[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-143":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705130,2177,"Chapter 137: Sharp Edges","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-143",143,"\u003Cp>I sit on a flat rock, legs sprawled, thighs out, dagger in hand, scraping the blade down a hunk of river stone I found two villages ago. It’s not fancy. But it makes that gritty little song I like. Rhythmic. Satisfying. Like I'm preparing for something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like I'mdangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watches me from across the fire, perched on his pile of cushions and stolen silks like some ancient, gay volcano. One brow ridge lifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You look ominous,” he says, voice all velvet sarcasm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shrug. “Better safe than sorry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You say that every time you sharpen something. Then you hide it in your boot, your hair, your cleavage, or my saddlebags.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly. See how safe we are?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He snorts, then resumes delicately grooming one of his claws. He’s got a tiny file. Like a golden sliver of murder. He buffs the edge until it glints in the firelight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What areyoudoing?” I ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pedicure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I squint at him. “That’s not pedicure. That’stactical preparation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excuse me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I point my dagger at his talon. “Pedicure is for pretty. Paint. Sparkles. Little flowers maybe. What you’re doing is polishing your murder sticks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They areaestheticweapons. There’s nuance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re talons. You use them to gut mercenaries.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I also use them to scratch behind my horns. And occasionally pluck fruit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You skewered a man through the neck last week.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He startled me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Youburped after.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m ancient. Digestion takes focus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shake my head and return to my blade, still grinning. “Call it what you want. We’re both sharpening things for violence. Yours just happen to match your scales.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looks down at his claws, admiring them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Theyareelegant, aren’t they.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deadly and stylish. Just like me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tilts his head. “You’ve got dried blood on your ankle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glance down. “Oh. Right. From the fruit vendor. He shouldn’t have grabbed me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You stole six pears.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His grip wasinappropriate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We fall into silence again, fire crackling, metal scraping stone, dragon claw whispering against file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s domestic. In a weird, slightly homicidal way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like foreplay for monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>",336,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.900Z",1,"novelbin.me","367db05794f9c174b95fdab6177eb04b5e27e255ad7f7a4d3171b5ac0000f163","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-144","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-142",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]