The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,96

I’ll stay.”

I gave him a stronger push. He didn’t budge. “Fine. Stay there all night if you want.” I faked a yawn, but a real one quickly supplanted it. “I’ll be sleeping inside. Alone.”

He clasped my wrist, asking, “What don’t you want me to see in the bedroom, Asha?”

“I...” Well, first of all, I wouldn’t panic. Second of all, I couldn’t bring myself to lie. Through some strange twist of fate, Saxon and I had forged some kind of tentative truce, and I hoped to preserve it. An untruth would be the equivalent of a fireball to the face. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“All right.” He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles.

Saying goodbye? Oh, thank goodness.

“I’ll find out on my own.” The ruthless avian released me, walked around my shocked-cold form, and entered the bedchamber.

I couldn’t let this happen. Panicked, I raced past him, and scanned the room. I would throw myself in front of... Pagan? Pyre? They were nowhere to be seen. Nor were Noel and Ophelia, who had fixed the furniture before they’d left. Ugh. I was going to have to pay for that.

Had Noel sensed we were on our way and bailed? I’d happily pay double for that.

Where were my dragons?

“Hmm.” One word from Saxon. No, not even a word. A sound. And yet, it dripped with disappointment. What had he expected? Naked forest nymphs cavorting about?

“Well, you should probably go,” I told him as breezily as I was able. The second he was gone, I would go hunting for my scale-babies.

A commotion erupted outside the door—no, the banging and shaking was coming from inside the walls. What the—I floundered as a hidden door I’d never noticed suddenly burst open, the dragons spilling into the room, midwrestle.

The pair spotted me at the same time and popped apart to fly around me, buzzing with excitement. Smoke curled from their nostrils.

I grabbed my dagger and faced off with my adversary. “I won’t let you hurt them, Saxon.” I would die first.

He didn’t spare me a glance as he slowly drew his sword. “How did you retrieve the eggs from Noel and Ophelia?”

“I’ll tell you, after you put away the weapon.” I backed the babies toward the wall, hoping to lead them to the window. “If you harm the dragons in any way, I will hate you. I will hurt you back. I’ll demand reparation, and when I do, I’ll make Leonora look like a saint.” I was a momma bear, and I’d been woken in my cave.

“You took the eggs from the realm’s most powerful witch and oracle. Apple babies.” His irises flashed incredulous and fury. “Something only Leonora could do.”

I lifted my chin. “I did not take the eggs. The girls gave them to me and returned the other two to the earth. The night your family arrived, the eggs hatched and the dragons became my babies forevermore. Our bond is unbreakable.”

He exhaled with force as he looked between us. Me. The dragons. Me.

Both Pagan and Pyre sensed danger and squawked, flapping their wings at a greater speed. Thin rivers of molten lava glowed between their scales, brightening as they opened their mouths to blow sparks and plumes of smoke in Saxon’s direction.

Valiant effort, my loves.

He coughed, but maintained his battle pose. “We have talked about this, Ashleigh. The first and second Leonora kept dragons, too. She used them to destroy everything and everyone I’d ever loved. Knowing this, you still choose to help history repeat itself?”

“I’m not the one who led the other dragons, and I’m not responsible for the damage done. Leonora is. I might have her memories, but I won’t let myself become her. You can doubt me or you can trust me, I don’t care. But you can’t deny Pagan and Pyre are innocent of any wrongdoing. They are children, and they’ve never harmed you. Would you punish them for crimes committed by their ancestors?” I petted their scaled heads and added, “These precious darlings haven’t had a chance to live. What if they grow up to aid our world in some way?”

“They will never aid a world that hates them. One day, they will attack.”

No. Wrong. “Do we murder living beings for what they might do now?” My voice rose in volume, but I didn’t have to worry about being overheard, thanks to Ophelia’s spell. “How will we know what they’ll do unless we give them a chance, Saxon?”

He stood in silence, his chest rising and falling.

The tips of my fingers