at me with softness and care.
Something I wish he didn’t have for me right now.
“You have to speak,” I tell him only. “Or they will kill you all.”
“I know,” he whispers.
“So you’ll die for them?” I snap.
“What do I get if I say what you want to hear?”
My brows furrow. “What?”
“What do I get?” he repeats. “Do I get a piece of your heart? Your soul? Because just the memories won’t be enough for me.”
“You’re acting crazy again,” I retort, turning away from him.
“Blood,” he says sharply. “How far will you go to save my life?”
“Not right now.”
“Do not lay a hand on him,” Edda barks. “He is Dagen the Blood Axe and you wouldn’t dare do what you’re thinking about doing if he wasn’t tied.”
A slow smile breaks my lips. “I already have.” My elbow lands in his gut, the escape of air leaving his mouth makes me cringe.
“Geezus fuck,” he groans behind me. “I can’t wait to fuck the shit out of you, Blood.”
His promise warms my entire body, and so does the fact that his little wannabe wife is standing in front of me while he speaks filthy things to me.
“Answer my question,” I yell for everyone to hear then speak to him again. “Tell me the truth and I’ll give my entire self to you.”
“You’re serious?”
“I swear it.”
“You’ll be mine?”
“Let’s see how much I like the answer and how much truth it holds.”
“The cuff holds the key to—”
“Dagen!” Edda screeches. “Keep silent.”
“You will all die if I don’t tell them what they want,” he counters. “I’ve already seen enough of my clansmen fall.”
“They’ve beaten you down, haven’t they?” she presses with slitted eyes in my direction. “She sirened you to her so that you’ll do what she asks.”
“I haven’t been coaxed by anyone to do anything since I’ve been here,” Dagen retorts. “Or they’d already know everything.”
“But you wouldn’t do this,” she scolds. “This isn’t who you are. You’re loyal and steadfast. You’re a born leader who—”
“I know what I am,” he growls. “And I know what I need to do.”
Her face contorts in a look of disgust. “You’d be labeled a traitor.”
“By saving my people, Edda?” he challenges. “I have a feeling that what we came for is a lie anyway.”
“A lie? It was your own father who sent you here.”
“And his own stupidity that may have cost his son his life.”
“He would never,” she claims. “You’re his only son.”
Dagen ignores her and positions his body in front of my sisters. “I’m ready to speak,” he claims. “But I need the floor, apparently Edda developed a mouth on the voyage over here.”
“You will ruin everything,” she all but snarls. “Your fellow clansmen are more important than these clothless females who have satisfied—” She stops her next words, more than likely embarrassed to speak them.
“Speak,” Atarah orders Dagen as she strides closer.
“My people started to believe again in a myth about a decade ago, I was a young lad when I first heard it. A powerful creature that would protect us from the Highlands as they kept attacking our smaller villages and killing everyone who resided in them. Women and children were slaughtered like cattle, and we weren’t able to be everywhere at one time.
“My father grew extremely restless, I remember him pacing the floorboards in the middle of the night, trying to come up with a plan until one day he had it.”
“Had it?” Atarah repeats.
“My father came home from a trip with it. Stating there was a way to keep us guarded and preserved.”
“What kind of creature?” I ask.
He meets my eyes. “One that flies and breathes fire. A creature that could be faithful to us and—”
“Dagen,” Edda warns, taking a step forward.
“Davina,” Dagen stresses, snatching my attention from her. “The cuff was supposed to bring my people dragons.”
“You traitor!” she screams, her voice penetrating the air around us.
“I was told it was stolen from us centuries ago,” he continues. “I don’t know how he knew where it would be or what we would have to do to summon this so-called power, but I didn’t question. He’s my father, and I’m allegiant to him, there was no need for me to doubt him.”
My brows furrow. “Dragons?”
He nods. “I know, it was my first reaction too, but we’re out of options. The battles are more bloody and brutal. Almost daily each party loses more men, and it’s as though we’re spawning more only to train them to fight at a young age and send them