us.” His hand tightened around mine.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t leave you there. At least I got Vander out, right?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t believe it when I found him in the infirmary. I nearly lost my shit looking for him in the tunnels. But like I told you before, when it came down to it, I chose you.”
I gulped, emotion clogging my throat. “You thought you left him back there?”
His lips pressed into a tight line.
“Crap, I’m so sorry. I never thought I wouldn’t be able to tell you I’d sent him back. I can’t believe I let someone get the drop on me. Who stabbed me by the way, and what happened to Thax?”
“One of the narkin demons went crazy with blood lust and attacked you. Thax cut him down on the spot. He looked almost as furious as I felt, which is a good thing. At least we know he doesn’t want you dead—not yet anyway. I lost him after that though. He and Remy disappeared in the commotion.”
“I guess we’ll never know if the prophecy really was about me.”
“This is far from over, Azara.” He raked his hand through his hair, and the musky fragrance of his shampoo wafted toward me.
I breathed it in, wanting nothing more than to escape in Talon’s familiar scent. Hmm, weird. I inhaled again and waited for his intoxicating presence to assault my insides. Nothing. His smell was nice, but it didn’t send my hormones into overdrive.
“What’s wrong?”
I wrapped my fingers tighter around his and focused on the familiar pull between us. My skin stroked his but no sparks, nothing. Searching my core, I hunted for the well of emotions that belonged to the dragon. Nothing.
Hot tears pricked my eyes, and I blinked back the unexpected emotion.
“Azara?” Talon leaned closer, wrapping both his hands around mine. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s gone,” I muttered pitifully. “Our bond…I don’t feel you anymore.”
His head dipped, and his gorgeous eyes darkened. “You lost so much blood, Azara—almost too much. You were so close to dying it took Hayden multiple sessions of healing to bring you back. I’m so sorry I let this happen to you.”
“Your blood literally drained out of me?” I hated the tremble in my voice. When had I become one of those girls that was so reliant on a male?
He nodded. “It was a shock to me too. I’d never heard of that happening, but I suppose it makes sense.” The crease between his brows deepened, and I wished I knew what he was feeling. Instead, only a gaping hole remained.
A swell of panic raced through my insides. What if Talon didn’t want me now that the bond was gone? What if I didn’t want him?
His eyes met mine, something dark and unreadable flashing across the surface.
What if he already felt nothing for me but didn’t want to admit it since I’d almost died? I had to know. I had to ask him even if I sounded like a stupid lovesick fool. I opened my mouth to do just that, but a knock on the door snapped my jaw shut.
Vander poked his head in, looking awkwardly from Talon to me and back. My ex-blood-bonded-dragon released my hand, and a pang of hurt streaked across my chest. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he mumbled.
“No, of course not.” Talon shot up and patted Vander on the back. “Feel any better after the fresh air?”
He rubbed his hands together and blew out a breath. “Not really. It’s freezing up here, man. I don’t know how you guys tolerate it.”
“We don’t get out much,” I interjected.
Talon pointed between Vander and me, and a hint of crimson stained his cheeks. “Oh sorry, guess I haven’t officially introduced you two yet.”
I sat up straighter and adjusted the pillows on my bed. “We already met. I talked to him during one of my bouts of consciousness while you were passed out on the chair.”
“You did?” Talon balked before shooting Vander a questioning look.
“Guess I forgot to mention it.” The werewolf slunk over to his side of the room and folded his large frame onto the thin mattress.
“What else did you forget to mention, Vander?” Talon stalked toward his brother and stood over him, arms folded across his chest. “You’ve been acting strange ever since we brought you back. Are you going to tell me what’s up?”
I shrank down and pulled the covers up to my chin. This seemed like a conversation I should not be a part of.
“I can’t,” Vander gritted out.
“Why