Chapter Twenty - Three Jalisa #2
Nepa reared back. “It would take generations for you to atone for what you’ve done.
At no point did your father give back to the families who were abused by his.
So, he stopped the practices, but we were still left poor.
He sent no aid to help dragons or their kind.
Not to the ones who suffered at the hands of his family.
No, instead he moved past it as if it never happened. Just like all the nobles in Nodoor.”
I glanced quickly at my father, who looked away, still clutching his side as he struggled to remain upright. “I gave in secrecy. I didn’t want anyone to know about why.”
Nepa pounded her hand against my invisible wall, and I could see her nails were now long black talons. I sucked in a breath, thankful that those things hadn’t sliced into me yet. “They should know. Everyone should. We haven’t received so much as a public apology.”
My father had the decency to look ashamed. “You are right. We can do that. I can atone for my family’s sins in public. Death, be it yours or mine, will do nothing for your cause or your family.”
I could see the first visible crack in her stubbornness. She had to know this was true. What would she gain? “Do you think working with Jullian will help your cause?” I began. “He hates dragons. He thinks of your kind as second-class citizens. I’m sure his family was just as awful to dragons.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You think I don’t know that? He’s a means to an end.”
“He wants to destroy the court because he hates being ruled by Prinathians. Do you want things to go back to the way they were? Nodoor allowed this kind of mistreatment to happen. The Prinaths made it unlawful.”
“He said it wouldn’t be the same as it was. That he wanted to make sure Nodoorians got treated fairly. Right now, only Prinathians govern. I don’t want to be a second-class citizen ever again, not even to Prinathians.”
I gave a dry laugh. “Well, you will be if you trust Jullian and anyone running the rebellion. Let’s be honest, I knew my family wasn’t the kindest and I willfully ignored any possibilities of how awful our history had been.
But I will make sure that anyone living who had a part in mistreating dragons pays for it.
I will also make sure that those harmed get some kind of payment for what they went through. ”
Nepa sneered, looking down at me, and I could tell she was not going to give in even if what I was saying was true. “I would never believe your kind.”
“I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t if I were you. But I have access, and we can make it happen. If we don’t, you can kill us.”
My father coughed behind me. “Jalisa.”
I raised a hand to stop him from talking.
“We will let the public know of our history. We could lose business. It will hurt us. But we built our success, in part, off the backs of those we severely underpaid and mistreated. Never again. We don’t have to keep fighting.
You kill me and nothing ends. It just gets worse for you.
We can help you get out of this, Nepa. And get justice for your family.
I know you aren’t evil. You weren’t behind killing my brother.
We talked to your uncle Pierce. You’ve done some shitty things, but we can get through it.
Well, at least I can, not sure about Ivan.
That you’ll have to work through on your own.
However, what I’m offering is a good deal.
You can hate me all you want, but you know that I, personally, haven’t done these offenses.
And there is a reason your cousin loved me.
Back when he used to remember me. And I love him just as much.
I’ve never mistreated dragons, and I, along with my father, will dedicate our lives to ensuring justice for your kind. Can we call a truce?”
She considered me for a moment, working her jaw as she thought.
I stood patiently, trying to ignore the fighting off into the distance and weird booming noise behind me, along with occasional shakes of the ground.
This mansion was not stable, and something was happening.
Perhaps a realm quake? I opened my mouth to encourage her to speed up when she finally spoke.
“I don’t trust you, and I think my cousin is a fool for falling for you.
But if you can do what you say you can do, then I will give you an opportunity.
However, just know, that this doesn’t start and end with me.
If you don’t keep your word, it won’t be just me who comes for you. I’m the nicest of the bunch.”
She gave me a sharp-toothed smile that I was sure was meant to chill me to the bone because I was fighting hard not to shiver.
She couldn’t shift but seeing that she had dragon teeth made her nearly as dangerous.
Yes, she was nice because I should have been dead.
She’d been holding back while fighting me.
That was kind and terrifying at the same time.
I gave a curt nod, still holding my breath. Had I actually talked myself out of possible death instead of going in for the fight? That felt very…wise of me. “I understand. I’ll put out our first apology tomorrow. I need to know that Ivan’s okay and get my father help.”
Nepa’s sword disappeared from her hand, and she looked to the double doors behind me. “I’m pretty sure Ivan’s outside.” She turned and began to walk away. “Did you know Jacob was a dragon too?”
My heart stopped for the briefest of seconds. No, I did not know Jacob was a dragon. Well, that explained the ground shaking. There was a dragon fight outside, and I really hoped Ivan was winning.