Page 23 of Eluvonia (Rift of Ages #1)

Kaida ruins the moment with his usual impeccable timing. “Dec?” he drawls, dragging out the nickname with a sarcastic edge. “Are you two that close now?”

I whip my head toward him, rolling my eyes so hard it’s a miracle they stay in my skull. “No,” I snap, “but he’s definitely better company than you. And unlike you, he’s easy to like.”

Kaida huffs, leaning back even farther in his chair with an exaggerated scoff. Before he can fire back, Declan jumps in, his mischievous grin splitting his face.

“Hey, be nice to her, Kaida,” Declan teases, nudging him with his elbow. “Maybe, she’ll give you a nickname too.”

Kaida shoots him a glare, jaw tightening, but I’m already laughing. “Oh, he already has one,” I say, barely holding back a grin. “Lizard boy.”

Kaida’s glare swings to me, sharper than ever and the room grows slightly darker. “Dragon,” he snaps, his voice slow and deliberate like he’s explaining to a child. “Let me sound it out for you: Dra-gon. Not lizard. I don’t do that tongue thing.”

My laughter spills out before I can stop it. Kaida’s expression changes, the corners of his mouth curving into a wicked smile that sends a shiver down my spine.

He leans forward, closing the distance between us just enough to make my breath hitch. “Unless you want me to do a tongue thing,” he murmurs, his voice a low, suggestive purr. “We’re going to be stuck together for life, after all. Might as well make it interesting.”

My brain short-circuits. Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I stammer something incoherent, but it’s lost under Declan’s booming laughter.

Kaida straightens, snickering as he turns back to Declan, leaving me to simmer in mortified silence. My fists clench at my sides, and I shoot him a glare sharp enough to cut stone. But he doesn’t notice—or worse, he ignores me completely.

Declan recovers enough to launch into something serious—plans, next steps, something I’m clearly not invited to contribute to. Kaida listens, his smugness creeping back as they fall into an easy rhythm.

I hover for a moment, feeling like a third wheel, before deciding I’ve had enough. Turning on my heel, I leave the kitchen, their voices and laughter fading behind me.

Outside, the rough sand pathway crunches beneath my feet. The air is alive with the hum of conversation, bursts of laughter, and the clinking of trade goods. The sight stirs something bittersweet in me—an ache for my own home, my cave, my clan.

But the memory sours quickly. I square my shoulders and push the emotions aside. Kaida destroyed everything I once held dear. He and his kind are nothing more than cruel, greedy beasts. Their smiles are masks; their promises, lies.

I glance at the sky, my heart heavy. For now, I have no choice but to stay. Not until I clear the rumors branding me a traitor to the Fae, how the hells did they start anyways? I wonder.

“What are you doing staring at the sky like that?” Tura’s voice cuts through my thoughts like a blade.

I turn to find her beside me, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

I shrug, masking the storm inside. “Trying to find answers to my problems.”

Tura snorts, grabbing my arm with surprising strength. “The only thing you’ll find staring at the sky is bird shit in your eye. Come on, help me make lunch.”

Before I can protest, she drags me inside. The kitchen smells of roasted herbs and vegetables, and I breathe a quiet sigh of relief to see Declan and Kaida have vacated the table.

“So,” Tura says, rinsing vegetables. “How did you end up with the two strongest Dragons in Eluvonia, outside of the Commander himself?”

I freeze. “The two strongest?”

Her sharp eyes soften. “I figured you didn’t know, judging by the way you talk to them.”

I blush, busying myself with chopping carrots. “Kaida destroyed my home,” I mutter. “My friends, my family. Then his father forced me to be his Líer…his prisoner.”

Tura sighs, drying her hands on a towel before placing one on my shoulder, her touch steady and grounding. “We all carry our demons, child. My instincts tell me Kaida’s as much a prisoner as you are.”

I glance at her from the corner of my eye, my grip tightening on the knife.

“He’s a dick,” I mutter, my voice low but sharp.

The blade bites into the carrot under my hand, each slice deliberate, methodical.

“But…I can see he’s just another puppet, dangling on his father’s strings.

Doesn’t change the fa ct he’s got blood on his hands.

My friends, my family. Gone because of him. ”

Tura watches me as she pulls a pot from underneath and turns to the faucet. “It doesn’t,” she agrees, her voice calm but with a note of something heavier. The rush of water fills the silence. “But do you blame soldiers for following orders?”

The rhythmic chopping falters. I stare at the half-sliced carrot in front of me, my jaw tightening. “I don’t know,” I say finally. My gaze flickers to her as she shuts off the water and sets the pot next to me.

“But Dragons…” I start again, anger rising in my chest. The words tumble out like the rough scrape of the blade against the cutting board.

“They’ve been killing us for centuries. They’re greedy, power-hungry beasts who will do anything to climb higher.

Why should I care about his situation? Why should any Fae care about a Dragon? ”

Tura exhales, rubbing her thumb over a smudge on the pot as if considering her next words. “Hate,” she says softly, placing the pot beside me with a deliberate clink, “is a fortress built stone by stone. But sometimes, it takes just one moment, one person, to crack the walls and let the light in.”

The knife halts mid-chop, my grip tightening around the handle as her words linger in the air, pressing against something I’d rather keep buried. I don’t look at her—I can’t. The silence stretches between us, thick with things left unsaid, louder than any of my anger.

Behind me, I hear a soft shuffle, then the sound of Kaida’s voice, low and clipped.

“We leave at dark.” I don’t even need to turn around to feel the anger radiating off of him, burning like fire under his skin.

I look over my shoulder just as he turns on his heel, disappearing down the hallway before I can even process his presence.

I snap my gaze back to Tura, my voice sharp. “Was he here the whole time?” My eyes are wide, a mixture of disbelief and irritation crossing my face. She offers a half-hearted smile, patting my shoulder before returning her attention to the vegetables.

“Fanfuckingtastic.”