Chapter 19 #3
The sickening feeling of dangling from that high-up dormitory window swoops over me again.
None of the Elite Wing were at school with me; I’m much younger than they are.
They were already seasoned warriors before I was dumped on the doorstep of Glarraden House with only a bag of gold and a name.
I’m not sure exactly what they know about my years at the Drayke School of Fire and Flight, though rumors fly as fast as dragon shifters, and I’ve no doubt they’ve heard some.
Bale too. But I’m not interested in digging for sympathy, and the idea of telling Bale that I was mercilessly bullied for five years tempts me about as much as pricking open a vein and sauntering into Bloodwold. “I dreamt I was falling.”
“Off your warbird?” He frowns.
“Out a window.”
“At Glarraden House?”
I exhale sharply. “Can we just stop? It doesn’t matter now.”
He moves closer. I think he’s about to reach for my hand, but then my heart thumps ferociously, and he stops. Dragon heat ignites in his eyes. “Who do I punish?”
My chest lurches. “Punish?”
“Who tried to throw you out a window? Who do I throw out a window now?”
Staring at him, I barely breathe, my pulse pounding harder than dragon wings.
I glance at Bale’s hand, wishing it would move toward mine again as much as I wish he wasn’t even here.
He used to keep to himself all the time.
That was so much easier. I never knew how much I wanted him with me until he was.
“I don’t have fire or flight.” My voice not steady at all, I add, “If someone had tossed me out a window, I’d be dead.”
The fire rolling in his eyes doesn’t dim. “So it was at school.”
It’s not a question. “And a long time ago, Bale. It doesn’t matter anymore.” I don’t mention the multiple times. Or the times they almost dropped me. He might already know.
“You took revenge all on your own.” There’s pride in his voice. It helps repair my frayed nerves.
I nod. I took the last, coveted spot in the Dragon King’s personal squadron. The Elite Wing was my revenge.
“Why didn’t you fight back? At school, I mean. You would’ve won.”
I sigh. Once I had a bit of official training under my belt, it usually took a real effort to lose.
Losing didn’t win me any points with the other students, though, especially when they just complained about having to fight in skin all the time because of Bloodwold vampires, so I went back to winning.
Skin was all I had, and I was happier winning than trying to make friends with people who didn’t even want me there.
“I was afraid I’d kill someone,” I admit. “You know how it is when I’m free, as you said before. My mind is a few steps behind my body sometimes, and I didn’t want a dead student—or ten—on my hands.”
“So you let them do what they wanted?”
From his questions, it’s obvious Bale already knows most of what I’m not saying.
I wonder who reported to him and why. The headmistress?
She was kind enough to me, but still couldn’t wait until I left.
“They just wanted my gold. The dragon in them…” I shrug, and the half-smile that touches my mouth actually feels real.
His expression softens, his slight smile echoing mine, and the icy nugget of fear still lodged in my chest melts. The one in my stomach—blood thief central—doesn’t budge.
I almost scratch the fresh scabs on my neck before forcing my hand down.
“Are you ready for the Council?” I ask. “It’s getting close.”
Bale’s eyes glint in the dark. “Not many people change the subject on me as boldly as you.”
“I like to keep you on your toes.” I spread my hands. “Or talons.”
“Or both.” His low chuckle doesn’t last. “As ready as I’ll ever be. At least we have those Bloodwold prisoners.”
“Will they turn on Rannigan?” It seems unlikely. None have before. They’ve preferred death.
“Probably not, but I’ve got our sorcerers working on a truth spell. I’m hoping I can pull honesty from them.”
“But it could just as easily be a lie spell. The other Council members might not trust it.”
Sighing, Bale briefly closes his eyes. “Not what I wanted to hear.”
“Sorry.” I grimace.
“Don’t be. It’s a good point.” His shoulders hunch like an invisible weight bears down on him. “I guess it’ll be good, old-fashioned coercion then.”
“Unfortunately, the same logic applies. They could lie under duress.”
A frustrated sound rumbles in his throat.
“Options are limited. It’s going to be hard enough keeping them alive until the Council.
One chewed through a vein yesterday. The others seem more interested in survival—for now.
” He scrubs a hand down his face, and the mattress groans as he shifts his weight.
My heart squeezes at seeing him so discouraged. “You could offer asylum,” I suggest.
“Fuck that,” he growls. “I’m not going to reward blood thieves with a place to live in peace.”
I nod. I wouldn’t either. “Are you going to send us away again? I know you don’t like it when we’re here for the Council.
” I don’t even think I’d mind leaving this time.
The hostility will be thick enough to cut with a knife, and everyone will be on edge.
Besides, the thought of having the Vampire King here, in Drayke Mountain, turns my stomach, especially after what happened outside of Draywood. To Draywood. To me.
“I’m not sure yet,” he answers. “We’ll see.”
My gaze on him sharpens. That’s a first—potentially.
Only Maia and Arran have ever been in residence at Drayke Mountain during a Council meeting that took place here.
“What about Fanghaven? There must be a way to stop the Vampire King from proxy voting for his wife. Can you insist she votes in person, or her vote won’t count? ”
Bale’s lips twist in a wry smile. “We can vote on it.”
I snort. “That sounds like a serpent biting its tail. The vote will be a tie at best. Or a flat-out loss.”
“Trying could at least force Cealastra to appear.” He scoots back to lean against my footboard, lifting his legs and crossing them at the ankles on my bed. If I reached to the side, I could lay a hand on his foot.
I fold my hands in my lap. “And if she doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll know Cealastra is gone, magic will be next, and Rexton Hale can claim the Fanghaven throne with impunity unless Rannigan Bloodthief can prove his wife still lives.”
The weight of a millstone drops through me. If magic goes, my birds can’t come back.
“He’s a cousin of some sort to the Fanghaven royals, right? Rexton Hale?”
Bale nods. “Not starborn, but the closest living relative to the murdered king.”
“Except the Vampire Queen. It’s her vote Rannigan keeps tossing around.”
He nods again. “Except the Vampire Queen.”
“If she exists. For all we know, she’s as dead as the rest of her family, and Rannigan has been lying in her name ever since the massacre.”
“We can’t know,” Bale murmurs from the foot of the bed.
“This long, and only Rannigan’s inner circle has ever seen her? They could be lying—all of them.” I shake my head. “Maybe you should just support Hale’s claim. Fanghaven will ally with you. With that vote, you’re a block of three.”
“Torridaig, Ruthinock, and Fanghaven, as it was for more than half my reign.” Bale looks at me, his gaze heavy. “I can’t support his claim.”
“Why not? It would solve a lot of problems.”
“Because he’s not starborn.”
“That’s very elitist of you,” I snap, pulling my legs up under me and sitting forward. “From what we know, he’s competent, cares about his people, and upholds Fanghaven’s traditions. Besides, we don’t even know if Cealastra is still around to choose her next pet.”
Bale’s eyes widen. Mine too. “Pet?” he grinds out.
I wince. I should apologize. Instead, I ask, “What if Cealastra is gone and you die without an heir? Who rules Torridaig then?”
Bale’s expression cools. So does his tone. “I don’t plan to die without an heir.”
I wave that off. “No one plans to die. You need to get on that, or Torridaig is in big trouble.” Heat crawls up my neck. It’s too late to take that back, so I just own it and stare at him, my gaze as stony as his.
“Since you’re so concerned, perhaps you can suggest a mate?” His overly smooth question grates on my nerves.
“Forget it, Your Passive-Aggressiveness. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
Bale doesn’t look amused. “Rannigan doesn’t have an heir yet, either.”
“Hopefully his poor wife is fighting him off,” I say dryly. “Especially because that child would rightfully inherit both vampire kingdoms.”
“True.” Bale sighs loudly. “I’ve never wanted a Council meeting less.”
He sounds so weary, clearly sensing an end to a system that was bound to fail. “I’m sorry I said pet. I didn’t mean it.”
His eyes flick to mine. He nods, then changes the subject. “When they burned my city, I wanted to cross the border and burn one of theirs.”
And I would’ve helped him. But… “Do you really think that would make things better?”
He slowly shakes his head, his amber eyes like burning stones. “Not every Bloodwold vampire is a monster, just like not every dragon shifter is good and noble.”
I instantly see students dangling me out a window and jeering about gold. “That’s very wise of you.”
His lips jerk up in a smile, but the sound he makes is as brittle as winter leaves. “You should get some rest. You’re still recovering. I’ll stay until your birds return.”
The moment Bale mentions rest, fatigue slams into me, and I almost wonder if he hasn’t added the power of persuasion to his charms.
Slipping deeper into bed, I pull up my covers and close my eyes. I relax surprisingly quickly despite Bale’s presence, and drift in an in-between state, not quite ready to leave this moment behind.
Bale confiding in me.
The two of us talking in the dark.
I’m not cold, even with the window still slightly open, and I don’t actively miss my birds.
With everything else quiet and calm, even my heartbeat for once, I can hear Bale breathing.
I can smell him, too, that combination of dry leaves, woodsmoke, and wind.
His scent reminds me of that huge pile of autumn leaves old Gus used to rake up for me behind Glarraden House.
Gus was already ancient when I was a child, but he’d still find the strength to hoist me up and toss me into the pile.
I loved it. And I wasn’t alone. He died and returned to the stars when I was only five.
I was sad for months, and nobody noticed.
I lift heavy lids and see Bale watching over me from the foot of my bed. I’m not alone, even without my birds.
I don’t wake until morning. My phoenixes are back, and Bale is gone.