Light My Fire (Dragon Kin #7)(49)

“You’d think,” he said with a smile. “I suppose it must be my majestic charm.” He grinned and she glowered. It seemed to be their way these days.

Elina raised her forefinger. “You can ask me one question about my kin.”

“Just one?” When she glowered more, he quickly said, “All right. All right. No need to get vicious.”

The dragon thought a moment, then asked, “How many siblings do you have?”

Why he was asking her that, Elina had no idea. That question hadn’t been among the ones he’d just asked, and she couldn’t see how the answer would be very interesting to anyone. But if that’s what he wanted to know . . .

“Twenty-four.”

“Are you close to any of them?”

“A-aah.” She raised her forefinger again. “One question. One! ”

“This is a continuation of the one question. It’s not a new question. Simply a clarification of the original question.”

“A clarifi—” Elina briefly closed her eyes and shook her head. She did not and would never understand this dragon. “I am close to one. A sister.”

“Out of twenty-four?”

Elina must have glowered again because the dragon quickly raised his hands as if to ward her off. “Not a judgment. Just another follow-up question.”

“My sister Kachka,” she said before he could delve any further, “accepts me just as I am. With all my many flaws.”

The dragon studied her for a moment, then asked, “What flaws?”

Elina quickly looked at the dragon, expecting to see that mocking expression of his. But, instead, all she saw was pure confusion. As if he had no idea what she was talking about.

She had to admit, it was a nice feeling. But she knew that his confusion would not last. Her flaws, like everything else about Elina, were out there for the world to see. . . .

After purchasing four extra loaves of the wonderful bread served at the inn and stuffing them in his travel bag, Celyn stood. “You ready?” he asked Elina.

Her reply was to stand and walk away from him. Celyn watched her for a few moments before he followed, stopping by the barmaid to place several gold pieces, including a fat tip, into her palm. He smiled at her and she blushed back, her eyes glancing toward the inn stairs that led to the bedrooms. It was a clear invitation, but Celyn didn’t bother to say yes or no. He simply winked at her and walked out.

Celyn quickly caught up to Elina as she moved toward the bridge that would take them back to the main road. He threw his arm around her shoulders and deftly steered her around to one of the shops in the main square. He stopped to point at something in the window as if that had been his plan all along.

“Why do you touch me?” Elina asked.

“Because we’re not leaving yet,” he said quietly, stepping closer to the shop glass, “but I didn’t want to make a big thing of it.”

“So you touch me.”

“Stop complaining. It’s not like I tried to f*ck you right here.”

With a meaningless nod, he moved off from the window, bringing Elina with him. Now they were going in the opposite direction.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“To Temple Row.”

“What is that?”

“A row of temples.”

“Smart-ass.”

“No, no. Just answering your question. There’s no other way to explain it.”

“Then tell me why are we going to row of temples?”

“Because that’s all they were talking about at the inn. Didn’t you hear?”

“I could not hear much over your constant chewing. You feed like bear.”

“I was hungry.”

Elina stopped, forcing Celyn to stop with her. “You really heard about this in pub?”

“Yes. Isn’t that why we were there?”

“But between chewing . . . you were talking. Or asking me questions to make me talk. And you responded to my answers as if you were listening.”

“I was listening. I find your life fascinating.”

“Shut up.” Her bright blue eyes narrowed on his face. “You really listened to others while talking to me?”

Celyn shrugged and admitted. “It’s a skill. My mother can cleave off a dragon’s head by bringing two swords together simultaneously. We all have our talents.”

“Your mother did seem like cold, unfeeling viper determined to destroy world. . . . I like that in woman.”

Celyn was about to remind Elina that his mother was not “woman” but then, after glancing around, he decided it was in his best interest not to say anything about that. Instead, he led her down several streets until they reached Temple Row.

That’s where they both stopped, at the very beginning of the street, and stared.

“Horses of Ramsfor,” Elina swore beside him.

Celyn didn’t know who Ramsfor was, but he had to agree with Elina. He might not have traveled as far and wide as some of his kin, but Celyn knew the Southlands quite well. And he’d never seen such a thing before.

Whispering, Elina noted, “It is like giant cock pointed straight at the heavens.”

She was right. The Cult of Chramnesind had taken a relatively small piece of land between two temples that had been in those spots for decades and shoved in a building that . . . well . . . that resembled a giant cock. With balls.