I’m ready to lunge when Jax pushes two branches aside and appears. The moment he sees the blade in my hand, he freezes.
I curse and lower my blade. He opens his mouth to speak, but I shake my head. I listen to the forest. All the hooting, chirping, and screeching is back.
Frowning, I strap my blade back in place.
“What was that?” Jax asks.
I glance around.
Was I imagining it?
No.
Whatever was watching me from the shadows was very real.
“Nothing,” I say with a shake of my head. “Did you find a place for a camp?”
“Yeah. There’s an empty cave a couple of minutes away. I even found a side path a little farther down where we can take the horses to the cave.”
I gesture in the direction of the horses. “Lead the way.”
Settingup our camp for the night inside a cave is cozier than camping outside surrounded by the forest. After the earlier incident, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.
The cave is small and damp, dark stone walls covered with moss. Jax built a fire pit in the middle, bigger than usual because we don’t have to worry about predators seeing it.
The fur is soft underneath me. I pull my knees closer to my chest and watch the fire dance. It’s soothing. I knew the journey to finding and bonding a dragon would be hard. But knowing it doesn’t make it any easier.
Jax lounges across from me on a fur blanket. He’s on his side, braced on his forearm. I’m almost used to seeing him in the Ezkai leathers. Weirdly, they suit him. That’s something I never thought I’d say about Jax, but…he could have been an Ezkai if he was born a Decarios. Easily.
“Whatcha thinking about, darling?” Jax asks and pops the last piece of his cheese into his mouth.
I blink, caught eyeing him. Part of me wants to deflect and shut him off. But the other, larger, part of me is curious.
“A thug with the fanciest manners I’ve ever seen, secret assassin–level fighting skills,andwilderness survival skills?” I shake my head. “Who are you, Jax Kregger?”
Our eyes meet over the fire.
Jax’s gaze is dark, full of mischief. “I’ll be whoever you desire, darling.”
Of course his first response is humor.
I may not know much about his past, and his life. But I doknowhim by now. Humor is a mask, a shield of sort. The thing that keeps him safe. The same way my anger serves me.
So, instead of taking the bait, I remain level and focused. “I’m serious, Jax. I want to know. Who were you before Ekios, before Caligos. Before you chained your life to mine.”
Jax blinks, surprised. It pains me that he’d be surprised that I want to know him better. But can I blame him?
My heart sinks when he averts his gaze, stoking the fire.
Maybe I’m wrong about knowing him. About the connection between us. Maybe my coldness and harshness did exactly what I wanted it to do. Kept him away.
But Jax surprises me by saying, “I’m a bastard son of the trade king of Emera. The youngest problematic child. A spare heir if by some horrible irony of life he loses his preferred three heirs and needs to pass down his legacy tosomeonewith his name and a trace of his blood.”
“Oh, fuck. Your father is Sebastian Kregger?TheSebastian Kregger?” My eyebrows hike all the way to my hairline. Jax flashes me a lopsided smile. “I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. That’s why Fern called you Emerian prince.”
“Yeah.”
“So how did you end up here in Ekios? And tangled up with criminals…Was it a way to rebel against your father?”
