Page 6 of The Dragon Queen

On the other ship, I’d had the elves to speak to. But on this ship, I would be below deck all day and see Talon in the evenings, and most of that time would be spent asleep.

He seemed to read my disappointment. “I can take you back if you wish.”

“No…that’s not what I want.”

His eyes flicked away for a moment. “We won’t have the same time together from this point onward. It won’t be the way it was in your tree house or on the island. It pains me to say it, but that’s our reality.”

I gave a slight nod in agreement. “But we have the rest of our lives afterward.”

Now, he looked away altogether, focusing on the window that showed the water and the ship behind us. He didn’t look at me again, as if those words had struck a nerve. “I’ll see you tonight.” He turned away, still avoiding my gaze like he didn’t want to look at me again.

“Talon.”

He stilled, his back to me, his hand on the door.

“You don’t have to believe it, but I do.”

When he stepped into the cabin that night, the first thing he did was bathe. There were no showers on the ship, but he scrubbed himself with cold water then dried off with a towel. He pulled on a pair of clean underwear then opened a bottle of wine and drank straight from the top.

I sat at the table, my day having passed so slowly without him there to spend it with me.

He sat in one of the chairs, clearly tired from being in the sun all day. His skin had darkened from its exposure to the elements, and now he had a beautiful tan mixed with a hint of olive. He drank straight from the bottle again, fatigue heavy in his eyes but his appearance handsome, nonetheless.

“How can you figure out where you are on the open sea?”

“The wind, the currents, the stars…”

“You still remember all that stuff?”

“I spent more time sailing than I did doing anything else in my life.” The window was dark, but he still looked outside like he could see the whole world.

“Can I ask you something?”

He stared a moment longer before he looked at me again.

“You said you see ghosts…”

His eyes hardened in defense, putting on invisible armor for protection against my interrogation.

“Does that have anything to do with the day you disappeared?”

He raised his shield against my sword and blocked the attack with his silence.

“Why won’t you tell me?—”

“Let it lie, Calista.” Instead of raising his voice in anger, he lowered it in defeat.

Disappointment burned my heart until it was hollow. “I asked you how you earned the command of the dead, and you said you would tell me?—”

“I would tell you another day—but not today.”

“Do you mean that?” I asked quietly.

His eyes shifted back and forth.

“Because you’ve told me everything about your life, even told me about Vivian, but you still haven’t told me about this.”

His eyes shifted back to the window.

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