Chapter 19
Rook
“You’d better have a good reason for dragging my ass out here, Gaheris.” I didn’t bother waiting for him to invite me inside, simply stalking through his open door. If he had a problem with it, he’d say. And then maybe he wouldn’t insist on me coming out here again.
“How about impending war?” he said, closing the door and following me along the hallway. I led us both into his study—I’d been here often enough to know the way, though granted not for the last fifty years. It hadn’t changed much, aside from looking more faded than the last time I’d been here.
He lacks pride in his territory, my dragon observed, unimpressed.
“You should redecorate before someone assumes your territory is uninhabited and claims it. And I fail to see why your impending war is any concern of mine.”
“It’s always such a joy seeing you, Rook,” Gaheris deadpanned, striding over to his drinks cabinet.
He raised a brow in question and I dipped my chin in answer, the simple gestures all the communication we needed after knowing each other for as long as we had.
He set out two glasses and splashed a generous measure of whiskey into both.
“And need I remind you, it’s not just my war.
If the rebels rile Uther enough, he’ll make sure the whole region is dragged into it.
I know you like to pretend you live in a whole other world, but you are in fact part of this one. ”
I grunted as I accepted his glass, and his point. If Uther really wanted to cause trouble, there would be no avoiding his gaze. That was the reason I’d come. The only reason.
Keep telling yourself that.
What’s that supposed to mean? I demanded.
Running away from Kaylee is no smarter than locking her in her room.
I’m not running away from— And I locked her in for her safety.
If Gaheris wasn’t exaggerating about the rebels, and Uther’s impending reaction—which was what I was here to find out—then I couldn’t rule out someone flying over my territory, and catching sight of my vulnerable Tribute sunning herself on the grounds.
She was safer hidden away while I wasn’t around, at least until I could ascertain if the risk was real.
I’d have thought my dragon would agree with that, given how obsessed with her he was.
I agree with keeping her safely inside. But I am not as confident as you that a door will hold her. And as for obsessed, it wasn’t me who had to stay in my seat like a hatchling unable to control his reaction to an attractive female.
I do not find our Tribute attractive.
And I absolutely did not want to discuss my unfortunate…
reaction. The scent of her defiance as she choked down the meal she’d deliberately ruined, and then the sight of her little pink tongue peeking out as she locked eyes with me, licking the plate…
I cleared my throat and took a sip of the whiskey, savoring the expensive taste as it swirled across my palate, but unable to keep from wondering how the Tribute’s flavor would compare.
I suspected she would put the whiskey to shame…
and I had no intention of finding out. But I was absolutely going to spank her if she looked at me like that again.
“Do you need a moment?” Gaheris arched a brow at me. He knew me too well. I shook my head and gestured with an open hand.
“Please, go ahead. Tell me how a few wolf rebels in the east are going to pull down our empire.”
“Flippancy does not become you, old friend. Nor does it do much to mask your emotions.”
“If you’re waiting for me to run around screaming like a headless chicken, you’re going to be in for a long wait.”
He blew out an irritated sigh. “You’re outnumbered, and outpowered, Rook. Uther wasn’t convinced of your loyalty by your attendance at the summit.”
“Your point?”
“If Uther comes for you, you’ll be as good as defenseless.”
I knew it. He knew I knew it. And saying it out loud changed nothing.
“What’s the reason you invited me here, Gaheris? And let’s cut the vague bullshit, yeah?”
“The way I see it, we have two choices. Two sides.”
“Sides? You’re suggesting we choose between fighting with Uther, and, what…fighting on the side of the rebels?”
“No. I’m saying have no choice but to choose whether to fight for Uther or the rebels—sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option.”
I growled in frustration. This was the last thing I needed.
“I could barely stomach Uther last time I flew on a battlefield with him—and by with him, I mean half a mile in front of him. Now you want us to join his crusade?”
Gaheris drew in a slow breath, and my eyes narrowed. “Gaheris?”
“No,” he said quietly. My brows climbed.
“No?”
“No.” He met my eyes. “Tell me this world is what you wanted it to be.”
“I like my life just as it is.”
“That wasn’t the question, Rook. The way your wolves live isn’t the closely guarded secret you like to think.”
“They’re not my wolves.”
Gaheris leaned back in his chair, arching a brow, and I grunted. Point made.
“That doesn’t mean I’m willing to go to war for them. And last time I checked, you weren’t either.”
Gaheris shook his head. “You’ve been living behind your high walls for too long. You have no idea what’s happening out there, do you? The way the shifters live? The humans?”
I snorted. “You mistake me for some other kind of dragon. The humans are nothing to me.”
“They’re less than nothing to Uther and his ilk. Slaves. Cattle. And the shifters? All this time, Rook, all this time we’ve spoken about rebels in the east, and not once, not a single time, have you asked the most important question.”
The back of my neck prickled, and my beast stirred uneasily inside of me. I spoke slowly.
“Why are the shifters rebelling in the east?”
Gaheris leaned forward, the whiskey in his hand forgotten. “They’re being tortured. Hunted for sport. Bred to be murdered.”
“No.” It didn’t make sense. Uther was ruthless, sure, and he’d hated the wolves even before the war, sure, but— “Fuck.” I raked a hand through my hand. “He’s just letting it happen?”
Gaheris shook his head. “No, Rook. He’s not just letting it happen. He’s not even just encouraging it. He’s made it law. No young dragon is considered ‘of age’ until they’ve got at least one kill under their belt. One wolf.”
“Fuck,” I spat again. “Why the hell did no-one tell me?”
“I tried, but you’re not the easiest guy to get a meeting with.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me on any of the times we’ve spoken over the phone in the last decade?”
“What, all three of them?” he countered.
“And if you think it’s safe to speak about this on the phone, you’re even more na?ve than I thought.
Please tell me that’s not the case, because if we’re going to do something about this, then I need my old friend Rook, the feared warlord.
Not—” he gestured me up and down in a distinctly unflattering way, “—whatever the fuck this is.”
I waved him off. It wasn’t that I was na?ve, I just…was out of that way of thinking.
“So, are we?” he asked, holding my eye.
“Are we what?”
“Are we going to do something about this?”
My lips curved into a smile. “What do you think?”