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She lowered the book to her lap. “Hello,” she greeted me.

“Hello. Enjoying the day?” Not that she had stepped outside this chamber to enjoy it.

I nodded to the window that overlooked the Borg. It was a great view. A bounty of steep hills that dipped and turned and twisted, winding up into the mountains, which soared in an endless pelt of snow-covered rock.

“I would enjoy it more if you would let me go for a ride.” She motioned to those hills beyond the Borg. “I would like to see the mountains.” Her gaze fixed on me hopefully.

“You want to ride into the mountains?” I frowned.

She nodded.

I gestured to the window. “You can’t get a better view than this one.”

She sighed. “You can’t keep me cooped up in here forever, you know.”

I bit back the response that I could do just that.

It was a familiar conversation. Almost immediately upon arriving home, she had wanted to ride outside the gates of the fortress, outside the settlement of the Borg and into the countryside, into those foothills that led into the mountains. She was mistaken, however, if she thought I was going to let her go riding into the Crags when there was a dragon on the loose. She had already survived one encounter. I wasn’t about to put her at risk again.

“You know there is a dragon still at large, right?”

She went tight as a knot, her features flattening into a stony mask.

Of course she knew that. She was likely still recovering from that trauma. A dragon had burned a man alive in front of her, and then abducted her and carried her off into the sky. It was no wonder she wanted some time to herself and did not feel like mingling with a bunch of strangers.

I spoke more gently. “I think it wise for you to stay indoors.”

Her chin went up, her eyes lighting like embers, ready to battle, and my hand jumped in response. “For how long? Forever?”

I shook my head. “I cannot say. But no, not forever.” At least I didn’t think so. I wanted to say:At least not until the dragon is caught.But I didn’t like making promises when there was still so much unknown. For all I knew, this dragon would be plaguing us for years to come...

Or there could even be more of them out there in the world, a whole pride of dragons about to rain down hellfire on humankind and plunge us back into the days before the Threshing.

The silence grew heavy between us, and I shifted my weight, staring down at her.

“Well,” she said after some time. “Was there something else I could do for you?”

She couldn’t even stand to have me around.

“Yes.” My hand dipped into my pocket. Closing my fingers around the chain, I lifted the necklace out into the air. “I got this for you. Thought you might need something to replace the necklace you gave to the bandits.”

A smile appeared, edging her mouth. “I didn’tgiveanything to the bandits. It was a trade. A barter.”

I inclined my head. “Oh. Is that how we are remembering it?”

“That is the truth,” she supplied.

Rather than argue, I held out the necklace for her. “May I?”

She sat up, nodded, and leaned forward.

I approached and slipped the chain around her neck, fastening the clasp at her nape. The heavy weight of stones settled above her breasts, the row of gems like a vine of grapes, perfectly round, the raspberry-red jewels glinting with their own energy, not requiring light to make them glow. In fact, against her skin, they seemed to glow even brighter, even more brilliant.

She brushed her fingertips against the necklace, and then dragged her fingers even lower, over the rising swells of her breasts.

My mouth dried.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “It’s very kind of you.”