Page 111 of Promised in Blood

He snorts a laugh, probably because he knows how much her calling him sir will enrage me. I tip her jaw up with my forefinger. “Youdo not callhimsir, little one.”

She flutters her eyelashes. “Sorry, sir.”

I stifle a groan and shift her on my lap so she sits squarely over my aching dick. It seems I become a slave to my desires whenever she is around. It is a distraction I could do without given the grave situation we all face, but it is one I relish all the same.

Is she your fated mate?

Ophelia’s blue eyes widen as she stares at me, both of them awaiting my answer.

There is no denying this truth, and I am no longer sure why I did not admit it sooner.Yes.

I told you, Dragon Whisperer, Ani says.

Ophelia gasps, and her heart flutters. I am certain she did not hear his reply, although it seared itself into my brain. Condescending egomaniac. He told me many times that Elena was not the one meant for me, and I rebuffed him every single time.

She blinks at me.I thought only wolves had fated mates.

No. Other species do too, although it is very rare.

Ani snorts.Not for dragons.

No, not for dragons, I admit.But your kind are so few in number that my statement still holds true.

Ophelia’s eyes spark with fascination.How many of your kind are there, Anikêtos?

We have so few left. Less than twenty dragons remain in the netherworld. Our food supply is not so nourishing here.

They have more than halved in number, which is a feat for creatures who can live for many thousands of years.I am sorry for your losses, Ani, I tell him sincerely.

He offers me only a growl of acknowledgment.

Ophelia wrinkles her nose. I find her curiosity so annoyingly endearing.What do dragons eat?

We do not eat. We consume.He snorts again, and I see the thick plumes of dark smoke in my mind’s eye, and a pang of regret and longing lances through my chest.

Is that not the same thing?

He remains silent. Knowing him, he considers it beneath him to answer such basic questions, so I tell her. “Dragons feed on energy. There is energy everywhere in the mortal realm, but it is not as abundant in the netherworld. Whilst they have an ample supply of souls to feast on, they are not so filling, diverse, or, I imagine, as pleasant as those in the realm of the living.”

Would you ever return to this realm, Anikêtos?she asks.

I brace myself for a diatribe about how dragons are superior to every race on earth and how we do not deserve them. As true as it may be, it is a sermon I have heard too many times.

But he surprises me and speaks in a tone as gentle as I have ever heard from him.Perhaps one day, if there is a strong enough reason. And you, Clandarrah, may call me Ani.

“Ani.” She says his name aloud and repeats it in her head.What does Clandarrah mean?

I brush the pad of my thumb over her full lips.It is dragon speak. Roughly translated it means Choice.

Chosen,Ani snorts.

Dragons have such few words unique to their kind, but Ani taught me all of them. I suppose my dragon is a little rusty after a thousand years.

I like this one, Dragon Whisperer, he says. Then he is gone, closed off to me once more.

My heart beats erratically in my chest. So many fond memories interspersed with the bitter ones. I met him, the most feared and respected dragon to ever roam the skies, when I was only a boy. He was my ally. My most trusted friend. Ophelia places a hand on my cheek. “Why are you sad?”

I stare into her bright-blue eyes. “I am not.”

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