Page 126 of Between Soul and Vessel
“I’m far from blind,” I assured him.
“Says the mortal who cannot see the bird,” he huffed.
“You are extremely irritating,” I snipped, eyes still searching. Finally, I could just barely make it out. Way up above, a bird floated over the opening, its wings flapping as it moved at a leisurely pace. Considering the distance between us and the bird, and the fact that I could see it from way down here, it must have been an eagle or something of similar size.
“I could say the same for you. Now, keep your weak mortal eyes on the bird,” he growled softly.
“Pfft,” I blew out a breath of air but did as he said.
The bird, spotting something, decided to dip lower, until it passed through the bowl. When it did, something shifted, making the sky above look as if it were rippling, as if we were standing under water. When the bird went to return higher, it bounced against the invisible barrier, unable to pass through. It tried over and over again, before it gave up and flew down to the ground, taking refuge in a tree.
“I’ve been stuck down here for three months,” the dragon said. “What comes in cannot leave.”
My heart sank as I realized—
I was stuck down here.
With a dragon.
“Three months is a long time,” I stated, my teeth warring with my bottom lip.
“I suppose for a mortal, whose life is brief, it is,” he noted. “Although, immortal or not, I have grown tired of being trapped down here.”
“So . . . what happens when you get hungry?”
He offered me a mischievous smirk, showing off his wicked incisors. “Then I’ll probably eat you, Little Mortal.”
“Sage,” the dragon called out to me.
“Get back, you damned beast,” I snarled, sending my curled fist into his steel-derived jaw.
Whack!His teeth clattered together.
My fist groaned as the skin split over my knuckles, causing ichor to brim. I couldn’t see it, but I could surefeel it.
I groaned in pain.
“Fuck me,” Von snarled. A waft of magic tinged the air, and the candle on the dresser lit, scattering the darkness from my vision. Green eyes met mine, twin to the emerald stone I wore on my ring finger. “It’s me, Sage. It’s me.”
“Von,” I spoke softly, relief washing over me.
I gasped when I saw his chin—the skin was cracked open, blood dribbling from the laceration. Had I done that? I had, hadn’t I?
I shook my head. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright,” he said, glancing down at my hand. He took it in his and raised it to his mouth, kissing the injury. Instantly, the wound healed. His gaze lifted to mine. “Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”
“I thought you were the dragon,” I sputtered, trying to make sense of what I’d just seen.
“What dragon?” Von asked, his hand gently stroking my forearm.
“I don’t know, but I think I might have been trapped with him in the past.” I inhaled a breath of air, forcing it into my lungs. My brows wove together as I recalled the way the dragon had acted, how his voice had sounded just like . . .
“Von?”
“Hmm?” he asked.
“I think the dragon might have been . . .you.”
