Alright. I can hurt him, but. . .where can I run?
There was no clear exit.
No corridor.
No stairwell.
No carved doorway.
Only the jagged walls far above and endless piles of treasure all around her—mounds of gold, riverbeds of gems, dunes of skeletal glory. If she shot him with her magic, all she would do was anger the beast and trap herself inside a furnace.
Still, she kept backing up.
Korin’s eyes followed her every step.
They didn’t blink.
Didn’t soften.
They just burned into her.
At least he is not charging for me. That is good. But. . .
Her foot caught on a small pile of coins.
They clinked and shifted beneath her. Sol pitched forward—arms windmilling to catch herself—and somehow, miraculously, stayed upright. The bear pelt slipped slightly off her breasts for a second, but she yanked it up and held it tighter to her body.
Korin blinked.
What could he be thinking?
Korin’s massive golden head lifted, slow and terrifyingly calm. His neck uncoiled like a stretching serpent. Jewels slid down the slope of his flank as he moved.
What is he about to do?
She inched back.
And then to her utter horror, he spoke. Not in his low sensual human voice. This was something else. This was a voice not shaped by lips or tongue, but formed from the very bones of the earth. “Where do you think you are going?”
The space vibrated with those words.
Two skeletal heads tumbled sideways.
“Come back here.” Korin bared his fangs. “Now.”
Sol’s mouth went dry. She didn’t mean to, but she turned on instinct and ran fast in the other direction. She tore through the dunes of treasure, bare feet slipping against gold coins and pearl-studded chalices.
A goblet rolled by her heel.
Emeralds flew and hit against her knees.
She bolted past a hill of treasure shaped like a sleeping lion and then circled a golden obelisk topped with rubies.
Behind her, a low growl erupted, deep, thick, and hungry. It rumbled through the hoard like a wave.
“Your scent is in my soul now, little one,” the dragon's monstrous voice called out to her. “It was in my dream just now. Therefore. . .you could never hide from me. Soon. . .you will not be able to hide from him either.”
Him? What does he mean?
