Page 160 of Kingdom of Chaos
At least, until someone starts banging on the front door like the world’s about to end.
I groan and burrow deeper into the blankets. Talon mutters a curse under his breath, his voice thick with sleep.
“I’ll tell whoever it is to sod off,” he says, and then gives me a kiss on the nose and rolls out of bed, the cool morning air making me shiver in his absence.
I chuckle, feeling sorry for whoever’s on the other side of the door. They’re about to come face-to-face with a very grumpy ice dragon.
As Talon pads across the floor in his bare feet, I slip from the bed and head to the kitchen. Now that I’m up, I know I won’t be able to fall back asleep. I might as well make myself a cup of coffee.
Before Talon even reaches the door, whoever is on the other side starts banging again, louder this time.
“I swear to the Creator,” I hear my husband grumble, “I’m going to turn whoever interrupted our morning into a giant ice sculpture if they don’t?—”
His words cut off abruptly, and the sudden silence makes my skin prickle.
When I don’t hear anything else, I pop my head around the corner, curiosity and unease tangling in my gut.
Talon stands in front of the open door, his body tense, posture rigid. It immediately puts me on edge.
Something’s wrong.
“Talon, who’s—?” My own words freeze in my throat as Talon steps aside, revealing the person who had been pounding on our door.
The empty coffee mug slips from my fingers, crashing to the floor and shattering on impact. I hardly notice.
It’s been a year, and in that time my best friend has changed. His hair is longer, falling in loose waves around his face. A faint stubble dusts his jaw, accentuating the sharper angles that have erased the last traces of boyishness.
But even with the changes, I would never mistake him for anyone else.
“Becks,” I whisper, my heart hammering in my chest.
He stares at me, and I wouldn’t call the look in his eyes hard, exactly, but it’s not soft or welcoming either.
“Can I come in?” he asks, his gaze cutting to Talon.
Talon steps aside without a word, letting him in.
I watch Becks standing almost awkwardly in our loft, a strange mixture of familiarity and disbelief tugging at my chest.
My mind whirls as I try to piece together how he’s here—in the human world. When I left the creature world, there was no other known lunacite capable of opening a gate. But he must have found a way, somehow, because he’s standing not ten feet away from me.
“Hey, Lock,” he says, dipping his head a little, a small half smile tugging at his lips. One that makes my heart ache.
Without thinking, I leap over the shattered ceramic at my feet and crash into him, wrapping my arms around his middle in a hug so tight I can feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my cheek.
He catches me easily, his arms winding around my back, absorbing the full weight of my body without hesitation. The familiar warmth of his skin, that signature fire-dragon heat, sinks into me, a reminder of home and the comfort I didn’t know I’d missed until now.
“Okay, okay,” he says on a chuckle, the gentle rumble of it wrapping around me like a blanket. “Squeeze any tighter and you’re going to crack a rib.”
“Good thing you’re a fast healer, then,” I reply with a grin, though I force myself to loosen my grip and step back.
When I glance up at him, the lighthearted curve of his mouth fades, and something tightens in my chest. The shift in his expression to serious and determined sends a pit of dread curling in my stomach.
“We need to talk,” he says, his gaze darting briefly to Talon as if to make it clear this isn’t just for me, but for both of us.
I nod, swallowing down the nerves tightening my throat, and gesture to the small seating area off to the side. Talon settlesnext to me on the loveseat, a silent wall of support at my side, while Becks lowers himself into the armchair across from us.
Talon reaches for my hand and rests it on his knee, giving it a light squeeze. A subtle reminder.I’m here. I’ve got you.
