Heart of the Dragon

by Rachel Jonas

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” I got the words out before Liam could.

  Elise’s eyes shifted to me as the answer spilled out. “They’re shutting us down. The facility,” she clarified. “The call I was waiting on from the Council? It came through and they’re giving us two weeks to get things in order. Then, they’ll send for all the kids.”

  Bewildered and at a loss for words, Elise dropped down into the armchair on the opposite side of the coffee table.

  “I just … I don’t understand why they would do this. We never had a breach where anyone got in,” she rambled. “Our only issue has ever been keeping Nick from getting out.”

  At the mention of his name, my blood ran cold.

  “I mean, I understand they see it as a risk we can’t afford to take, with so many valuable lives in our care, but … we’re owed another chance,” Elise reasoned, peering up at Liam. “After all we’ve put into this. After all that’s been sacrificed.”

  She fell silent again and I imagined what a bitter pill this must have been to swallow. These facilities were a huge part of what she envisioned when joining forces with the Council and lycans across the globe. Closing even one was a huge loss in her eyes. She dreamed of unity between both races, a bridge that would bring us all together to fight our common enemy—Sebastian De Vincenzo, the Sovereign.

  For a man I’d never crossed paths with in this lifetime, he’d done so much damage. I could only imagine the havoc he’d wreak should we ever meet face-to-face. In fact, the thought of it made me shudder.

  “So, what’s their next move?” Liam asked, visibly concerned given Elise’s news. “I’ve never exactly been this place’s biggest fan, but I’m also not a fan of leaving the job half finished. They were supposed to learn something from this,” he added. “Being here was supposed to make up for the clan dropping the ball all these years. And I don’t know about you, but from where I stand, that mission’s nowhere near complete.”

  He was totally right. Yes, we were more knowledgeable, getting stronger, but … there was still so much work to be done.

  Distraught, Elise nodded. “My sentiments exactly. And now, they want to send them all home like the same threats that made this place necessary suddenly don’t exist. And do you know what their weak, half-cocked solution is?” she fumed. “They want to continue their training at home in Seaton Falls. They’re equating the preparation of these young shifters for war to some trivial, after-school activity.” She stood to pace, raking her fingers through her hair before going on. “It’s not good enough. It’s nowhere near good enough.”

  “There has to be something we can say. The least the bastards can do is finish what they started. They’re willing to let one rogue shifter change their whole plan?”

  Elise sighed sharply before answering Liam’s question. “Apparently, with the fuss parents in Seaton Falls have been making, this decision is meant to pacify all parties involved.”

  Clearly, that meant all parties other than Elise.

  “My frustration has nothing to do with the millions I, and other investors, have sunk into this place. It’s about the fact that ending our program speaks volumes about our mindset, our preparedness,” she explained. “If these families can’t even see the value in what we’re trying to teach their children, if they don’t feel the same sense of urgency, then … maybe it really is a lost cause.”

  Defeat marked Elise’s expression. In her own right, she was a soldier, one who’d been on the frontline of a movement many centuries in the making, a soldier only a select few had any confidence in. Two of which were right here in this room.

  Liam was all out of suggestions, and from the way Elise’s shoulders slumped beneath the white silk of an expensive blouse, I guessed she was, too.

  “I suppose there’s nothing to do but notify the staff and prepare the facility for our departure.”

  Another frustrated sigh puffed from Elise’s nostrils and a thought occurred to me…

  Where the heck would I go?

  I wouldn’t dare ask the question out loud because I was no one’s responsibility, but my heart did race. The thought of being displaced, or a burden someone would feel obligated to take on, was scarier than I could put into words.

  ‘Home’ had become such an abstract concept for me. My parents didn’t remember me, so I, technically, didn’t belong anywhere. My life was in the strangest limbo, dangling somewhere between being the top priority to some, and still managing to matter so little in the big scheme of things.

  While I knew Liam hadn’t wandered inside my head, it was as though he heard my thoughts.

  “I’ll need to make arrangements for Evangeline and I before we head back,” he asserted, passing Elise a confident glance. It was as though he had no worries at all for where we’d go or whether we’d thrive. And I guessed he wasn’t worried about that, because knowing him, he’d be content wherever we landed. If I chose to live out the rest of my life in an arid desert, he’d be okay with it, as long as we were together.

  “Actually …” Elise chimed in, “that might not be necessary.”

  Liam’s gaze shifted toward her, and mine did the same. With a softer expression than the one she wore as we discussed the Council’s decision, she rounded the table to join me on the couch.

  “My mind’s going a mile a minute and I can hardly fathom what’s happening right now,” she confessed, “but the one thing I’m sure of is that I want our family to stick together.”

  Inside my chest, when she said that word—family—my heart began to flutter in the strangest way.

  “I don’t want either of you to worry about anything,” she said softly, taking my hand in hers when she went on. “I know Rebecka and Todd were the only parents you’ve known, but … not having them doesn’t mean you’re alone, Evangeline. Yes, you’ve got Liam, but you have me, too.”

  Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but the tightness spreading across my chest only intensified when she said more.

  “I’ll be making housing arrangements for myself back in Seaton Falls. I need to sort things out with the Elders, the Council,” she added with a sigh. “Whether they like it or not, they’ll need help looking after the young shifters there,” she reasoned. “Dallas will be with me, of course, but I’ll be purposely seeking accommodations that will suit us all.”

  A smile touched her lips despite the stress I knew she was under.

  “If you’d do me the honor, Evangeline … I’d love it if you’d stay with me.” My eyes lifted toward hers and she added, “Both of you. Having you two with me again will be the only positive thing to come of all this.” She managed a small laugh.

  Her gaze rose to Liam then. Her love for my brothers and I extended to him as well. It didn’t surprise me at all that she wanted him close, too.

  Liam seemed just as moved by her offer as I did. “As long as Evangeline agrees,” he said, “it’s a yes for me.”

  Elise nodded. “Of course.” Her eyes shifted to me again with a hopeful smile, one hardly dimmed at all by the bad news she just received. “Evangeline?”

  I glanced toward Liam and breathed deep. The ball was in my court now. Spending so much time with Elise lately had brought us closer than I ever imagined we would be. Considering how adverse I was to the idea of letting her in when we first met. However, I believed I understood her now, sympathized with her in ways I didn’t think possible.

  So, feeling no reluctance whatsoever, I nodded. When I did, her smile broadened.

  “Then it’s settled,” she beamed.

  And so it was.

  I never would’ve imagine we’d be returning to Seaton Falls so soon, and certainly not under these circumstances, but the Council had made their decision. In two short weeks, we would return to the place where it all began.

  —Chapter Three—

  Nick

  “Dad, please. Just … another couple hundred bucks.”

  Worried seemed to be Roz’s default expression these days. Espe
cially now, and every other time she had to call and beg her father for money. Our survival out here kind of depended on it. I hadn’t had the nerve to reach out to my own family yet and I was sure that, when I did, they’d have one thing to say:

  Come home.

  Only … home wasn’t an option right now, and honestly, it may never be.

  Flipping through channels helped keep anxiety at bay while Roz pleaded with her father. Every commercial was either an advertisement for jewelry or sites for ordering flowers online. We were creeping up on Valentine’s Day, which meant we’d been away from the facility for five weeks now.

  Away from friends.

  Away from family.

  … Away from reality.

  I’d done things I wasn’t sure I could come back from; things I wasn’t sure I’d be forgiven for. In short, I hurt a certain girl I never meant to. The nature of me and Evie’s relationship had changed drastically. We were nowhere near romantically involved at this point, but I still felt something for her. Respect, concern, and now guilt for what I’d done.

  For what I cost her.

  Late that infamous night, before Roz snuck down to my cell, she’d gone to my room. Not realizing what had taken place several floors below with the witches, she got tired of waiting for an update and headed for my sector. She thought I’d returned without bothering to come to her room like I promised. When she got to my quarters, she overheard a conversation that led to a haphazard chain of events—her knocking one of our combat instructors out cold, freeing me from my cell, and, eventually, us breaking out of a facility built to be inescapable.

  She had no choice.

  During the conversation Roz overheard, certain phrases were used. Phrases that struck fear in us both.

  Reckoning.

  Exile.

  It was also during this conversation that Roz learned the part I played in injuring Evie, about the witches and how my summoning them led to her being permanently separated from her family.

  That part, whether I realized it at the time or not, was on me. My actions led to Evie having to intervene; led to her chances of breaking the spell the witches cast being ruined.

  Her back was against a wall. I inadvertently made her choose—let Liam die, or forfeit a future with her family.

  She chose.

  The decision to seek out the witches for help was made during one of my dark moments. Agreeing to their terms happened during an even darker one. But my emerging nature was no excuse. No matter how ugly my actions, my choices, they were mine and I had to own that.

  Whatever fate lie ahead for me, it would be fair.

  I hadn’t laid eyes on Evie since seeing her distraught and broken in Liam’s arms—covered in blood, screaming as she mourned the loss of her parents. Fearing for Liam’s life turned her into a savage, a one-woman killing machine as she slaughtered three powerful witches I’d just watched bring Liam to his knees.

  But not Evie.

  There was no fear as she took the three out one-by-one, canceling their plans to end Liam.

  Canceling mine.

  She hated me now. I knew that without even having to look into her eyes to confirm.

  Why wouldn’t she?

  It wouldn’t matter to her that I had no idea those witches were important to her in some way; no idea she needed them. It was all just one, big misunderstanding.

  Or, at least that’s what I kept telling myself.

  But Evie wasn’t the only one thoroughly disgusted by my actions. Over the last five weeks, Roz only spoke to me when she had to. It was clear that, running away with me only meant she didn’t want to see me locked up forever or worse. It didn’t mean she no longer thought I was infallible.

  It seemed she finally believed my warning, that a monster dwelled within. But, now that she’d been convinced, I hated it; hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes whenever she looked at me.

  I used Liam as a bargaining chip. I should be ashamed of how easy it was to say yes when Scarlet made her terms clear. All she wanted in return for helping me, was him. His life. And I handed him over willingly.

  He’d been a thorn in my side since before I even realized he existed. Before he was on my radar, he was definitely on Evie’s. He was the reason she could never really let go and give in to whatever we had, whatever we might have become. Even when she was with me, she wasn’t really with me; her thoughts were always someplace else. Only, I didn’t realize where at the time. Part of her was tied to him, or, in her words, tethered to him.

  The problem ran deeper than my ego being bruised; deeper than me not ‘getting the girl’. Once, not so long ago, I loved her, but I was the only one that seemed to matter to. She tried denying her feelings for Liam—to me, to herself—but at the end of the day, whatever hold he had on her was stronger than any words or any actions I could’ve put into the universe.

  He won her heart.

  And I hated him for it.

  A heavy sigh, followed by a loud crash when the phone slammed against its cradle, meant the conversation hadn’t gone well. Roz sat back against the headboard of her bed opposite the nightstand between us. She stared at the ugly, paisley comforter that’d seen better days.

  Consequently, those days were likely back in the seventies.

  We’d hopped around from one seedy motel to the next, trying to sort things out. Trying to determine what our next move should be. Roz’s father, Officer Chadwick, had been our lifeline, the only one we’d been in communication with since breaking free from the facility. With no clue what the Elders or the Council would do when they found me, going home was not an option.

  Well, it wasn’t for me, anyway.

  Which was why I couldn’t understand why Roz hadn’t left. Every morning I awoke to see her sprawled out and snoring in her bed, I asked myself the same question: Why hasn’t she bailed yet?

  The best meal we’d had thus far was when a diner up the road had half-off meatloaf dinners. Otherwise, the vending machines had been our go-to. We were broke, scared, and unsure of what would come next.

  Reaching for the remote beside my leg, I turned the TV off before speaking.

  “What’d he say?” I asked, as if I didn’t already know the answer. It’d been the same every week when she called and asked for help.

  “He said for me to come home,” she replied with a now familiar chill to her voice. Of course he wanted her home. And he was right to say it.

  “Roz, maybe you should listen to him. You don’t have to be out here roughing it like this. You’re not the one who messed up,” I added. “I am.”

  Even before the incident with the witches, I managed to get myself locked in a cell because I did the one thing I’d been trying to avoid lately. I hurt Evie. Granted, it’d all been an accident, but, given her title, that didn’t matter a whole lot. Putting her in danger, injuring the rightful heir to the throne, came with consequences even if very few people knew her true identity. I was only aware because I put the pieces together on my own. Otherwise, she never would’ve trusted me with that kind of information.

  Roz stood from her bed and began to pace slowly in front of the large window overlooking the parking lot below.

  “We’ve already had this conversation,” she sighed. “I’m not going back without you. Technically, I’m the one who got us into this.”

  “No, you’re the one who rescued me,” I corrected. “Truth be told, I have no clue what they would’ve done to me if I stayed.”

  “And we have no clue what they’d do with you if you went back,” she countered. “Back to the facility, back to Seaton Falls.”

  She fell silent then, and so did I. She was right; if the Elders had caught wind of my behavior, I could only guess how they’d deal with me. When I first shifted, my brothers made it clear how making waves within the clan was frowned upon. I knew death was on the table for any lycan who went without shifting for too long and eventually shifted without the ability to turn back. Who’s to say the same punishment didn�
��t stand for a lycan who couldn’t seem to control himself? A lycan who blacked out and woke up in strange places? A lycan destined to end the life of a girl they hoped to be their future queen?

  Still, my life hanging in the balance didn’t have to mean Roz’s should, too.

  “Call him back,” I asserted, making her steps halt.

  “He’ll just say the same thing and I don’t want to hear it,” she said in a clipped tone.

  I stood this time, taking the long, corded phone from the nightstand where she’d just slammed it down. When I stopped in front of her and held the receiver out, her eyes lifted to meet mine.

  “Call and tell him to send you the money,” I clarified.

  Frustration spread through her expression as she stared. “He made it abundantly clear he’s not sending anymore.” She crossed her arms over her chest, covering the words on the navy-blue t-shirt she bought at a gas station last week.

  “He’ll send it because it’s not for the motel,” I assured her. “... It’s for a bus ticket home. Your bus ticket.”

  She didn’t break her gaze and neither did I. Not even when her eyes pooled with fresh tears. Her lower lip trembled, but she stopped it by sinking her teeth into the flesh, proving this time on our own hadn’t broken her, hadn’t made her any less defiant. A trait I hated and admired all at the same time.

  “Nicholas Stokes, if you don’t get that freakin’ phone out of my face, I swear I’ll shove it so far up your—”

  Stepping closer, my presence quieted her. I looked her over. She’d gotten thinner since being on our own—something else for me to feel guilty about.

  “Roz … you have to know I’m right.”

  Glaring at me as the whites of her eyes shaded pink with frustration, she breathed deep. So deep her shoulders rose and fell with each surge of air she drew in. I wouldn’t back down on this. I wouldn’t let her suffer because of me. She deserved better, and even if she didn’t know it, I did.

  “Call him. Please,” I urged.

  A dark gaze focused intently on mine, leaving me to wonder what she was thinking. After mulling it over, she shook her head, and now I was the one frustrated.