CHAPTER 1 - MEDRA
Two Months Earlier
The brief moments of silence after Nyxaris’s departure felt like the calm before the storm.
I could still hear his roar echoing in my ears.
My heart was pounding. My body was still trembling.
And yet, Nyxaris was secondary on my mind.
First and foremost was Blake.
He stood there, a few feet away from me, frozen like I was. Speechless, like I was.
But the look on his face...
Shock, yes. But nothing else. He stared at me, unapologetic. Remorseless. No word of apology on his lips.
He should have fallen to his knees and begged for forgiveness. But instead he just stood there.
Seeing him like that did something to me. Pushed all thoughts of the dragon from my mind. I opened my mouth, ready to erupt with fury a second time that evening. Nyxaris’s roar would seem like nothing compared to mine when I was through with Blake-fucking-Drakharrow.
The stillness of the courtyard shattered.
People flooded into the Dragon Court from every entrance. Students crowded in, filling the cloistered passages, peering at Blake and I where we stood amidst the rubble. I could see the excitement on their faces. In some cases, the fear. Was Florence there, somewhere in the crowd? What was she thinking? Had she been afraid when she saw Nyxaris's flight? I wanted to reassure her, to go to her.
But before I could move, Headmaster Kim's voice rang out.
“All students will return to their dormitories at once.”
There was a moment of hesitation. I saw indecision on students’ faces. They wanted to be there, to see what happened next.
To my knowledge, our stern yet steady Headmaster Kim had never bellowed before. Now he did. “Perhaps you did not understand me the first time. Now !”
Students began to scamper out.
Kim marched forward towards Blake and I.
He was not alone. A group of older highbloods trailed behind him. I scanned their faces, my heart falling as I recognized Viktor Drakharrow, his red eyes gleaming as he looked at me with unmistakable greed. No, more than that. Triumph.
I half-expected him to grab me and snatch me from the courtyard that instant.
Then I recognized the woman walking beside him. She was petite, slender-framed, with straight, silver hair cut at chin-length. Her dark, angular eyes looked at me with some wariness, but also with intelligence and curiosity.
I knew her. I’d seen her portrait in the headmaster’s office. Natsumi Avari. Kage's mother. She was a member of Bloodwing’s Board of Directors.
I scanned the highbloods around her. There must have been a meeting of the board that night. That’s why so many were here.
Not too often that a board meeting was adjourned by a dragon, I'd bet.
I had only a vague idea of what a board of directors did. Helped to run Bloodwing somehow, I presumed. Was it a good thing that they were all here now, at this moment? Or a very bad one?
I decided having more witnesses to whatever Viktor Drakharrow was about to do couldn't be a bad thing. After all, Natsumi was House Avari. She wouldn’t just go along with whatever Viktor said.
I could feel highblood eyes on me. Sizing me up as if a wild animal had suddenly wandered into their midst.
There had been a time I’d wanted them all to look at me exactly as they were now doing. As if I were someone to be reckoned with. Someone to be feared.
But now I knew that having all of this highblood attention on me was the last thing anyone should ever wish for.
There was a clatter and the sound of a heavy door banging as the last of the students cleared out.
Headmaster Kim's face was grim as he reached us. He opened his mouth to speak.
“Incredible. Absolutely incredible.” It was Viktor. He walked past Kim, coming closer to me than I liked. His red eyes met mine.
He smiled slowly, his avarice palpable. I didn’t smile back.
“How did you summon the dragon?” he demanded, as if unable to wait a second longer to begin his interrogation.
I jumped. “I...” I started to say. But then everyone burst in.
“What exactly happened here?”
“What did you do?”
“How dare you!”
“Are you in control of it?”
“Where is it going? Where did you send it?”
“Can you command it? Tell it to return here at once.”
“The dragon belongs to House Avari.”
I looked at the speaker of those last words. No surprise that they had come from Natsumi.
Kage’s mother looked at me calmly, ignoring the other board members and Headmaster Kim. “Let us not forget that. The dragon belongs to House Avari.”
I opened my mouth to tell her that I was fairly certain the dragon believed he belonged only to himself.
But in a flash, Viktor was beside her, his face close to hers. “The dragon belongs to its rider,” he hissed. “And the rider belongs to House Drakharrow.”
To her credit, Natsumi didn’t retreat. She held her position, gazing boldly back into Viktor's venomous red orbs.
“I know you may be used to making decisions unilaterally within your own house, Lord Drakharrow. But this is a matter that must be settled by a tribunal,” she said coolly. “In the meantime, make no mistake. House Avari stakes its claim. Nyxaris was and remains ours.”
Viktor scoffed. “You may stake all the claims you wish. The rider is ours. She is mated to my own kin, my nephew. She rides for House Drakharrow. Good luck controlling a riderless dragon, Natsumi.”
“Let’s remember where we are. Who we are,” Headmaster Kim interjected. “Let us maintain order. Lady Natsumi is correct, Viktor. This is a matter for a tribunal now. The other regents must be informed of what has occurred here tonight immediately.”
“And just what did occur here tonight?”
A tall highblood man stood off to one side, looking more shaken than the others. He stared at me from pale blue eyes, as if trying to conceal his fear from his more powerful peers.
“The tribunal will establish that, Lord Sylvain,” Headmaster Kim assured him.
Sylvain. This must be Evander’s father. Visha’s future father-in-law.
Lord Sylvain clasped his hands together, twisting the rings on his fingers nervously. Lean and elegantly-dressed, he wore a flowing tunic, embroidered with white and red flowers.
He took a deep breath. “That’s not good enough. We all know the tribunal will take weeks to convene. If not months. Why, Lord Mortis is nowhere near Veilmar right now. He’s visiting his family’s estates, of which there are many. Who knows how long it will take to track him down?’
“We will find him,” Headmaster Kim replied. “The tribunal will settle the matter.”
“What are you really afraid of?” Viktor stepped towards Lord Sylvain, a sneer on his lined pale face. “For it is fear that I see on your sniveling features, is it not, Sylvain?”
Lord Sylvain flushed. “How dare you.”
“Perhaps Lord Sylvain simply requires reassurance,” Natsumi Avari said smoothly, stepping further into the little circle that had formed around us.
Headmaster Kim frowned. “What sort of reassurance?”
“I want the matter dealt with at once,” Lord Sylvain snapped, looking at me. “Not weeks or months from now. The dragon is gone. But this girl.” He looked at me and frowned. “At least she may be contained.”
“Me?” I burst out. “I’m not a threat to anyone.”
Lord Sylvain glared at me. “Not a threat? Do you know what you have done, girl? Do you have even the faintest notion of what you have brought back?”
I opened my mouth to start to protest that I hadn’t even meant to bring a dragon back. Then I closed it again. Would it really benefit me to tell the truth? To say it had all been an accident?
Right now, Lord Sylvain was afraid of me. If I said I’d done all of this unwittingly I’d look like a fool. Worse, I’d lose whatever edge I had. Better that they fear me than know the truth. That I was as powerless as they were when it came to controlling Nyxaris.
“I want her confined.” Lord Sylvain was finally finding his confidence. “Chained. We cannot risk her doing it again.”
“You really are a greater idiot than I took you for, Sylvain,” Viktor snapped. “A great bungling coward.”
For once, I agreed with Blake’s uncle. I took a risk. “I don’t understand. Isn’t this what you wanted?” I asked the question of all of them, but my eyes were on Viktor.
His eyes narrowed as he looked back at me.
“Lord Drakharrow, you wanted this to happen, didn’t you?” I prompted. “Aren’t the highbloods more powerful with dragons?”
“Dragons, yes,” he snapped. “Plural. And you woke the wrong fucking one, girl.”
I flinched.
Viktor was thrilled a dragon now flew over Sangratha, yes. But like Lord Sylvain, I realized he was afraid, too. Terrified that House Avari would wind up with the upper hand.
“I agree with Lord Sylvain,” Natsumi Avari spoke up. “The rider should be confined until the tribunal.”
I bristled. “I’m not sure my dragon would appreciate hearing that you all wish to place me under lock and key.”
“Then summon him here, rider,” Natsumi said softly, meeting my eyes. “Bring Nyxaris back. Let us discuss this matter with you both.”
“He has more important things to do than listen to highbloods argue,” I said as haughtily as I could.
“Then he has left your fate to us,” she pointed out.
There was nothing I could say to argue.
“We will have answers for you all very soon. I promise you that,” Viktor Drakharrow said, stepping in front of me and blocking me off from the others. “She is our rider. But you deserve answers as to what has happened. We will find out what she did and how.”
“ She has a fucking name, Uncle,” Blake said. He reached for my arm, as if to pull me out of Viktor’s circle of proximity, but I quickly took a step back.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on me,” I snarled.
There was quiet. Everyone had heard me.
Blake’s face flushed red.
Viktor slowly turned to look back and forth between his nephew and I. What he saw clearly did not please him, but he said nothing to either of us. Simply turned back to the other highbloods.
“May we confine her to a room in the Drakharrow Tower or would you rather she be placed in the dungeon, Lord Sylvain?” Viktor asked with deceptive courteousness. “Perhaps with only stale crusts of bread to eat. Shall we keep her in a weakened state, lest you feel more threatened?”
Headmaster Kim cleared his throat. “That’s enough, Viktor. I believe what you’ve proposed should be to everyone’s satisfaction. Keep her in Drakharrow Tower.”
Viktor nodded, then turned to look at me. His red eyes seemed suddenly colder. “Still, there may be no need for any of this. You’ll tell us exactly what happened. And you’ll do it now, girl.”
His thrallweave slammed into my mind and I cried out, sinking to my knees on the stones.
“I said you will tell us exactly what happened.” Viktor Drakharrow’s voice was like a whip, slicing through the air and cutting me to pieces. I had never felt this kind of pain before. Invisible but brutal, he hit my mind with a force unlike anything I’d ever felt.
I gasped, clutching my head, my vision blurring as pain pulsed behind my eyes.
But he wasn’t inside. He was an attacker at the gates. My walls were still up. I had not caved.
Something fierce inside me fought back. I closed my eyes, clenched my teeth, my sweaty hands digging into the cold stone as I threw up barrier after barrier with every ounce of strength I had.
Still, Viktor’s power crashed into me again and again. Suffocating, insistent, digging his claws of pain inside.
“Stop,” I heard Blake shouting. “Uncle, stop this. Look at her. You’re hurting her.”
Dimly I realized I was bleeding. Drops of blood trickled down my face.
I heard some of the highbloods hiss and take a step back. The scent of my blood drew them in but also alarmed them.
Then, just when I thought I might break, a voice boomed across the courtyard.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Professor Rodriguez stormed into the circle, his eyes blazing with fury. “Get away from her. This instant.”
I forced my eyes open in time to see Viktor’s face twist with irritation. He looked away from me, more surprised than angered. “Rodriguez.”
His thrallweave attack faltered.
I gasped, drawing in a long breath.
I felt Blake’s hand touch my shoulder, as if to help me stand, but I pushed it away without even looking at him.
“How dare you interrupt? How dare you even enter this place?” Viktor took a step towards Rodriguez and for a moment, I was frightened for my professor.
But Rodriguez didn’t back down.
“This is a highblood matter,” Viktor hissed. “You should not be here, blightborn. Get out.”
Rodriguez’s fists were clenched. I watched as Blake moved to stand behind the professor, his face ashen.
“I do dare,” Rodriguez said, his voice low and menacing. He stepped further into the circle defiantly. “This girl has given you precisely what you’ve always wanted, Viktor. She’s made history here today. She’s brought you back a dragon.” He swept his gaze over the gathered crowd of highbloods. “And instead of thanking her, what are you all doing? Standing here and preparing to tear her apart like a pack of vultures.”
Natsumi Avari stepped up beside Rodriguez and Blake. “He’s right, Viktor. Besides, you know thrallweave can do lasting damage when used so forcefully. Do you want to keep your rider in one piece or don’t you?” I stared up at her, stunned, as she inclined her head. “On behalf of House Avari, I thank you, Medra Pendragon, for your service here today.”
The words were double-edged and everyone there knew it. Still, I nodded.
An aftershock of pain rippled through me and I put a hand to my temples, then yanked it away in shock as I felt a sticky wetness. Blood.
Blake moved forward. “Here. Medra, let me...”
I ignored him and tried to push myself up with my own strength.
Rodriguez crouched down beside me. “Here,” he murmured, his hands strong and surprisingly gentle as he helped me to my feet. “Take your time.”
I nodded, swallowing tears of anger and frustration, leaning on Rodriguez as I slowly stood up.
I could feel Viktor’s eyes on me, his still anger pulsing towards me. But he made no move to cast thrallweave on me again.
He didn’t need to. He’d have me locked in his tower soon and could try again anytime.
“Very well, Professor,” Viktor said, his voice dripping with disdain. “Let the rider rest tonight. She’ll be confined in Drakharrow Tower to await the judgment of the tribunal.”
Rodriguez straightened. “Fine. I’ll escort Miss Pendragon there myself.”
Without waiting for an answer, he began to guide me away from the group of gawking highbloods.
I saw Blake begin to follow, then hesitate. Before he could change his mind and come after us, I saw Viktor approach him and put a hand on his arm. He turned to speak to his uncle and that was the last I saw of him.
Together, Rodriguez and I walked out of the courtyard, leaving the others behind. I felt a sense of relief settle over me as we exited, even though I knew it was temporary. The halls were quiet as we made our way through Bloodwing towards the tower.
“You did well,” Rodriguez said as we walked. He glanced at me. “In truth, I can’t believe you kept him out.”
“Neither can I,” I said bluntly. “I don’t know how I did it. I thought he was supposed to be...”
“He is,” Rodriguez cut in. He was speaking quickly. Too quickly. It was clear there were things he wanted to say and he didn’t think we had much time. “Medra, the school shuts down for Summerfell tomorrow. All of the students will be gone and most of the professors. I usually stay, but...” He let the sentence hang there unfinished. He wasn’t sure he’d be permitted to remain. “I’m not sure we’ll have another chance to talk before the start of the next school year.”
“You don’t think they’ll let you see me? Even to visit?” My heart sank. If there was anyone who could help me through this, it was Rodriguez.
He shrugged. “If it’s up to Viktor...”
“He’ll want to know how I shut him out,” I guessed. “He’ll be furious that you’ve been tutoring me.”
A smile flickered over Rodriguez’s face. “Let him be. It was Headmaster Kim’s decision. And his indiscretion.”
“He can’t fault either of you for training me. You can position it as protecting me from the other houses,” I suggested.
Rodriguez nodded.
“You know more about dragons than all of these people put together,” I blurted out. “Did you know this would happen?”
He shook his head. “Not all of them. One man was there when dragons flew, long before tonight.”
“Viktor?”
He nodded. “He’s the oldest living highblood in Sangratha. Did you know that?”
“I’m not surprised,” I said sourly. “He looks like the epitome of ancient evil.”
Rodriguez smirked. “He’s not particularly likable, is he?”
“He’s a fucking monster,” I spat. “And you don’t have to hide your hate from me, Rodriguez. I know you do. Hate them , I mean.”
His face tensed up and I knew I’d said too much.
Still, I had so many questions. I wasn’t about to hold back now. “Why did the dragons disappear in the first place?”
“You mean you haven’t learned that already in any of your classes?” Rodriguez said. It was clear he knew the answer.
“No. Or in the books you told me to read.” I frowned. “They were written before the last dragon disappeared. Where are the others?”
“Others?” Rodriguez tilted his head.
“Books that were written about why the dragons disappeared. About how,” I said with frustration. “And what about the four stone dragons? How did they get like that? Obviously Nyxaris was under some sort of curse or enchantment.”
Rodriguez nodded thoughtfully. “That seems like a reasonable conclusion.”
“Oh, come off it,” I demanded. “You knew. You knew all along. You wanted me to wake him. You wanted me to take that book.”
Rodriguez’s eyes were suddenly hawklike. “I never said that, Miss Pendragon. You stole that book from my office, as I recall.”
“I borrowed it,” I countered. “And I don’t think you were really all that upset with me when I did. Maybe you wanted me to.”
“Why would I want that? Why would I want the highbloods to get back their greatest weapons?”
“I don’t know,” I exclaimed. “Tell me. Because clearly there are reasons.”
“Reasons you can’t find in the history books I gave you? How fascinating.”
“So we’re going to dance around this, are we?” I shook my head in frustration. “Fine. Be that way. But there is a fucking dragon out there right now. Flying free. Because of me.”
“So you did do it on purpose?”
“No!” I blurted out. “You know I didn’t.”
He studied me. “Yet you did it. A blood ritual of some sort. Why were you conducting such a ritual in the first place? Why take the book if it wasn’t to awaken a dragon?”
“I had another reason. A good one,” I said reluctantly. “Consider this an accidental side effect.”
Rodriguez sighed. He seemed to be relaxing again a little. He ran a hand over his hair. “Look, there’s too much to tell. So much it’s too risky to share.”
“If you can’t trust me, who can you trust?” I demanded. “He was in my head, Professor. In my damned head.”
Rodriguez looked fascinated. “Nyxaris, you mean?”
I nodded. “He speaks Classical Sangrathan. Did you know that?”
“And you do, too?” He shook his head. “I suppose we should be grateful, however you came to that knowledge.” He looked at me curiously. “What did he say? Where did he go?”
“An answer for an answer,” I said stubbornly. “How did the dragons disappear?”
“Some died of a plague.”
“Like the one your grandmother couldn’t save?” I guessed.
He nodded.
“And the others? Did they all die of a plague?”
“There’s a lost history here, Miss Pendragon. A history of the dragons that the highbloods have purposely hidden. Even from one another.”
My heart hammered. “How is that possible? How could a highblood hide something like that from other highbloods?”
“A question that it would be fascinating to pose to Viktor Drakharrow. But I don’t recommend doing so.”
I scowled. Fine. Next question. “Why would those four dragons have been preserved like that? Enchanted? Why not keep them alive and use them?”
“That’s a question beyond even my scope of knowledge,” Rodriguez said. “Perhaps you ought to ask your dragon.”
I felt a pang of guilt. “He’s not my dragon.”
“Did you try...”
“I read the book,” I said quickly. “The part about bonding. Yes. I tried. I did everything I could remember. Everything I could think of to do at that moment.” I glanced around. We were almost at the entrance to the House Drakharrow Tower. “But it didn’t work.”
“So he flew away.” Rodriguez studied me. “Does he have any intention of coming back?” He held up a hand. “No. On second thought, don’t answer that.” He sounded tired suddenly. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
“Why?” I asked nervously.
“Because I have no idea how good my thrallguard really is. How well I’d hold up if...” He looked at me.
“If you were tortured.” I bit my lip. “Is that what they’re going to do to me? To get the answers they want?”
He sighed. “Do you really want an honest answer?”
I folded my arms over my chest and hugged myself. “This is going to be a fantastic summer, isn’t it?”
He grimaced. “You have a few advantages. You can defend yourself with thrallguard. It might be enough. Not all of them will try to use it on you. But Viktor certainly will try again. He doesn’t give up easily. Then there’s Blake.”
I winced. “Blake is not an advantage.”
“Whatever’s going on with you two on a personal level, I don’t really care. But he’s still your archon. That hasn’t changed. He can help you to some extent. I suggest you let him.”
“If he even wants to,” I said dourly.
Rodriguez ignored me. “You also have leverage. If you say you can control that dragon, they’ll have to believe you. They can’t risk not doing so. Especially if they can’t break you to find out the truth.” He threw up his hands. “Whatever the truth is. Again...”
“You don’t want to know,” I finished for him. “Right. I get it.” I sighed and touched a hand to my temple. The blood had dried. “Why did I bleed when Viktor used thrallweave on me?”
“You were under an overwhelming amount of strain. Viktor is incredibly powerful. It’s not completely unheard of. Thrallweave attacks can be painful. Though usually the result is only a bad headache.”
“Spontaneously bleeding just from strain?” I furrowed my brow. “Natsumi said it could do permanent damage.”
“When used as a method of torture, yes. I have no doubt Viktor is experienced in that. But he’ll need to keep you whole.” Rodriguez touched my shoulder gently. “Look, we’re nearly at the tower. What you need to do is hold them off until the tribunal can meet. Do you think you can do that?”
“I suppose it depends on whether they plan to torture me or not,” I said bitterly. “How long will it be before the tribunal is held?”
Rodriguez hesitated. “From what I understand, Lord Mortis is away from Veilmar and House Orphos is dealing with some family matters. But I’m sure they’ll want to have this settled before the start of the next school year.”
I groaned. “All of Summerfell? Really? Two months of waiting?”
Two months of lying and bluffing.
“Eventually, that dragon is going to need to make an actual appearance.” He ran a hand over his face. “Have you tried begging?”
“I begged. Believe me, I begged.” And now Nyxaris was gone. I couldn’t hear him in my mind. Did that mean I had no way of reaching him again?
“Best case scenario, they’ll agree you need to continue at Bloodwing and intensify your rider training. There might be pressure on you to repeat what you did before and try to wake another dragon.”
“Absolutely fucking not,” I said automatically. I could just imagine having to lie about two dragons.
“Good. I wouldn’t suggest that. At least, not unless you get a tight control on Nyxaris.” His concerned expression told me just how worried he really was.
“It was an accident,” I reminded him. I thought of what he’d just said. “What’s the worst case scenario?”
“They decide to destroy you. Both of you.”
I gaped at him. “What?”
Rodriguez’s face was stony.
“That’s insane. They just got a dragon back. Why would they want to destroy it?” I asked, feeling stunned.
“So that the entire kingdom doesn’t devolve into infighting and civil war resulting in the loss of countless lives, especially blightborn ones? I’d say that’s a pretty good reason,” Rodriguez replied with discouraging coolness.
“Or they could just agree to... let bygones be bygones.”
Rodriguez’s lips twitched. “To let dragons be dragons, you mean?”
I nodded.
“You need to remember where you are, Miss Pendragon,” he said, not unkindly. “In the heart of the lion’s den.”
“You mean the vampire’s den,” I muttered. “Which is so much worse.”
He gestured ahead of us. “Speaking of highbloods, someone’s waiting for you.”
I turned to where he pointed and frowned.
Blake leaned against the wall next to the entrance to the House Drakharrow Tower.
“Damn vampire speed,” I muttered under my breath. He’d beaten us there, so he must have gone another route.
“I’ll see her the rest of the way from here,” Blake said, stepping forward.
Rodriguez nodded. “No Viktor?”
Blake shook his head. “But he’ll be back.”
“Of course he will.” Rodriguez whistled. “Well, good luck, Miss Pendragon. Goodnight.”
“I’ll show you to your room,” Blake said, as Rodriguez walked away.
Before I could reply, he’d turned and I had to follow.
Vampire speed... and very long legs. I picked up my pace.
I didn’t want to be there, and yet I couldn’t help but feel a prick of curiosity as we entered House Drakharrow's privileged space. Come Autumntide, this was supposed to be my new home. Before the events of the evening, I’d even looked forward to moving into the tower.
In one night, everything had changed. I wasn’t merely a student or Blake’s consort. I was once again his prisoner.
I’d only been in the tower one time, at the start of the First Year, when I’d been wounded by Visha. Blake had brought me to see a healer.
Now I looked around me more carefully, taking in the grand stone archway carved with coiled dragons that led into the tower. The dragons’ eyes glinted with rubies that reminded me of Viktor Drakharrow’s cruel red ones.
Blake led the way into a large open hall that I assumed was the Drakharrow common room. Unsurprisingly, red and black were the accent colors here instead of the deep blues and soft grays I was used to in the First Year tower. Chandeliers of wrought iron hung above us. The walls were lined with dark wood paneling and decorated with ancient weapons and crests. Relics of battles fought for the glory of House Drakharrow, no doubt.
The room was a little foreboding, but I could see it being cozy enough with time. Right now the space was empty, but a blazing fire roared in the massive stone hearth even though it was almost summer. Comfortable armchairs, sofas, and chaises, all covered in soft red velvet, were arranged in a variety of positions to facilitate study and conversation. Banners of deep crimson and black hung from the ceiling, proudly showing off depictions of red dragons or bearing the house motto “Sanguine Vinciti.”
Bound by blood . My lips twisted. The words seemed to mock me now more than ever.
Around the common room, students’ chairs lay empty. A few were even overturned. Books and other possessions were scattered over sofas and tables. The room had clearly been abandoned quickly in everyone’s haste to reach the courtyard earlier. Most of the students must have been in the midst of packing. Tomorrow morning they’d be returning home for Summerfell.
Blake led the way towards the stairway, pausing only briefly to snap at a few students who had snuck out of their rooms and were peering down curiously at us from one of the balconies.
They vanished quickly at their House Leader’s command, leaving an uneasy silence. Blake moved at a steady pace, his back straight and steely. I followed, hardly able to look at him without feeling a fresh wave of anger.
We reached a landing, and I noticed a door ajar with three faces peering out. Blake didn’t even have to speak. The glare he shot the students was enough to send them scattering backwards with panicked squeaks.
The door slammed and we were alone again.
Blake’s jaw tightened. He didn’t look back or speak as we climbed another spiraling staircase.
I watched his hand trail over the stone railing, carved like a dragon’s tail, rubies embedded into the scales of stone. In some ways I had an intimate knowledge of that hand, those fingers. But that part of us was over.
Finally, Blake stopped outside a door. He opened it, stepping aside to let me walk in first.
Lanterns had been lit and a small fire burned in the modest-sized hearth. The room was unexpectedly spacious, with a large, canopied bed draped in soft red fabric patterned with dragon scales. Tall arched windows lined two sides of the room, overlooking the darkened school grounds and the sea beyond the cliffs.
I glanced over at Blake, arching a brow. “So, this is my cell.”
Blake’s lips twisted into a small smile. He looked back at me, his gaze holding something uncertain. “It was meant to be your room all along. You’re just occupying it sooner than expected.” He nodded towards the windows, gesturing to a wood desk already set with parchment and quills, then to the shelves lined with books. “I’d already had it prepared and waiting for you.”
The room was elegant. Beautiful even. The rug beneath my feet was soft and plush. Black, with a motif of gold, silver, and red dragons. I saw a wardrobe off in the corner, no doubt already stocked with clothes in my size, all in House Drakharrow colors.
I should have been grateful it wasn’t a dungeon. But no matter how elegant it was, it still felt like a cage.
Blake gestured to one of the walls that lacked a window. “You’ll find my suite of rooms beside yours.”
My lips twisted. His and hers. How sweet. “Wonderful,” I said, in a voice that made it clear it was anything but.
Blake frowned. “There’s a private bath through that door,” he said eventually, pointing. “The windows let in a lot of light in the winter. You’ll have a good view.”
“Is that all?” I watched his face fall. “Are we finished?”
He was, without a doubt, still maddeningly attractive. The slight shadow of blond stubble along the angles of his jaw. His gray eyes that once made my breath catch. He looked at me now with an intensity that seemed meant to draw me in. But it didn’t matter what he looked like. He’d proven he was the monster I’d known he was all along. The connection between us that I’d slowly been accepting had been severed. He’d taken something from me that could never be restored. Not just blood. Trust.
Blake cleared his throat. “Medra, I—”
“Don’t.” I cut him off, my voice chill and unyielding. “And I’ve already asked you not to call me that. We are not friends.”
His face darkened. “You’re still my consort.”
That might have been true for now. But bonds could be broken.
“You can call me whatever you want. But it’s meaningless. After what you did tonight, you’re nothing to me.” I stepped towards the bed, putting my hand firmly on one of the posts. “I’d like you to leave. Now.”
I could see the flash of hurt, then the flicker of anger, before he schooled his expression.
I understood. This wasn’t how I’d imagined the night going either. We’d both have to suffer with disappointment. There was only one person to blame for it. And I was looking at him.
With a tight nod, he turned towards the door.
I started to breathe a sigh of relief.
Blake paused. “We’ll speak more tomorrow.” Then he pulled the door shut behind him.
I gritted my teeth. The asshole couldn’t bear to let me have the last word.
I heard a key turn in the lock and nearly laughed aloud. Well, I was alone like I’d wanted. Alone in a place that should have felt like home, yet where I was every bit the prisoner.