Kiko stared at me. “Vali says he’s a monster—and you want us to leave you here?”
“You’d leave if you weren’t afraid of missing out on possible gossip,” I accused.
She snorted. And then said, “Of course.”
Vali rubbed her face. “He’s going to be in a very bad mood when he wakes up, and that could be a problem.”
I met her eyes, and read the genuine concern in them. “He won’t hurt me.” I didn’t know that, not really. But he’d bitten me. That had to count for something. “As you pointed out, I have to see this through.”
I saw the acknowledgment in her eyes—that I had a chance that she’d not been given. I swallowed, and added, “If he wakes up with you guys here, he’ll be pissed for sure.”
“Pretty sure he’s going to be pissed, anyway.” Kiko gestured to our surroundings. “This is a dungeon, after all.”
“It’s a prison,” I corrected.
“Bars. Stone walls. Dim lighting. Wet as… Well, definite dungeon accoutrements.”
I raised a brow. “Accoutrements?”
She transferred her frown to me. “Did I not use that right?”
“Would you rather we left?” Vali kept her focus.
Trust the Dragona to be the astute one. “It would be best, I think.”
Kiko grimaced. “I don’t want to leave you alone down here.”
“I’m hardly alone,” I pointed out. “Cara asked Eli to stand guard at the top of the stairs. And it seems that Fang is on my side.”
The Satyr glanced to where the Webspinner sat on Havoc’s substantial chest. “Why did she bite him? I thought she was his pet.”
I didn’t know why, really, but I went with my preferred theory. “I don’t think she wanted him to leave.”
Kiko pushed herself to her feet. “Are you sure he won’t shred you?”
I dredged up a tired smile. “I’m sure. Go get something to eat.”
“I have been enjoying the chocolate from the vending machines,” Vali admitted. “Humans create the most wonderful dark chocolate. Not too sweet.”
Kiko’s expression brightened as she gestured to me. “I can fetch you something. We missed lunch, but I’m sure Borji can scrounge us up some dumplings.”
Borji? “Were youinterrogatingthe kitchen staff?”
She grinned. “Maybe.”
I was hungry, but I needed time alone. Or rather, time with Havoc. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”
With a last concerned glance to the sleeping giant, the Satyr and Dragona left me to it.
It was very quiet after they’d gone. Was Havoc’s breathing a little lighter? The bite mark on my shoulder seemed to pulse in rhythm to it. Cara had healed the wounds, but it had started throbbing when Havoc had appeared in that clearing, and hadn’t stopped since.
Damned Dragon.
I rose and walked over to where he lay. It was damp here, but they’d brought the cot down from an upper floor and placed it in the cell. At least it was dry.
I’d argued against bringing him down here, but Cara had said that until we knew that Havoc was going to wake up as himself, this was the best place for him. I supposed having a deranged Dragon loose on the dorm floor would put a damper on morale. And Amadeus would be pissed.
Havoc’s reputation was the reason Cara had instructed me to leave him, too. But I’d meant what I’d said to Kiko—I wasn’t afraid of Havoc. And my heart told me that Vali was right.
