Chapter 1 Nox #2
“And a teenager he made into a Strider and Lightbender hybrid, who can’t conjure light without burning himself,” Tessa continued. “Silas is working on a remedy for that. A potion of some sort.”
I should be used to reports like this by now. Fates, I saw things much worse during my time in those very labs. It still made me sick to think of them suffering, though. And it was even worse knowing I had to play my part. That I had to answer to him.
I may have been freed from his cells, but I was still his prisoner. Scarven wouldn’t simply let me, his precious dragon Shifter, off his leash for good.
As long as he had my sister under his control, I never would be.
“What about her?” I asked, quieter this time.
Tessa’s throat bobbed. “Nothing. I’m sorry, Nox. We don’t know where he’s keeping her.”
I nodded curtly and took a seat in the tall chair behind my desk. It was the same every time. No news. Scarven’s word alone was the only proof that Vera still lived. That my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in five years, was still breathing somewhere deep in his hold.
That was what kept me in line all this time.
I’d only ever tried to openly defy him once, and it ended with the woman I had loved dead at my feet. I learned my lesson quickly: do whatever he wanted without question.
Perhaps this refugee program I’d started five years ago was a subconscious way to appease the guilt I carried for being in his pocket.
When he said “fetch,” I ran. When he said “jump,” I said, “how high.” The things I’d done for him, the things I’d seen…
maybe there was no number of good deeds in existence to counteract what I’d done in the name of protecting my sister.
And now, in the name of keeping him from ever finding out about this operation.
I was toeing a dangerous line, keeping his loyalty while still lying to him with every breath. But I’d keep doing it until the day I died. It was worth it. These people were worth it.
“Thank you for the update.” My eyes stayed trained on the piles of notes on my desk, refusing to meet Tessa and Kieran’s stares. “I have to meet Scarven soon. I should be back late tonight.”
Tessa put her palms on my desk, forcing me to look up at her. “Nox, what you’re doing here is nothing short of miraculous. Do you know how many people we’ve rescued this year alone?”
“Fifty-two,” I said instantly. Not enough.
“Fifty-two people who would still be stuck in those labs if it wasn’t for you.
Fifty-two people who’d be dead by now, for all we know.
Fifty-two people who can rejoin their families.
” Tessa paused, letting her words sink in.
“You’ve created this safehouse for them, and I know how much you sacrifice just to keep it hidden and give them the best chance for survival.
None of us blame you for what you have to do.
You’re twice the man and leader I’d ever be. ”
“I don’t know about that, Tessa. I think you’d knock any man flat on their back.” I offered her a small smile.
“Obviously.” She tossed her braids over her shoulder. “Fine, you’re twice the man Kieran will ever be.”
“Ah, yes. Always the brunt of your jokes,” Kieran said with a heavy sigh. The coils in my chest slowly began to unwind as he joined Tessa at the front of my desk. “She is correct, however.”
“Tattoo that on my forehead,” Tessa interjected.
Kieran ignored her. “You are relentlessly in pursuit of atonement, Nox Duma, and yet fail to see that you have become that very salvation for so many. We follow you not because you are the infamous dragon Shifter of legend, but because you are worthy of it.”
“Through flame and ash,” Tessa said softly, repeating what had become the mantra of my Ashen Order.
I shifted the tip of my finger into one of my claws and gently ran it along the top of the desk, feeling grooves catch beneath my talon. These two knew me better than I knew myself. It was unnerving. And a bit annoying.
And exactly the kind of people I needed at my side.
“You’re more than a couple of pretty faces. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” I drawled. I swallowed hard and tipped my head at them. “Thank you,” I added, my voice suddenly rough. “I wouldn’t be here without either of you.”
“Are we going to make the big, bad dragon cry?” Tessa crooned, backing away from the desk with a laugh.
I grabbed the bottle of wine still on my desk from our last meeting and threw it at her.
She snatched it midair, quick as lightning, then tossed it at the back of Kieran’s head.
He gracefully reached behind to catch it around the neck, uncorked it with a single motion, and began pouring three glasses from the liquor cart by the gray couch.
“Oh, Nox? There was one more thing we forgot to mention,” Tessa said. The hesitancy in her voice made my gaze flick up with a raised eyebrow.
She shot a look at Kieran. “Kieran?”
“Don’t look at me. I’m not the one who brought this up.”
She scowled. “Okay, fine. Coward.” With a sigh, she finally said, “The maids said it happened again. Last night. Almost tore the door down this time.”
A quiet growl built in the back of my throat. Not again.
A vision of red hair and brilliant blue-green eyes passed through my mind, followed by a wave of distrust. This was not what I wanted to spend my evening doing before I had to meet Scarven.
The normally vacant tower of my Keep was now occupied by Devora, a spy and traitor to our empire. That girl had been a thorn in my side ever since she betrayed one of my best friends, the empress of the Veridian Empire, at the end of summer.
Empress Clarissa had far too much going on to deal with a prisoner, what with her coronation, wedding, and trying to patch together our broken empire on the heels of her deranged predecessor.
So I, being the good friend I was, volunteered to keep Devora under my watch until Rissa decided what to do with her.
I was a glorified holding cell.
I sucked on my teeth as I stood, keeping my palms planted on the desk. “Wonderful. Guess I need to pay our guest a little visit.”
Tessa raised an eyebrow. “How much longer do you plan to keep her here, anyway? It’s been months.”
“Maybe until Clarissa and I are sure she won’t turn around and stab us in the back. Again.”
“Play nice, Nox,” Tessa warned.
I narrowed my eyes in a wicked grin. “I’m always nice, darling.”