“Why do you hate shifters?” he asked as we crossed a shallow pond of water. “From my vantage point, they’re theheroes of this story. They only go after berserkers, never humans. They never break with rage.”
“Because they arealwaysenraged,” I snapped, offended by the question. “They lie, cheat and steal. They seek the full destruction of those who remind them of what they lost. Not even dragon children are spared from their evil acts. And have you forgotten their attack against you?”
“I’d just stolen a weapon from Lorik, rather than pay his price. I kind of deserved it.”
“Lorik is the worst of the worst. He asked me out on a date once. I declined. He then challenged me for my crown, and we fought. When I went in for the killing blow, humiliation drove him to the brink. Instead of accepting defeat, he recoiled. In that instant, he chose hatred and blame over honor and acceptance. The shift tore through him, the power of it hurling me back, giving him the chance to flee. Rather than face what he’d done, he embraced the darkest parts of himself. Now he’s obsessed with destroying everything I love.”
“Hmm.”
That was it? All I got for sharing a part of my life? Figured. My turn to ask a question. “You snuck into my home without my knowledge and watched me. Why didn’t you kill me while you had the chance?”
A muscle jumped beneath his eye. “That was my intention in the beginning. I used the cutters I told you about to sneak in and out on many occasions, learning the palace an hour at a time. I had decided to keep my distance from you until I was certain I could oversee your end and escape without notice. But one night…” He pressed his lips together and gave a frustrated huff, refusing to go on. Leaving me frothing with curiosity.
What happened that one night?
Taron plodded on in a new direction. “What’s your endgame?” he asked, holding a branch out of my way. “With your kingdom, I mean. Every ruler has an aspiration.”
Oh. “I work to ensure my people are safe from shifters and rogue berserkers.” A role I hadn’t wanted in the beginning but had never taken lightly. “When my father died, his crown was up for grabs. It was a difficult time, when women were chattel, often given as rewards for feats in battle. Many warriors considered taking possession of my sisters.” And me. I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth as we plodded onward. “I made sure they failed.”
“Hmm,” he repeated, keeping pace.
I balled my hands. What did a woman have to do to impress this man?
With what might have been but couldn’t be a glimmer of admiration, he added, “Such a responsibility must weigh on you.”
My shoulders squared of their own accord. “Ja.” No reason to deny it. “Are you trying to understand the monster queen, Taron?” A military tactic as certain as a gingerbread trail.
“Something like that,” he muttered.
Yet I wasn’t upset about it. “What did you witness at my palace that made you draw up a totally new game plan?” I asked, returning to our original subject. I had to know.
He worked his jaw. “I saw you. You emerged from the air and landed, your wings dissipating behind you in a shimmering cloud. In that moment, I understood that I didn’t have time to learn your land to my satisfaction. Taking you out as swiftly as possible was the only avenueleft to me. And yet, still I came back twice more just to observe you.”
Because he’d wanted me, even then? My eyes rounded. I opened my mouth. Closed it.
A familiar fragrance breached my awareness, and I stopped. My blood fizzed with dread as I flared my claws. “We’ve got company.”
Taron stopped with me; tension jacked sky-high.
“Took you long enough to notice,” an amused voice called, slightly muffled.
Muffled or not, I would have recognized that mocking baritone anytime, anywhere.
Lorik.
He’d snuck into my realm undetected? I ground my teeth as I searched for any sign of him in the surrounding terrain. “Get ready to run,” I told my companion. Where the shifter king was, his army followed. A mortal would never survive the coming blaze.
Taron scrubbed a hand over his face, furious rather than worried. “Lorik isn’t here in the flesh.” He worked his jaw before pulling the necklace from beneath his shirt. Light shone from the stone set in the dangling ring. That light cast images onto the surface of a gray boulder before us. A grinning holographic image of the shifter king appeared. His second-in-command, Rainer, stood beside him.
Lorik was a gorgeous man in any form, human, dragon, even shifter. Pointed ears. Pupils, mere slits, lit up in emberrose flames. Emerald scales from his neck down. Too sharp teeth.
Rainer maintained most of his human form, broad-shouldered and rangy. He was a man I’d once considered a friend. Now, the sight of him only brought sadness. His pale hair caught the light of the sun. A jagged scar he’d earnedas we’d learned to fly together stretched from his temple to his jaw, bisecting a cold expression that had once shone only with warmth.
Realization dawned with sickening clarity. I’d known Taron had worked with the shifter king, but I thought we’d reached a truce. “You’re still working together,” I spat at the professor. Betrayed! I’d foolishly followed his gingerbread trail. “You lied to me.” And I hadn’t suspected. That hit hardest. But ugh! I hated the hurt in my words.
“No,” he burst out. “Yes.” He scrubbed his face again. “Not the way you think. I purchased the ring from him, believing it to be a talisman able to mute my…attraction to you. I didn’t realize it was a communication device until I felt it vibrate and heard his voice.”
I blinked, recalling every time he’d gripped it. Hoping not to feel for me? I could almost forgive him.
