Page 34 of Catastrophe

With a sympathetic smile pasted on my face, I slapped his back and told him, “You are not shouldering this burden alone. You might be the hope for many, but you are not the only hope.”

He gave me an odd look, as if he didn’t quite believe my performance, which was understandable, but nodded and returned my smile. But I wasn’t lying. Whoever Sigurd was, whatever lies or truths he told, whatever power he had, it was all irrelevant. Because in the end, it wouldn’t be the protector who took down Fafnir. It would be me. And it would be in honor of the suffering he’d caused my soul mate.

With thoughts of revenge swirling in my mind, my smile turned genuine, and I turned my attention to my original purpose here.

“Savida, walk with me. It’s time to wake the sleeping dragon.”

CHAPTER 9

CHARLIE

The muttering from the group behind us was like birds chirping. While I tried to listen, tried to hear the words being said, Dralie was half asleep and not concentrating on them, which meant I couldn’t hear shit.

“I do not want to listen to them. I am tired, and they are cruel.”

“They aren’t cruel,” I argued. “They didn’t know it was you. They thought you were Fafnir. Although Daithi can be a prick, he wouldn’t want to hurt me.”

“But he can hurt me?”

“No. Anyway, aren’t we the same thing now? We really need to sort this identity thing out, Dralie.”

He was justified in feeling hurt. The whole thing stung a little, so I couldn’t blame him for pouting. But Dralie grumbled and ignored me as he snuggled down into his homemade glass bed. He closed his eyes, leaving me in the darkness, and as I listened to a dragon heartbeat, I was lulled to sleep.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I came awake to the sound of a familiar voice, but since Dralie’s eyes remained shut, and sleep hadn’t quite faded from my mind, I couldn’t tell who it was.

“It’s getting dark. If he turns in his sleep, he could freeze to death.”

Dralie snorted. “I wouldn’t let us freeze. Drakorians do not know the cold.”

“Good to know they care, though.”

“I care the most.”

“Dralie, I’m allowed other friends. So are you.”

“I do not wish for these beings to be my friends. They are cruel.”

“I think they’ll grow on you. And you can’t just ignore them. Open your eyes, and let me see who it is.”

“They want me gone. My power and wingspan threaten them.”

Having a dragon in my head was like dealing with a moody teenager. I thought I’d gotten past that stage of life. Maybe I shouldn’t have complained about Clawdia’s thoughts so much.

“How are you going to wake him?” a voice whispered.

“He’s already awake.”

“You’ve been rumbled, Dralie. You might as well see what they want.”

Dralie reluctantly peeked open one eye, allowing me a chance to see the two people.

Savida’s red hair waved in the wind as he stood slumped with his wings twitching while Baelen, dressed in—was that my T-shirt?—black, had his arms crossed and a mean frown telling me he meant business. The sun was setting behind the trees, and the lake breeze was noticeably colder, even from inside our glass pod.

“You are certain they mean us no harm?” Dralie asked.

“Now that they know it’s me … us … whatever … they won’t want to hurt us.”

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