Page 136 of A Tribute of Fire

Turning, I ran for the door and felt him behind me, flying at my head, all white feathers and fury. It was unlike any other opponent I’d ever faced, where I could predict where they would be from one moment to the next. He didn’t stay in one spot but came at me from different angles, flying in the air one moment, rushing at me on theground the next. I’d never dealt with an enemy who could attack me from above before. There was no way to anticipate his next move.

I was a fast runner, but the goose stayed with me.

When I reached the entrance, I squeezed through the opening I’d left for myself and turned to pull the door shut, but the goose was faster. I took several steps back and the goose rose in the air, aiming for my head.

Without thinking I threw my fist and punched the goose in its chest, knocking it down. That seemed to momentarily stun the creature, and I took advantage of his confusion to run across the street and hide behind a column.

The goose regained his equilibrium and honked several times into the night air, as if to tell me that he had won. Which I was willing to concede since I was the one currently hiding from him.

He waddled back inside the library and I felt my body relax.

Until I turned my head to see Jason doubled over in laughter.

“Why are you laughing?” I demanded.

“You ... punching a goose ... I will never forget it.” He could barely get the words out.

“It wasn’t funny,” I insisted but surprised myself by laughing along with him.

“You’ll stare down a dragon but you’re afraid of a goose?” he said, and he started laughing all over again.

It had been a very long time since I’d laughed like this, felt this light and free. It was probably before my brother died. He had taken a piece of me with him, as had Quynh.

My laughter finally died down and I leaned against the column, studying Jason. He was so handsome and the lightness of his expression made him even more so. I liked seeing him this way. I felt my heart rise up, causing a warm feeling to spread along my veins.

His eyes were dancing with delight as he realized that I was watching him. I averted my gaze as a pang of longing struck me so powerfully that it was all I could do to resist it.

“About our bet ...”

A flash of anger punched me in the gut. “Oh no, I didn’t lose anything, because that wasn’t a goose. That was a demon. You lured me into the library under false pretenses.”

“No, you chose to go in. This was your idea. You were not lured. If I was luring you, you would know it.”

I was sure that I would. A pulse of desire began to throb at the base of my neck. The anger quickly faded, even though I was trying desperately to hang on to it. It was the only way I could stop from throwing myself at him.

“That goose had been altered by magic. It was like a small horse.”

“I saw it. It was a standard-sized goose.”

“No. It was like something out of a nightmare. Which makes this all unfair,” I said. The bet, the situation I was currently finding myself in, the undeniable attraction I had for him. All of it. “I didn’t know what I was agreeing to.”

“If I throw dice, after I lose I can’t suddenly claim that I didn’t know what I was agreeing to.”

My body was upset with me. This seemed like a perfect solution—I had no choice. I had to keep my word. We had made a bet that I had very obviously lost, especially since I’d left the library empty-handed. I hadn’t managed to grab even a single scrap of papyrus. I could give in and I wouldn’t be at fault.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he said, “An honorable woman would pay her debts.”

“We both know I’m not honorable.” I was here with him, already breaking rules that I’d promised to abide by.

“I wish that were true,” he said under his breath.

That frenzied urge to kiss him attacked me like that goose had. From every direction, all at once, so that I didn’t know which way was up and which was down. Driving out my reason and logic so that all I wanted to do was launch myself at him.

“I didn’t have all the facts,” I protested, but didn’t mean it. Part of me hoped he would insist I do what I’d said I would.

“Geese are relentless,” he said, as if agreeing with me that I had walked in unaware of what I would face.

“I noticed,” I said, rubbing my hand along my arm. “That thing bit me. Or whatever it is that they do with their beaks.”

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