“What’s that?” Keriya asked, staring in consternation at what Thorion had produced.
“A valestone,” he whispered. “Take it.”
She accepted the drool-coated valestone. It fit comfortably in the middle of her hand. Its sides were coarse and it had a ruddy purplish hue. As far as she could tell, there was nothing special about it whatsoever—but Thorion had taken great pains to conceal it, so it must be important.
The dragon then dug under the scales of his left leg with his claws and wrenched one shiny bronze plate from his wrist. Keriya flinched but remained silent as she watched him use the scale to gather a few drops of blood from the wound.
“Be careful,” he cautioned as he offered her the bloodied scale. “My blood is dangerous.”
“How so?”
“In ways I am f*******n to speak about.” He sm
