Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Orion launches himself at him. Right before the guy can get the first cry of alarm across his lips, Orion slams his hand around the dragon shifter’s throat. With expert precision, he squeezes his fingers around the man’s neck, cutting off his air and making him unable to scream.
And the dragon shifter does… nothing.
Stunned surprise hits me as I stare at that guy in beige and gold robes. He just stands there, gazing up at Orion with wide eyes. He doesn’t try to shove Orion back or break his grip or defend himself in any way. He hasn’t even raised his arms.
“If you scream, I will crush your windpipe,” Orion warns, his voice so cold and deadly that my skin prickles even though the threat was not directed at me.
The dragon shifter just continues staring back at him.
“Nod if you understand,” Orion orders.
The guy nods.
While still keeping his hand around the man’s neck, Orion eases his grip slightly so that he will at least be able to breathe. And speak.
He sucks in a deep breath as soon as the pressure on his throat is gone.
“Where is your clan leader?” Orion demands.
“The—” He coughs and clears his throat before trying again. “The main temple.”
“You’re going to take us there. Now.”
“Okay.”
The lack of resistance shocks me, but I’m glad to finally have something go our way, so I don’t dare to comment on it. Otherwise, Mabona might decide to hit me with a whole string of bad luck just for the hell of it.
Orion keeps a commanding hand around the guy’s throat as he starts leading us into their city. The moment we leave the cover of the trees, apprehension pulses through me. Even though we have a hostage, I feel incredibly exposed just walking through the open like this.
But I know that Orion doesn’t want to waste time. He’s calculating and in control, so he doesn’t make any stupid mistakes, but I can still feel that awful sense of stress radiating from him. It’s so palpable that it almost makes the air vibrate.
So I say nothing as Orion lets the dragon shifter lead us right through the city instead of sneaking around it.
A gasp rips through the air.
Followed by another.
Then the reaction is spreading across the soft grass like a plague. Everywhere I look, dragon shifters in golden robes whirl around and gasp at us as we stride through their city. They yank up their hands to their mouths in shock, gaping at us.
But they do… nothing.
Just like when Orion took our captive in a chokehold, the normal response that our actions should be met with is entirely missing.
Uneasiness slithers down my spine as I flick my gaze from side to side, waiting for some kind of giant trap to be sprung or for them to suddenly launch a massive attack on us. They far outnumber us. So if they do attack, we’re screwed.
But they don’t.
They all just watch as we walk through their city with one of their own as a hostage.
My mind spins. What the hell kind of clan is this?
All the shifters watch us in stunned shock as we walk up to a massive building in the middle of the clearing. The round, layered building is almost twice the size of the others, and the peaked dome at the top has beautiful gold inlays that gleam in the sunlight.
I flex my hand, trying to dispel the nervous worry, as we reach the large open doors. Through them, one massive room becomes visible.
“Selena, watch the left,” Orion says. “Isera, the right. I’ll keep my eyes open for… My eye open for…” Agony flits across his beautiful features for a second before he clears his throat and simply finishes with, “I’ll watch him.”
Our captive, who is oblivious to Orion’s recent loss, just looks up at him and says in a gentle voice, “There is no trap, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Sounds exactly like something someone who has set a trap would say,” Isera mutters under her breath.
To my surprise, it makes Orion let out a short breath of amusement. Some of that awful tension bleeds from his shoulders, and his more normal sense of power and authority settles back over him.
“Where is your clan leader?” he demands, now sounding like his usual self again.
“He should be right…” our captive begins, looking around for a second, “there.”
Following his gaze, I find a male dragon shifter sitting cross-legged in front of a small pond in the middle of the temple.
He is wearing the same flowing robes as the rest of his clan, and his long red hair has also been braided around his head like a crown before ending in a bun at the top.
Small gold decorations, like beads and tiny leaves, have been woven into his braid, just like the people outside had done with their hair as well.
However, his golden tassel is much longer than all the ones I’ve seen so far.
While everyone else’s don’t even reach down to their ears, his tassel falls down his head to brush the back of his neck.
It’s such a ridiculous thought to have with everything else that’s going on, but all I can think about is how much that tassel must be tickling his neck all the time. It must be incredibly uncomfortable.
“Severin,” our captive calls.
I tense up, immediately snapping my focus back to our present situation. While walking close to Orion and Isera, I sweep my gaze over the temple we have entered.
Inside, those layers manifest as stone balconies that run in circles around the entire room.
They get smaller and smaller as the building narrows towards the top before ending in that peaked dome.
Torches have been set along every balcony railing, and their flames reflect in the gold inlays across the room.
I quickly scan the space for other dragon shifters, but all the balconies are deserted. And so is the floor. Stone benches have been positioned throughout the room, all facing that pond in the middle. But none of them are occupied. The only person in here except for us is this Severin guy.
Shifting my gaze back to him, I watch as he slowly climbs to his feet.
His back is still to us, and he bows to the pond before he begins turning around.
Small golden bowls are floating on the water.
Fire burns in all of them, casting flickering light over the beige stone floor around the pond.
I have no idea what it means, but since water can extinguish fire, which is the dragons’ core element, this display in the pond somehow feels very symbolic.
“Yes, Morvin?” Severin says as he turns towards us. “Is there—”
He abruptly stops speaking in the middle of his sentence when his gaze finds us. His eyes, which are the color of gold as well, widen as he just stares at us in open-mouthed shock for a few seconds.
“Oh, Azaroth,” he says, still gaping at us. “Yours is the will.”
“Are you the clan leader?” Isera asks, her hard voice echoing through the cavernous building.
“Yes,” he replies. Seeming to at last compose himself, he straightens a little and clasps his hands in front of him before shifting his gaze back to Orion and our captive. “I am Severin Godblessed, leader of the Gold Dragon Clan. Please, would you kindly release Morvin?”
“No,” Orion simply says.
Severin doesn’t look angry at the refusal. He just gives us a patient smile. “If you release him, I will talk to you. If you don’t, I fear we will all just waste our time standing here staring at each other.”
Orion glances to me and Isera. We give him a nod.
Taking his hand off Morvin’s neck, he finally releases our hostage. The guy runs a hand over his throat and straightens his robes but doesn’t attack or run away screaming. Instead, he simply looks to his clan leader.
“Thank you, Morvin,” Severin Godblessed says. “You may rejoin the others outside.”
After bowing his head, Morvin calmly walks out the door. I clench my hand, waiting to hear him sound the alarm and scream out orders to gather weapons and attack. He doesn’t. He simply walks out the open door in silence and disappears from view.
With a confused frown on my face, I turn back to the leader of the Gold Clan.
“So, what can I do for you?” he asks.
I just gape back at him. I feel like my head is ringing. Nothing about this is going the way I thought it would.
“You have lived isolated in here for six thousand years,” I begin, not being able to mask the bafflement in my tone. “Three fae have just broken in. And that is your first question?”
He shrugs, making that golden tassel sway and brush against his neck. “If you are here, it is because Azaroth wills it so. And our job is not to question the will of God. It is to obey.”
“Excellent,” Orion says with a sharp smile on his lips. “Then you need to come with us and do exactly as we say.”
Severin chuckles. “Oh, you misunderstand. God’s will is absolute. Yours is not.”
“But if your god brought us here, then what’s the difference?” I question.
“The difference is that it has already happened. You are already here. Which means that Azaroth wanted it that way.”
My confusion deepens, and so does my frown. “I… What?”
“Why don’t you just tell me what it is that you came here for, and then I can decide if that aligns with the will of Azaroth or not?”
“I thought Azaroth decided what his will was. Not you.”
He just gives me a patient smile, as if he is looking at a child who will never understand the true depths of his theological intricacies.
“We’re here because Bane and Jessina Iceheart sent us in here to get you,” Isera says in her no-nonsense tone.
At that, Severin’s gaze sharpens for a second before he smoothens his features into a pleasant smile again. “Bane and Jessina Iceheart? They are still alive?”
“You knew them?”
“Me personally, no. But our ancestors knew them, of course.”
“Of course?” Isera echoes. “Why of course?”
“They are the reason we are in here. Or rather, our own actions are the reason we are in here. But those actions directly involved Bane and Jessina.”
“In what way?”