Page 156 of I Dream of Dragons

“They say the pillar is the backbone of a sleeping god.” We found a dusty little parlor and locked the door, and he sat in an armchair, hauling me in his lap. His back has to be a mess but he shows no sign of discomfort. “That nightgold is its essence, and every piece of it we find is a bone of a god that fell to the ground. Of a god, or a dragon, but who knows if they aren’t one and thesame? The theory goes that the sky has deposits of these bones, and as the Eosphors wander the firmament, they are dislodged and drop down to the ground.”

“Isn’t that the same material your swords are made of?” Half-shadow, half-flame. “Where did you get them?”

“They are a part of me. Part of the shadows I command.” He hesitates. “You can see why such material is invaluable, and your parents… they were trading such bones with the fae.”

I sit up stiffly. “Impossible. I would know something like that.”

He watches me. Then he says, “They wouldn’t tell the fae where they collected the bones. There are areas where these skeletons amass, as they fall from the sky and the fae control those areas. Not the humans.”

“Is that why…?” I swallow hard. “Why they attacked us?”

A slight nod.

A sob catches in my throat.

“It was stupid of them to think they had the upper hand,” he says softly. “Putting the pieces together now, I realize that the fae sat back and watched, planning the attack. And by then, a strange boy had appeared out of nowhere in your town. It really turned our attention to you.”

A boy…“You?”

“The king said I’d fallen with the debris from the cracks in the sky.”

“He can’t know that.”

“It’s the only explanation. The same boy who called down a Great Dara. Who played with shadows. Who was fascinated with the sky and its inhabitants.”

Oh, Jai…

“So the king took me along and we razed your town to the ground. Everyone dead. And the king… the king killed you.” Hisvoice cracks. “He killed you,makhair. He thought that was part of the prophecy. He raided your room.”

“The gowns,” I breathe. “All those gowns the king sent me, this gown I’m wearing… They used to be my gowns, didn’t they? He took them from my room.”

“Memento mori.A souvenir of the dead.”

“He knew who I was from the start,” I whisper. “After the first trial, when he sent me the first gown.”

“I told you. I failed you.”

“No.” I shake my head, pull the reins on my emotions. “It’s not your fault.”

“I should have been able to stop him, I should have…” The crease between his dark brows deepens. “How did I let that happen to my mate?”

“Did you know then already?” I whisper. “Did you know how you felt about me?”

His gaze softens. “A boy fell from the sky, and then he went and fell in love with a girl who changed him forever.” He kisses my forehead. “All my broken parts are yours, my love.”

“And they fit right against mine.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

JAI

That moment when I told her what the king had done, the way she’d jerked away, her face draining of color, those golden freckles stark against her pale skin…

Fuck, Rae… He killed her. I’ve already failed her once. I’m going to kill that motherfucker.

Through the red haze of anger, a headache is pounding through my head. The images Phaethon showed me, combined with the sharp shards of memories returning, are painting a strange picture.

King Marsyas…