My eyes darted to the empty spot next to Casimir. If Dirk was going to be his second, he would have to be at the Challenge.
And therefore so would I.
Fifty
Ella
“It’s about timeyou saw us,” I said, barging in to the room, Milly hot on my heels.
Anna looked up from where she was seated at a table, one leg curled under her. She did her best to put on a smile for us, but her worries showed in the corners of her eyes and the way she immediately went back to chewing on the inside of her cheek.
“Hey, El,” she said, rising to give me a hug. “Hey, Milly. Long time no see.”
“How are you doing?” I asked, sitting at the big square table. I looked at the legs, but they were where they were supposed to.
Anna’s smile was genuine this time as she recalled the desk in Caz’s private study. “Not in here.”
I looked around the room. This was a part of the Ice Citadel that I hadn’t been to yet. The rectangular room had many doors branching off its long sides. At the rear, through thin, gauzy curtains, was a balcony I suspected overlooked the arena where the challenge would take place. The Field of Ice, I think Caz had referred to it as.
The table occupied the center with couches on either wall. Flanking the various doors were portraits of very regal-lookingmen, though I recognized none of them. Previous tyrants? Warriors who fought in Challenges? I didn’t know.
“You look exhausted,” I said, the cushion on the chair making noise as I sank into it. Milly moved to Anna’s other side. “It’s been three days already, and I haven’t seen you.”
“I know.” She sighed, resting an elbow on the table. “Things have been a little crazy. Not to mention, I needed time to recover. I barely drank, let alone had food.”
“Was it that bad?”
Anna’s face softened, her eyes unfocusing. “No. No it wasn’t bad at all,” she said dreamily. “Intense. That’s how I would describe it, I think. Very intense. But not bad at all.”
“So you just had sex for days on end?” Milly put forth. “How are you not bow-legged?”
Anna blushed bright red while I snickered.
“We weren’tonlyhaving sex!” She shook her head. “Yes, there was a lot. I won’t lie. Alot. Turns out that my being in heat had an effect on Casimir as well.”
“I doubt he was upset,” Milly teased.
“He’s never upset with me around,” Anna said, smiling a smile that reflected thoughts she kept to herself.
I clenched my jaw to stop myself from saying something inappropriate that would ruin the moment. My relationship issues were not a part of the conversation, and I wouldnotruin my friend’s moment just to receive some pity. Anna deserved a better friend than that.
“So what elsedidyou do? Sit around and talk?”
Anna shook her head. “We barely spoke. It was weird. It’s more like we were creatures, instead of beings. Does that make any sense? We were there, with one another, but words, sentences, intelligent thought, none of it played a part. Wetouched in all manner of ways. Our eyes told stories, and our bodies were always moving.”
“Sounds … thoughtless,” I murmured, frowning. “I don’t mean to be rude.”
“You’re not.” Anna said, waving it off. “Whatever happens during it, the human half takes a backseat. I was still there, but a different part of me was stronger. My dragon, I guess.”
We talked some more about it. To most dragons, it was probably natural, normal, and just a part of life. To us, we had never experienced it through decades of adult life, but what’s more is we had neverexpectedto. We had no friends to tell us what it was like, no first-hand experiences. Nothing. It was all new, and so the three of us sat there, Milly and I grilling Anna about everything until she blushed and we just laughed.
Given everything going on with Dirk, it was exactly what I needed, and I think Milly as well. She was looking and acting livelier, better than she’d been in a long time. For the first time since I’d screwed up and let us get caught by the Hunters, it felt like we were together again, all at the same time.
“There’s one other thing,” Anna said during a lull.
I perked up. “What’s that?”
She chewed on her lip steadily for nearly a minute before speaking again. “I’ve been having dreams. At least, that’s what they were at first. Now they’re coming during the day. Bits and pieces of things. Nothing entirely coherent.”
