Warriors of Wind and Ash (Merciless Dragons #2)

“I watched a man grope you tonight, and I did not incinerate him,” I say haughtily.

“And you deserve praise for that.” She climbs onto her knees and pats my head. “Good dragon.”

I give her a disapproving look, and she grins. The smile fades almost immediately, though, and she leaves the bed to pick up her undershorts.

“You make me so happy,” she says in a sorrowful tone. “Your very presence is healing. I wish we didn’t have to go. I wish we could stay here… or better yet, leave together.”

“We’ll find the poisoner, and we’ll force them to undo what they’ve done to you,” I say. “And after that, if they truly did kill the remaining dragons of my clan, I will carry them to Ouroskelle and feed them to a voratrice, so they will suffer the slowest, most agonizing death possible.”

“The eggs will be hatching soon.” Serylla’s voice softens with longing. “I hope we can be there.”

She steps close to help me refasten my pants, and when she’s done I kiss her, a slow, savoring kiss that turns desperate, because I can’t help it, because I can’t let her go and yet I must. She kisses me back just as fiercely, her small tongue lashing through my mouth, her fingers pressed against my neck.

“We have to, Ky. We have to,” she whispers against my mouth.

“Fuck.” I kiss her again, a swift, hot brush of my lips. We break apart, and she hastily picks up the mask, the belt, and the key. She listens at the door for a moment, then glances at me and says, with a look of beautiful misery, “I love you.”

And then she’s gone.

I barely make it to the suite in time to strip off my clothes. My bones begin to buzz with the energy of Thelise’s magic, and within seconds I transform into my dragon self. I nearly crunch the bedpost with my foreleg, but I manage to pull back and arrange my body in a semicircle, occupying the empty space around the bed. I don’t understand why wealthy humans need such spacious bedrooms when their bodies are the same size as those of other humans. But at least their vanity works in my favor.

Aeris enters my room cautiously after the change. “Meridian isn’t back yet,” she says. “And where’s Hinarax?”

Keeping my voice as quiet as I can, which is difficult in dragon form, I tell her about Serylla’s warning and Hinarax’s flight back to Ouroskelle. “As for Meridian, he should have returned here after taking Hinarax to the tower.”

“Maybe he came across something of interest. An opportunity for spying or sabotage.” She perches on the dresser, takes out two of her knives, and begins juggling them. I’ve come to understand that such activity soothes her.

“How was it?” Aeris asks. “Seeing your Princess again? Did you—” She waggles her eyebrows violently.

“Are you ill?” I peer at her. “What is happening to your face?”

She sighs. “God, you dragons… it’s a signal. It means did you fuck her?”

“Then why not simply ask me? Why do this?” I attempt to move my brow ridges like she did.

Aeris snorts with laughter. “We humans like to talk with our faces or hands sometimes, instead of saying the actual words. Especially if we’re trying to be… diplomatic.”

I still don’t understand, so I answer her question instead of delving into the idea of talking with faces. “Yes, I fucked her.”

“Do you think that was wise? Or considerate? I mean, after what she’s been through.”

Offended, I scowl at her. “I wouldn’t have done it if she’d been averse to the idea. She begged me.”

“Did she?” Aeris chuckles. “Damn. And Meridian keeps gushing about his time with Hinarax, too. Dragon shifter dick must be good.”

“At first I thought mine was far too small in human form,” I confess. “But the Princess assures me it is above average for a human male.”

“Congratulations.” She chuckles again, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes this time.

“You want to ask me something else.”

“So you are getting better at reading humans. I wanted to talk about the thing I told you before—about the female dragon who’s hiding out with my sorcerer friend.”

“The one who survived the Supreme Sorcerer’s curse.”

“That’s the one. You haven’t asked me about it again.”

“I’ve been considering what it means.”