Page 47 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Nia stared at Shaw in dismay as her arms loosened and fell to her sides. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“You don’t know the Divine.”
“I know arses like him. It doesna matter what realm it is, there is always someone like that.”
She shook her head as she squeezed her eyes closed. When she looked at Shaw, he wore the same determined expression as before. “Where are you from?”
“A place called Earth. It’s home to the dragons. Or it was. Until humans arrived.”
Now that got her attention. “What do you mean?”
Shaw sighed, resignation tightening his face. “It’s a long story.”
“I like long stories. Will you tell me? Please? There are dragons and humans on this realm.”
“And you fear dragons enough that you want to know what the humans did to make them leave?”
She jerked back, his words like a slap. They had been said softly, but the meaning was clear. “No.”
“How do you know that isna what the Divine wants?”
“I have no idea what the Divine wants with you or anyone.”
“You, more than anyone would.”
Nia took offense to that. Anger spiked through her, shoving aside the hurt he’d inflicted before. “Because I got a missive?”
“Because you’re his courtesan.”
While she had never been exactly proud of what she was, she had never been embarrassed by it. Not until now. She couldn’t explain why she suddenly had the urge to cry. Shaw had known that she’d been sent to seduce him. She’d been fine with that, but nowhere in the note had it declared her a courtesan. Now that he knew her true station, she wanted to forget everything about him—including how it felt to be in his arms.
“So, that means I know the Divine?”
“Don’t you? You got a personal letter from him.”
She wanted to rip away his quirked brow. That know-it-all attitude grated on her nerves. Though she knew it was because he had stated a fact, one she hadn’t realized she didn’t want him to know until it had been out in the open. “No.”
“You’ve never met the Divine?”
“No. How many times do I need to say it for you to believe me?”
He stared at her with those green eyes. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but oh, how she wished she could. Then again, maybe she really didn’t want to know what he thought of her.
“How is it you can live in Stonemore for your entire life and be a courtesan without seeing the person who rules you?”
She shrugged. “I don’t speculate on the Divine. My goal is to get free.”
“The freedom you want is standing right before you. All you have to do is grasp it.”
He made it sound so simple. It never was. “What’s the catch?”
“There is none.”
“Now who’s lying?”
He threw up his arms in defeat and let them fall back to his sides. Then he released a long sigh. “You have no reason to trust me. In your shoes, I’d be just as cautious.”
She had expected another argument, not for him to yield so easily. Nia looked away. She had waited all morning to get to see him again, and now all she wanted to do was get away, to lick her hurt pride, and yes, even embarrassment. It was wishful thinking that she could have two good days. She should be grateful she had been given one.
“What does the Divine have over you?” Shaw asked into the silence.
Nia looked at him and shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“What does he have that keeps you here?”
“The Divine owns me.”
Shaw didn’t move a muscle, but she saw the fury that rolled through him just the same. “No individual owns another. Ever.”
“What an amazing world you must live in.”
“It has its benefits, but we’ve been through a lot to get there.”
How she wished she could see his realm. She had once only dreamed of finding freedom. Now, she wished to not just get away from Stonemore, but also to escape Zora altogether. “Slavery is a way of life in Stonemore. The Divine will never get rid of it.”
“Why have you no’ escaped? You have some freedom.”
“You saw the men following me. Even now, they’re at the wall, waiting for my return.”
Shaw tilted his head to the side. “You didna answer my question.”
