Page 69 of Once the Skies Fade

“Do you hear something or are you just stretching?” I asked. He ignored me. “This whole conversation thing would be easier if you weren’t…you know…still a dragon.”

At that moment, two fae came barreling through a stand of ferns. Beck and Korben took one look at the captured dragon and stopped short.

“Fancy seeing you two here,” I called, and they shifted their gaze to me for half a breath before looking back to Asher. I sighed heavily. “It’s not polite to gawk, you know.”

“It’s a…” Korben mumbled.

“Dragon.” Beck whispered the word. “I thought they were a myth.”

Bobbing my head from side to side, I introduced them. “Asher, this is Korben and Beck. Guys, this is Asher. Dragon-shifter extraordinaire.”

“Doesn’t seem too impressive all tied up like this, does he?” Korben said, nudging Beck with his elbow before sidling up to Asher, who didn’t seem to notice, aside from a slight twitch of his eyes. Korben pulled out his dagger. “My brother won’t believe it when I tell him. Perhaps a souvenir is in order.”

“Don’t—” Beck and I both started to warn him, but stopped short when Korben sliced his blade through one of Asher’s clawed toes. The dragon didn’t bellow or roar, but a low, menacing snarl started, like he was brewing up a plan for revenge on this asshole of a fae.

Korben’s face twisted with brutal delight as he picked up the toe and examined it before finally pocketing it and once more stepping toward the restrained beast.

“Although, it’d be even more impressive if I bring back his head,” he mused.

Asher bared his teeth and snarled fiercely, but Korben merely laughed.

I scoffed, and he swung toward me.

“How exactly do you plan to do that with a mere dagger?” I asked. “It will take you all evening with such a small blade. And are you expecting Beck here to help you carry it all the way back?”

I nodded toward the smaller fae, who stood off to the side, wringing his hands at his waist.

“Fine,” Korben muttered, but then turned to Beck. “Won’t get another chance like this, B. Imagine how much someone would pay to have this mounted on their wall. Your family would be set.”

“I don’t know.” Beck shifted his weight back and forth as if he were about to flee.

“At least until Asher’s brothers find out what happened,” I said, and Beck’s eyes widened. “I imagine they won’t be too merciful to those responsible.”

“He’s right, Korben,” Beck said. “And we still need to find our medallions.”

I balked at this. “Wait. You guys don’t have those yet? I mean, a dragon’s head—while impressive—won’t win you the tournament.”

“Who needs to win that bitch’s hand when you can score a prize like this?”

“Ah, yes,” I said. “A dragon’s dismembered head is far greater a prize than the throne of an entire kingdom. I do wonder, though, how the general and Her Majesty will take to you killing their friend.”

“Friend?” Beck asked. I nodded solemnly. “Korben, let’s just go.”

Korben hesitated, lifting his dagger in the air until it was level with Asher’s eye. “Maybe just one more trophy. His eye perhaps.”

I groaned in exasperation. “Leave the poor bastard alone. The forest is going to finish us both off anyway.” As if to prove my point, the vines twisted tighter around both Asher and me, squeezing another pained moan from both of us. I strained to get my next words out. “In my right pocket, I have a medallion. It’s yours if you just leave.”

Korben studied me with narrowed eyes. Shrugging, he strolled over to me.

“Alright. Matthias, is it? Deal.”

Instead of reaching a hand into my pocket, though, he slashed his dagger across my upper thigh, cutting through the heavy fabric so the medallion fell out into his outstretched hand.

“Seriously? These are my good pants,” I complained, only to realize a breath later that his blade had sliced a decent-sized gash in my leg, from which blood was already seeping. He had just missed the artery but had still cut deeply enough I might not have been able to heal fast enough while strung up like this. My vision blurred at the edges.

“Don’t worry. As you mentioned, the forest will kill you soon enough,” Korben said, backing away into the trees and motioning for Beck to follow. The smaller fae offered a sympathetic look as he too ran off.

Chapter 34

---