind.

"It's odd, isn't it?" I stare at him, chewing on my bottom lip. "That when we're not at each other's throats, I seem to quite enjoy your company." There's that cocky gleam in his eyes as he tilts his head. So, I quickly say, "Don't let that get to your head."

His grin is slowly stretched across his lips, beautiful yet seductive like always. "Already has, Goldie."

Of course, it would.

I exhale a breath as a pleasant quietude cascades over us. I can't force my stare on anything else except that smile of his, and with everything that has happened, the topic of our first kiss has never left our mouths since that night in the woods, and I don't think Darius wanted it to, either.