Legions of Bone: Dragon Rider Book 3

Chapter 29: Touchy-Touchy

Hey guys, I just wanted to give you all a head's up that my school is starting up on Monday so I may have to drop my chapter updates to one chapter a week but who knows, I may pull a few all-nighters to get it done, lmao.

Norah walked around the pile, a duffle bag slung across her shoulder.

"We should go traveling together again," Dagen said. He crouched in front of the pile, his eyes gleaming as brightly as the gold and jewels he put into the bag she gave him. And his pockets.

She knew he'd taken far more than the three items she said, but she didn't mind as long as it wasn't Topher.

Norah dropped beside him, bag clunking softly on the ground. "Topher's not filling your pockets?"

He smirked, watching her from beneath dark lashes. "Not like you are." He examined a jewel and put it into the duffle bag. "I could have cut off your fingers, love."

Norah hadn't known how to greet him, so she snuck her fingers into his pocket--her mind racing with the stories he told her of thieves losing their hands in Raider City.

She shrugged. "You've felt my fingers before, Dagen."

"Actually," he said, a pleasant surprise flickering like candlelight in his eyes, "It's my remarkable skills as a thief that kept your fingers, fingers. I've forgotten what they've felt like."

Norah's pulse rose. Her voice was a low murmur as she said, "I guess I should fix that. Where would you like me to touch?"

One side of Dagens pulled into a sly smile, his eyes gleaming like hungry stars. His voice skimmed along her skin like shadows as he purred, "Wherever you'd like."

Norah wet her lips, considering. She told herself this was what she wanted--and it was. But Dagen was looking at her like she was something to be devoured and she couldn't quite think straight.

She smiled instead--a small clever smile that said she knew something he didn't, even if that wasn't quite true.

Dagen's gaze darkened as he drank in her form.

Norah's blood thrummed; she had spent way too much time thinking about what he would do to her. She was almost relieved when Eoin trotted through the pile, waving to her with a small but joyful smile. She managed a twitch of her lips in return. He sat between them.

Norah said, her voice low and unreadable, "How did you meet Topher?"

"I found him," he said, another jewel disappearing behind his cloak.

Dagen wasn't a creature of socializing unless there was a purpose. "But, why did you find him?"

He hesitated for a moment. Eoin stared at him, expecting. "He's helping me improve my necromancer skills."

"Is someone getting their training on?" she mused. She felt a spark of pride. Norah wished it had reached her voice--her eyes.

Dagen didn't miss a beat. "Someone has to save the day. You're too busy associating with gods and saving the world. Someone has to help the little people."

"You've never cared about people in general."

He turned to face her fully, his face flat and unamused, but his eyes glimmered with amusement. "Who am I going to steal from if they're all dead?"

She bobbed her head. He was right, but she didn't know how to react. So she asked instead, the question that had been itching at her from the moment they reunited.

"Eoin." The boy perked up, bright grey eyes landing on her. "Will you give us a minute?"

His lips pursed, shoulders deflating. "I can take it."