CHAPTER 3 - BLAKE
I stood rigidly as Viktor paced the opulent chamber inside the Black Keep. The heavy curtains were drawn, muting out the sunlight and giving the room an oppressive glow.
Viktor’s long strides carried him back and forth across the carpet in front of the hearth, his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
He was angry. Didn’t take a genius to figure out that much.
“She resisted me,” Viktor said without preamble. “Do you even understand how rare that is?”
I shrugged. “She’s stubborn, not special. I have no doubt in your ability to get through to her eventually, Uncle.”
Viktor stopped mid-step, turning to face me with an icy glare. “Who gave her permission to learn thrallguard?”
“I wasn’t privy to the meeting where it was decided,” I said slowly. “But I would assume Headmaster Kim was involved.”
Viktor gnashed his teeth. “That blightborn-loving fool. Did he even think to consult me?”
I highly doubted Kim harbored any undue love for blightborn. Or even for Pendragon. But I said nothing.
I tilted my head slightly. “The riders of old were all trained in thrallguard, weren’t they? Perhaps they simply based the decision on that precedent?” I only knew this because Rodriguez had told me. “Pendragon did almost die on her first day because of how susceptible she was, after all.”
Viktor’s lips curled into a sneer. “None of that would have occurred if you had kept your women in check. Don’t lecture me on history I bore witness to, boy. Those riders were loyal to their houses. They knew the cost of disobedience. Does this one?”
My jaw tightened. “Thrallguard lessons won’t make her untouchable. She’s just a girl playing with fire.”
My uncle’s eyes narrowed. “A girl who woke a dragon, Blake. Do not underestimate her.”
It seemed as if he was the one who’d already done that, but I held my tongue.
“She needs special handling,” my uncle said, as if to himself. He glanced at me. “What I’d like to do is beat the answers out of her. I’ve never met a blightborn who could not be broken with the proper...persuasion. I could drag the truth from her lips with pain until there was nothing left but submission. But...”
I waited a moment.
“But?” I finally asked cautiously.
His lips thinned. “She claims the dragon would know.”
“Ah. That is...” I searched for the right word. “Unfortunate. And do you believe her?”
“I don’t know what to believe. It’s entirely possible she can communicate with it. That much is not at question. We need that dragon. She’s our only connection to it, as it stands now. The Avaris will try to thwart us every step of the way. We need her obedient. We need her compliant.”
I decided not to mention there might be complications with that.
Viktor looked at me. “I want to know everything about this girl, Blake. What she knows, what she’s hiding, and more importantly, what she can do . She’s hid things from us. From the very start. She came out of nowhere. It’s time we found out who she really is. You’ll report to me regularly. I expect progress.”
I tried to look confident. “Of course.”
“For now, we’ll proceed with caution.”
Reading between the lines, I knew what that meant. He’d turn to torture as required.
“Do you miss Regan?”
The question caught me off guard. “A little perhaps. But she was disobedient.”
A harsh laugh burst from my uncle’s throat. “The irony. You dismiss one consort for disobedience while aligning yourself with another who defies us at every turn.”
My lips quirked into a humorless smirk. “She won’t defy us for long. I can break Pendragon, Uncle. She’ll soon be loyal to House Drakharrow. Wait and see.”
Viktor studied me. “If you fail, I will deal with her myself. It will not be pretty. I promise, you won’t like the result.”
“I understand.”
“In the meantime, keep her pliant. The girl seems to think you care for her. Don’t allow that to change. Blightborn are slaves to their emotions. That is their great weakness. Use it against her.”
I nodded. “A wise suggestion.”
Viktor frowned. “She attended the Frostfire ball with Kage Tanaka.”
I flinched. I hadn’t thought he’d known about that. “She did. Probably because I hadn’t asked her. Tanaka saw an opportunity and invited her. She said yes.” I shrugged and tried to look nonchalant. “Does it really matter?”
“Having Kage as a rival has been good for you. We Drakharrows thrive on competition. But now you may have let that pup think he can get away with far too much. If he thinks to steal your consort out from under...”
“He won’t,” I interrupted. My hands curled into fists. The thought of Kage Tanaka luring Pendragon away. To his house. To his bed. “We’re blood-bound now. I’ll see him dead before that happens.”
Still, it was not lost on me that I seemed to need Pendragon more than she needed me. Though if she knew what my uncle had planned for her, maybe she’d be more willing to accept my protection.
“You need her to feed. What does she need from you?” my uncle demanded, astute as always.
“I’ll remind her of her place. She’s forgotten where she belongs. She’s forgotten who holds the true power here and always will,” I growled. “Kage will stay away from her. I’ll see to that.”
And Pendragon would sure as hell stay away from him.
“Do not kill the Avari. His house would retaliate and we are not prepared for a war.”
Yet. The word hung unspoken between us.
But with a dragon flying over Sangratha and the most powerful two houses prepared to fight for control of it, there was no doubt in my mind. War was on the horizon.
Viktor moved towards me, circling me slowly, like a predator assessing his prey. “You think you understand what you’re dealing with, don’t you, Nephew? The girl. The dragon.” He let the words hang in the air, then leaned in. “But you know nothing, boy. I’ve seen what happens when highbloods underestimate riders. And the dragons... Well, they’ve always been more dangerous than we let anyone believe.”
My brow wrinkled, but I tried to school my expression. “Of course. You know all of this firsthand, Uncle.” It was a statement. I kept my tone respectful.
Viktor smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s just say some histories are better left in the past. Focus on your task. Leave all else to me.”
He turned towards his desk, dismissing me with a wave of his hand.
I left the chamber, the door thudding heavily shut behind me.
For the first time, I found myself wondering what else had been buried when the dragons died.