Page 56 of Storm of Blood and Shadow

My shoulders slump as I face Varex. I gaze at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

When I don’t answer, he ducks his head, bringing his muzzle level with my downcast face. His voice is the deepest I’ve ever heard it. “Tell me what you said to the Princess.”

I bite my lip, momentarily piqued because Serylla betrayed me and repeated some part of our conversation to him. “What did she tell you?”

“Never mind that. I want to hear the words from your lips, the ones I have kissed. The ones that have closed so prettily around my cock.”

I wince and glance away again. “I gave her a dragon’s claw that I found. And I asked her to…” I cringe as he moves nearer, his hot breath on my face.

“Asked her to what?” he hisses. “Say it.”

“I asked her to kill your brother.”

Varex makes a wounded sound, half growl, half moan. It cuts straight to my heart.

He will abandon me now—give me to another dragon or leave me out in the storm to die. I won’t apologize or beg him for sanctuary. I have a few shreds of pride left.

Two male dragons approach us tentatively, clearly wishing to speak to Varex. He turns to them, and one says, “My prince, neither of us were chosen by a female. What shall we do?”

Varex looks at me, and for one terrifying moment I believe he’s going to give me to them. He holds my gaze for what feels like infinity before turning back to the pair.

“See if a couple of the women will accept a second partner,” he tells them. “Or the two of you could share a cave with each other. If those options do not please you, you must remain alone in your caves during the storm. Enduring the mating season in solitude will not be easy, but take heart! There will be other chances for sex and love in your future.”

The two dragons depart, and I release a taut breath. For a moment I was sure he would force me to be their partner for the mating.

“Were you worried, darling?” he says archly, lashes draped low over his amber eyes. When I don’t answer, he chuckles. “Wait here. I have a few more announcements to make.”

He leaps up onto the slab of rock to address the clan. The announcements are mostly practical reminders about safety, cleanliness, and rationing of food during the storm.

The wind begins to howl as he finishes his speech. The rest of the dragons quickly clear out of the valley with their partners. I hunch down under the sloping slab of rock, waiting, wondering if he’s going to leave me behind.

Varex leaps down from the rock, landing lightly beside me. “On my back,” he shouts. “We must get our supplies.”

We fly to the cavern and dart inside. To Varex’s chagrin and mine, there’s not much food left.

“I should have taken supplies earlier,” he snarls, clearly displeased with himself.

We gather what’s left—enough to last a few days if we’re careful. I stuff my bag with the supplies and climb onto his back.

“You should leave me here,” I shout as he readies himself to depart. “You should take the food and go. Then you won’t have to share it.”

“Fuck that,” he snarls.

It’s difficult for him to mount into the air, now that the wind has grown so strong. The sky has darkened, overtaken by a bank of churning clouds. The Mordvorren is nearly here.

I want to scream at Varex to try harder and fly faster, but I clamp my teeth and keep silent while he battles the incoming gale. He isn’t as physically large and powerful as his brother, but his will and his spirit are indomitable. With fierce wingbeats and roars of defiance, he fights his way upward and through the valley.

We’re chased along the cliffs by thunder that growls like an eager beast behind us, and by lightning that stabs the rocks like arrows, as if the storm is hurling bolts at us on purpose. Perhaps it is.

With a final burst of speed and power, Varex dives into his cave, bounding all the way to the back before he halts and lets me slide off. I haven’t explored the depths of the space, so I don’t move until he has heated a couple dyre-stones for illumination. I’m surprised to see a narrow passage cleaving the back wall of the cave, heading deeper into the mountain. The crack definitely couldn’t accommodate a dragon, but it’s big enough for a human.

Breathing hard, I set down the bag of food. There’s a single wild pig near the back of the cave, hanging by a flap of its skin from a sharp hook carved into the stone ceiling.

This is all the food we have. And the Mordvorren can last for a week or more.

Our stay in this cave is not going to be pleasant. If the storm lasts too long, we will both starve—or Varex will eat me, and not in the good way.

When I glance at him, I know he’s thinking the same thing.

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