“From poison?”
His dark eyes glint again. “Yes.”
We stare at each other. I wait for him to tell me more. He doesn’t.
What could poison a dragon? If I struggle to wrap my head around his age, how could I understand the creature that could poison him? Drazak’s dragon was gigantic. Hundreds of me put together would’ve still been smaller than his body’s size. I’ve seen sea serpents off the coast and giant mountain eagles fly overhead, but nothing as large as he was.
What could possibly poison a massive creature like him?
I’m afraid to ask. Do I even want to know? Is having an answer worth the nightmares?
I hand him one of my rations. “I don’t want you to starve,” I whisper, changing the subject.
He looks at my offering.
“Wait!”
I set the meat aside and wrap my arms around him. He stiffens in my embrace.
He growls. “Let me do this. I will sit up on my own.”
“You can sit up all you want later.” I’m used to dealing with kids. “For now, I will help you while you heal.”
Positioning myself behind him, I haul him into a sitting position, but when I start to let go, he drops. Indignant growls and curses fill my ears but I ignore them. Looking around I find a boulder a few feet behind him. Getting a better grip, I brace and drag him to the rock.
A few minutes—and lots of grunting—later, he’s propped up against it.
Catching my breath and ignoring the renewed pressure in my head, I drop beside him and wipe the sweat off my brow. I’m strong, but he’s still large for a human and much bigger than I am.And he’s got those tails, and those horns,I moan. Horns I want to explore thoroughly.
Maybe even lick.
When I catch his eye, he’s angry.
“I will not get any stronger if I am not given the opportunity to challenge myself,” he snaps.
“You will not get betterat allif you starve to death.” I grab the rations. “Dragons may not have to eat for long periods, but humans must eat every day. You’re human now. Mostly.” I put the dried meat in his hand. His fingers wrap around it.
“Thanks to you,” he grumbles.
There’s a surge of guilt. “I—”
“I am moving again,thanks to you.I have not yet decided if that is a good thing. Though I never thought I would be bonded, lose my immortality, or my power, now I am able to perish with a voice again.”
I can’t tell if he’s mad at me or not. “I am sorry, regardless.”
“You know of the dragon’s curse,” he states it more than asks.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you not claim me when you first came upon me?”
“First came—” my eyes flick to the jewel on his brow, and I watch the puffs of dark smoke coming from it “—upon you?”
“I heard you, felt the warmth of your fire stick. You were by my hindleg, then you were before me. Why did you not claim me?”
“It didn’t feel right.”
“Any human would bind a dragon if given half the chance. The bond does more than mate us for life, it also strips away our threat.”
