Page 87 of Rogue's Possession (Covenant of Thorns 2)

“What do I get if I do?” I suppressed my reaction to him using Titania’s term.

“I’ll tell you a secret.”

“About what?”

“Well, if I tell you then you’ll know the secret!”

“How do I know it’s any good?”

“Oh.” He snorted. “It’s good all right.”

“Okay then.” Since I had no intention of losing, I might as well go for all the prizes possible. Fortunately his bargain had given me exactly what I needed to defeat him—if what I suspected was true.

“Come sit up here with me.” Walter wiggled over, making enough room for me to sit beside him. My stomach frankly turned at the prospect, but it would probably pay off for me to keep him pacified. I wedged my boot onto a jeweled leg of the throne and pulled myself up, scooting in next to him without actually making physical contact.

“Pretty good view, huh?”

We sat side by side, surveying the enormous room. You could see the whole thing from his perch—not that there was anything to see.

“It’s big so the dragons can visit,” he explained. “They like the floor hot, so they keep it that way. Really, you should get a castle of your own. Of course, you’ll be dead, so it’s a moot point.”

“How do you control the dragons?”

“Aha!” He waggled his eyebrows. “I don’t.”

“No?”

“No. They like to help me because I know what they like best. That’s the secret.”

“And what do they like best?”

“You can’t tell anyone—none of your little friends.”

“Agreed.” I really hoped the answer wasn’t going to be babies.

“Human magic. Our kind. You and me, baby. We’re like a drug to them.”

“I thought dragons are impervious to magic.”

He fiddled with the staff. “It’s a conundrum, all right. I just know it works. They gave me this castle and do me favors and all I have to do is let them hang out with me.”

“So you communicate with them?”

“If you call it that. I tell them stuff. They don’t talk back.”

“Did they give you that?” I pointed at the staff with the crystal globe and he moved it out of my reach.

“No touching.” He caressed it, with a fond expression. “It’s mine.”

“Is that how you saw Rogue?” I could see it being a similar iteration of the cave, amplifying reach and vision.

Walter looked surprised. “Not such a babe in the woods, after all, huh, Gwynnie? Not that you aren’t a babe.” He leered at me. “Hey—wanna do it? Might as well have a last hurrah before you die!”

“Tempting, but no thank you.”

“Yeah.” He elbowed me knowingly. “Gotta keep that game edge, right?”

“So, you’re going to show me Rogue?”

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