Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
He shakes his head, and after he swallows, he says, "You were magnificent."
I study him, thinking back to when he arrived on my doorstep. One of the patrols had found him, close to the city ruins, lying in a street. Alone. He'd been naked and covered in soot and ash, his flesh burned. They'd brought him to me and I'd fully expected him to die that night, but he lived. I remember marveling at how much of his body was covered in burns, and yet his pale, long hair was still intact and beautiful. It made no sense. Then again, nothing about Azar makes sense. "How did you get hurt?"
"An interesting question."
I wait for more of an answer. When it isn't forthcoming, I realize he's not going to answer me. I narrow my eyes at him. "Were you attacked by a dragon?"
He gives me a vague smile. "There was a dragon, yes. But I think it was the explosion that did most of the damage."
Explosion? "What exploded?"
"The entire building, if my memory serves me correctly." He takes a sip of lemonade and makes a face. "Humans like this beverage?"
"It's usually sweeter," I say, and take a sip of mine, enjoying the tartness. "What explosion?" When he shrugs, I point out, "I would have heard about an explosion of some kind near here."
"Oh, it was not near here. In fact, it was a long way from here."
I set down my lemonade, puzzled. "So who helped you get here? Was it the dragon you mentioned? Or someone else?"
His expression grows uneasy. "What do you mean?"
"If the explosion happened so far away, how did you get here? You were too injured to walk. When they brought you in to me, I thought you were nearly dead. You were weaker than a kitten for days and days. So how did you get here, Azar?" I study him. "Is there something you're not telling me?" I think of Claudia, and her dragon-man. Azar came from wherever they did. He shares certain features, like the odd golden eyes that swirl with varying shades depending on his emotions. Is it possible he can turn into a dragon, too? "Is it possible you shifted—"
Before I can even finish my sentence, he jerks up from the table, getting to his feet. "I will not listen to such insults."
"I'm sorry," I say quickly. "I wasn't trying to insult you."
He glares down at me, clearly offended. Such a prickly, unusual man. I'm not as irritated as I would be in the past, though, so I reach out and place a hand on his arm. "Please sit down again. I really didn't mean to insult you. I was just curious."
Azar glances down at my hand, but he doesn't ask me to remove it. He sits and gives me a haughty look. "I am Salorian. Not drakoni. We may come from the same place, but we are not the same. Understand?"
"Got it," I say meekly, and even as I do, I can't help but notice that his eyes are swirling with a hint of black, just like Claudia's dragon's eyes did when he was agitated. I suspect he's more like them than he wants to admit. "I was just curious, that's all. I'm trying to learn more about you."
"Why?"
"Because you're my husband, right? I mean, not in a traditional sense, but you said you wanted me to be your woman, and I am, so I guess that makes us husband and wife, by human terms." I shrug. "Or a user and the person he’s using.”
Annoyance flashes across his face. "How many times must I say I don't wish to own you?"
Right. He just wants me to magically fall in love with him.
He toys with his sandwich and then glances over at me. "I brought you a gift."
That takes me by surprise. "You…what?"
"A gift." He gives me another haughty look. "A courting gift."
Courting? Does he really think we're still courting? When we already haggled over my price? "It's not necessary."
Azar waves my words off with a flick of his hand. He gets to his feet and moves to the far end of the room. There's a large covered box there, and when he pulls off the cover and reveals a plant underneath, I'm a little confused. I move to his side, studying it. It's a healthy-looking bush in a large, colorful pot. I touch one of the bright green leaves thoughtfully, smiling. It's been a long time since I've seen something like this outside of the gardens, and I don't get to visit those, because people strip the plants and steal food. Only those that work in the gardens can go there. The rest of Fort Dallas is barren save for the occasional weed that breaks through the cracks in the asphalt. I have to admit, it's a pretty good gift, and I'm already thinking of how it'll look in the window to my clinic.