Dragan eyes me warily, then jerks his head in the direction of one of the large statues that decorate the Echoing Spire’s main chamber. I follow closely behind. He sits in a stone chair and I take the one beside him.
Crossing his arms over his large chest, Dragan sneers at me. “You and I understand one another now more than ever.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t like this plan any more than you do, but Eilish and Pyre are convinced it’s the right one.”
“I trust Pyre,” I say resolutely.
“But you don’t trust Eilish?”
I glare at him. “She doesn’t have the experience Pyre does.”
“Regardless,” Dragan says and acts as though he’s bored with the conversation. The prick. “I won’t get her killed.”
“Her life is in your hands.”
“Her life is in her own hands,” Dragan argues. “Or haven’t you noticed?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
He sneers at me, like my question is a stupid one. “If you haven’t noticed, Eilish is steering her own ship.”
“I’ve noticed.” I nod as I consider this fact. “And?”
He cocks his head to the side and breathes deeply. “I have no choice but to have faith she knows what she’s doing.”
I glare at him because his response sounds imbecilic. “Even though she views Cambion and Theren as victims?”
Dragan shrugs. “You’ve been manipulated by Morrigan in the past, and so have I. We all have. If we don’t consider ourselves traitors to our own cause, then how can we point the finger at Cambion?”
“You’ve forgiven him then?” I demand.
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not willing to forgive Cambion yet, but the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to believe Eilish is right.”
“About what?”
“We owe Cambion a chance to give his side of the story. He owes us an explanation and we owe him the decency to listen.”
I don’t say anything right away. I simply chew on this information. I’m surprised to hear Dragan say as much because a few hours ago, he seemed to believe the exact opposite. “And Theren?”
His eyes narrow and he balls his hands into fists. “Theren... he’ll be lucky if I don’t sever his head on sight.”
I roll my eyes. Dragan is strong, but he can’t hope to beat Theren in combat if the Unseelie King is at full strength. But, that’s not a conversation I’m interested in having at the moment. “You’d better keep a close fucking eye on her, gargoyle,” I say. “If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Those are big words,” he hisses through tightly clenched teeth.
I stand to walk away, but he grabs my arm. “If you’re looking for a fight, look elsewhere,” I tell him.
Dragan stands and then takes a few steps forward so we’re toe to toe. “I’m not looking for a fight,” he says but his body language says otherwise.
“Then what are you looking for?”
“I don’t need you telling me to keep Eilish safe,” he seethes. “I love her as much as you do, you fuck.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. “Wow, that’s a big admission.”
“I won’t let a fucking thing happen to her,” he continues. “Regardless of whatever the fuck you tell me.”