1
Harper
“Hello,my lady,”I repeat back to the Hollowborn, turning his words over in my mind even as I speak them aloud. “Hello,my lady.”
Is this what the Hollowborn are like?
Is this a game?
Am I in danger?
The air whistles around us in the thick clouds, but I can’t see where the other riders are. Not even glimpses of their shapes or flashes of color.Do they even know I’m no longer on my dragon? Do they know I’m with our enemy?And is Ebron safe without me? I know he’s big and tough, but I’ve already seen that he’s not invincible.
The Hollowborn holding me astride his bone wyrm studies me. His face is not the empty skull I’d expected but painted to mimic bone. His eyes are so pale they’re almost white, touched with a golden sheen that shouldn't exist. He stares for a long moment, unblinking. Then he smirks.
A Hollowborn. Smirking. At. Me.
“I wasn’t sure how else to greet you.” There’s an unfamiliar accent to his words, a lilt that’s almost pleasant to listen to, which, given how intimidating he is, comes as a surprise.
My hair tangles about my face as we regard one other. “So, what now?”
What does this Hollowborn have planned for me? Is this little encounter going to end in my death? Or will Ebron and the other dragon riders reach me in time?
“Now?” he asks, the smirk vanishing from his face.
“We’re enemies, right?” I ask, even though I already know the answer to that question.
“I guess,” he says, tilting his head.
“What are you going to do with me?”
His smirk returns as his gaze runs over me. “I haven’t decided yet.”
I nibble my bottom lip, feeling uneasy. He has a weapon at his side. I have one at mine, but neither of us reach for them. “Are you going to return me to my dragon?”
Leaning forward, crowding my space, he reaches up with a big hand, and I flinch, but he simply pushes some of my blonde hair back from my face. “I may let your dragon have you,” he says, a thoughtful note to his voice.
“It’d be smart. There’re only a few of you, and many of us.”
His eyes gleam. “You think there are only a few of us?”
Realization dawns on me. “That’s why you seemed to be everywhere at once.”
He nods.
Well, fuck. Can we take on several Hollowborn at the same time?
“So, you’re the female dragon rider?” he asks, his deep voice and lilting accent a strangely pleasant combination.
“Clearly,” I tell him, and almost laugh at the absurdity of our situation.
“How much weight do you hold with the king, little dragon rider?”
The truth is, I have no idea.“I think I’m like an amusing pet to him right now, and that’s about it.”
There’s something in his eyes I can’t quite read. “You’re an honest woman, aren’t you?”
I shrug. “I mean, if I could figure out what to say to you to be returned to my dragon, I’d say it, regardless of whether or not it was a lie.”
