Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Marcus had been prepared for her answer, but it still sent a shockwave through him. What was it about his kind that made so many want to kill them? He stared at Fedra and fought the urge to rip off the fabric covering her eyes. He wanted to look into the dark depths to find the facts.
Even as that thought wound through his mind, he knew he had gotten the truth he had frantically sought.
Another enemy had been found. When would the battles end?
When would people stop coming for them? The peace the Kings had been longing for seemed ever out of reach.
They appeared to get close a few times, but it was all an illusion, as if some cosmic being constantly altered time and space to keep them forever locked in combat, fighting for the lives of those they loved.
The Kings had given up everything on Earth and sent the dragons away to live free of humans.
That sacrifice had left scars on both the Kings and the dragons that lived on in the descendants that roamed Zora to this day.
Yet that freedom had been taken from the dragons when Villette brought humans to the realm.
A mortal from another realm, holding a deep grudge against his kind, sat before him. The very human he had risked all to get to and then free from stasis. The irony wasn’t lost on him.
Fedra couldn’t stay in the city, but neither could they let her loose on Zora. The best thing would be to take her somewhere where there were no dragons or magic and let her live out her days. The problem with that was that it took magic to move her.
Marcus cut his eyes to the right when Cullen stepped toward the bed. In the next second, Marcus shifted to stand between Fedra and his friend. He had reacted without even realizing it, and Marcus could neither explain nor justify his actions.
A brief frown creased Con’s brow, but it was gone before anyone noticed.
Ryder put a hand out and stopped Cullen from continuing.
Cullen looked over at Ryder, but Ryder just shook his head.
Marcus observed it all, wondering why he had chosen to protect Fedra despite what he had just learned.
Cullen’s pale brown eyes slowly met his, and a tense minute passed before he stepped back.
“Revenge,” Con murmured. “You crossed space, came to a world that wasna yours, and entered stasis, all for vengeance.”
Marcus looked over his shoulder at Fedra.
She raised her chin. “Tell me you wouldn’t do the same.”
“The dragons on Zora didna harm your world,” Con added.
She snorted, her animosity clear. “You have no way of knowing that.”
They actually did, but none of them would say as much.
Besides, she wouldn’t believe them, even if they did.
Marcus looked away, his emotions rioting within his body.
Why was he protecting someone hell-bent on harming the dragons?
He wouldn’t stand against his brothers, nor the dragons.
He had vowed to protect them when he became a Dragon King.
He walked back to the wall and resumed his place there. It would be better if he left, but he couldn’t manage that. Not yet, at least. Putting distance between him and Fedra was hard enough.
“You could’ve hurt the dragons the moment you arrived on Zora,” Con continued. “Why wait? Why enter stasis?”
The four of them waited with bated breath for an answer, each watching her for the slightest twitch of muscle. When Con stepped away from the wall, Marcus had to fight to keep himself in place. Every fiber of his being demanded that he put himself in Con’s path to protect her.
Marcus fisted his hands, dropped his chin to his chest, and closed his eyes as he battled the urge to shield Fedra.
She was his enemy. He wouldn’t stand against his friends.
He wouldn’t. His arms shook as his muscles flexed and tightened.
One foot slid forward an inch. He gritted his teeth and refused to let his body move again.
“I was waiting.”
Fedra’s voice reached him through the haze of confusion and anger. There was only one reason she had waited. And that was for the Kings. He opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head. Her face was pointed in his direction, as if she were speaking to him.
“For what?” he ground out, his voice straining along with his muscles.
He was silently begging her not to say the words, pleading with the universe not to put an enemy within their home.
But it all fell on deaf ears.
“The Dragon Kings.”
Her words were like a dagger twisting in his chest. Why had fate allowed her voice to reach him while she was in stasis? Why had such a connection developed when she held such hatred for his kind in her heart?
Marcus looked at Con to find the King of Dragon Kings watching him. He needed to get away from Fedra, far away. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he stayed. But he had firmly planted his feet, and now, he couldn’t seem to move.
“I suppose I should take your silence to mean that you know about the Kings,” Fedra said.
Marcus didn’t want to hear anymore. He wanted the bond between them broken. If he harmed or betrayed any of his friends, he would never be able to live with the guilt. Fedra hadn’t used magic, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some way of removing whatever she had done to him.
Con kept his gaze on Marcus as he said, “There are many magical beings on Zora. The dragons are simply one kind.”
“I’m only after the dragons.”
It was getting harder to breathe. The longer he kept himself from going to Fedra, the worse he felt. His leg gave out, and he dropped to one knee. He braced himself with one hand while he pressed the other against his chest.
“What’s wrong with Marcus?” Fedra asked.
Ryder grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up, but his legs wouldn’t hold him.
“How do you know something’s wrong?” Con asked her.
Marcus lifted his head to look at her. Fedra’s brow was furrowed as if she were worried. Would she still feel that way when she learned the truth about him? The thought made him snort a laugh.
“I…just do,” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper. “What’s the matter with him?”
“I’m…fine,” Marcus ground out.
Con swung his head to the bed, pinning Fedra with his gaze. “How were you planning on taking revenge alone?”
“You don’t believe I can?” she asked.
Marcus shook his head, silently begging her not to say more.
But it was a useless gesture since she couldn’t see him.
He looked at the others in the room, noting their mounting anger.
And understanding it. His gaze slid back to Fedra.
Who was she, exactly? And what compelled him to defend her, even against his own?
“You seem verra capable,” Con said evenly. “I’m merely asking how you would do it.”
She turned her head toward him. “You don’t sound afraid of the dragons.”
“Why would we be? They doona cross the border, nor do humans cross onto their land,” Con replied.
Marcus pushed himself to his feet, but Ryder didn’t release him. He wasn’t sure if it was because Ryder thought he might go after one of them—or if it was to keep Marcus from going to Fedra.
“You expect me to believe the dragons don’t wander outside of their land?” she said, skepticism lacing her words.
Cullen vibrated with outrage, and Ryder’s indignation was visible. While Con, long known for his ability to stay cool under the most intense pressure, didn’t even bat an eye.
“We live with the dragons. You doona,” Con remarked. “We know them much better than you.”
Fedra nodded solemnly. “What about the Dragon Kings? Do they stay contained within this so-called border?”
“What makes you think they doona?” Marcus asked.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I just do.”
“That isna much of a reasoning.” Con clasped his hands behind his back. “You seem to be an expert for someone who only saw a dragon once.”
“Once was enough. I’d be happy to never see another again in my life.”
Marcus frowned when he saw her shiver at her words.
He wondered how she would react if she knew she was surrounded by the very beings she loathed.
But he had seen it firsthand numerous times.
Fear and hatred clouded people’s judgment and blinded them to facts.
Nothing any of them could say would change her mind.
“None of you have magic,” she stated as she moved her head back to Marcus. “How are you all right living so close to the beasts?”
“How do you know we doona have magic?” Con asked.
Her lips compressed briefly. “If you had it, you would’ve noticed something immediately by being around me, and you would’ve said something.”
Even though Marcus knew she had been the cause of his pain earlier, it still rattled him to hear her talk so indifferently about something that could harm others—and potentially kill.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Fedra said.
Marcus glanced at the ground. “As stated earlier, magic is all around the realm. There’s no running from it.”
“If the dragons were gone, the magic might go with them.”
Ryder dropped his hand from Marcus’s arm and exchanged a look with Cullen.
It was becoming painfully clear that Fedra couldn’t remain in the city.
But neither could they let her wander around Zora.
The easiest answer would be to send her somewhere else.
The problem with that, again, was that magic was needed to do so.
The only other option was her death.
“You’ve no’ told us how you plan to harm the dragons,” Con said, steering the conversation back on track.
She shook her head slightly. “I don’t think I’ll be sharing that. You asked for honesty, and I’ve given it, but I can tell by your voices that you don’t agree with me. Which means, you’ll try to stop me.”
Marcus rubbed his chest, hoping the tightness would lessen. “You came to this world intending to do harm and disrupt life here, and you want us to sit back and do nothing?”
“I do,” she replied.
Con was unfazed by her answer. “And if we prevent you?”
“The only way to stop me is to kill me.”
Marcus turned to Con. They had all come to that conclusion several minutes before.
The Kings had chosen not to wipe out the humans on Earth, and that decision had forever ripped apart their lives.
There wasn’t a Dragon King who hadn’t thought back to that day and wondered what might have happened if they had turned on the humans.
It was as if fate had dumped a second chance into their laps.
It wasn’t hundreds of thousands of mortals this time—it was just one.
One life in exchange for allowing the dragons to continue to live free and peacefully.
One life where all those with magic could live without pain if they ever accidentally got too close to Fedra.
One life compared to thousands.
No matter how Marcus looked at it, he couldn’t see another way out of the mess. And while he could admit that to himself, he wouldn’t say it aloud. And those facts warred with the compulsion he felt to protect her at all costs.
“How do you know there are no’ dragons on other realms?” Con asked.
Fedra didn’t hesitate when she said, “This is their home.”
“That didna answer the question.” Too many things didn’t add up for Marcus. The main one being how she knew so much about the dragons.
“Of course, it did.”
Con said, “It doesna. You merely stated a fact. Zora is home to dragons. You didna answer if there were other realms with dragons.”
“Because there aren’t. They’re all here,” she replied.
Marcus didn’t realize that he had moved toward her until his legs touched the foot of her bed. “How do you know the information given to you wasna a lie?”
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I suppose I don’t.”
“But you believe it all the same?”
Her head dipped in response.
Fedra was their enemy, but it seemed there was a bigger threat behind her, pushing her toward them. It wasn’t the first time someone had played the long game with them, but this felt different.
“What if I were to prove to you that there is another realm with dragons?” he asked.
Her lips parted, but she didn’t respond.
Marcus wasn’t deterred, though. He tried another approach. “Who was the man who brought you here?”
“I told you, I don’t know his name. I never spoke to him,” she said.
Con asked, “You said those with magic can no’ be around you. I’m betting he didna get close to you, did he?”
“No,” she said after a brief hesitation.
Marcus looked at his friends. Someone extremely powerful with a deep grudge against the dragons had put Fedra here—and there was only one race they knew of that had that kind of ability.
The Star People.
The four of them walked out without another word to Fedra.