Page 91 of Centaur Bolt

Never thought I’d be so relieved to see two feeble legs.

They aren’t feeble. Well-muscled for a human, near as I can tell.Iskar sounded exhausted, but relieved.

I pushed myself to a sitting position.Thank you, Iskar.

Maybe next time, you will listen to me. We need to let it out, but we must structure it properly. Riley is off-limits until you learn to control it.

I sighed.That statement is worth at least one freking, Iskar.

Fucking.

Whatever.I became aware of something looming over me and looked up.

Havoc’s Dragon was impressive in its own right, but with his arching wings ready to facilitate a pounce, and his lips pulled back so that I could count every tooth he possessed, it was terrifying.

“I’m okay now, Havoc.” Or, at least, I was pretty sure I was. The beast had subsided. I sensed it coiled within me, but it was content, for the moment, to stay there.

“Whats in the fucking realms was thats?” Havoc’s voice boomed.

I rubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t actually know, but it’s gone, for now.”

He growled, a long, low rumble. “Ares yous sures?”

“Yes.” I was, sort of. “Shift back to human. You will attract attention as a Dragon.” I glanced up at the sky—still overcast, but the heavy storm cloud seemed to have moved on. If any of Isobel’s search crew flew over—two drenched travelers didn’t stand out like his behemoth beast.

He turned and hooked a talon into my cloak. “Naked men stands out toos,” he hissed as he tossed it to me.

It was soaking wet, but I pulled it on anyway. I shook like a leaf in a gale.

Havoc took himself back to human, but I noticed he retained talons from his fingertips. Couldn’t say I blamed him.

“So why did you fucking lose it?” he asked. His calm voice clashed with the intensity in his eyes.

“Fell asleep,” I said. “Had a dream.”

One brow arched. “This thing emerged because you had adream?”

“It was a freking good dream.”

He looked at me as I sat there and shivered, and he suddenly disappeared into the surrounding forest. Wasn’t sure how long he was gone, but when he returned, he marched over to me and put out a closed fist.

When I stared at it, he said, “Hold out your hand.”

I did so, and he dropped a fistful of round objects into it. “Haba nuts,” he rumbled. “High protein.”

I assessed the Dragon. Poisoning me would relieve him of a burden, but leave him with only wings and feet for transport.

They do look like Haba nuts,Iskar stated.

One corner of Havoc’s lips twisted. He reclaimed one of the nuts, tossed it in his mouth, and chewed, before he marched over to the crumbled wall and sat down. Watching me.

“Bushes are about your height. There are loads of them around the edges of the clearing.” He leaned back against the old, stacked stones. “I can take over the watch,” he said.

The nuts had a bit of an odd flavor, but my body immediately craved more. I pushed myself to my trembling legs. “I’m not going to sleep, anyway,” I said. No way I was going to let my human go under right now, not even for a few minutes.

“Fine,” the Dragon groused. “Just so long as you can carry us to that Witch. It would be a long walk, otherwise.”

I turned away and staggered to the bushes. The nuts had been picked over. I had to push through the bristly branches to get more. I stuffed as many in my mouth as I could and used my cloak to carry more back to beneath the old tree near the pond.

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