A knock on the doorframe startled Augustus to his feet.
Blaze.
Augustus relaxed—an old reflex he hated more than anything. He wished it never existed at all. Or that Blaze still had that effect, no matter how much he wanted to hate him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t nullify years of connection that, until Selene appeared, had been unmatched. First, as friends—the best of friends—and then…more.
Blažej Kašpar had been, once upon a time, the best and worst thing that ever happened to Augustus.
Blaze took a hesitant step into the room. “The king said I’d find you here.”
“He’s not the king.” Augustus winced the moment the words were out. Selene had gotten so angry with him for a similar remark. Even now, he hadn’t learned that lesson. “What do you want?”
“Can’t a man look in on his friend?”
Augustus considered the attractive man only feet away. His “friend.”Once, the one man he turned to for one particular brand of comfort. For just a moment—the most fleeting of seconds—Augustus wanted that physical connection with Blaze again. Now. Anything to help him forget his immense loss.
He truly was the worst man in the world.
Augustus cleared his throat and shouldered past Blaze. “We’re friends again? I hadn’t realized.”
Out on the terrace, he inhaled the fresh air and almost choked on it. His current bay view reminded him how much worse things were. TheEntia’s mainmast and foremast were splintered. Large portions of the gunwales and decking needed repair, as well as new canvas for the damaged sails.
As for the two attacking ships, they had been sunk by the Perean Navy and now lay at the bottom of Castona Bay. The surviving crew was locked away in the bowels of the palace until their public hanging.
The dragon’s weight vanished, and his purring started a moment later.
Blaze held the little beast and scratched him beneath his scaled chin. Apparently, the ranger wasn’t at all grossed out by the wet, flopping tongue hanging out.
A fresh twinkle in his brown eyes, Blaze glanced up. “What do you plan to do with the dronsian when you leave to find Selene?”
“What are you talking about? What’s a dron?—”
Blaze pointedly held up the dragon. “Him, Augustus. Selene’s pet.”
Selene’s constant response echoed through him like broken glass.“He’s not a dragon, Augustus.”
Augustus wanted to laugh and choke on the same breath.
“I ask,” Blaze continued, “because you’re heading into a war, and I have no idea how well dronsians manage at sea.”
“Hold onto him, then. Consider him yours.” Augustus couldn’t care less. If the creature mattered that much to Selene later, he’d find her another one.
Blaze shook his head, then sighed. “I’m going with you.”
He really had some nerve.Nowhe cared?Nowhe said the words?
“The fuck you are,” Augustus snapped.
Too-fucking-late.
The dronsian dropped onto the railing, then raced across the branch of a nearby tree, vanishing in the thick growth.
Blaze closed the distance and held Augustus’s gaze. “If you think I’m letting you sail off into war after?—”
“Stop! What exactly do you think—? Never mind. Forget it. I can’t deal with you and focus on finding Selene at the same time.” Augustus aimed a finger at the balcony doors. “Go. Get your little team and find your next monster. Idon’t need you.”
“No, you don’t,” Blaze agreed, mouth turned down at the corners. “But…”
“But what?”
