Page 134 of I Dream of Dragons
“Because his body knows you’re here and that calms him down… unless he has something urgent to tell you. Or wants to fuck.”
Heat rushes to my face. “Phaethon…”
“Which I understand much better now. Fucking, kissing, touching… It’s pleasurable and it seems to make your bond stronger.”
“And you don’t mind that?”
“Of course I mind,” he says but doesn’t look angry and doesn’t say anything else for a while. His handsome, blood-spattered face is blank, giving me nothing to read. No emotion. No reaction.
“I heard you, you know. I heard you howling while he was whipped.” I swallow, my mouth dry. “Why do you howl inside his head? Why torment him like that?”
“It’s the only way to be let out. After a while, his mind shuts down and I can take over.”
“Isn’t there another way? Can’t you negotiate?”
“What, take shifts? Have a set timetable?”
“Yes!”
“Our needs don’t always follow a schedule, princess. And just as he uses blades to shut me up, I’ll use my kind’s weapon to regain control.”
“Eosphors. The lords of howling,” I whisper.
“Indeed.”
“You’re no longer flying in the sky. You can adapt.”
“Be human?” he scoffs.
“Be whatever you want. Talk to Jai.”
“That again? You think I haven’t tried?”
“That’s exactly what I think. You don’t talk. You howl at him. You are an angry man. Creature. Whatever. Why are you so angry?”
“Why not?” His lips peel back. “I’ve lost everything. Over and over. Lost my world, my goal, my people’s right to move freely. Lost wars. Lost my body and autonomy.”
I wince. “That’s bad. True.”
“Bad?” He sneers. “That word does my pain no justice.”
“Agreed. But that’s not Jai’s fault. Or this world’s fault. Control your anger and you will see?—”
“By the Gods, what is a puny little human born a heartbeat ago going to teach me aboutpain?” he roars and I realize with a jolt that I much prefer seeing him angry than blank and emotionless. It’s a much more human state.
“I’m older than you think,” I say coolly, not because he’s wrong but because I’m worried I might start liking him. Feelingfor him. This howling, selfish Eosphor inhabiting Jai’s mind. The one I’d tear out like a bad weed if I could, to give Jai back his sanity.
Who is Phaethon to speak of loss of autonomy when he’s the one leeching off Jai?
Then again, how did he get there? And who’s to say he isn’t as much a prisoner as Jai?
The door creaks open and he snarls, glancing past me, struggling to get up. “Who’s there?”
Turning around, I see familiar faces.
“It’s okay,” I tell him. “It’s just the healers.”
He sags back onto the bed, his face white and eyes stark.
