Sitri slowly turns back from the cauldron. “If you’ve tricked some other poor soul into being your master, then fuck off and go to them.”
Div grins. On another being, it might be a sweet expression. Less so on him as he bares his tiny pointed teeth. “I am.”
“Div!” I hiss. “What the hell?” I was hoping I’d at least have some time before Sitri found out the truth of that.
Sitri goes rigid, wide eyes settling across me for an uncomfortably long time. He lifts a single finger. “…you?”
I shift nervously, bracing myself for his scolding.
He shakes his head. “You made yourself his master?” he asks, stuffing his hand through his hair. “Divine--fucking--Mother, I didn’t even know a nought could do that.” He throws a hand up abruptly. “You know what, I don’t even have time to process that right now.” He retreats to meddle in the cauldron and, to my shock, barks out a laugh. “He’s your problem now.” I grimace when his subsequent laughs border on maniacal. “He’s going to make your life a living hell.”
I scowl at his back, but maybe I should count my blessings. This responseisbetter than the one I anticipated. He bustles about, chuckling to himself every few minutes. Dropping another vial of amber liquid into the concoction, he tweaks at the flames until they lick the bottom of the cauldron.
He turns and starts forward suddenly, and I shrink into the back of the couch. Div yelps as he snags him up, struggling wildly as Sitri closes him in a fist. “Hold still,” he orders.
“Nope, don’t have to.”
“Well, I’m still going to make you,” Sitri murmurs.
He pulls out a single strand of Div’s hair and tosses Div roughly onto the back of the couch before dispensing it into the cauldron. I pick up my book but I’m not really reading it, instead watching him conspicuously as he parades back and forth between the shelf of vials and the bubbling cauldron.
Despite his injuries, he moves with a feline grace, arrogant and swift but there are subtle signs of his irritation, like how he drags a hand through his hair and mutters unintelligibly under his breath. Maybe not allthatsubtle.
I sit up a little straighter as he draws a vial that looks suspiciously like blood from the pockets of his cloak, dials the flames with practiced motions of his hand, uncorks it, and empties it into the simmering pot. Acrid smoke emits from the gurgling concoction as he stirs vigorously. “Was that blood?”
He meets my gaze briefly. “Yeah.” He draws out his pocket watch from his trousers, opens it and snaps it shut. “Dragon's blood,” he clarifies.
Dragon's blood.
He plops down on the other end of the sofa, uncapping a tin and begins generously applying the balm to his burns.
“How exactly do you go about getting a dragon’s blood?” It’s probably not information that will aid me in any way. I’m just genuinely curious.
I expect him to express irritation at my question however he looks perfectly pleased to answer. “In dragon form, it’s quite simple. I seek out a female dragon, woo her a little, and once—“
“You woo her?” I ask, incredulously.
He glances up momentarily and back down. “Yes,” he says, face completely serious.
The image that provokes has laughter climbing up my throat. He grows still, looking at me all wide-eyed as if I’m the one who’s just admitted to wooing dragons. “That is a beautiful sound. You should do that more often.”
I snort, a dull heat working over me. “Is that how you do it?”
He lets out a soft laugh, chin angling down as he works the balm over the blistered skin of his shoulder. “Is that how I woo female dragons?”
“Any species.”
He flashes me a crooked grin. “Psh, pet, I’m a prince, I’ve never even had to try.”
“You’re arrogant.”
He shrugs a single shoulder, not the least bit offended by that. “It’s true.”
“Except with the dragons,” I say trying to get the conversation back on course.
“With dragons, it’s very slow,” he says, voice lowering conspiratorially. He holds up his pointer finger and spins it slowly. “With lots of circling. You know, in the air. The trick is to be slow but persistent. It’s fairly simple unless another male starts competing with you. That complicates things. I try to seek out the less appealing females to avoid all that.”
“What makes a dragon less appealing?”
