Page 24 of Fae Reckoning

Kinda like this conversation?Shiiiit.

I said diplomatically.

the dragon said.

I felt rather than saw his muscles clench. Smoke wafted from his nostrils, rising up to engulf me. For the first time since he touched his forehead to mine, I felt Rush close by. Undoubtedly, he was worried the dragon would torch me.

the dragon said.

I hadn’t even realized how tense I was until I relaxed in response.

he added, ever so helpfully.

The tension returned sharply.Oh, thanks. No pressure, then.

A low, deep rumble rolled through our connection. Was it discontent? Amusement? Or perhaps curiosity? I had no fucking clue. He was adragon. I was still learning that I wasn’t at all the half-human girl I’d been led to believe I was, but a fae with powers.

I asked.

Several seconds passed in silence, during which my heart pounded rapidly. My body hadn’t gotten the message that I wasn’t about to be incinerated or eaten whole by the creature that was so many times my size.

When the passing seconds drew out and became like the scrape of a blade against my sensitive skin, I asked,

He ignored me, so I waited some more.

Thirty seconds later, I followed up,

the dragon scolded.

What precisely he might be referring to, I wasn’t certain, and I wasn’t about to ask. I held my tongue and waited while the seconds eked out so violently that it was as if the second hand of a clock lashed me with its every tick.

Finally—fuck, finally—the dragon announced,

I jerked in surprise. I trailed off.

The dragon’s eyes were too far apart for me to make out, and yet I was sure he was glowering at me. I could practically hear him saying, in that incredibly deep voice that might be soothing if not for the way it vibrated with danger,Are you actually questioning my abilities—or theirs? Do you presume that fuerin are stupid?

I hurried to tell him,

My eyes widened though they registered nothing beyond the satiny black of his face.

---