by Katya Moore
Sia rested her forehead on my chest. "It is. Dammit, Cass, I want to be comforting him right now and he won't even look at me. Because I'm an insensitive jerk."
I squeezed her tighter. "He won't look at you right now because he's preoccupied, and because he deals with adversity by going inside himself and locking the door." My chest hurt, hearing the pain in her voice. "I've known him longer than you have. He got like this every time we got set back on the search for you. He'd lock himself away with his laptop and bury himself in his work, barely saying two words to us until he found the breakthrough he needed to find."
Sia sniffled. "So, it's not just..."
"It's not you." I took her gently by the shoulders and tipped her back to look her in the eye. Tears glistened on her cheeks. The ache in my chest intensified, as did the urge to belt Chase in the jaw. "Seriously. It isn't."
She looked unconvinced but nodded anyway. "If you say so," she whispered, then pulled away to walk toward the seating area in front of the rest stop. There were a few scattered tables, hole-punched round steel bolted to the concrete with built-in benches. She slumped onto one and rested her head in her hands. I sat down next to her and slipped my arm around her shoulders.
"What if... what if they've already done it," she whispered. "What if she's already... what if we're too late?"
I swallowed hard and searched my mind for anything that could give her hope. "It would take time to transport her to the Witch Queen. Time to prepare the ritual. Time to..." I didn't want to say it, but I had to. "Time to make sure they got as much information from them as they could before performing the ritual." My knowledge of Chosen magic gave me insight I wish I didn’t have. Insight I couldn’t share with her right now. It would kill her.
Her shoulders shook slightly. "So, the longer we take, the more she gets tortured." Her voice was rough, angry. "Damn Schulte for wasting our time. We should have been..." She huffed into her hands, then looked up at me. "I should have gone with Schulte from the beginning. We all should have. We could have been out in the field searching for her."
"You had to give them the chance." I stroked her shoulder consolingly. "We all had to give them the chance. We need to work with the Council now that you're a part of it."
"If I'm a part of the Council, why did they shut me out of this?" Bitterness seeped into her words. "Why was I the last to know? Because you know she told the others before she told me."
"You're the unknown, Sia. The others have been working together for seventeen years. You're new. Untested. They don't know what to expect from you." The words tumbled out before I realized how profoundly unhelpful honesty might be at the moment. "So far, you've jumped into the front lines of every battle you've run across, and that makes them justifiably nervous. They don't want to lose you." I brushed my hand against her cheek. "I don't want to lose you. None of us do. You're precious, to me, to the guys, to dragonkind as a whole."
"I don't want to be precious. I want to be useful." She jerked away from my hand.
I let it drop and pulled my arm back. A lead weight filled my stomach. Stupid, Cass...
We sat there silently, her fuming and staring at the ground, me feeling like the biggest jerk on the planet. Finally, she reached out her hand and placed it over mine.
"I'm sorry. It's just..." She huffed softly. "I've gone from being largely ignored, to working my ass off in a bar, to suddenly being treated with kid gloves and told I can't do anything about my friends and their loved ones being in danger because I'm too damned precious and special." She shook her head, still staring at the ground. "I'm not special. I'm just a person, trying to protect the people I love."
"And I love you for that." I smiled at her, and my entire body warmed as she smiled in return. "But you are special, like it or not." I nudged her gently with my shoulder. "I, personally, like it. You are incredibly special. And not just because you're the Shadow Queen."
"You're pretty special yourself." She leaned into my shoulder. "I love you, too. Even if I hate it when you're right."
I thought my heart was going to blast out of my chest and dance in front of us. We said it. We actually said it.
We basked in the moment, a fleeting oasis of bliss, then Sia sat bolt upright. "Oh, Cass. What if we find her and...it's not her."
My heart pulled itself back into my chest and plummeted. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I soothed.
She looked up at me with dawning horror. "Oh god, Cass. What will Chase do? What can we do..."
I looked up and cleared my throat. Sia followed my gaze.
Chase stalked past us toward the SUV. "Let's get going." His eyes were dark, his expression foreboding. We watched him go, then rose to our feet.
Sia was chalk-white. "Oh shit. Oh shit. Did he hear me?"
I shook my head. "I don't think so." Even I wasn't entirely convinced.
"Goddamn it," Sia muttered as she stumbled toward the SUV. "I am the queen of suck."
Chapter Eight
Sia
I’d never seen woods this dense in my life. I’d spent most of my life in and around Boston, and most of my foster parents didn’t care to take me places. Even my best foster parents preferred to stick close to the city. I felt like I was driving into a fairy tale. I leaned across Aric to get a better look at the foliage. The thick green leaves blotted out the sun, leaving us in cool shadows that felt less ominous, more like a precious secret. I inhaled the scents coming through the window, earthy and green and fresh.
"They’re just trees," Aric said with a roll of his eyes.
"But there are just so many of them!" I refused to let him harsh on my wonder.
"I am taking you camping one of these days," Galen said with a broad smile. "You, me, the woods, a fishing rod…"
"Bears. Bugs. Filth." Aric sniffed.
"You could do with a little dirt under your nails, Beauvais." Galen chuckled. "You used to wilt when we’d have to stay in motels instead of five-star suites."
Aric tipped his chin up defiantly. "Bedbugs are nothing to laugh about, Galen."
"We're here." Chase pulled into an inauspicious parking lot by the side of the road and turned off the ignition.
I looked out the window and raised a brow. "We're where?" The parking lot was surrounded by trees. On the other side of the gravel road, all I could see was the side of Mount Monadnock, rising at a steep angle. Nothing but rock, with some scrubby brush and moss.
"What, isn't it obvious?" Aric said with a teasing grin. "We come here and beat our heads against the rocks until we think we have an epiphany about being a dragon. Then we go home. That's why it only takes water dragons a week, and four years for fire dragons."
"Fuck off, Aric," Chase growled, sounding more tired than angry.
I gave Aric a nudge with my elbow, then slipped out of the SUV. My leg muscles ached from the confinement, but I steadied myself quickly and followed Chase as he strode purposefully across the gravel road.
Chase stared at a point on the rock and sighed to himself. I rested a supportive hand on his shoulder. He managed a small smile that didn't reach his eyes, then turned his attention back to the mountain. He raised a hand and rapped a series of knocks on the stone.
A loud grinding sound made me jump back a few steps. Chase stood there, impassive, as a huge section of stone pulled in on itself and slid to one side, like something out of an adventure movie. It revealed an alcove, with two armored, impressively-sized fire dragons standing at attention in their half-forms.
They took us in for a moment, then a spark of recognition flared in the eyes of the one on the left.
"I'll be damned. Chase Hearne. The washout." The dragon smirked, flashing sharply pointed teeth. It was a menacing look. Instinctively, I braced for a fight.
Chase sensed my tension and raised a hand to me, gesturing for me to calm down. His eyes were locked on the smirking guard. "One, fuck you. Two, we're expected. You don't want to keep Elder Schulte waiting."
The guard crossed his a
rms and looked down his snout at Chase. "Once you leave, you don't come back, Hearne. Schulte won't let you back in. Besides, you're what, twenty-five now? Little late for remedial training."
Chase ground his teeth a little, but his voice remained steady and icy calm. "I'm not here for your approval, Blaise. I'm here because the Shadow Queen needs to speak with the Council. Now."
"Bull-fucking-shit." The guard turned his attention to me. "This little thing is the Shadow Queen? Not fucking likely. How about you and your little girlfriend..."
I took three steps toward him. By the third, my talons were out and black smoke swirled from my snout. Black scales shimmered along my arms, with the faint glow of embers beneath them visible in the shadow of the mountain. He stepped back, eyes wide, stammering softly. The other guard snapped to attention, eyes wide, an oh-shit look plastered on his scaly face.
"I'd like to see Elder Schulte, please," I snarled.
I couldn't be sure, but I suspected Blaise’s armor was in danger of rusting. "Ah-ah-ah-yes ma'am. Of course, ma'am. Right away, ma'am," the asshole guard sputtered, backpedaling slightly. I shifted back down to my human form, but he still stared at me as though I was going to drain his soul from him and eat it for lunch. A part of me was tempted.
"You owe my friend an apology," I intoned gravely.
"I... of course. I...I'm sorry, Hearne." Blaise looked vaguely nauseous. "I... I didn't know."
"Now you do." Chase fixed dark eyes on him. "Let's go."
"Right. Yeah. Of course." Blaise turned around and fumbled with a ring of keys on his hip. They jingled uncontrollably in his trembling hands.
The other guard broke attention, turned, and gave Blaise a less than gentle shove out of the way. The door swung open, and the guard bowed ceremoniously at me. "Welcome to the Proving Grounds, Your Excellency," he said warmly. "We have been waiting for you."
I nodded at him courteously, then took a deep breath and strode into the darkness beyond the door.
The main foyer of the Proving Grounds was dimly lit. Shadows loomed along the walls, giving the whole place an air of foreboding. Sconces set into the stone walls flickered with torchlight. A distant feeling of panic rose in my chest as I remembered the ritual chamber of the Chosen the night I was nearly sacrificed. On closer inspection, I realized the torches were electric, the flames some sort of LED light show. My chest unclenched, and I stepped further into the room.
"Nice atmosphere you've got here," I muttered to Chase.
Chase snorted softly. "It gets kids into the right frame of mind. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Despite the joke, I could see the tension in his shoulders.
"It's homey," Galen said brightly. "For medieval values of 'home.'"
I looked back at Blaise, who had shifted down to human form. He was pulling his shit together and locking the door behind us. "So, are all of the Elders here or just Schulte?"
"All four Elders are in council in the headmaster's chambers. They are located at the back of the Proving Grounds. I'll take you there now." His voice still had a slight tremor to it, but at least he wasn't abjectly shaking anymore.
I looked at Chase. "Do you remember where the headmaster's chambers are?"
Chase smiled a thin smile. "It's burned into my memory pretty well. I think I could find it." The corner of his mouth twitched as he glanced at Galen. "And if I forget, I'm sure Galen could find his way."
"Hey, I didn't spend that much time there," Galen protested. He flashed me a wry smile. "Okay, maybe once or twice..."
"A week," Chase finished, then turned his attention to the guard. "I think we can find our way without you, Blaise. Get back to work."
Blaise looked at him, then at me. "But... I'm not supposed to let guests go unattended..."
I tensed my jaw. "I'm not a guest. I'm the Shadow Queen."
Blaise blanched. "Of...of course. My apologies." He bowed low. "I'll let them know you're coming."
"You do that." I watched him go, then turned to the boys. "Okay, where are we going?"
Galen and Chase looked at each other.
"I thought you remembered," Galen hedged.
Chase looked away and bit at his thumbnail. "Shit, I just didn't want to deal with Blaise's sorry ass. I thought you knew."
I facepalmed with a soft thwap. Aric snickered.
Cass sighed heavily and stepped forward. "It's near the library. Come on. We'll take the scenic route, so Sia can get a look at the place."
I glanced at Chase nervously. "Shouldn't we get to the Elders and..."
Cass cut me off. "You should see the Proving Grounds. The Elders deprived you of the experience when you should have had it. You can at least see what it looks like before we get to them. They probably wouldn't approve of you wandering the halls without them, and they won't show you the good stuff."
To my surprise, Chase nodded. "They'd probably try to hide you from the kids, too. Remember, they're still trying to suppress the knowledge that you're back in circulation."
I glanced back over my shoulder to the door. "Well, I've already blown that for them. Blaise doesn't seem smart enough to keep his mouth shut."
"He's not." The corner of Chase's mouth turned up in a bitter smile. "He was teacher's pet in my class. Never asked any hard questions, always the first to volunteer, took orders like they were his own ideas. Because he didn't have any ideas of his own." He laughed humorlessly. "Just the way they like their fire dragons."
"If he was such a favorite, why's he guarding the door?" I looked at the closed doors on either side of us as we passed down the hall. A wild rebellious urge took me. I wanted to open them, stick my head inside, and yell The Shadow Queen's back, bitches! I controlled the impulse. Barely.
Chase stared straight ahead, focused on the hall before us. "Guarding the Proving Grounds is one of the greatest honors a fire dragon can earn. They are the front line of defense to protect the children of all of dragonkind. It may look like a shit job." He snorted softly. "It may be a shit job. But it's an honor."
I nodded, then looked at the doors again. "What are all of these? Classrooms?"
Cass shook his head. "Guard stations, first aid, armory. In case the perimeter is breached. They take defense pretty seriously."
Galen smirked. "They also keep the kids in. Sneaking out is not a capital offense, but it's pretty close."
I glanced over at him and smiled. "Speaking from experience?" I asked.
Galen looked affronted. "Why, I never!" he huffed, then winked. "Never used the front door, at least."
"Remember that time we figured out the escape route from the dining hall?" Chase said with a faint smile.
Galen roared with laughter, then slapped a hand over his mouth and looked around in a panic. When no guards appeared, he relaxed. "Yeah. They’d been storing emergency rations in there for Eldest knows how long. The smell. Oh man, the smell."
Chase chuckled. "We reeked for a week."
Galen slapped him on the back. "And you played it off that we’d just been skipping showers." He shook his head, shaking with restrained laughter. "That really helped me woo the ladies, y’know that?"
"Terribly sorry to have cramped your style. I was trying to keep us from being expelled." Chase gave Galen an affronted look, then chuckled. "Fat lot of good that did me."
Galen nudged him. "You went out in a blaze of glory, man. Respect."
Chase shook his head.
"So, you guys were friends in school?" I asked.
Galen threw an arm around Chase’s shoulders. Chase rolled his eyes with a long-suffering look. "Besties, man. We got into some shit together. Helped each other survive the tedium."
Chase sighed. "I spent half my time reining this crazy motherfucker in so he didn’t blow up the place."
"And the other half raising hell right along beside me. Don’t pretend you didn’t love it, tightass." Galen gave him a squeeze, then released him.
I chuckled. "So, where are all the kids?"
Chase and Gale
n exchanged a look. I knew that look. It was the this is something awkward we don’t want to tell Sia look.
I glared at Cass. "Spill."
We rounded the corner. Another hall stretched before us, also lined with doors. We could hear voices behind a few of them, the low drone of adults addressing classes, the occasional younger voice piping up. Most, however, were silent.
"Some of them are going to be in the training grounds. The fire dragons spend most of their time there. It’s deeper in the mountain, well-shielded in case something goes awry." Cass still looked a little shifty. "The water dragons only come for a week, so there are not a lot of them here at any given time."
I stopped next to one of the silent classrooms and opened the door. It was dark. I reached inside and flicked a light switch. It looked like a classroom out of the sixties. Wooden desks, rigid wooden chairs, a long chalkboard at the front with a sturdy wooden teacher’s desk off to the side. Everything was tidy, and the air was rich with wood polish, but there was a staleness behind it. Lovingly tended and abandoned.
"Why aren’t all of these classrooms in use? You said that all of dragonkind sends its teenagers here. All of them. That should be tens of thousands of kids, I’d think. More." I turned and looked at Cass. "How many kids are there?"
Cass’ face was unusually solemn. "Our population wasn’t doing great before the fall of the Council. Before your mother and her mates died." He ran his fingers through his hair. "When they died… when you went missing… We all thought we’d lost the shadow dragons for good. That we’d lost our dragons forever. A lot of dragons started to lose hope. Our birth rate plummeted."
I did the math. "So, this is the generation after my parents died?" A sick feeling writhed in the pit of my stomach. "How bad?"
