Share
64 - Fate
When Anzi at last convinced Letti to leave before someone noticed she was missing, the harem girl shot the chieftain a sharp glare before stepping out through the doorway. It was an expression Anzi had never seen before, like she was a breath away from running right past her and clawing Kai in the face. Not even when she had been slapped by Noemi in the street—twice—had she looked so vindictive.
One final encouraging push and shutting of the door later, Anzi and Kai were alone again. That is, save for Netra, who was now sulking in the corner, and Serqet, who was flipped over onto her armored back on the floor close by, tiny legs wheeling as she struggled to right herself.
“Netra! Do that to her again, and I will swing you around by your tail! Understand?” Anzi hurried over to pick the hatchling up while Netra hissed at her from the wall. “Don’t talk back to me!”
The dragonet lay her head down, still glaring.
Related chapters
Called by the Dragon 65 - Plotting
Netra didn’t like crowds. She barely tolerated company. So with the presence of the four strange men in the room, it was a miracle she hadn’t yet leaped out at them and left her claws in their bare chests. Anzi kept her eyes glued to the dragonet whose spines were already raised and bristling with undisguised hostility. And since when had her teeth become so jagged? There had been a few strewn about here and there over the past several weeks, but Anzi hadn’t noticed the new ones growing in. They looked too big for her maw and certainly big enough to sink and crush bone, too. She gave her a baleful glare, a wordless warning to behave, and was answered with a rebellious, wider display of those fierce dragon teeth. Was this what it was like to take care of a child? Constant disobedience and attitude? She would never have any of her own, she swore it. Then again, it was too late. Netra was all but her child anyway. “I really have to order you to leave,” she
Called by the Dragon 66 - Kept
Oh, hell. Anzi stood utterly still as the dragon drew close, ridged upper lip curling in the beginning of a snarl. It was dark with only the standing torches lining the stone walkway to lend their weak light, but the blood red hue of the massive dragon was no less intimidating for it. Wild dragon, indeed. She could sense savagery, strength, hardened brutality. A truly fearsome creature, born and raised according to its birthright, not like the ones of the Empire. She remained motionless even when the dragon lowered his head and came so close the small ridged horn curving up from the tip of its snout almost brushed her face. Hot breaths puffed out in clouds of steam that carried away on the stiff winter breeze. No frill to speak of, but even without it, the dragon’s head was terrifically large as it glared down at her, orange eyes flashing. “You’re not afraid.” She didn’t turn to look at Kai. “I can move before he go
Called by the Dragon 67 - Madhouse
Sparring was agonizing thanks to her hobbling leg and the occasional ripping spasms that made her grit her teeth against the crippling pain that flooded her from thigh to foot, but she wasn’t going to show weakness. Pierro’s growing smirk as the minutes slipped past was already making her want to murder him, and he was probably one stumble away from taunting her again, his favorite pastime. She had to stop caring so much, she told herself as she and Doufan circled each other in the dirt. Two of the standing torches had gone out by the training ground they had chosen, but it was still bright enough to see the man’s narrowed eyes and the angular, serpent-like face they peered out of. Doufan, the most mysterious of them all. Pierro was loud and brash; there could be no comparison. Aimee was quieter, but only in the haughtiest and most transparent of ways, and Anzi—Anzi had never been mysterious at all. Standoffish, yes, she could admit it now, but never my
Called by the Dragon 68 - Survival
If Anzi were in her right mind, she would have known better than to charge blindly in whatever direction was pulling her, especially when it brought her into the lower market district where she careened into angry citizens, none of whom recognized her or her mind-shattering urgency. Not that she cared. She shoved them all aside with more strength than she should have, sending people tumbling into vendor stalls and against building walls and occasionally, to the ground. None of it mattered. She ignored the furious shouting and cursing following her every hurried step, driving herself ever onward first this way, then that, then backward every time she became too terrified she had gone in the wrong direction to go any farther. Somewhere, she was sure he was dying. She had no idea how she knew or why it was she could feel him—or maybe she would if only her mind weren’t reeling and tearing apart, splintering under the weight of the pain that carved so much d
Called by the Dragon 69 - Safe
Only Netra’s terrible hunger was capable of moving Anzi from her post by the infirmary door where she could keep an unblinking eye on both Kai and his suspicious ‘companion’ Neb Minnakhet. Just a couple of hours after exiling herself to the hallway, she was forced to go in search of something for the dragon to eat. The kitchens were only too happy to supply the imperious white dragonet with all the meat she could possibly stuff into her gullet—how was she growing so quickly?—while Serqet wandered elsewhere, bumping into corners and exploring the tiny dust bunnies along the walls. The younger hatchling wasn’t nearly as demanding and seemed to be able to go days without nourishment. And even when she was hungry, she seemed content to search for it on her own in the form of lizards, insects, and whatever else she could find rather than begging (screaming) for a meal. Such polar opposites. It made her wonder even more about drago
Called by the Dragon 70 - Flight
Tet paced back and forth. He hadn’t stopped once in the past hour. The palace maids had dismissed themselves long ago, making sure to remain bowing deep at the waist as they walked backward so as not to look upon the Emperor’s countenance. They had taken the ladders with them as well, and the friezes remained half-polished for now. They would come back only after the monarch had taken his leave. The guard who had scurried off to the dungeons was another story. He had no choice but to drag back the prisoner and stand in the presence of the Emperor upon his return, sweating buckets. He wasn’t merely starstruck, Anzi knew. If the Emperor realized he was the same man who had been guarding Kaizat when it all happened, he was as good as dead. She didn’t intend to betray him. She would never have trusted anyone but herself to do the job right anyway. As far as she was concerned, Bisset was the only one who needed to bleed for this, and the p
Called by the Dragon 71 - Poison I
Anzi didn’t know how to describe the terrible swell of emotion that rose up inside her, if she could even call it something so mundane as emotion. Relief, anger, frustration, helplessness in the face of everything that had happened, all of it coalesced into a crippling weight that filled her up like molten metal poured into a cast. And underneath it all, she could feel the haunting shadows of pain in her belly and chest and knew without question they belonged to Kai. The bond he’d said they shared, the bond she hadn’t had time for, the bond she couldn’t afford to accept because it only made everything so much harder than it was already—it was here now. Looming larger than life and taking up the whole of her vision, her senses, planting itself in her path and forcing her to acknowledge it. So what choice did she have? What could she say anymore? Do? “You almost died,” she said dumbly. “You might still.” “No.” His voi
Called by the Dragon 72 - Poison II
“Don’t push yourself. You’ll split your wounds open again.” Kai looked up with a smile, perched on the edge of the bed. “I was waiting for you.” “You were supposed to be resting.” “But you came knowing I wouldn’t.” He stretched out his hand toward her. “Do you want to help me leave this place? I’m sick of it. And so are the little ones.” She followed his gaze to the corner where Netra and Serqet were currently fighting over something—oh, no. “Get that out of your mouths!” “Leave them. They should enjoy the time they have.” “That’s yours,” she said hotly as she whirled back around to shoot him a dirty look. “Why are you letting them play with it? You’re teaching them bad habits.” “They’ll never outgrow it. They say dragons love gold.” She ignored him and stomped toward them, but instead of displaying any hasty remorse over
Latest chapter
