Page 85 of The Princesses of Ruin
I channel the words to Kazimir so he knows what we’re saying, but I keep his thoughts far from the dragon’s mind.
I believe you said youwouldn’timmediately kill me when next we met.
“Immediately…”A rumbling laugh rolls from the opening like an earthquake.“Bring the kill. I will see you for a short time.”
I sigh in relief. “We’ve been granted an audience.”
Kazimir cuts the stream of air that was holding us aloft and we drop to the stones. He uses his magic to push the bear along with us into the cave. The entrance reminds me of the temple to the gods, and I wonder if it had once been a dragon’s den.
“Many epochs ago, my kind ruled this land in the north down past the thick forest. It is very possible your mountain refuge was once a roost, given the dimensions of the space.”
I hiss in a breath, upset with my lackadaisical behavior. I must’ve shared my thoughts with the dragon without meaning to. But if the dialogue is open, I may as well entertain it.
What happened?
“Your kind became powerful enough to hunt us.”
The glass-like stone envelops us in darkness, but my eyes adjust quickly with the light at our backs. It’s a wide tunnel stretching down beyond my sight. I pull a magus crystal from my pack and light it with my gold magic. The walls reflect the light like mirrors, bouncing and playing like fish in a spring stream.
There isn’t much history recorded beyond three thousand years. Was it our tools that gave us the advantage?I ask, looking at the crystal in my hand.
The thunderous laugh hits us with a burst of warmth, knocking me back a step.“It was a goddess’s favor.”
We tread carefully, for the large steps and uneven tunnel floor are no trouble for a twenty-foot-tall dragon but could easily break our bones if we fell wrong.
A goddess?
He hums in amusement, his throat clicking. We’re close.“The very one you now seek to destroy.”
Kazimir’s mind becomes a torrent of questions, but I keep them just in me. I don’t know how the dragon would react to hearing another’s thoughts in his head.
You know what we need, then?
“I do.”
The tunnel turns sharply. My crystal illuminates branches and thick trunks of trees first. Atop them sits thinner grasses, hay, and bushes that have been flattened by heavy feet. I see the remains of his kills next, a pile of splintered bones in the corner—some armor, too.
With every step closer, my light reveals the dragon’s den…
And the dragon.
There he sits, comfortable at the top of his pile. His green scales shimmer and gold eyes pierce. His throat glows bright with orange, and Kazimir grabs me around the waist. We fly backwards as the dragon turns his head skyward and unleashes his breath. I scream at the immensity of the flame, but as it fades, I realize there is no heat.
The ceiling of the cave is magus crystals larger than I’ve ever seen, and they all glow brilliantly with the dragon’s magic.
He laughs again.“Scared you, little one? Thought I would break my promise?”
I’m panting, my fingers digging into Kazimir’s arm. He looks over his shoulder with a snarl and reaches for his scythe.
“Don’t,” I whisper. “He’ll kill us.”
His eyes swirl with violent rage. I caress his mind, pushing myself against him and wrapping him in waves of comfort I don’t yet feel.It’s all right, I whisper to his subconscious. His shoulders drop, and he takes a long, relaxing breath.
Your antics are unknown to me, great one. You did frighten me.
“You stroke my ego with words that speak of my large size or long years. Does this work among your kind?”
I cover my laugh.It does.
