“Yeah, drop it, Igor,” Tish adds.
“You brought it up,” he argues.
Larsson clears his throat. “Can someone explain to me why I had to kill the Elder dragon?”
“You killed her?” I ask, belatedly remembering that I shouldn’t draw his attention to me considering he probably wants to flay me alive.
He narrows his eyes. “Yes. You’re lucky Ryker failed to mention you were here. I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
Lucca’s brows arch. “Whoa. What did Vaughn do to you?”
Sophie sits up, pressing her hand against her forehead. “What happened to your precious figurines was an accident.”
He crosses his arms. “They were irreplaceable.”
“Like my mother’s necklace was irreplaceable, and yet I gave it up,” Lucca retorts.
Upon the mention of the necklace Vivi was tasked to steal for Larsson, the dragon shifter relaxes his stance a fraction.
“It’s been real, and it’s been fun, but I can’t say it’s been real fun. Let’s get out of here,” Solomon chimes in.
“How are we getting home? Sophie can’t cast another transportation spell,” Tish says.
“And I can’t walk the wind with everyone,” Vivi adds.
“Well, there’s someone here who can take all of us.” Solomon turns to Larsson.
The look of horror on the dragon shifter’s face is almost comical. “Hell to the fucking no.”
“I don’t want to ridehim,” I say.
“I do,” Tish replies, and I don’t think anyone missed the innuendo.
“I helped you defeat the Elder dragon,” Sophie reminds him. “And opened the lerix box for you.”
“You also trashed my office,” he argues.
“That was my fault,” I say. “Besides, if those figurines were that valuable to you, they should have been locked in a safe, not on display on easily breakable shelves.”
Larsson’s eyes flash like embers, reminding me that he can easily kill me.
“Sunrise is coming. You either help us, or we need to find cover now,” Lucca butts in.
Larsson grunts. “Fine, but this stays between us.”
“Excellent.” Solomon claps his hands, strangely excited. “I’ve always wanted to ride a dragon.”
“Everyone needs to stop saying that,” Igor pipes up.
“Why?” Tish asks.
“Because it’s pissing the dragon off, and it’s weird as fuck.”
“Finally, someone with brain cells in this group.” Larsson turns around and breaks into a run down the hill. I crane my neck to see where he’s going, but a moment later, he soars in his dragon form.
Shit. He’s bigger than I thought, and now we have to ride on the back of that beast.
God help us all.
