Page 84 of The Dragon King

“I didn’t reject your love?—”

“Then tell me you love me.”

His gaze hardened at the request, his breaths no longer labored.

I didn’t expect him to say it back, and I was still disappointed. I already felt worthless, and I didn’t want to look weaker. Already put my heart on the line and watched it get trampled under his boots. Didn’t want him to take anything else. “Goodnight, Talon…” I turned my back on him and headed to the center of the campfire.

I waited for him to stop me.

Waited for him to grab me by the arm.

Call my name.

But he didn’t.

He let me go.

Chapter 15

Talon

I’d already had breakfast before everyone else was awake.

Because I’d never gone to bed.

I sat at the campfire alone and continued to feed the fire throughout the night, staring into the flames as the self-loathing and rage boiled in my blood. When the sun crested the horizon, the sky started to lighten. I looked around the camp and saw I was the only one awake, with the exception of a few guards on duty.

I wasn’t sure where Calista had gone, but I suspected she went to her uncle’s tent.

The light continued to rise, the white clouds becoming visible, rabbits and squirrels appearing in the distance as they started their day. My back was aching from sitting on that log all night, but I knew chasing sleep would have been a wasted endeavor.

In the distance, I saw Queen Eldinar in her white armor, no longer in the gowns she’d worn while out to sea and on the island. It was clear she was headed straight toward me, her crystal-blue eyes like beacons of fire.

I rose to my feet before she reached me and gave her a slight bow in respect. The only monarchs I’d ever respected were Constantine and my father. But she’d been added to the list as well.

“Your eyes are weary.”

My heart was weary too. “Didn’t sleep much.”

“I assumed so.” She stepped past me, away from camp. “Walk with me, Death King.” She didn’t wait for me, leaving the area where her people were gathered in anticipation of the dragons’ arrival.

I came to her side and followed her gait. “You shouldn’t wander off too far, Your Majesty.”

“I don’t fear for my safety,” she said. “And I certainly don’t fear for it when I’m in your company.” She gave me a slight smile, the kind that barely grazed her lips but bloomed in her eyes.

I didn’t know how to accept such a compliment, so I said nothing at all.

Her smile started to fade. “Calista joined our tent last night. Neither Ezra nor I questioned her.”

“I’m sorry if she intruded.”

“She is always welcome in our presence. Therefore, she can never be an intrusion. But I assume trouble has befallen you both.”

My eyes flicked away. “I fucked up.”

“How so?”

I gave a heavy sigh, but the weight of the situation continued to suffocate me. “I saw it coming a mile away, like a hurricane on the horizon, dark clouds swirling.” When it reached me, I knew it would destroy my ship and everything below deck. “I dodged it as long as I could, but Calista’s persistence didn’t wane. She told me the one thing that I didn’t want to hear, that she loves me.”

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