Wait,wasthis the aunt? He’d said his mother was in the area as well.
The dragon’s talons flexed as those eyes locked onto Rylana. She eased sideways so she could put her back to one of the slabs and lamented that all the roofs of the buildings had caved in. Not that even the stone pyramid would necessarily save a person from the wrath of a dragon.
I am Jixana-grozanarav of Clan Killcrusher,a telepathic voice boomed into Rylana’s mind.
Nope, that wasn’t the name that Jildarin had given to the aunt. This had to be his mother.
But where washe?
You are an inferior human, not even an elven warrioress with modest magical power.
“That’s correct,” Rylana said.
The dragon glided down to land on the apex of the pyramid. A few old stones disturbed by her talons bounced and slid along the surface to rain down in front of the tunnel opening. Vormalt backed farther inside, disappearing into the shadows and leaving Rylana to face the dragon alone.
“Figures,” she muttered, though it wasn’t as if she could blame him for not wanting the attention of Jildarin's mother. She would blame him for everythingelsegoing wrong in the area, but this… This was what she got for applying to be a bookkeeper for a dragon.
The dragon slapped her tail against the side of the pyramid. More pebbles skittered and bounced to the ground.
You are having sexual relations with Jildarin-grozanarav?Was that a question? Or a statement?
“No. No, I’m not. I’m just his bookkeeper.” Rylana thought about explaining that he’d also made her a partner in the business, but she doubted the dragon cared about the diner.
His bookkeeper, she—Jixana—said slowly. Her amber eyes slitted, as if she was suspicious about the term having hidden connotations. Hiddensexualconnotations.
“Yes, of his business. He likes to focus on his passion of creating culinary masterpieces. He’s very talented. I run the numbers, keep the records, pay the landlord, and buy ingredients and such. That’s all.”
The sensation of ants crawling around inside her skull swept over Rylana, and she barely resisted the urge to shudder. As she knew from the war, some old and powerful dragons had the ability to read minds. She had never experienced it herself—she hadn’t been an important general or unit commander with military intelligence floating around in her brain—but she’d heard about itfrom Captain Maverick. She knew some dragons could also inflict mental pain with their power, and braced herself for the feeling to get worse.
Her hands twitched, her instincts suggesting she might have to point the arrow she’d nocked at Jixana, but she didn’t want to threaten Jildarin's mother. Further, if the dragon spewed fire, the bare-branched aspens wouldn’t do anything to block the flames, not like the dense evergreens that she’d darted through to escape being incinerated by that sister.
You consumed our spices?Jixana asked.
“Uhm, yes, once. They’re very nice.” Rylana couldn’t help but think of the delicious soup.
They caused you to desire my son.It was a statement, not a question.To want to seduce him.
“No, no. He’s not interested in recreational sex. He assured me of that.”
Rylana glimpsed movement in the shadows of the tunnel, and her cheeks heated. Was Vormalt listening? Maybe she could answer silently, and only the dragon would hear? Though she would prefer not to answer questions on this topic at all. Where was Jildarin? Had his aunt deliberately drawn him away so that his mother could come over without him noticing?
Butyouare interested in it,Jixana stated with certainty.I forbid it.
“Okay.”
He must mate with appropriate females from our clan and our ally clans to ensure the procreation of superior young hatchlings that will grow into great warriors. Our kind must be—wewillbe—prepared the next time the savage and unpredictable human kingdoms raise allies from the other two-legged species and invade our mountains.Two tendrils of smoke wafted from her nostrils, and those cold reptilian eyes never wavered.
If Rylana sprang behind the stone slab, itmightbe enough to protect her from fire. Briefly. But all the dragon would have to dowas fly closer to stream a gout of flames behind that meager cover.
Rylana shifted her grip on her bow so that she could wipe palms that had grown moist with sweat, but she didn’t yet try to hide. Why it mattered, she didn’t know, but she didn’t want Jildarin's mother to think she was a coward.
The itching bug-crawling sensation swept through her mind again.
You fought against our kind in the war,Jixana stated.
“Yes.”
You fired one of your puny arrows at my son.
