Page 123 of Wrath of the Dragons
I lick my lips. “Do you have a familiar?”
He flinches, though it’s barely noticeable. “I had a familiar. Many years ago.”
I glance at him from the corner of my eye again before mirroring his position, facing forward to watch the dragons cut through the sherbert-colored clouds. The only comfort I was able to find in exile was knowing the dragons were alive. I forced myself to survive because I knew they needed me. His loss is one I can empathize with, and I pity him in this moment. “I’m sorry, Zarius.”
I can’t imagine my bond being severed. The hollowness I’d be forced to live with…I don’t even know if I’d be able to survive it. It would be like walking through life with five permanent knives in my chest, always bleeding, never healing.
“Thank you,” he says, sounding sincere before clearing his throat. “She’s still with me. Those that are bonded to us never truly leave us.”
“Will you ever be able to form an attachment to a different animal?”
“No, and I wouldn’t want to,” he adamantly states.
“I understand.” I swallow thickly. “When I was separated from my dragons, I never spoke of them because it was too painful. I know we aren’t exactly friends, but if you want to talk about her with someone who understands animal bonds, you can talk to me.”
To be misunderstood is an awfully lonely feeling. You can say exactly what’s in your head but feel as if you’re talking to a brick wall when saying it to the wrong person. Zarius has no ties to home aside from Ser Rhys, and I can empathize with that as well, not having anyone in Imirath.
He turns away from my dragons, and though his face doesn’t change from impassive I note the respect trickling into his eyes as he dips his head. “Have you thought about what you’ll say when you see your father again?”
I grit my teeth while contemplating the uncomfortable question. After all these years, I’m putting an end to the war he started between us. “They don’t deserve words when all they have given us is blood. Let your vengeance and sword speak for you. It’s the only language they know, so don’t ponder what you’ll say, ponder what you’ll do when the time comes to take the crown he ripped from your grasp.”
His white waves brush across his face as he regards me but doesn’t move to tuck them away. “So you are as bloodthirsty as they say.”
“I’m a woman. My taste for blood stems from the need to replenish what was drained from my body when men decided I was not a person, I was property.” I tilt my chin up, taking a step closer to the prince. “The only way to survive this world is by becoming more powerful than those who stand against you. Indecisiveness is the death of success. All it takes is one moment of hesitancy for failure to find you. Use this journey to make your peace with what you must do, and how your life will change, and see it done.”
I turn toward the door, leaving Zarius to contemplate my words, but the boards creak beneath my feet when he calls out my name, halting my movements. “Thank you.”
I look over my shoulder, raising my brows. “For encouraging you to kill your father? That was entirely selfish. I don’t want to be the only ruler Ravaryn curses as a kinslayer when we ascend our thrones.”
“For your candor. Flowery language seems to be the default when speaking of difficult topics.”
“Ah, well if it’s honesty you value then I vow to put you in your place whenever needed, princeling.”
He grants me a half smile—the first he’s given me since we met. “Noted, dragon queen.”
Chapter
Sixty-one
Elowen
The sun sets on ourthird day on board, marking it almost halfway through the journey. Finnian snores on my shoulder as we soak in the dwindling warmth through our thick sweaters. My neck aches from sitting straight-backed against the wall for so long, but I feel bad moving when he’s so peaceful.
Ryder strides toward us, Cayden and Saskia not too far away. He taps Finnian’s cheek, and a snore catches in his throat as he slowly blinks his eyes open to glare at Ryder.
“I was sleeping,” he grumbles.
“Yes, I believe we all heard you,” Ryder replies before addressing us all. “We need to begin discussing how we’re going to get through the Thirwen and Imirath blockade. Ophir was able to wield the tides to get a sense of their coordinates and we’re due to hit them in the early hours of morning.”
Zale joins our group as well, and Finnian subtly hides himself behind my hair to wipe his face.
“You didn’t drool,” I whisper.
“I don’t trust you anymore after you didn’t wipe my face when the vextree poisoned me.”
“I have boundaries in this friendship.”
“Since when?” he hisses.
