Page 36 of Dragon Gods

“Stop!” Sofia was there suddenly, slapping him across the face and forcing him to spit out the blue cap.

“What the—?” he said, turning on her with fiery eyes.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“I’m trying not to starve.”

“Those are dragon scale mushrooms, not nobles, you idiot. One bite of those is enough to kill a jaguar.”

He looked back at the mushrooms where they’d fallen, trying to understand what she was saying. “They…I know what nobles look like.”

She leaned over plucking one of the mushrooms off the ground and turning it. “Orange gills, not yellow. And nobles grow on the ground, not on trees.”

He was looking at it now, noticing the slight difference in the color and the size of the yellow freckles. His stomach turned.

“If your people spent as much time getting to know this land as they did tearing it down to build things, maybe you’d know that.”

He rolled his eyes at the insult, wanting to point out that he wasn’t to blame for the decisions of his forefathers. Instead, he turned to her smirking. “You saved me.”

She scowled at this, giving him the satisfaction of showing her annoyance. “You’re still my prisoner and I’m not going to let you die after all the trouble you put me through.”

“I’m your prisoner?” he asked, looking around them. “So if I run off, you’re going to stop me?”

“I don’t need to. You’d die out there without me and you know it. Once we get back to our side of the rainforest, we’re marching right back to the base.”

“Once we get back to familiar territory, I’m arresting you for treason and kidnapping.”

She stepped forward, drawing the small dagger she’d used to slit the throats of the men just that morning. It was cleaned of blood, but he could still see the shadow of where it had been. She pointed it at his chest, poking him just hard enough for him to feel the sharp tip through his tunic and cloak.

“I’d love to see you try.”

He stepped closer to her, forcing the dagger a bit deeper into his skin. It stung, but he ignored it, wrapping his hand around her throat, just hard enough he could feel her swallow beneath his grip. He was taller than her and loved the way she had to crane her neck to look up at him when they were this close. The uncertainty that flickered through her eyes told him he had made his point. The only reason she’d caught him the first time was that he’d been unaware and she’d had a handful of allies. But out here, even if she had the weapons in the end, he was plenty taller and stronger than her. He still had the advantage.

He stepped back and dropped his hand, satisfied that he’d shut her up.

“We should find food,” he said as he continued to walk back in the direction they had been going.

“You mean I should find us food,” she said, coming up beside him, knife still in her hand as if she might stab him just for fun.

“Well, you apparently don’t appreciate my contribution.”

“If I want to die, I’ll let you know. Keep an eye out for blue and yellow mushrooms on the ground. They’ll be under the dead leaves. I’ll keep an eye on the trees for some fruit or nuts. I know you probably think those only come in sacks at the market, but they actually grow naturally out here.”

“I know where food comes from,” he said, ignoring the fact that he’d never even gotten food from the market on his own. Food came on plates from the kitchens or the barracks’ cafeteria, and he realized how ridiculous that was in this moment. So he bit his tongue when she let out a derisive laugh and did what she said, reluctant but too hungry to ignore her instructions.

The next mushroom he found, she let him eat. It gave him a stomachache, but he was still breathing at least. And that’s all he needed for now—to stay alive long enough to get back to familiar territory, overpower Sofia, and take her to Chief Commander Harlow. He knew where their base was, knew what at least a few of their faces looked like. He knew more about her resistance than any soldier had in cycles and he was going to hand-deliver all that information to the chief commander. His father would no longer be able to deny his usefulness as a king’s man, and the chief commander would have all the energy and support he’d put into Fox’s training proven right.

He smiled even as his stomach cramped, imagining the woman beside him in chains.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

SOFIA

By the time the shadows started to lengthen once more, Sofia still didn’t recognize the rainforest around them. At least she had found some fruit and nuts to eat throughout their hike, but they hadn’t run into a cenote or water source beyond the leaves of trees. She was thirsty and hungry and her muscles felt like lead from a lack of sleep. Ocon wasn’t doing much better.

In part, it was her fault for letting him eat the second mushrooms he’d found. They weren’t poisonous, but they needed to be cooked to be truly edible and she knew they’d give him a stomachache. She didn’t want him to die, but she didn’t promise she’d make this trek comfortable. If it wasn’t for him, she’d be back at the base right now, warm and fed.

Her stomach turned. Or perhaps she wouldn’t. She’d be back in the city, homeless, jobless. She shook the thoughts away, nails biting into her palms.

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