Page 67 of Once the Skies Fade

“Maybe you should put a leash on him,” I said, knowing the queen wouldn’t warn me without cause, but I was having too much fun to quit now. Asher’s lip curled, revealing impressively sharp teeth—and oddly enough a small dimple in his cheek, though I refrained from commenting on how it ruined the terrifying vibe he was going for.

“Do you put a leash on that mutt prince of yours?” Asher asked, obviously trying to wriggle under my skin.

Not that it would work.

Offering a congenial smile, I widened my eyes in satisfaction. “So you know who I am. Seems best to keep the barbs between us. You don’t see me offending your queen.”

“She’s not my queen either,” he noted.

Interesting.

I stilled. His name rolled around in my mind, familiar yet difficult to place. Not from my scouts’ reports, no. No one had mentioned an Asher or a human with close ties to Arenysen.

Asher’s bronze eyes studied me, unnerving and…

Oh, shit. I know those eyes.

At the signing of the treaty—the one depicted in the tapestry in my room—this man had been there, standing with the queen and princess of Arenysen as their king penned his name on thatparchment. He and his brothers had notoriously fought for both sides during the war, working for whichever side offered the best financial return. Why so many still trusted them enough to hire them—as Calla had evidently done here—was a true testament to how efficient and effective they were.

“Asher? As in the dragon mercenary Asher?” I asked and pulled my mouth into an impressed frown.

Calla nodded, eyes closed. Asher stood even taller, which I hadn’t thought possible.

I swung my arm toward him and then gestured to Oryn. “Then he should have no trouble taking Oryn to your healers. Unless—wait—you take passengers, right? Can’t say I know much about dragons.”

He growled again, deeper and longer this time before addressing Calla. “There’s another guard a few hundred meters away. Get him to come retrieve the wounded.”

Calla’s forehead creased with concern. “Why? What are you going to do?”

“Nothing, as long as this bastard keeps his mouth shut, but I don’t trust him not to break the rules and leave the forest if I go.”

“No. It’ll be faster if you take him. I can handle Matthias,” Calla insisted, her eyes flashing my way.

A smirk pulled at my lips before I could think better of it. “I bet you could, Killer.”

The words were barely out of my mouth before Asher gently shoved Calla away from him. Now, I’d seen Connor shift enough times that the process had lost all its novelty. Asher’s was different. While Connor’s transformation seemed to roll over him, like he was stripping off his fae form to reveal the wolfhound beneath, Asher’s was explosive.

Not literally. He didn’t actually explode, but it was as though the dragon within burst through his human exterior. His arms swung out wildly as scale-covered muscles and glassy-blackclaws erupted into place. With a deafening roar—which I barely tolerated without covering my ears—he gave his head a violent shake until the blond hair and dimpled cheek changed into a massive horned head. Snarling, his jaws chomped at me as his clawed feet tore at the ground beneath an impressive body of gold and bronze scales with a silvery-white belly and immense golden wings.

“There he is,” I crooned, holding my ground. He stared me down with those same bronze eyes, now ablaze with fury that reminded me so much of Connor’s when his temper got the better of him.

“Stop it, general,” Calla said, though it was hard to hear her over Asher’s loud attempts to intimidate me.

“I had no idea dragons had a chivalrous side, did you?”

“Just go,” Calla commanded. “I’ll get your friend to the healers, but only if you return to the forest. Now.”

“Alright, alright. I’m going,” I said and started to back away slowly, hands up once again in surrender. “But next time you want to ogle me, you don’t need to hide in your shadows to do it. You may not be my queen yet, but I’m yours to handle whenever you need a little release.”

Her lips parted slightly, and I managed to send her a single wink before Asher bellowed with such force the trees themselves seemed to cower away from him. Then, digging his claws into the dirt and tucking his wings in tightly against his back, he charged me. I turned and ran, dashing around trees and ducking under low branches, not daring to look back at the beast now crashing through the forest behind me.

Chapter 33

Matthias

Adrenaline—and maybe a bit of fear—forced an almost hysterical laugh from my lungs as a plan began to form in my mind. A risky one, sure, but in certain cases—like being chased down by a gigantic, winged creature—there was nothing but risk.

Barreling through another large fern, I abruptly changed course, darting to my left and circling back around on him. I had underestimated his reflexes—and his sight—because he didn’t slow down remotely as he spun around after me, his clawed feet skidding in the dirt. His tail swept through trees, smashing them like they were made of paper. He was so close, a blast of hot air—moist and earthy—hit my face when I risked a glance behind me.

---