Page 45 of Centaur Bolt

Careful,Iskar warned.Just put the stone down.

I stifled my urge to fling it at the Dragon and set it down where I’d found it instead.

“I was just looking,” I said, wincing at how defensive I sounded. For frek’s sake, they were only rocks.

“Leaves them bes.”

“Who collected them?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he tossed three rolled leaves in front of me, keeping another three for himself. He then stomped toward the pit, where the scents wafting off the steaming eel had my mouth watering.

I followed him. “This meal would go further if we weren’t feeding your beast.”

He went very still. “Ifs theys finds us, we’ll needs my beast.”

“Is that the reason you won’t change back to human?”

I knew I’d nailed it when he didn’t immediately reply. My fingers tightened on the crystal dust packets. “Whatever is inside me doesn’t emerge easily. I fight it every step of the way. You would have plenty of time to embrace your own beast.”

He regarded me with one shimmering copper eye. Then he snorted and began to change.

He’d been a huge Dragon, but the human that emerged wasn’t any less impressive. The look in his gleaming eyes stayed the same—swirling with violence.

He’s dangerous,Iskar assessed.

Yeah, well, so am I.Still, as I bent over the cooling stones, I kept him in view out of the corner of my eye. He picked up the tailspike that had dropped to the gravel and propped it up against a boulder—within easy reach. Also, I couldn’t help but notice that he’d retained talons from his fingertips—smaller than the Dragon version, but just as lethal.

He used them now, bending down to the base of the boulder and scratching around in the gravel. Mystified, I watched as he grabbed something tiny and wiggly. Was he going to eat it?

Then a small, fuzzy form emerged from beneath his long hair. My pulse accelerated—a Webspinner. I’d only seen one once before—at an exotic animal booth in the market—but I knew the adorable-looking critters were anything but.

Yet before I could say anything, Havoc lifted the wiggly tidbit. The Webspinner scuttled along his arm and paused about a hand’s width from the offering—and its sticky tongue shot out. It almost missed but caught just the edge, and yanked it back to the fangs that injected it with toxin.

Then it raced back up his arm to disappear beneath his hair.

I stared. Havoc glared back.

It appears that Mr. Big and Grumpy has, of all things, a pet,Iskar noted.

A very lethal pet,I stated, ripping my gaze away.As the Dragon shifter didn’t seem to invite comment, I reached for the wrapped leaves. I pulled my fingers back with a hiss—they were scorching hot.

Havoc loomed up beside me to hook a fingertip talon in and pull the bundle out onto the cooler gravel.

“Grow a talon, idiot,” he growled.

“My talons don’t tend to come solo,” I sniped back.

His eyes flashed once. Then he picked up a leaf bundle and retreated to set himself down on a boulder. The eel steamed gently when exposed, and he hooked a chunk to push it into his mouth.

Considering how quickly he could heal, I supposed burning one’s tongue wasn’t a worry for him. As I waited for mine to cool, I took the plunge.

“Why were you in Isobel’s cave?”

His jaws paused, ever so briefly, before continuing to chew. He didn’t answer until he swallowed.

“The bitch held me captive.”

I frowned. “You got free?”

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