Page 82 of The Dragon King

“Baby.”

I didn’t want to look at him. “I already know what you’re going to say.”

“What am I going to say?”

“That we can think about this after we survive the battle.”

He was quiet for a long time. “I don’t think you understand what we’re up against. Because if you did, you would be afraid. You wouldn’t be thinking about what comes after because there’s a good chance there will be nothing that comes after.”

“I have dreams, Talon. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

He looked at the fire again and turned quiet, his mood subtly hostile.

“I lost my parents young, and I’ve been on my own ever since. And then you came into my life. And even though the world is still chaotic and things are so uncertain, you’re the one thing that is certain.” I looked at the side of his face. “I want the dragons to be free. I want you to have your revenge. But I also want a life with you, and I’m not ashamed to say that. Whatever that life looks like, whether we’re in Shadow Stone or Riviana Star or Thalian or the Southern Isles…I want it to be you for the rest of my life.”

His eyes moved down to his hands as his arms rested on his knees, his fingers stitched together. The cords in his forearms and knuckles were visible because his hands were clenched tightly.

“I love you?—”

“Calista.” He released a sigh through his clenched teeth, the frustration popping like the sparks in the fire. His joined hands moved to his mouth, like he silenced himself too late. He sounded like a parent who’d lost their patience and scolded their child unnecessarily. He sounded like my words were a burden too heavy for him to carry.

I felt an invisible arrow pierce the center of my heart. My body had been alive seconds ago, but now it felt like it was on death’s doorstep. My optimism had sunk to the bottom of the ocean like a galleon that had been struck by a cannon.

“This is as far as I go.” He lowered his hands again and turned to face me, his dark eyes wide with ferocity. “This is it. Not another step.”

Pain was more than an acquaintance. It was my closest friend, always there for every season of life, standing beside me in theshadows, watching my tears spill down my face. But this pain…felt like a stranger. It was somehow worse than every other pain I’d ever known—combined.

He clenched his eyes shut then turned back to the fire.

“Is it because of her?”

“I said I didn’t want to talk about her ever again?—”

“Well, I just told you I loved you, and you ripped me apart.”

He bowed his head and released another sigh.

“I’m sorry that my feelings are such a burden for you.”

“That’s not it, Calista?—”

“Then what is it?” Flashbacks struck me in that moment, remembering our conversation on the beach on the island, the way he interrupted me not once, but twice—because he knew it was coming. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a coincidence. “Because I assumed you felt the same way. Would have put my life on it.”

He continued to stare at the fire.

“You’ve told me how much I mean to you. Told me to never leave you. Say I’m the most beautiful woman. But I’m just another woman to pass the time? Because I’m not your wife, and I’ll never be?—”

He tried to bridle his anger, but his voice still seethed. “She has nothing to do with this, so don’t mention her again.”

“So, it’s just me?” I snapped. “You want me for a night but not all your nights?”

“I didn’t say that?—”

“Then say what you feel, Talon. Because I’m tired of guessing.”

He dragged his hands down his face like he found himself in a situation he didn’t want to be in.

Ever since he’d come to Riviana Star, I’d felt like the most important person in his life. I felt loved and protected. I felt a kinship with him that I’d never felt with anyone else. Even though we lived in hard times, it felt easy with him. But apparently, I’d misinterpreted all of that. “You know what? Forget it.” I went into the tent, not to go to sleep, but to grab my pack and leave the campsite. I came out of the flap and threw the bag over my shoulder.

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