Page 35 of The Book of Legends
“Are you not going to share?” I jolt when the dragon speaks, the wind from his breath an oppressive heat that smells like matches.
Kainen chuckles at my obvious discomfort.Asshole. “Come on, Malachi, don’t I always?” He pushes off the wall, walking past me toward the dragon’s mouth.
Kainen tosses the almonds into the dragon’s mouth, landing on the dragon’s tongue. A puff of smoke comes from the dragon’s nostrils.
“Hmm,” the rumble from his throat shakes the ground. “That is so good.”
Oh my god, it’s hungry. It might eat me.“Will he eat me?” I blurt.
“You have three seconds before he swallows those almonds.” He leans close, the manly smell of him—bergamot, amber wood, and almonds—making me dizzy. The breeze from his breath brushes my cheek. “You better run, Selene.”
I take it as my cue and bolt. I don’t look back until I’m inside near the dining table. My lungs are burning. I take large gulps of air and glance at the door every few seconds.
A small elf comes inside with a chalice in his hands, placing it in front of the chair I was sitting in last night. The table is filled with an assortment of fruits, cheeses, meats, and nuts. There is no trace that anything was broken or moved. Everything is in the exact same place, as if last night didn’t happen.
“Some water,” the elf says courteously.
I look inside the chalice and smile. “Thank you.”
“If there is anything you need, let me know. My name is Ash. It’s short for Ashenvel.”
“How long have you been here?”
It’s no secret that most of the beings here come from different parts of this world and have had no choice but to unite here.
The elf glances nervously toward the door and then back, as if whatever he’s about to say could land him in trouble, but it doesn’t stop him. “After the war? Prince Kainen rescued us and took us in. He gave us a safe haven, and in return, we serve him.”
Kainen doesn’t look the type to help anyone. He looks the type to kill and destroy. “Us?”
He nods, the bulb of his nose flaring a bit. “Yes, my people.”
Kainen’s deep voice booms. “That’s enough, Ash.” Ash looks up nervously. “I’ll call for you if I need anything.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Ash says with a bow.
“Kainen,” he corrects.
Funny he doesn’t like to be called prince or your majesty. I wonder why? Kainen looks like he feeds off power.
“Sorry, Kainen,” Ash says apologetically before bowing out of the room.
The door closes. Kainen strides in, armor clinking, taking a seat at the head of the table. Every movement is measured and controlled.
He doesn’t look at me. “Eat.”
I glance at the food, wanting nothing more than to eat but needing to ask him about the dragon. It could have easily swallowed me whole, but it didn’t. What type of power does he have over a dragon?
“Are we not going to talk about the dragon outside that almost ate me?”
Kainen chuckles darkly. “If he wanted to eat you, you’d be gone.”
“He can burn the entire place down. How can you be so sure he won’t change his mind?”
Who would have stopped it if he did? Him.
He reaches for the almonds and then the meats. “Because.”
“Because…,” I mock.
