Nausea gripped Kel's stomach.
For a moment, she had forgotten.
After seeing all sorts of unexpected sides of Calix--his smile, his tearful embrace, even his warm lips--she'd forgotten why he was called the Dragon Emperor.
The fear that squeezed her chest when she first came face to face with the rumored man had been lost amidst all her turbulent feelings as she spent more time with Calix. Eventually, it ended up being replaced completely by another heart-wrenching emotion.
But even if her feelings toward him had changed, it didn't make the Dragon Emperor any less of a fearsome tyrant.
How could she have forgotten that?
"Their toes.." Kel gagged as she repeated Matty's words.
"I mean, really, Newbie," the boy shook his head as if the event wasn't anything surprising, "it wasn't very nice of you to tattle on them."
"I-" Kel stopped, thinking back to the previous day when she'd seriously considered letting Calix discover her mud-filled boots.
