Page 3 of Entwined

She tried to kill you. That’s how she challenged him.

I can’t argue with that.

And you were Axel’s bonded at the time, but shortly after, Azar took your bond. He cared enough about your life to steal you from his best friend, so that he could better care for you.

Not exactly, but I’m not sure how I can clarify without revealing the Axel-Azar connection, so I just shrug again. “It was a little more complicated and accidental than that.”

Is Axel upset?

I glance at Azar and Hyperion, pacing up and down the street, clearly talking to one another on a frequency we can’t hear, both agitated.

“Why are they fighting?” I ask. “Do you know?”

Probably the same as always, she says. Hyperion thinks Azar’s too small because he doesn’t eat properly.

Of all the things in the world I expected her to say, that was not it. It makes me laugh. So much for Azar’s claim that dragon families are different. If I counted all the times my mom and dad stood over us, trying to lecture us into eating our dinner, they’d be almost infinite.

I’m no expert on dragon expressions, but I swear Asteria’s reaction to my laugher isn’t conspiratorial. It’s. . .more like confused. Maybe I misinterpreted her. Was it not a joke after all? Is Azar really not eating enough?

Before I have a chance to follow up on her answer, Azar spins around and stomps toward us. He may be much smaller than his massive brother—who can barely fit on the four-lane road they’re standing on—but Azar’s still gargantuan. I think he’s eating plenty of pigs or cows or whatever he flies away to consume.

Speaking of—he hasn’t left to eat anything since we entwined. He probably is hungry. I’ll have to ask him about it. The one time I asked what dragons eat, he kind of evaded the question. Maybe he was just distracted, but it feels odd now that Asteria’s mentioned it. Either way, I can’t help my cringe when I think of the mangled cow carcass he brought as Axel, then roasted, and then dragged off at my behest right after we bonded.

Even thinking about that makes me laugh. He clearly had to disappear, shift into Azar, roast it, then switch back to Axel and return, all without Gordon or Rufus knowing. His life is a strange one, made more complicated by my presence.

I’ve offered to take Elizabeth’s mother’s bond from Ocharta, Asteria says, no preamble whatsoever.

Azar freezes. What?

She informs me that her mother does not wish to be bonded to my sister, and that Ocharta’s life was spared only to save her mother’s.

Azar’s expressions are a great deal easier to read, probably because of the bundle of sensation that lives in the corner of my brain, which is now a very buzzy yellow.

He’s annoyed.

“It’s true,” I say. “You’d have killed her otherwise.”

Which would probably have served us all much better. Asteria huffs.

Is she serious? Does she actually want her sister dead? Maybe Azar was right about dragon families not being close. “I mean, it’s not like you’d have to kill her after she releases my mom. I was just saying?—”

No. Azar tosses his head, indicating I should climb onto his back.

“No?” I drop my hands on my hips. “That’s hardly polite. You could at least?—”

The Prince of the Flame isn’t polite, Azar snaps. Get on. Now.

“If you think I’m going to climb on your back because you ordered me to, you’ve lost your scaly mind.” My next move will be drawing my swords. “You can be polite to me, or you can fly home alone.”

The buzzy yellow softens to a mild gray, but he looks exactly the same. It’s not the apology I wanted, but it’s something. I sigh dramatically. He’s being watched by Asteria and Hyperion, but that doesn’t make it okay.

“Maybe I’ll have her take my bond, too.”

Asteria’s eyes widen.

Azar laughs, tiny flames shooting from his nostrils. Get on my back, you stubborn human. We can talk about the bond shifting later.

“Fine,” I grumble. “You should at least let Asteria try. Whether you kill Ocharta or not, my mom shouldn’t be abused by her. None of the humans should, for that matter.”