Page 100 of A Kingdom of Shadows

He looks at me for a few seconds before he nods, conceding my wish. He doesn't question why I want him to transform. He does it without hesitation, changing into his dragon form.

I walk over to him, extending my palm to his neck as golden reptilian eyes tear through me. He looks so dangerous, so powerful. Others would see him as someone capable of slaughtering them in half, burning them until they are soot, unrecognizable, ruined. I see him as that boy sixteen years ago who was afraid to even look me in the eye at first.

His pulse beats slowly beneath my hand. Mine speeds up.

My hand now traces each outline along his scales. He quivers, a rumbling murmur emerges from him, and like moments ago, such energy courses through me—through us.

I absorb every detail of him and start to think of Emberwell.

How he helped me pay my debt with Ivarron. How he didn't hesitate to save me from Lorcan in the forests. How he came back for me when the trials commenced.

I'd hated him, I'd gotten him captured because of my foolishness, and he'd risked so much just for me because he knew who I was all this time.

I jerk my hand away, swallowing the flooding of tears down my throat.

"Take me back," I whisper, looking elsewhere.

Though I wish to say home.

But home is not Dusan's palace.

Home is supposed to be my brother's.

Except part of me started to feel Darius was my home too.

I hear the sound of his hind legs thumping onto the ground for me to get on, and I round him, climbing up onto his back.

My hands rest on his skin, and I let him take me higher and higher into the clouds.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The king's voice is distorted within the walls of the throne room. Arlayna, Faye, and Meriel are standing by Dusan's side, and I notice his lips moving and his smile deepening as he glances at Darius and me.

I don't care for his praises, and I don't care that all eyes are on me.

I'd kept my briefing simple. We'd retrieved the stone successfully and ran into trolls but pulled through. I didn't mention what happened with the bats, nor did Darius, though he did not stop looking at me.

"I should likely mention it is best you do not fly into Thalore for your last task."

That snaps me out of my stupor.

Dusan sees the confusion written all over me and waves a jeweled hand. "Thallan suggested you travel there discreetly and gather information as well as the stone."

"So, you want us to be your spies?" Darius speaks from the side, and Dusan presses his index finger to his lips.

"Spy or not, I will go with them." Arlayna steps forward, and from the corner of my eye, I notice Aeron shift from his stiff posture. "I'm familiar with our lands. I can be of service."

Thallan, who is to Dusan's right, laughs and runs a hand through his long dark hair. "Don't be absurd, your highness. It is not your duty to protect outsiders."

"As a royal, shouldn’t she be allowed to decide whether she wishes to protect or not?" The words fly out of my mouth, and I huff when his eyes widen at my audacity. "Apologies, I just think it should be her choice. We—" I don't look at Darius as I gesture a hand between us "—Are used to working independently."

The king is thinking, his fingers toying with a jade ring. "Arlayna," he says, looking at me with a scrutinizing gaze. "You may take your bow and arrow."

I think Arlayna is just as shocked as Thallan.

"If Arlayna is going, I might as well, right, uncle?" Faye asks. "I know the woods inside and out—"

Meriel is shaking her head when she cuts in, "You will not go. Arlayna is more equipped to handle herself in dangerous situations than you. However—" She turns to the king. "Dusan, I do request some of your men travel with them for extra security—"

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