He expected the dragon to raise its head, for her to bellow smoke and fire and scream at him. It surprised him that she instead bowed her head and accepted his request. Once before he had stripped her of rank and title, but this was no victory. He could not imagine what it would be to lose something like that twice over—and he knew that if he had lost to her that first time his life would have been forfeit.
His ears fell back even further, hidden amongst the thick golden hair that even now was streaked with sun-bleached white. What a terrible fate for someone so young to suffer. He thought of his father, and of Gabriel’s terrible accident, and a dark place in his heart ached for the man that had only ever been his father in name and in oath. Ezekiel did not feel love for anyone these days; he had not felt true love since his sister’s betrayal, and everything felt very numb and foreign to him.
So what he did next surprised even him. His right hand moved and found one of her own, clasping it gently. “I’m sorry,” was all he said, but even that felt hollow and worthless.
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