42. Chapter 42
forty-two
Ethan
B reathlessness strikes me as I stare up at an empty sky, an ache filling my chest.
We were so close. She was within our sight. A sight that pained me as I noticed how much weight she had lost. I know that Hephaestus wasn’t treating her right. He’s a cruel soul through and through, and I doubt he ever has good intentions.
The thought of him starving her… grabbing her… it all makes fire burn deep in my chest. My jaw tightens as I take a step back, feeling a gust of wind as Grayson shifts and flies up into the sky to try and chase the Vermyllion down.
“He won’t be able to catch up,” Ares says as he puts his hands behind his head, his eyes looking wide. “The Vermyllion took her.”
I peer at him, feeling uneasy at the haunted look on his face. He doesn’t just seem upset that Rodi is out of our sight again. There’s something else that’s wrong.
I move closer to him, reaching for his arm. “Ares…”
Ares takes a step out of my reach. He blinks a few times, but he still looks like he’s in some sort of daze. “We s–should go inside.”
I glance around, seeing the guards rushing Isadora inside. I can’t even blame them. Vermyllions are supposed to be extinct. Yet, we were somehow within a mile of one. When he shifted, I could sense his power radiating even across the lake.
But what was he doing with Rodi? She seemed to trust him enough to climb on him without a fight, but what if he’s holding something over her? What if he threatened her?
Did he save Rodi from Hephaestus or condemn her to a worse fate at his own hands?
“Okay,” I say. We hurry indoors as all hell breaks loose around Dominion Fangar’s estate.
As we venture down the hallways to our room, word spreads fast. Everyone is talking about the Vermyllion and how they never thought they’d ever see another one again. No one even suspected that a single one could somehow be alive.
We dodge guards as they run down the hallways, my adrenaline pumping. I believe we’re safe inside and won’t be bothered, but today has been incredibly unpredictable. Anything could be lying around the corner.
Ares goes into our room and heads right to the window, keeping his back to me as I close the door behind us. I’m sure that Grayson will come by and update us when he gets back, but I don’t expect to hear much. That Vermyllion disappeared in the blink of an eye.
And just like that… Rodi was gone.
Was she scared? She seemed to gravitate to the Vermyllion like she trusted him, but I’ve seen manipulation happen right in front of my eyes. When scared enough, a person can be forced to do anything, even while looking like they’re the ones in control.
Sadness aches in my chest as I head closer to Ares, wishing I could sink into him for comfort, but he seems off. Quiet. Distant.
“Do you think the Vermyllion could be an ally?” I ask.
Ares doesn’t say anything and keeps staring out the window. I doubt he’s even looking at anything specific.
“It seemed like she willingly left with him. Maybe he promised to help her escape,” I suggest, hoping for the best-case scenario that the Vermyllion is an ally and not another enemy. We have enough of those already.
Ares shifts a little, but he still doesn’t talk to me or face me.
I grind my teeth, wishing he’d just talk to me and not leave me alone with my thoughts. She was so close, right there, and she’s gone again. I don’t even know where the Vermyllion could be taking her.
But Ares feels like he’s a million miles away from me right now. First, he had that weird conversation with Fangar, then Isadora, that made him look uneasy, and now, seeing that Vermyllion has made him totally shut down.
I place my hand on Ares’ shoulder, feeling how tense his muscles are under my fingertips. If he grows any more rigid, he’ll turn to stone. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Ares shakes his head. “I can’t.”
“You can’t what? Talk to me?” My throat tightens as the words slip past my lips. We can’t have a divide between us right now .
Ares finally turns to face me, but his eyes remain distant. “I… I thought all of them were dead. I swore all of them were dead.”
My face contorts in confusion. “We all did. But what does it matter?”
Ares lifts his eyes to mine, holding my gaze for what feels like the longest few seconds ever. Before he can say whatever is on his mind, there’s a knock on our door.
“It’s Grayson.”
I sigh as Ares brushes past me to let Grayson into our room, overlapping voices echoing out in the hallway as the estate still remains in a state of shocked disarray. I wonder whether Hephaestus already knows that Rodi has been taken away.
Or is this part of his sick plan to torment her and us?
“He was too fast,” Grayson sighs, still sounding tired. His hair is disheveled, and his clothes are slightly wrinkled from being quickly thrown on. “The moment I saw the color of his scales, I kind of figured that. A Vermyllion.”
“I never thought I’d see one. They’ve been gone so long, they almost felt like myths. Legends. Now, we’re living in a time when they’re alive again,” I say, disbelief filling my voice.
“Who the hell is he? He’s been right under their noses,” Grayson grumbles.
Ares crosses his arms over his chest. “He posed as a guard in Cedric’s ranks. He must’ve gained her trust.”
“Do you think he knows that Cedric is actually Hephaestus now?” Grayson asks as he looks between us.
Whether he knows the truth or not can change everything, and we have no answers, no insight into who this guy is and what sort of relationship he has with Rodi .
“We won’t know until we track them down and question him,” I say, my restlessness starting to kick up again. We were so close to having her back in our arms. My body feels cold and empty right now without her, and it doesn’t help that Ares has put himself at a distance.
“Any ideas where he took her?” Grayson asks.
Silence fills the room for a few seconds, tension hanging in the air. We need answers, or at least something to point us in the right direction, but I have no clue. I wouldn’t even know where to start because the Vermyllion disappeared so quickly.
Ares sighs. “Nythralia.”
Grayson and I look at Ares after he speaks. I tilt my head in confusion. “Nythralia? Is there anything left there after the war?”
Ares tenses a little, but he takes a deep breath. “He may not be the only Vermyllion left. Where else would he take her? Maybe there’s more left to Nythralia than we all expect.”
I suppose it wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world. From what I’ve heard, the war cost countless casualties, but how many dragons were able to escape with their lives? How many have been living under the radar?
But if they have been… what are they up to? And what does Rodi have to do with that?
“So, we go to Nythralia,” I say in a matter of fact manner. We have to go where she’s going, and we need to move quickly.
“What if that Vermyllion isn’t quick to give her up? Are you going to fight it?” Grayson questions me.
I bristle. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save her. We both will.”
When I turn to Ares to get his support, I find him with a furrowed brow. “It’ll be a long journey there. ”
“I feel a little stronger. I can try to shift,” I tell Ares, ignoring the constant ache and weight in my body from being so weak. I’ll muster through anything for the ones I care about.
Ares shakes his head firmly. “No, you can’t shift yet. I can’t shift yet. We’ll endanger ourselves and put Rodi even more at risk.”
“But you just said it’ll be a long journey. What if we don’t make it in time?” I demand, frustration igniting within me. I know he’s right, but I want to get to her as fast as possible and leave all this drama behind me.
Ares sighs. “This is the only thing we can do. And we don’t even know what’s awaiting us.”
There’s concern in his voice, and it makes my stomach twist with nervousness. There’s some sort of picture he’s painted in his mind of Nythralia, and he doesn’t like it.
“Any ideas?” I ask him. He must know something I don’t.
Ares draws his eyes away from mine, choosing to stare at the floor rather than at me or Grayson. “I don’t know. Given the fact that a Vermyllion is actually alive, who knows what’s in Nythralia? It’s supposed to be empty.”
Something obviously came out of the ashes. “We need to go there and find out, regardless. The emergence of the Vermyllion could change a lot.”
Ares’ jaw tenses at my words. Something tells me he doesn’t want to hear that.
“I can come with you,” Grayson offers.
Ares shakes his head. “Someone has to stay behind to keep an eye on things. You’re one of the few people we can trust, Grayson.”
Grayson nods without arguing. “I won’t let you down.”
“And we won’t let her down,” I state as I turn back to Ares. “We need to leave soon.”
“One more rest. We’ll gather what we need and sneak out when most are asleep,” Ares says .
“I’m going to go check on things around the estate. I’ll report back soon,” Grayson says and leaves us.
I grab Ares’ arm before he can turn away from me again. The moment we’re alone, he tenses up all over again. He knows that I can see right through his mask.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Ares screws his face up. “What do you mean, what’s wrong? Rodi was taken away by a Vermyllion!” he bites out.
“I know that! But you’ve been acting weird since talking to Isadora.” I pause. “Well, after Fangar.”
Ares falls silent, still holding my gaze. He then shakes his head and returns to the window. “Not now, Ethan. We have other things to worry about.”
For now, we have to focus on Rodi, but I hope he’ll open up about everything else soon. I don’t want to be stuck in the dark, but the clouds keep rolling in.