Page 78 of Mama Si's Paradise

The dragon.

The small fucking dragon that had bitten the side of my neck was here, and he stopped on this man’s shoulder, and he wrapped his long tail twice around the man’s neck, watching me calmly. Curiously.

“Answer me, human. I won’t ask again,” the man said. I was so caught between his face and that dragon sitting on him that I thought I might lose my fucking mind.

Too terrifying. Way too beautiful—thebothof them, so unreal. A man with a dragon on his shoulder, arms crossed and at ease, genuinely waiting for me to speak.

I did.

“If he bites me again, I will hurt him,” I blurted, moving farther back to put more distance between us.

The man smiled, just half a smile on those big lips, possibly the only color on him. His skin was fair, very pale, but his lips were so red you’d think he was wearing lipstick.

“He won’t bite you unless I ask him to. And I don’t use my pet to hunt for me,” the man said.

Hunt.

“Pet? That’s yourpet?!” Who in the world had dragons for pets?!

His head turned slightly to the side, his eyes scrolling down the length of me. He took another step forward, then stopped when he noticed that I took another back. He seemed so curious about me, and I wasbeggingmy eyes to move away from that face. Still wasn’t working.

“He is, yes.”

I raised my finger at the black dragon. “Well, then you should learn to controlyour petbetter because he already bitme.” And I pushed my hair back to show him.

As if caught by surprise, the man smiled even wider.Damn.As soon as more light fell on his face, all his imperfections would surely be visible because such perfection couldn’t exist.

“Yes, that’s how the ritual goes,” he said.

The ritual.

Mama Si had tricked me, had brought me here with false promises, had held me in the water while the dragon had bittenme—and the whole thing had a name:the ritual.

“This was a mistake,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t be here. I was tricked into coming to your Isle—do you understand? I wastricked, and I need to go back!”

He took a half step forward, forcing me back once again—then another, and waited for me to move, like he was amused by my panic. Like he was enjoying terrifying me like he was doing. We went like that for another four steps, him coming closer and me backing away—until my back hit a tree trunk.

“Did you not hear me? I was tricked! This was a mistake. I can’t?—”

“Blood doesn’t make mistakes, and neither do dragons,” he cut me off, so dangerously close now that I could see all of him, even inthe dark.

“Except this time,” I forced myself to say, my voice dry, my mouth drier. “It made a mistake this time.”

“Idon’t make mistakes,” he then whispered, his eyes falling on my lips, and he was waiting. He wasdaringme with that look to defy him.

So, I swallowed hard and said, “This time, you did.”

The corners of his lips turned up. “I am Valentine Evernight, ruler of the Evernight Court…” He leaned closer and closer, unblinking eyes holding mine captive, and I wanted to become one with the tree behind me, but I was too paralyzed by his proximity to move away.

“…and you dare call me a liar?”

His words were a whisper, caressing my skin, falling on me like Mama Si’s magic had and I’d never noticed before—except this was more powerful.So fucking intense my knees were shaking, and it took all of my willpower to just close my eyes, to call to my mind, to fake bravery I didn’t have.

“Your heart beats so fast,” he then said, looking down at my chest like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. Like he really could hear the urgency with which my heart slammed against my ribcage with every beat. “Your fear smells delicious, human.”

I dug my fingernails in my palms until it hurt.

“Mama Si lied to me,” I said. “She liedto me about the offering. You have to understand—sheliedto me.”

---