Page 91 of Slay Me

“Here.”Fiona offers me a cup of hot tea then plops down on the mattress beside me. Dante, Killian, Duncan, and Bracken had to deal with cleanup, and as much as I wanted to stay at Dante’s side after nearly losing him, he’d insisted I return with Fiona and let Adaya tend to my injuries.

Some healing salve and a few hours later, though, and I might as well be good as new.

“So the Ringmaster is a dragon, huh?”

“He is. But you can’t—”

She holds up her hand. “I know, I know. Can’t say anything. They’ll kill me. I get it.” She grins and shakes her head. “Though I will keep it a secret, I’d welcome them to try.” Her eyes flash blue.

“Haven’t you had enough fighting to last you a lifetime?”

“Hardly.” She crosses her arms. “How long have you two been sleeping together?”

Her tone makes me wince, the frustration in it is easy enough to read. “Nearly a month. Though, if I’m honest, the tension between us has been going on a lot longer.”

Fiona gasps sarcastically. “You don’t say!”

“Shut up.”

“The tension between the two of you was strong enough to be a tightrope. Everyone felt it, even if they read it as hatred.”

“You didn’t?”

She shrugs. “Look at me and Harris. If anyone knows how thin the line is between love and hate, it’s me.”

“Are you mad that I didn’t tell you?”

“Yeah. But I’ll get over it. I get why you couldn’t.”

“I love him.”

“So I’ve seen.” She wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes. “You deserve happiness, Liv. And a dragon that will eat people for you.”

I chuckle. “A dragon that will eat people for me.”

At that exact moment, the door opens, and Dante strolls in. His hair is a mess, his body still crusted in dried blood. His copper gaze finds mine, and the entire world slips into place.

“I’ll be going then.” Fiona slides off the bed.

“Thank you,” Dante says as she passes him.

“Welcome. But Ringmaster or not, dragon or not, hurt her and I’ll cut your scaly dick off.” Then, she shuts the door.

Dante crosses toward me, and I climb off the bed to stand before him. I wrap both arms around his waist and he presses a kiss to the top of my head. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better.”

“I wish I could kill him all over again for you. However, I don’t think it would have been nearly as satisfying as your power ripping him apart.”

I tilt my face up to look at him. “I don’t understand how I did it. Ernesto told me he could sense my power; it’s why he was so focused on me, I guess. He tried to break me, Dante. Tried to release it by hurting me.” I shake my head, the memory seared into my brain. “I’ve never had that much power.”

Dante leans down and kisses me. “Sometimes, we merely need the right motivation to unlock it.” He kisses me again. “While I don’t want to take all the credit, I like to think our bond was what changed it.”

“You dying was pretty strong motivation,” I say. “So, pain did bring it out. Ernesto just had the wrong type in mind.”

“Nearly dying,” he corrects as he snakes both hands down my body and grips my ass to lift me. “And let’s never talk about that fucker again.”

“Deal,” I promise as he sets me down and turns on the spray.

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