50. Rehan
CHAPTER FIFTY
REHAN
I leaned against the smooth white wall of Leberecht’s castle. A landing strip of well-manicured grass waited for the next elemental clan to arrive. Tukaqu, flanked by my family, stood directly in front of a set of heavy double doors, arguing with a middle-aged woman about logistics.
For the hundredth time, I read through my group chat from a day ago.
Ogden: Jay went through some trauma. She is fine now. Prince Lux (air) saved her and called me. She’s resting peacefully.
Ogden: Prince Lux is her fourth.
Ogden: She can talk, but her magic still isn’t back.
Tyson: Feck, Og, have you figured out a way to get around my family yet?
Rehan: I’ll be right there.
Lux: You can’t come! The EM is in less than a day. We’re tightening patrols after two border breaches. No one in or out without my dad’s permission.
Tyson: Who invited you to the chat?
Ogden: I did.
Ogden: Jay’s been asleep for twelve hours now.
Ogden: Between her fourth mark and the drugs Doctor Raba dosed her with, she will keep sleeping.
Tyson: Doctor Raba did feck all. Air threw him off the side of their temple, unprovoked. The priestesses must have done something to Wiggles.
Lux: Um…I have first-hand knowledge that nothing like that happened.
Tyson: I’m going to kill that Abby one. She was all over Wiggles. My mate doesn’t swing that way.
Lux: …well.
Tyson: AND Doctor Raba’s been on the island for 30 years. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Lux: I also didn’t think he would hurt anyone. But if he’s not outright lying about what happened, he’s at least stretching the truth. I saw a rose gold dragon take him and Jay from the temple. I guess, technically, an air dragon did make him fall.
Lux: That prickly Sister Abby.
Ogden: bwahahahaha.
Tyson: Rose gold? Female?
Lux: Yes, I saw an invisibility spell rip off Jay while she was limp in rose gold talons.
Tyson: The rose gold dragon is harmless.
Lux: Harmless? She tried to kidnap our mate!
Ogden: She dropped Jay, almost killed her!!
Tyson: Not our. My mate. And Tia wouldn’t have hurt her. She’s just unhappy.
Rehan: Who is Tia, and why would her happiness affect Jay?
Tyson: Tia is my ex, and I don’t know. Women are crazy.
Ogden: Have you talked to either of them about each other?
Tyson: I told Tia to feck off.
Lux: Wow. You know that won’t go well for you, right?
Tyson: Look. This isn’t about Tia! It would be just like the dramatic air dragons to kick up shite right before the EM.
Ogden: I’m not an air dragon
Tyson: But Lux is. A lying, rebellious half of a dragon, according to everyone.
Rehan: You wouldn’t have the stones to stay that to Lux’s face, Tyson. Think before you type.
Tyson: Fecking try me!
Ogden: Not everyone. Lux is none of those things.
Tyson: You can’t keep me from my mate, air dragon!!
Tyson sent a gif of a middle finger made of flickering flames.
Rehan: You’re an even bigger child over text, Tyson. I can’t wait to kick your ass again.
Tyson: Feck all of you.
Lux: What does feck mean?
Without Jay in it, our conversation had devolved.
A glint of red at the edge of my vision caught my attention, and I pulled my gaze away from my phone. The fire dragons soared above with streams of hot flames making patterns in the sky. Unlike the clean wedge we’d chosen to fly in, the fire dragons made shapes. A diamond morphed into a flower before changing into a wedge which brought them down to the grass in a perfect V.
Whatever detail was holding up our entry to the castle abruptly didn’t matter anymore.
“You have an hour,” Sky stated tightly. “You have two seats at the table and three guards at your back. No exceptions.”
“The standard arrangement.” Tukaqu nodded. “Thank you, Sky. It’s always an honor to have the King’s right-hand dragon greet us personally.”
Sky bowed. “The honor is all mine.”
A handful of air dragon guards herded us away from the fire dragons. I caught a final glimpse of the new arrivals and was relieved to see Tyson in their ranks. I couldn’t tell if the rush of emotion was because we needed him or because I wanted to punch sense into his little fire brain. Tyson was the biggest obstacle we had to helping Jay. Lux might not even be willing to talk to the guy at this point. I wouldn’t blame him.
Despite being half-shifted, the guards leading us to our wing still wore metal gauntlets and had walkie-talkies strapped to their hips. It was an odd mix of technology and medieval warfare, especially for an element that stayed so isolated.
Jay’s mate bond flared to life, and my heart raced. She must be practicing her elemental magic unless she got her own back. I pulled out my phone.
Rehan: Jay’s awake.
Rehan: I need to see her.
When I didn’t get an immediate response, I seethed, and my steps became leaden. I shouldn’t expect one. Lux made the rules clear. But we were shooting ourselves in the foot by not gathering with Jay at our center.
I looked down at my phone again just as my dad pulled me into our accommodation. It looked the same as always. The network of apartments had too much white, modern metal furniture and generic pictures of clouds dotting the stone walls.
“You’re at my back for this meeting.” He growled. “And you will have all our backs, no matter what happens, understood?” His gaze softened. “I understand how you’re feeling, but this is much bigger than one woman. I know you will side with the family.”
I flattened my lips.
Dad gritted his teeth. “Stop mooning like a sullen teenager and get your head in the game. Our island is threatened by change.”
I didn’t say a word. I’d made my stance clear. My family was in my heart. My dad patted my shoulder before sliding over to the open bar, only to have Tukaqu shoo him away from it.
Although my dad’s advice not to moon was good, I couldn’t stand still. I put a few braids in my long hair, remembering the matching ones Jay put in mine before the fire ritual. A smile brightened my face before it fell again. Mine weren’t near as clean. I ended up pulling my hair back in a half ponytail. After that, I changed into the pale khaki shorts and light blue button-down uniform Tukaqu chose for us. All of which matched his robes, making us look united. Except I’d never felt so isolated.
What would I do if my family turned on Jay?
After a final preen in the mirror, I avoided all of them and marched myself to the corridor leading to the meeting room.
Lights which resembled flying dragons dangled from the ceiling. Fresh white paint covered every inch of the space. King Leberecht already sat in his place at the square table. The seat next to him was empty, but his advisors milled about, along with a few guards strategically placed around the large room. It reminded me of a prison.
I placed myself near the door. Every dragon would have to go past me to get in, including Jay’s other mates. After waiting two seconds, I started pacing.
In twos and threes dragon shifters slowly appeared. I found myself nodding and smiling as any dutiful son would. Like us, the fire dragons coordinated their clothing. A jeweled red button-down and black shorts perfectly fit Tyson’s broad shoulders and narrow hips. The fire prince trailed behind his lighter dad and brother. We made brief eye contact before he scowled and focused on the room beyond.
The corridor quieted, then echoed with footsteps again. The speaker for earth, Olivia Rose, led her representatives as a unit. Unlike fire and water, earth hadn’t even coordinated their style of clothing, much less the color. Ogden, dressed in his signature Mandarin attire, broke away from his group. He rushed toward me with a smile and a firm handshake, which he tried to turn into a hug. His attempt lightened my heart, but I held back and watched his four companions, unsure of their loyalty.
The twins Ofri and Obadiah slightly hid a young woman with mossy green hair and excited eyes, obviously new to the earth council. The trio studied me with the same question on their faces before looking toward Olivia Rose for direction. I held my breath.
The leader of earth nodded, and the trio relaxed.
“We will support Jay,” Ogden pulled me forward a second time, though he didn’t attempt to hug me. “We don’t believe fire’s reports. Our mate is magical. Even if we can’t put a number on it yet and she’s aware of current events in the outside world. It’s beyond narrow-minded not to include her in this meeting.” Ogden frowned. “I couldn’t talk Lux into bringing her. Maybe tomorrow. Can you sneak out tonight? If the four of us can meet with her and free her magic…”
I crossed my arms over my chest and recited the technical names of fish to distract myself from the thought. Sharing Jay with Ogden had been much hotter than I wanted to admit. I wasn’t into men. But with making a Jay sandwich… turned out my dragon and I were very much into that.
“Ogden, come,” Olivia Rose said, thankfully unaware of my current thought process.
Ogden nodded and squeezed my hand a final time before rejoining his friends. Although pacing on my own hadn’t bothered me, upon Ogden’s exit, I suddenly felt very alone. Flexing my pecs, I pushed away the sensation.
“Ah, hello,” a voice said behind me.
I turned to find the most beautiful male dragon shifter I’d ever seen. A deep ‘V’ neck dipped down to his belly button, exposing a defined but subtle set of abs. His eyes swirled with a storm. A simple black band held his hastily trimmed hair away from his face.
He wrinkled his delicate nose. “I’m Lux.”
A growl rose in my throat. “You’re our fourth?”
The shifter’s posture stiffened. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“You didn’t answer my text.” I scowled at him.
“The only thing I could tell you was no.” Lux scowled right back. “You know the rules. I even had to boot Ogden out of my room the moment we closed our borders. Elements cannot mix outside of the meeting.”
“She’s my mate.” I leaned forward. Despite having a few solid inches on the guy and double his muscle, Lux didn’t back down. I growled and stepped into his personal space. “She’s not a dragon, and the rules don’t apply.”
Lux flattened his lips into a line and held his ground. “They shouldn’t, but we don’t know what applies to her and what doesn’t. She’s safe in my room.” He frowned. “I hate locking her away… but what if fire tries to retake her?”
My anger drained out as fast as it came. I eyed the air prince’s tight shoulders, the guilt written across his face. He was terrified. And not of me, of losing Jay. Taking a deep breath, I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Who cut your hair?”
“Ah, Og?” He said, eyeing me suspiciously, though the tension ever so slightly eased between us.
“Fire him,” I said. “How’s Jay?”
Lux blinked, releasing a long breath. “That’s it? Insult my hair and ask about Jay?”
I rubbed my delt. “Yeah, that’s it. The cut is bad, and Jay needs a fourth to get uncursed.” I jerked my head at the air prince. “I believe all dragon shifters need her help as badly as she needs ours.”
Lux brought his metal hand up and waved it in my face.
I cocked my head to the side. Sister Abby had been missing the exact same hand. I looked from his hand to his face again, and a light bulb clicked on. “Sister Abby?”
A guilty look crossed the air prince's face, but he didn’t deny it or back down.
My initial shock turned into relief. My chest rumbled, and my laugh bounced around us. I clapped our fourth on the shoulder. “No wonder you looked like you shit yourself when I demanded an explanation.”
Lux groaned.
“That entire night baffled both me and my dragon.” I rubbed my delt. “I’m thrilled to know I didn’t spend it growling at an innocent priestess.”
Lux lifted his chin and thrust his cybernetic hand between us again. I wasn’t great with people. Between Tyson’s shit words in our chat and whatever Lux had to deal with in his life, the air prince needed reassurance.
I pointedly looked at his hand. “Jay chose you, and I trust Jay. Now isn’t the time for your insecurities.”
The smile that broke out on Lux’s face almost blinded me. Despite the underlying urge to break his nose for existing, my heart lightened a second time.
I trusted Jay. That wasn’t me just talking. To extend trust to an air dragon so easily felt out of place, but not wrong.
“So, Jay,” I prompted.
Lux wrinkled his delicate nose. “She’s better.”
Footsteps filled the hall, along with the rap of my grandad’s staff. Tukaqu slowed as he walked past us, forcing my fellow water dragons to do the same. He gave Lux a long, slow glance, letting his gaze linger on his prosthetics. My grandad’s shoulders fell. Instead of making a demand, he simply nodded respectfully and swept through the meeting room doors. The rest of my family’s representatives followed.
“He thinks our isolation caused…” I gestured to Lux’s hand.
Lux clenched his metal fist, and pain filled his eyes. “This is only the damage we can see.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Leberecht, it’s been months,” Tukaqu boomed before his conversation was lost in the chatter now filling the meeting room.
“Jay’s locked in my room at the moment.” Lux chewed his lower lip. “Og says he can still see some drugs in her system. I tried to get her to talk, but she ignored me to do push-ups and sit-ups. She devoured the meal I got for her and then clambered out a window to sit in the sun.”
I chuckled.
“I would’ve taken it personally.” Lux scratched his smooth chin. “But she said it was either all of us or none of us. She wasn’t explaining anything twice.”
My chuckle turned into a laugh. God, I’d never loved a woman like this before. A weight lifted off my shoulders. Jay was fine. She handled Lux just like she’d handled the rest of us.
We didn’t have a plan and hadn’t gotten a chance to talk, but maybe everything wasn’t as dire as I thought. Lux was here talking to me. Ogden wanted to greet me with a hug like we were old friends.
Tyson’s scowl pushed to the forefront of my mind. The fire dragons had a report of half-truths. Had they trapped her here? There were still too many unknowns.
I’m sure my chuckle, which devolved into dark worry, showed on my face.
Lux peered at me like I was insane, and I clapped him on the back. “Sounds like Jay’s recovering well. Thank you.” I pushed him toward the meeting room. “I believe it’s time.”
He frowned but nodded, and the two of us stepped through the threshold together.