Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
SOPHIE
I’m frozen, staring at my phone screen. But my heart is beating fast despite being squeezed tight.
“What’s wrong?” Tish jumps onto the couch next to me.
“Lucca is back.”
“Judging by how your face is ashen, that isn’t a good thing? Did Vaughn break up with you? Because if he did, I’m gonna claw his eyes out the next time I see him.”
“No. He didn’t break up with me. He said he loves me.”
She tilts her head. “I’m confused.”
“He went after the Elder dragon.”
Her eyes bug out. “Why? Is he insane?”
I show her the text message exchange because it’s faster, and I’m too busy freaking out to tell her myself.
The Elder dragon is a legendary beast. An old-as-time dragon with three heads who’s feared by her own kind.
I’ve heard many stories about her, and the warning that very few people leave her lair alive to tell the tale.
Vaughn’s friends must be desperate to seek out her assistance.
“How can that psychotic beast help them open a portal to Ellnesari? I didn’t know she possessed that sort of power.”
“I don’t know.” I jump from the couch and run to my bookshelf. “Where’s that book of spells you got me at the Nightshade Market?”
“Didn’t you put it on the top shelf?”
I find the old leather tome and pull it out.
I’m not sure how Tish was able to convince the previous owner to sell the ancient book for almost nothing.
It’s a priceless relic, and it contains spells I’m sure the High Witch wouldn’t approve of, and it would probably put me on the Warlocks of Ivern’s watch list. She hoped I could find a spell to revert her situation, but I read the book from beginning to end and didn’t find anything to help her.
“You told me that book contained dark magic spells,” Tish says.
“It does, but it also has an entire section dedicated to the Elder dragon.” I flip the pages as fast as I can without tearing them. “Here it is.”
I set the book on the kitchen counter, and Tish rushes over, getting up on the surface wickedly fast so she can read it too. There’s a drawing of the Elder dragon standing in front of a single knight holding a sword and shield. He looks like an ant compared to her.
“Yikes. That’s one scary-looking dragon,” Tish pipes up. “Do you think the scale is accurate?”
“I hope not.”
“What are you looking for? It isn’t likely that you can help Vaughn from here.”
I look at her. “If I know the location of the Elder dragon’s lair, I can go to him.”
“Does it say where she lives?”
I quickly scan the pages, but unfortunately, the book doesn’t offer a location. But it does say how one can fight the Elder dragon.
“No, but I can find Vaughn through a location spell.”
Tish begins to pace. “A location spell isn’t that complicated, and you have all the ingredients for it. You just need a piece of Vaughn’s hair, which I’m sure you can find on your bed.”
I blush, but Tish isn’t paying attention to me. She’s in the zone.
“But he could be on the other side of the globe! How do you plan to get there in time?” she asks.
I flip to a different page in the book and point at the title on top.
“Walk the Wind Spell,” Tish reads out loud. “What’s that?”
“It’s how Nightingales can travel vast distances in the blink of an eye. The Warlocks of Ivern can travel in such a manner too, and I’m certain they use a variation of it.”
Tish reads the spell, then recoils. “You need a crystal energized by blood sacrifice. That’s the darkest juju.”
“I know, but I think there’s a way to perform a blood sacrifice ritual without killing anyone.”
“How?”
I don’t think she’ll like my suggestion, but it’s the only way. “I need your blood donation.”
The fur on her back rises as she arches her spine and hisses at me. “You’re out of your mind.”
“You won’t die.”
“Still… you’ll need to cut me, and you know how I feel about knives.”
“Please, Tish. I can’t just sit here and hope Vaughn doesn’t get killed by the Elder dragon. He’s my person.”
Her eyes widen. “I knew you were smitten with him, but I didn’t realize you had fallen that hard. Are you sure you aren’t fated mates?”
I didn’t pause to think about that possibility, but it wouldn’t matter if we were. “I don’t know. All I know is that I went from feeling nothing to feeling everything since I met him. I love him, Tish.”
She tenses and glances at the door. “Balls, guess who’s here?”
I sense Igor before he knocks on the door. “Miss Sophie?”
Hell. This is the worst possible time for one of his surprise visits.
“Maybe you can use him as your blood sacrifice,” Tish says.
“He’s not linked to my life force. He’d die.”
“Miss Sophie, please let me in. It’s important.”
Damn it. I can’t simply ignore him. He knows I’m home, and he might actually kick the door down if I don’t open it for him.
“I’m coming.”
I stride to the door, not bothering to hide my book of dark spells. I don’t plan to let him stay long. “What do you wa—”
He pushes me back and walks in, closing the door behind him. He’s agitated, that much I can gleam from his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have you switched sides?” he asks.
My stomach bottoms out. “What?”
He grabs my arms and stares at me with wide eyes. “Have you been working with the usurper king and the High Witch?”
Why is he asking me that all panicked as if it’s brand-new information? He was here with Dean and Connor when I returned from my meeting with my mother. “Igor, you’re not making any sense. You knew that already.”
He shakes his head. “What? I did not.”
Everything starts to click. No wonder he was so chill hanging out with Dean and Connor. They must have done something to him to make him forget about the meeting.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “How did you find out?”
He releases me and steps back. Then he runs his fingers through his hair. “Your father had you followed. He knows.”
“Shit,” I say. “Is that why you’re here? To drag me back to him?”
He whips his face to mine, startled. “What? No. I came to warn you.”
“That’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming,” Tish chimes in from the kitchen.
“I overheard a conversation not meant for my ears. Your father has ordered my execution.” Igor’s eyes grow sad. He’s been working for my father since before I was born.
I touch his arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“How much time do we have?” Tish asks.
“Fifteen minutes tops.”
Adrenaline spikes in my veins as I rush back to the kitchen. That should be enough time to perform the spell.
Igor follows me. “You need to leave, Soph. I don’t know what your father plans for you, but I don’t trust that you won’t be harmed. I’ll take you somewhere safe.”
“I am leaving, but I’m not running away with you.”
His face crumples, and the hurt in his eyes makes me feel guilty as hell. That wouldn’t have happened before I met Vaughn.
“Don’t look like a dog that’s just been kicked by its master,” Tish interjects. “Sophie already had plans.”
“Are you running away with your lover?” Igor asks.
“Not with him. I’m running to him. He needs my help.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The dumbass went to have a meeting with the Elder dragon,” Tish replies.
Igor’s jaw drops. “He’s dead, then.”
I grimace. “He’s not dead. Not yet anyway. But he will die if I don’t help him.”
“How are you going to help him? He’s miles away from here.”
I shake my head. “I don’t have time to explain.”
I run to my bedroom to search for a piece of Vaughn’s hair. To speed up the process, I cast a simple spell, and the ingredient I need flies into my hand. When I return to the kitchen, Igor no longer looks confused.
“Did you fill him in?” I ask Tish.
“I did.”
“And I’m coming with you,” he says.
I squint. “I don’t know if I can bring anyone with me. I’ve never done this before.”
“If you want my blood donation, you have to try, Soph, because I’m coming too.”
I glance at my friends’ determined expressions and know they won’t budge. “What the hell. Fine, you win.”
If I’m going to face a psychotic three-headed dragon, I couldn’t have asked for better company. Let’s hope I don’t fuck this up.