He saw the toll this was taking on her, the twine of grief, fear, and confusion in her eyes.For a moment, he got caught up in all the different hues of greens and browns in them.Her eyelashes were long, and because she wore no makeup, he doubted she used one of those torturous-looking devices to curl them.
She appeared surprised at the sight of her hand on his chest, as though just realizing it was there.He pressed his hand over hers before she could pull it back.“I’m sorry about Moncrief, sorry that you’re being thrown into all this.”And most of all, sorry that he’d taken so much from her.
No apologies, remember?
He’d never thought about the families of those he’d been ordered to take out.His superiors at the Guard only had bad or dangerous people killed.Or so he’d thought until he’d seen that girl in the dinghy.
This girl.
Her chin trembled as she stared at his hand over hers.“Don’t say that,” she whispered.
“Don’t say ‘I’m sorry’?”
Her body leaned toward him, and he had the urge to pull her the rest of the way.She needed comfort, probably needed to feel safe, even for a moment.He wasn’t good at comforting, but he could improvise just this once.She leaned closer yet, as though he were a magnet pulling her toward him.
He brushed a stray hair from her cheek.“It’s okay to break down, scream, cry, whatever.You’ve been through a lot.”He couldn’t imagine having to assimilate this all at once completely out of the blue.Most Crescents were raised in the culture and rules.“You’re an innocent.”
The protective side of his Dragon pushed against his hard exterior again.Shewasinnocent, but she wasn’t a child.That interesting mouth of hers, the swell of her breasts, reminded him of that.Much better to think of her as the untrained Dragon that she was.His responsibility, nothing more.He took a step back.
So did she.“That demon in the library, was it there to kill me?”
“Yes.Deuces can summon them to do their bidding.”
“Could Brom summon one?Just before Mon died, he told me it was dangerous to see him.”
“Brom is a powerful Deuce, and yes, he probably could, but he wouldn’t harm you.Moncrief’s warning means Brom is somehow involved in this.”
Her eyes widened.“Hekilled Mon.”
“I don’t think so.They’re best friends, have been for centuries.I’ll find him.”
“But Mon said?—”
“I can deal with dangerous.What we don’t know is whether you’re a target because you were a witness to Moncrief’s death or if there’s another reason.”He saw the fear on her face.Good.She needed to be afraid.But she also needed to be strong and ready to fight.He changed tack.“I can stash you away in a safe house and find out who’s behind this.”
He saw his words prickle at her.The little girl vanished, and the woman who’d held the gun to his chest stepped into her place.Perfect.
“I’m not hiding.I want to find out who killed my uncle.”She curled her hand into a fist.“I want them to die.”
He tried to stifle his smile and the pride it would reveal.“Then you’ll need to be Awakened.”
“Into a Dragon.”Her bravado wilted.“I’ll become what you did at the library?”
“Yes.The next time you face a demon, you’ll be prepared.You’ll at least know what you’re dealing with.”
“And see it.The only thing scarier than seeing you as a Dragon wasnotseeing that thing as it attacked me.”
She was getting it.“But know that Awakening will be intense and painful.Training will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done.”Before he thought better of it, he reached out and brushed his finger against her cheek.“I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
She stiffened at his touch.“Why does that not comfort me?”
He pulled back, irritated that he’d let himself go soft.“Then here’s something else for you to focus on: when we Catalyze to Dragon… we do it naked.”
The Book of the Hidden
Garnet facedthe Dragon Prince on the immense lawn behind the castle, the sun glistening on the dewy grass.Her gaze darted all around, looking for a way to escape despite the guards positioned all around them.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said.
