Page 100 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

Cocking my head, I study the broken edges of the trunks. “You must have weakened the structural integrity of the wood with your lightning strikes.”

I can feel Draven slowly turning his head and looking down to stare at me. Tearing my gaze from the narrow hole above, I meet his gaze. His expression is full of disbelief.

“Weakened the structural integrity of the wood?” he echoes.

“It means you broke it.”

A scowl pulls at his brows as he huffs, “I know what it means.”

“Uh-huh.”

He mutters something under his breath.

Tilting my head back, I glance up at the hole again. But right before I can ask if he can fly us back up, a sudden burst of uncertainty pulses through me. I flick a quick look at Draven instead. Because the real question is: if hecanfly up, would he take me with him?

My gaze drifts down to the pouch where he put the ring that he forced me to hand over, and his previous words echo through my mind again.Now, I’m going to fly away from here and drop the ring somewhere else. And you’re going to go back to the city and accept that you have lost.

He was planning to leave me up there. And he desperately wants to make sure that I lose this trial. So what’s to stop him from just flying out of here on his own and leaving me to search for another way out? It would solve both of his problems.

However, before I can decide whether or not to ask him and to put the idea in his head that he can fly away and leave me, he volunteers the answer himself.

“I can’t fly us back up through that hole,” he says.

My heart flips, and a ridiculous burst of giddiness sweeps through me.Us. Flyusback up. That’s what he said. I have tosuppress a very untimely grin, since the news in itself, that he can’t fly through the hole, isn’t very good.

“It’s too narrow,” he explains, scowling up at the hole. “I won’t even be able to extend my wings halfway.”

And because of the realization that he never planned to leave me trapped down here alone, I’m suddenly filled with energy. So I flash him a teasing grin and reply, “Really? You’re bragging about your wingspan?”

He starts in surprise and snaps his gaze back down to me. There is an absolutely adorable flustered look on his face for a few seconds before he manages to compose himself again. Narrowing his eyes, he takes a step closer and fixes me with a pointed stare.

“You really are making up for lost time, aren’t you?”

I blink. “What do you mean?”

“All of those snarky remarks that you’ve been swallowing down over the years, you’re taking them all out on me now.” Raising his hand, he draws his fingers along my jaw and then brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “Such a sharp little tongue hidden behind a polite smile all this time.”

My breath hitches. A shiver courses through my spine as he slides his thumb back over my bottom lip again. I can barely concentrate on anything except the soft brush of his fingers.

Then he lets out a low chuckle and drops his hand while taking a step back. “And to answer your question, I was simply stating a fact. That the hole is too narrow for me to extend my wings.” A sly smile blows across his mouth as he gives me a look. “But yes, I do also have a very impressive wingspan.”

The memory of when I was on my knees right in front of his crotch, and the huge bulge I saw in his pants, flashes through my mind. And before I even know what I’m saying, I find myself replying, “I can imagine.”

“Imagine?” He arches an eyebrow at me. “You’ve seen my wings several times now.” A devilish glint shines in his eyes. “Unless you were referring to something else?”

“Like what? Your ego?”

“You already knew that that’s massive too.”

“At least you’re self-aware.”

“And once again, you sound surprised by that.”

“Can we just focus on the problem at hand?” I huff, suddenly feeling embarrassed about that flicker of pleasure I felt when he caressed my bottom lip. Holding his gaze, I wave a frustrated hand at the world in general. “We fell through the ground into another forest below the real forest. We don’t know where we are. We have no food and no water. And we don’t know how to get back up again.” I shoot him an expectant look. “Did I miss anything?”

He shrugs. “We’re also losing the light.”

I heave a sigh. “Yeah. That too.” Looking up at the ceiling again, I wave a hand at the thick layers of tree trunks. “Can’t you just shift into a dragon and break through it?”

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