Page 43 of Sass Me

What could drive a dumb piece of shit like this into giving Steele the information he had to have? Drive it insane enough to talk? Did demon dragons have other emotions, did they hope and wish for things?

That was it.

Steele paced slowly letting the thing struggle and thrash against Jakob’s tail.

“Last one standing, huh? That must make you pretty damn proud.”

It spat at him. “Fuck you, dragon.”

A complete sentence. A miracle from one of these stupid sons of a bitches. Steele could work with that.

“I suspected you were different from the other demon dragons. Better than those that are now black smudges of ash in the dirt. How did you do it?”

“Steele, what are you doing? Slash it or I’ll burn it for you. Get what you need from him.” Daxton’s dragon fire licked at the edges of his teeth.

The demon dragon hissed at Dax, but then looked at Steele. “How I do what?”

That’s right. Play into my hand. “You’re smarter than the other demon dragons I’ve come up against. I could almost mistake you for a real dragon.”

“This piece of shit? Ha.” Dax started forward but Match stopped him, holding him back with his tail.

“See, the rest of them think you’re just a minion. But, you know better, don’t you? I can see that. You’re more than a mindless monster.”

It’s snake-like tongue flicked through the air, testing to see what it could get from the emotions Steele was working hard to keep in check. “Yes. I better.”

“I bet you even know where they’ve taken the woman.” Take the bait, take the bait.

“No.”

Shit. “No, I’m surprised. A smart dragon like you?”

“No. I know better.”

“Of course, you do. What do you know?”

If Jakob hadn’t been holding the damn thing against a tree it might have been dancing a jig. “Your woman dead dead dead.”

Dead. Dead. Dead.

Fleur was dead? Steele’s heart plummeted, spiraling into pain and darkness.

His vision went hazy and all he saw was Fleur’s smile, the sexy way she said his name, the way she made his soul, not just the shard, glow with all the love he had inside for her.

His soul would wither if she was dead.

They were one. He didn’t understand how he knew, but Fleur was alive, because if she wasn’t, he would die with her.

The demon dragon squealed, not because Jakob was twisting the spikes of his tail into its chest, but out of thrill of seeing Steele’s painful reaction.

Steele was this close to stabbing the demon dragon through the eye. It was taunting him.

He shook off the possibility of the demon dragon’s words being true. They couldn’t be. “That’s beneath you. Too easy of a lie.”

“Easy?” It tilted its head to the side like this was the first time that word had ever entered its consciousness.

“Yes. Lies are easy. Cheap. You know what has power?”He got right up in the beast’s face and whispered. “Real power?”

It groaned and breathed faster. “Want power.”

---