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A deep rumbling laugh moves through me. “Clever and witty human,” I murmur under my breath.
“Frustrating and arrogant Dragon.” She narrows her eyes, but I notice the hint of a smile that quirks her lips.
Despite what she has been through, Freyja is brave and does not hesitate to speak her mind. This is something I’d not expected of a human. They have strength when in numbers, but alone… I’ve found them to be easily scared creatures.
“Go back to sleep,” I murmur, and she sighs heavily before closing her eyes.
I listen as the sound of her breath becomes soft and even. Gently, I lift a strand of her hair, balancing the silken strand on my claw as I study her sleeping form. She may look weak and fragile, like those of her race, but I understand that she is anything but.
Perhaps the gods knew what they were doing when they paired her soul with mine after all.
My T’kara is a rare and fascinating treasure. And it is a compulsion of my kind to covet rare and precious things.
CHAPTER12
AURDYN
When morning comes, I open my eyes to find Freyja turned toward me, her face tucked into my chest and her hands on my waist. As much as even I would prefer to rest, especially holding her this way, I know we must get up. We have a long day ahead of us.
Gently, I push the hair back from her face. “Freyja. It is morning. We should—”
“Just ten more minutes,” she groans, practically burrowing into me. “Ten more…” her voice trails off as her breathing evens out again.
I suppose ten minutes does not seem unreasonable, so I begin a countdown in my head. After all, I’d prefer her to be well-rested for our journey.
The door across the room creaks slowly open, and that blasted Dwarf pokes his head into the room. I suppress a low growl of irritation as Orin tiptoes into the space. He darts a glance in our direction, but does not notice I’m awake.
Sighing heavily, I roll my eyes. He thinks I still slumber. Dwarves are rather dense creatures and it is difficult to suppress a huff of amusement as he takes great care to be as quiet as possible as he moves past us. He turns back to the door, and I notice Moira waiting. He waves her through, and whispers. “Quietly now, or you’ll wake the Dragon.”
“The Dragon is already awake,” I whisper darkly, and they both freeze in place.
His head snaps to mine, eyes wide as his heart rate quickens. He swallows hard. “Forgive us, we—”
“Silence,” I hiss, pinning him with a pointed look. If he continues talking, he’ll wake Freyja, and she asked for ten minutes.
“Oh, Aurdyn,” Freyja yawns. “Do not be so grouchy.”
Orin gasps at her unfiltered words, his entire face going deathly pale.
“I amnotgrouchy.” I huff. “I was simply trying to get them to be quiet so you could sleep. I—”
The rest of my words get stuck in my throat as she stretches her lithe body against me before sitting up and yawning loudly.
“Good morning,” Freyja greets the stunned Dwarf and his wife, while I struggle to suppress a growl at the fact that I was chastised only a moment ago for trying to keep them from awakening her.
Orin and his wife set the table and despite Moira trying to persuade their children to stay in their rooms, they take seats on the bench across from me, their expressions gaping. When their mother sets their food before them with two strips each of the cooked meat from my kill last night, they quickly wolf it down. “Can we please have some more, Mother,” one of them says.
“Yes, please,” the other chimes in.
“Now, children,” she gently chides. “This is not ours. It belongs to our guests. They are merely sharing it with us this morning.”
Freyja gives me an expectant look and I frown, unsure why she is looking at me this way. After a moment, she rolls her eyes as if I have displeased her with my inability to read her mind, and then turns to the Dwarf and her husband. “Have as much as you like. There’s more here than the two of us can eat.”
It is obvious Freyja has no idea the appetites of a Dragon. I could easily eat all of this in one sitting if I wanted to store enough food to last me so I would have no need for sustenance over the next two weeks.
“Truly?” Moira asks.
Freyja nods.
