The sound of her feet padding across the floor—with surprising lightness given her heavy boots and the fact that she was human—told him she’d moved closer. “Dragon shifters originally planned to colonize both the northern and southern continent but abandoned the South American region. Right?”
He grunted an affirmation of sorts, as he searched under the counters.
“Our High King at the time made a deal with the local shifters here,” he said, aiming the words over his shoulder. The jaguars in particular had been part of that deal. “We gave them this region and stuck to the north. They sent dragon mates our way.”
Rune checked another cabinet. Sure enough, some of the food that would keep through an apocalypse remained untouched. He pulled out two large cans of soup, dumped them into a pot, and put them on the stove to warm.
Then turned to find her watching, hip leaned casually against the countertop, waiting for a real answer.
“Smart,” she said.
“It’s just soup.”
Her lips twitched. “I mean about you using this mountain as a base. With the great distance between here and where all the dragons are, you had a buffer.”
Rune shrugged. Actually, the fact that his team hadn’t found him out—he wasn’t the only one aware of this location—had always remained a question mark in his head. Had they left him alone on purpose? Or had they assumed he wouldn’t use this place? After all, he and his men had popped up all over the northern territories.
“Why didn’t the Huracáns find you, though?” Hadyn mused.
And he had to hide a blink of surprise. She was sharp. “You’d have to ask them.”
“Are they still after you?”
A smarter person would have recognized the tone he’d used. He didn’t bother to answer that one. Instead, he moved to another drawer and unearthed a pack of beef jerky. Then tried the sink. The first water out of the tap was muddy, so he flipped it off. They’d need to run the generator to filter the water. Something he had no intention of doing. Too much noise and they weren’t staying long.
“So they aren’t,” Hadyn said, more to herself. “Interesting.”
Rune straightened slowly, casually. “I didn’t say that.”
She was right, dammit, but no way did he give that away just then.
“You didn’t have to. I’m used to the strong, broody, silent type of dragon shifter. My dad being exhibit A.” The tone she used was annoyingly conciliatory. As though she was patting him on the head.
“What made you leave here?” she asked next.
“You seem to have all the answers,” he said. “You tell me.”
“I’m guessing something, or someone, drove you out.”
Given the state of the place, that had to be pretty obvious. “Got it in one.”
“Dragons?”
“Yes.”
“How’d they find you?”
“They were after a phoenix.” Stumbling on him at the same time was a bonus.
Hadyn’s eyes widened, the reaction he’d been going for. Only now he regretted it. He’d wanted to throw her, but sharing anything wasn’t his style.
Rather than comment again, she whistled low. “I hope no one was hurt.”
None of his people, though more thanks to the phoenix than him.
“Was it just you in here?”
Gods did this woman ever quit with the questions? No answer. Definitely no answer this time.
“Who was with you?” she continued as though he’d kept up his side of the conversation.
Gods above, save him from a talkative person. “Do you ever shut up?”
Hadyn cocked her head. “Just trying to understand the lay of the land.”
“Your father trusted me enough to send you here alone. I agreed to help. You have the lay of the land.”
“Cagey and touchy with a need to stamp out all unnecessary chatter,” she murmured.
“You think you understand me?” he snarled, driven to the end of his patience.
“Not in the slightest, actually.”
Words which, strangely, didn’t make him feel any better. He stalked toward her, and to give her credit, she didn’t even bother to straighten from her lean. Stopping in front of her, right in her space, he leaned down to look her directly in the eyes. “I don’t share unless it’s critical you know something. You want my help, you accept that.”
She stared back at him, gaze narrowing, debate reflected clearly in those ocean eyes. “Fair enough,” she finally said.
He paused, waiting for more, but she stood there. That was it? Fair enough and she’d stop the interrogation into his life?
“Fine,” he said, and turned away.
The soup had heated quickly. With a flick, he turned off the burner, then pulled out two bowls, wiped the dust off, and dumped the food into them. Grabbing one bowl and the bag of jerky, along with a spoon from the drawer, which he left open for her, he made his way to the only picnic table not overturned and dropped to sit. She could get her own dinner. A second later, she joined him across the table.
They ate in silence—not companionable silence, either. More like ignoring a large elephant of a million questions about each other that sat in the room, tipping him sort of sideways, as if it tilted the bench seat with its weight. But Hadyn didn’t break it. No more questions or comments.
“Tell me about where your parents are being held,” he said as he got to the bottom of the bowl.
She’d just taken a bite of jerky and raised her gaze to his. Then sat and stared as she finished chewing. With an attitude, no less.
She swallowed the bite. “They are in the Alaz dungeons.”
“I told you, the Alaz are dead.”
“You said that before. I believe you, too.”
“Why would you do that?” She didn’t know him.
“Because the dragons guarding the place were a skeleton crew, and I couldn’t swear to it, but I didn’t recognize them. Dad kept a close watch on who was on that team for years.”
Rune frowned over that. Why would they have needed to?
Hadyn cleared her throat and he glanced up to collide with eyes gone darker. “Their son was killed by Alaz dragons,” she said, answering his question for him.
Shock reverberated up his spine like he’d run into a solid wall. When the fuck had that happened?
She dropped her gaze, scooping thick soup onto her spoon. “It happened just before they took me in,” she said.