Chapter 62
Lorien
“Do a sweep of the building first,” I shouted at Kael as we flew around the keep. “Let me get the lay of the land.”
“Scared, are ya?”
He was the man I called brother and yet he looked back over his shoulder, grinning like a loon.
“Not scared.”
Intent, that’s how I felt. Blood pulsed through my veins, making my head quiet and still the same way it always did when we pulled off a heist. Before it was to steal some coins or food to live, but now? My whole heart was in this mission.
Fern called us a wing.
That had to mean something, right? She was starting to accept the bond. Well, if I pulled this off, found out whatever the hell the general thought he could use against us, then she’d turn to me in a rush of appreciation. Maybe a few kisses—
“Ready?” Kael yelled.
No, I was not, and yet my feet were moving of their own accord.
My mind might be distracted, but the muscle memory was still there.
Following the sways of Slate’s body, I kept my balance, a hand on Kael’s shoulder as my legs coiled under me.
For Fern, I thought, my body thrumming with excitement. For—
“Now!”
Kael’s cry, the roar of the corp dragons as they joined the fray, they were mixed by my shout as I launched myself free.
For just a second, I hung in the air, my entire consciousness focused on that balcony.
I could’ve drawn the balustrades from memory, they were so clear, right before a realisation hit me.
This was going to hurt.
I let my body go limp, curling into a ball, but that wasn’t enough to stop the impact from rattling every bone. Rolling forward, I sprang into a standing position, then shook my head. The big glass doors were wide open, allowing me to stroll into the general’s office.
Secure the door, that was my first task.
Flicking the lock mechanism, then propping a chair under the handle would stop anyone from getting in.
That wasn’t a focus right now. The muffled shouts and screams made clear that the entire keep was in a flap, thinking they were under attack.
Get the damn cupboard open, I thought, pulling my tools from my belt, then we’re away…
It was a long time since I’d had to use my lock-picking tools, but I couldn’t let that stop me now.
I slid the fine blade into the brass lock, my tongue catching between my teeth.
The actual pick went in next, trying to move the tumblers into the unlocked position.
Feel for it, I thought, wiggling the blade, then feeling it slide forward a little.
Now a little finessing, a twist of my wrist and…
The door popped open to reveal a puzzle box.
I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it.
“Oh, you beautiful thing…” I smoothed my hands over the sides, feeling for the different parts of the mechanism.
My mother was given a puzzle box once as payment for her services and a very young Lorien was obsessed with it.
Dad encouraged me, thinking I might be apprenticed to the thieves’ guild, right before he figured I’d make more money on my back.
The boxes were always a combination of mechanisms that if you worked them just the right way—
“General?” A thud on the door had me looking up sharply. “General! The silver dragons have decimated the ballista.”
Had they? With a grin, I turned back to my task, shutting everything else out. There was always multiple parts that could be manipulated in a puzzle box. The more there were, the greater number of possible combinations, meaning it would usually take someone days to discover the correct combination.
Not me.
I’d trained myself to feel for it, the slight give of a mechanism indicated that it was the right one, then moved on to the next. Slide this forward, twist that, all while pressing this button and that down before–
Brother, ‘Fang said. Slate’s rider asks if you’ve found the box. More and more corp dragons are joining the fray. We will fight them for our mate if we must, but—
I’ve got it.
But I wish I hadn’t. My heart sank as I stared at what was inside.
As a citizen of Harlston, I knew exactly what this was.
The whole of Nevermere learned about dragonstone amulet when newspapers printed etchings of the devices the old duke used to coerce the dragons on the corp to do his bidding, attacking their own people.
But this one was different.
Not an amulet, but a staff. I hauled it out of the box, the carved wood fitting perfectly in my hand. It was the huge chunk of dragonstone caught between the jaws of three dragons that had despair setting in.
I knew now what the general intended.
Dragonstone was used by the old duke and the evil queen to control dragons. She’s managed that with Zafira and grew greedy. The two of them had then used more to control all manner of dragons as they thought to dethrone the king and take over the country.
So why would the general have stolen such a thing?
It wasn’t hard to see it. Him wielding the sceptre as Auren, blank eyed, head drooping, was directed to breed with one male dragon after another.
Fern.
My teeth clenched tight as my mind put it all together. She’d be staring at each rider as they clustered closer, teeth flashing, hands rising, ready to grab her.
Not on my watch.
The wood carvings dug deep into my skin as I made for the door. This wasn’t the plan. I was to alert Kael and he’d sweep past close enough for me to jump back onto the saddle, but I knew now that had to change. Dragging the chair back and unlocking the door, I confronted a pair of startled riders.
“You’re not the general,” one snapped.
“No,” I said, thrusting the dragonstone staff into their faces. “Because I sure as hell would never take possession of something like this.”
Their faces went awfully pale as they stared at the thing the same way someone might a rotting corpse. Their wide eyed stare told me everything I needed to know.
The general hadn’t shared his plan with anyone.
“You!” one rider snapped. “You’re…”
Whatever he had to say died as the anger was replaced by wonder.
He examined the staff and so did everyone else, then shrank back as I walked down the steps.
Everywhere I went, the response was the same.
Possessing a dragonstone staff like this was a capital offence and people feared guilt by association. Made it real easy to find the general.
“Get every dragon in the air, now!” he barked, and I wondered how everyone didn’t see it. Puffed out chest, eyes wild, this was a man in his element. He was making decisive gestures and forcing every rider here to race to do exactly as he asked.
Which made me wonder about this whole situation.
When we first arrived at the keep, the general seemed to think our dragons were an asset. Lance would’ve happily seen us exiled to the continent on first meeting, but Rex said we could stay. Perhaps he imagined ordering us around, our massive beasts at his beck and call.
Only to discover that would never be possible.
“Is this how you thought you’d do it?” Before everyone was focussed on the general, but now the keep’s attention turned to me. I held the staff up and there were gasps, muttered exclamations, when they realised what it was. “Is this what you were going to use to bring Auren to heel?”
The general turned, then went very pale. That furtive look, it made clear his guilt. The man seemed to visibly deflate, but he caught himself midway and straightened up.
“Where the hell did you get a dragonstone staff from?” he spluttered. “They are strictly prohibited under the agreement. Riders—!”
“From your office.” Men were poised, ready to act, but still deciding how. “If anyone wants to run upstairs and take a look, there’s a puzzle box in the cupboard behind the door.”
“A likely story…”
The general was back to blustering, though I think everyone heard the shift in his tone. No longer a great warrior, he was now like a small child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“The only story.” I walked closer. “You got the idea from the old queen, right? She used something like this to force Zafira to bond with her.”
“Rex.” That Hazel woman came bustling over, her face like thunder. “Is this true?”
“Of course it’s—”
“Summon your queen dragon,” I told her. “Have Zafira look into my heart. She’ll see what I did. This is his staff.” I shook the damn thing. “That was his plan.”
There is always a point that comes when a man realises he’s out of options. The general reached it now. The facade dropped and something hard and hungry replaced it.
“What else did you expect me to do?” That confidence was back, but by all the gods, it was misplaced.
My heart ached with every beat as I realised what we had managed to avoid.
“Your silver beasts are completely uncontrollable.” He gestured to the entrance and, sure enough, my brothers were doing a good job of making his point.
“If they mated with Auren, they’d produce—”
“White-gold queens.” My lips twisted into a smile.
“Massive, fierce females you’d never have a chance of controlling, and what then?
How would you populate your corp when you could no longer guarantee your supply of dragons?
You’d be forced to negotiate with the wild dragons, with women…
” I shook my head, because right now I had this man’s number.
What was I but the son of a woman that men thought they could do what they liked with if they had the coin to spend?
“Forge mutually satisfying alliances, and that was never on the cards for you.”
More people came running in through the doorway, then came skidding to a stop. One was that bloke from the pub. He straightened his fancy suit and then watched the proceedings with a keen eye.
“When you’ve had absolute control your entire life, sharing power must feel like a loss,” I said.