“Remind them Tiamat needs you alive to ensure my good behavior.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Scream.Loudly.”
Not the most reassuring set of instructions, but then again, what choice did we have?If we left before Alistair took care of this Malone, we could be screwing the future.Still, the words, “Be careful,” almost stuck in my throat, and I swallowed thePlease hurry.Knowing Alistair, he wouldn’t be lollygagging.
He suddenly went from dragon to man, a man who dragged me against his naked body for a hot and passionate kiss that came with a fervent promise.“I will come back for you.”
I sure hoped so because, otherwise, I was as good as dead.
Alistair didn’t remain a man as he headed for an exit but rather returned to the striped tiger of before.I tried to lighten my spirits by reminding myself I’d always wanted a cat.I’d never gotten one because I worked long hours and didn’t feel it would be fair to a pet.However, I doubted Alistair would be the type to let me stroke the fur between his ears.Heck, likely we wouldn’t be together for long once we escaped.While he might seem passionate about me now, it wouldn’t last.We came from two different worlds.He was practically immortal, and I was… me.
With Alistair gone and the monsters left to guard dead, the big room smothered me in silence.I swear I didn’t know quiet could be so heavy.The only noise came from me.The slightest movement caused the chain attached to my collar to rattle.Since sitting stiffened my limbs and made my butt cold, I stood and slung the chain over my shoulder.It rattled as I paced.
Step.Jingle.Step.Jangle.Step.Morejingling.Turn and back again.
The noisy rattle hid the return of the doctor, and I only realized his presence when I pivoted.
I halted and stared at him before exclaiming, “What do you want?”Because Malone approached me with grim-faced intent, made all the more ominous by the mask covering half of his face.
“Your dragon lover is rampaging through the palace.”
I almost smiled.“What did you expect?”
“I expected that cunt to know how to secure him.”Malone glanced at the cage.“I’m going to guess he isn’t just restricted to shifting to human bodies.”Before I could reply and tell him to shove something where the sun didn’t shine, he answered himself.“Stupid Tiamat, she never even guessed his ability went beyond mimicking humans.”
Hearing her name had me blurting out, “She’s just using you.”
“I’m aware.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
Malone eyed me with a smirk.“Who says it is one-sided?”
My lips pinched.“What are you getting from this?”
“For one, I’ll be clearing my name, and those who ridiculed me will be ruined.”
“You’re going to tell the world about dragons.”I quickly added, “If you do that, they’ll be captured, maybe even killed.”
“Some will be.A small price to pay for my fame.”
“What’s the other reason to help her?”
“Money.I am running low, and she’s got enough treasure here to take care of that.”
“Why do I get the impression that’s not everything?”
“Curiosity is probably my biggest driving force,” he stated.“There is something deeply satisfying about being the first to discover something.And while they might be arrogant cunts, the dragons can provide a dearth of knowledge about our past, about ancient remedies, about things we probably never imagined.I mean, look at the creatures serving that cunt Tiamat.Real monsters and not just legends.”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Because the cat wasn’t as smart as me,” his smarmy reply.“Let’s go.”
“Excuse me?I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Who said you had a choice?”he snapped, lunging for me.I evaded his grasping fingers and whirled to run.However, the damned chain dragged behind me, and that bastard simply had to stomp on the end to halt my flight.
