by Rachel Jonas
When I decided I wouldn’t answer anymore of the Elder’s questions, he sighed.
“Very well then.” He was calm. A little too calm.
Taking slow steps, he pressed the tips of his dry, pale fingers together in the form of a pyramid in front of his chest.
“You leave me no choice but to bring Marin, Scarlet, and Lilith back to join our party, but it would be remiss of me not to give you one last chance to share what you know on your own terms,” he added. “Because, once I give them permission to cross-examine you in … their own way … I can assure you their methods will be most unpleasant.”
A flash of Evangeline’s face came to me. It was a memory from so long ago I couldn’t recall the date. We were in one of many gardens within the walls of her father’s kingdom—her favorite because of the large, acacia tree that grew beside the stream. We visited often, but this day was different. It was the day she bound herself to me, and me to her.
For life.
That bond was the reason I could not only find her wherever she was, but … I could feel her. Strongly.
Even now.
Which meant she’d wandered inside my head again—a two-way line of communication that had to be initiated by her for the time being, until she figured out she was capable of allowing me the same privilege.
I wasn’t sure when she popped in, but she was supposed to be home getting cleaned up from our ordeal with the mutts. At least that was the plan when I dropped her off a couple hours ago.
And yet, here she was.
She would be speaking soon, but I had a feeling she’d be at a loss for words. With her completely capable of seeing through my eyes whenever she chose to do so, I knew the sight of my present company would be confusing.
“Scarlet,” The Elder’s gruff voice called out. Right after, three sets of footsteps scurried up the porch and then through my front door. They stood before him, waiting for his next command.
Pets.
“It appears our friend here has decided not to answer any more of my questions, so I was hoping one… or all of you, could be of some assistance?”
Having one of them inside my head was bad enough. But all three?
I breathed deep through my mouth, planning to keep them out of my thoughts for as long as I could. If they got in, if they unearthed all my secrets … I wasn’t sure I’d be able to protect Evangeline’s identity.
“With pleasure.” Scarlet stepped up first, wearing that sadistic grin again. Her hand lifted from beneath the black cloak that matched the others’, and her cold, clammy palm pressed to my forehead.
“Brace yourself,” the Elder stated. “This will be painful.”
Painful didn’t even begin to describe it. When I yelled out, I felt Evangeline’s presence even stronger. I could only hope she didn’t decide to be brave again. The last time she sensed I was in danger, she showed up and that couldn’t happen today. Not with these four here.
“There, there now, lizard,” the Elder said with a laugh, attempting to taunt me with the insult. “This will all be over before you know it. Once you tell me all I need to know, that is.”
I couldn’t. Not even at the feel of my brain being fried inside my skull.
“He’s a tough one to crack,” Scarlet smiled.
The Elder stared from beneath his hood, a shadow covering his face. There was a chill to the air when he stepped closer and I knew things were about to go from bad to worse.
“Well, if we can’t get him to crack,” he fumed, “… I suppose we’ll just have to break him.”
Marin and Lilith joined in on the fun, placing their hands on me along with Scarlet’s. Searing pain shot through my body—all my limbs, scrambling my senses. I was on the cusp of bursting into flames as the dragon within me fought to be set free. However, their magic made that impossible.
They were digging into my psyche, trying to extract everything I knew, my memories, but I fought back. Somehow, through the distracting pain, I kept up the wall between them and my life with Evangeline—the one she lived before this.
“Deeper,” the Elder crooned.
And deeper they went.
I yelled out again, fighting as hard as I could, but I felt it the moment one pushed through, piercing the veil, snatching the first morsel I intended to keep hidden.
“What is it, Scarlet?” one of the others asked.
She giggled first, worming her way in just a little further. “How interesting.”
“Speak, Scarlet.” The Elder didn’t sound nearly as amused.
“He’s not in here alone,” she explained. “There’s someone inside his head… with him.” She paused a moment and then, said the one thing I hoped she wouldn’t. A name. “Evangeline.”
The room was silent.
“The dragons seem to be … hmm … I don’t know the word for it, but I might be able to describe it.”
My teeth gritted together as I pressed hard to force the witches out, but couldn’t. The only thing I was strong enough to accomplish was getting rid of Evangeline. There was no telling what was about to be done to me, and I didn’t want any gruesome images lingering with her. She’d been through enough. I felt her protesting, but shoved her out of my head anyway.
Scarlet drilled her magic deeper, pealing back the veil, unearthing my past, all my secrets … until something jarred her, made her pull away completely. She stared at me with wide eyes like she’d seen a ghost, but said nothing.
“Speak, Scarlet,” the Elder boomed again, growing impatient.
With her eyes trained on me, it took a moment to gather her words.
“She’s gone,” Scarlet began. “I think he pushed her out. Maybe so I wouldn’t see more, but … I don’t need her present to feel that they’re linked to one another. It’s not a familial tie,” she tried to explain. “But it’s—”
“… a far deeper connection than that.”
The Elder finished Scarlet’s thought and I took note of the change in his voice. It’d suddenly become lighter, less authoritative. Even more so when he whispered the one thing I was trying to keep him from gathering from this inquisition.
“You’re tethered to her.”
And there it was.
If he was as old as I sensed, he knew exactly what that meant.
“Back away,” he said cautiously, causing his pets to remove their hands and retreat to the nearest corner. “Don’t lay another finger on him,” was his next command, “but make sure the spell holds.”
The natural tremble to his voice was different now, fearful. My guess was, he realized several things in the past few seconds and thought better of his actions.
One: because tethering was an ancient ritual only the original dragon herself—or her descendants—could perform, he knew I was connected to someone very powerful.
Two: Evangeline being a rare hybrid … he also knew she fit the description of one such descendant, one whose existence was merely legend to most. The reigning king made certain to erase her family’s legacy as thoroughly as possible, reducing them to nothing more than a whispered rumor on the lips of the few.
Third: the Elder may have also had knowledge of how deadly she was in her past life, but didn’t know she hadn’t tapped into any of her abilities yet. The mutt she managed to kill when they attacked today was nothing short of a miracle—an echo of her former self bleeding through. If it came down to her and a lycan of the Elder’s strength? She’d lose for sure.
But I’d never tell him that.
He was silent while weighing his options. “Is it … really her?”
The question made my heart race even more than the torture I just endured. Evangeline’s safety was the only thing that mattered to me. I wouldn’t jeopardize that for anything.
I sat there half-paralyzed, staring as I struggled to catch my breath. Blood poured from my nose and mouth like a fountain.
“And why… on Earth… would I trust you?” I forced out, panting.
There was a long bout o
f silence that I think weighed heavy on us all. The situation could’ve taken a turn in the blink of an eye and any one of us could’ve ended up bleeding out on this floor.
With a sudden shifting of his body, the Elder ordered the witches to leave the house. And, before they were gone, he made a brave move I wasn’t quite sure how to read.
“Lift the spell.”
“I don’t think that’s wise.” It was Scarlet who’d spoken against him. I wasn’t sure what she’d seen during her probe into my psyche, but the blanketed hatred she’d held for me now felt personal.
The Elder wasn’t amused by her protest. With one look, his pets scampered away. I smirked at the small one when our eyes locked. Yeah … I was definitely gonna enjoy watching her take her last breath one of these days.
“As you wish,” she said softly, keeping her eyes trained on me while she made her way to the door.
As soon as I regained use of my limbs, I was on my feet in a flash, moving toward the Elder.
Wiping blood from my nose with my wrist, I let him know he’d just made a huge mistake setting me free. “Probably shouldn’t have done that. Now there’s nothing stopping me from ending you. Right here. Right now.”
He exhaled before answering. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“Good.” I nodded, watching his feet, noting how every step I took toward him, he took one back. “Then, I’m guessing you also know … I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this.”
—Chapter Two—
Liam
My fists tightened.
Heat filled my veins.
All at the thought of how excellent it would feel to crush the Elder’s old, brittle skull with one blow. Then, it crossed my mind that I ought to draw this out, so he’d feel it for a while before death came for him. I drew back and rage filled me. Just as I lunged forward to take the first swing, he spoke.
“Wait!”
The fear in his eyes was invigorating, addictive. I wanted nothing more than to draw more of it from him. By any means necessary.
“I ordered the witches to lift the spell in good faith,” he reasoned.
It was customary for Elders to stay covered, never revealing their true selves, and to never show weakness. However, before me, this one readied himself to do both. First, he kneeled at my feet without hesitation. Then, to make it clear he’d seen the err of his ways, the dark hood he wore was pushed down to his shoulders, exposing a bald, scaly head. Both hands were locked tight as his weak posture made me sick to my stomach.
“Get up,” I growled, barely able to get the words out through clenched teeth. “Don’t let what’s left of your existence be marked by cowardliness. You will die today,” I assured him. “But at least do it with dignity.”
He lifted his eyes to meet mine, their milky-white centers another indicator of his age. The only other times I’d seen the worn faces of Elders was after I’d taken their lives. This was the first instance one had revealed himself to me while he was yet alive. From the looks of them, you’d think they were more corpse than anything, but their outer appearance was somewhat of a choice. They chose their role and, with their authority and power, came a vow to live a life of solitude without the comfort of a mate, and the curse of senectute. Which is, more or less, a complicated way of saying ‘old age’.
Several centuries ago, when Elders were ordained, they opted out of a luxury all other shifters have been afforded. They forfeited the ability to choose when to age outwardly beyond the threshold age of twenty. From the day they took their vow and their role was bestowed upon them, they underwent an irreversible, physical change, becoming what groveled on the floor before me today.
“I need to speak,” he stated. “And my posture has nothing to do with wanting you to spare my life.”
I was intrigued, so I listened.
“I’ve lived far too many years to fear death. If my swift end should come at this very moment by your hand, then so be it.”
“Get to your point.” Intrigue would only hold me off so long.
“I believe I’ve discovered a few things, dragon. The main revelation being that you were right in regards to our common interest,” he explained. “If you’re tethered to who I believe you’re tethered to, then … we do, indeed, need to reconsider our priorities. For starters, protecting her would instantly become number one.”
Some of the tension left my fist at those words and I hated it. The only thing I wanted more than his blood on my hands was Evangeline’s safety. With what he said next, I trusted he knew that.
“And I also believe you to be her warrior. One who, like her, bears a reputation that precedes you.” He fell silent and I imagined he spent that time recalling some of the tales he must have heard long ago. “With how fiercely you protect her, your willingness to lay down your life for hers … it only makes sense. I’ve said all of this to acknowledge that, if I’m right about you both … I owe you my sincerest apology.”
I didn’t speak, only breathed, noting that I didn’t detect any fear coming from him.
“While I am not, admittedly, fond of your kind, I respect your service to the royal family,” he stated. “God rest their souls.”
I stared down on him, finding it hard to do all the skull smashing I had my heart set on with him in such a helpless position. It took a moment to decide how to move forward, but for starters, I was beginning to believe the Elders of Seaton Falls weren’t on the wrong side.
“Stand up,” I exhaled, keeping my eyes trained on him.
He was on his feet the next instant, but kept his head bowed. Many, many years ago, that would have been the posture of anyone, Elders included, in the presence of someone with close ties to the royals. However, time had erased such traditions right along with Evangeline’s family. It was strangely nostalgic to be reverenced in the way I was once accustomed to.
“My name is Baz,” he shared, another part of themselves an Elder rarely revealed to others. “So … am I right to assume that our … common interest, if you will … is a descendant?” He paused and there was hope laced into the syllables when he clarified further. “The queen?”
I stared into his ragged face when he dared to lift his eyes to mine.
“She is,” I finally admitted. “And the young lycan you so diligently rushed over to chastise me for running off?” Baz’s brow tensed with curiosity when I mentioned Nick. “Yeah … he just so happens to be the Liberator.”
His chest swelled with a deep breath as shock filled his expression. “Are you … are you sure? What’s the likelihood the two would reside so closely to one another?”
I was nodding before he finished. “I’m sure; saw with my own eyes. And, to answer your other question, it’s very unlikely, which means it’s not a coincidence.”
Silence. He now understood why I stepped up to Nick the way I had.
“Tell me who sent her,” I demanded, wondering if my newfound leverage would yield the answer I sought.
“You have to believe me, I would if I could,” he began, but I could already tell he wasn’t going to say the right thing. My fingers wound into his collar and I lifted him into the air, slamming his back to the wall so hard it resonated through the house like thunder. His eyes drifted shut when I came nearly nose-to-nose with him.
“Wrong answer, old-timer.”
He covered his face with both arms when I drew my fist back again.
“I’m telling the truth. None of us ever spoke with the courier directly, all we were told was that she’s part lycan and was to be taken in as a member. We visited while she slept one night, to confirm she was one of us,” he explained, “and once we knew for sure, according to the way we govern ourselves, that made her part of our clan.”
I frowned at his mentioning they invaded her home, but didn’t veer off topic. “Courier? What courier?”
“The one who delivered the letter,” he clarified. “There was an official seal on it so we knew it came from someone much higher in rank than us. A member of the
High Council,” he revealed. “But there was no explanation, no signature.”
Anger flowed through me like a life source, but, for the sake of getting answers, I had to stop letting my temper get the best of me. Slowly, reluctantly, I lowered Baz’s feet back to the ground. He straightened his robe and explained further.
“Despite my initial intent when I arrived, you have to understand that we’re now on the same side,” he reasoned. “We are, after all, discussing the fate of our queen.”
A chill made the hair on my arms stand on end. The phrase ‘heavy is the crown…’ had never been truer than within the supernatural realm. For Evangeline, because she was a hybrid, the truth was twice as weighty. At the thought of her title making her a target, my heart raced.
“Who else knows?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head. “No one but you, me, and Evangeline.”
A distant smile crossed his face before he spoke again. “It is truly a blessed turn of events, having an heir to the Bahir Dar throne arise. With her, the possibility of our dreaded Sovereign no longer having absolute power has arisen as well.”
My skin crawled at the mention of him—Sebastian De Vincenzo, the Sovereign who’d ruled the lycans with an iron fist for centuries.
“Her existence gives us something we’ve long waited for.” Baz met my gaze with a sigh before adding, “She is a symbol of hope.”
While I understood his optimism regarding Evangeline’s lineage … I wouldn’t let her be some pawn in these creatures’ ruthless game. If no one ever acknowledged her as queen, I’d be perfectly fine with that. Her life was all that mattered—not titles, not some greater objective.
Just her life.
“Any plans or arrangements regarding her go through me. Understood?” My voice was hard and unyielding, but I meant for it to be. “No decisions, no moves, under any circumstances, are made without my say-so.”
I believe he saw the ferocity behind my eyes because there was now fear behind his.
“Understood.”
I moved toward the window, feeling Evangeline’s energy pulsing toward me. She was on her way, like I fully expected. Like I feared. Even with the threat of the mutts still lurking about, she was coming to me.
