Page 112 of Wings of Destruction

Get rid of her, Mozi growls in my head.

For a split second, the image of sending Evie hurtling off the cliff flashes in my mind before I erase the image.

But no. I’m not my father. I don’t kill for pleasure or fun.

And Evie, as annoying as she is, doesn’t deserve that fate. Resignation drowns my veins. This isn’t Evie’s fault, either. She’s as pressured as I am, folded over and over into something small, to fit a mold.

We both know how impossible it is to fight the push of your families.

“Look, E—” I start.

She nudges me with her shoulder and presses closer. Her arms loop around my front so both her palms press flat to my chest. “It’s not a good time to talk. Right?” There’s a steel edge to her voice.

I’m predictable, which is also offensive. “Right. Mozi and I were in the middle of something. He doesn’t like to be interrupted.”

If anyone can upset a dragon, though, it’s Evie. She tenses when Mozi growls again and it makes no difference to her.

“When is it going to be the right time, then? We’re trapped in this school instead of out there on the battlefield. Seems to me that we have nothing but time while we learn and wait and train.”

She’s not wrong there, either, and I wish she were. “I’ll come to you later. Okay, Evie? I have to finish this conversation and then I’ll make time for you.”

My fingers tap wildly against my knee. Before she sees it, I lift my hand to cover hers.

“I don’t believe you.”

She’s clinging hard. How do I get her to loosen her grip?

“It seems to me you’re avoiding me and whatever it is distracting you these days, it should not be more important than our union.”

If only she knew.

“I promise. I don’t make promises lightly.”

I scan the horizon but there’s no escape there, even with so much of the sky unfolding out from our lonely mountain. Up here, none of it matters. Nothing and no one.

And Evie is trying to make it matter.

She leans into my silence, waiting for me to budge, and I’m not giving her an inch. With an aggravated exhale, she pries herself off me and scuttles back from the edge.

She casts a hesitant glance at Mozi. “You know where to find me. When you’re ready. But you better keep your promises, Kieran, or Father will hear how his future son-in-law lacks proper… respect for our arrangement.”

Evie blows me a kiss before sauntering away with her usual swinging hips to let me know exactly what I’m missing by being a stubborn jackass.

No, thank you. I know exactly what I’m doing.

No, you don’t, Mozi corrects. His claws grind against stone and he snaps his wings out to catch the air. None of you humans have any clue about your actions or the long reaching implications of them.

I scoff and say, Because dragons are so much better?

He puffs up his chest and smoke curls from his nostrils although there is no fire, not yet. Not for a few more years. Do you really want me to answer you?

Dragons are self-important. A lot like humans.

Mozi whips his head around before carefully refolding his wings. Incoming.

“Hey!” Astrid calls out a warning. “I just passed Evie. Did she actually get what she came for or did you send her packing again? She had a distinctly sour look on her face.”

I appreciate her overly loud announcement. The extra stomping is unnecessary.