Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Human Manipulation
MAGNOLIA
Arrik waited until Cash walked back to the sofas before he turned to me.
“It’s called a Vinculum bond. It forms between a rider and a dragon when the union is blessed by one of the Moons.
If you aren’t selected by a dragon or if a bond doesn’t form, you don’t get a redo.
” His voice was low, something that happened every time Cash came around.
“So this might seem silly to you,” he added, “but all those riders down there are fighting for their lives. They aren’t just here for your entertainment. ”
“I never said they were,” I snapped back. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I didn’t choose to be here.”
“You could have run.” His voice lowered, like he didn’t want anyone to overhear us, even though everyone was too busy in their own conversations, and then some of his anger clicked.
No one was paying attention—the food, the drinks, the gowns, everything about this tournament screamed it was all for show.
I recalled breakfast, how Arrik was the only one at the table not taking side bets on who would survive.
This hit a nerve with him.
It made me wonder how his tournament went and what he had to do to survive because the amount of death I’d seen so far was brutal. Riders were hacking into other riders with such fervor that it made the entire thing gruesome.
“Right,” I rolled my eyes, drawing my thoughts back to his comment. “Because I’m going to trust you and cross the Drakin Mountains to get into Inyaerille. I don’t believe anything you say.”
“Then don’t ask me questions.”
My fists curled at my sides as I fought the urge to punch him. Instead, I walked toward the back of the balcony where Cash was. If Arrik wasn’t going to answer my questions, Cash already insinuated he would.
“Hey, convict,” Cash smirked as I approached him.
“Mind if I join?”
“Getting sick of Arrik that fast, huh?” He leaned back on one of the lounges, a drink in his hand, a smile on his face, and a pretty blonde next to him.
“He’s the equivalent of talking to a brick,” I said, and the blonde nearly lost her jaw with how much it dropped. “So yeah, it didn’t take long to get sick of him.”
Cash grinned, rising from the plush sofas to stand, forcing me to tilt my head up. “I knew I liked you.” He gestured toward the refreshment tables. “Let’s get you a drink.”
I hesitantly took one from him, not that I planned on drinking it, but just so I had something to do with my hands.
I swore I felt pale brown eyes burn into me from across the balcony, but if Arrik was watching, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of looking back.
He could think whatever he wanted. It was obvious the two of them hated each other, and I wasn’t going to be tossed around like a pawn in whatever was going on between them.
“So what do you want to talk about, convict?” Cash asked before taking a long sip from his drink.
“I was hoping you could answer more questions about the Vargothi.” I figured that wouldn’t be suspicious.
I was from Moriann, he knew that, and even if I wasn’t asking because of my hunt, I wanted to know.
The entire thing was foreign to me. Besides knowing that it happened every century, I was completely clueless on what actually took place.
“Sure,” he shrugged, walking toward the far end of the railing, opposite of where Arrik was still standing. It didn’t slide past me that no one else was over here. He was guiding me away from the crowd.
Whatever, Magnolia. Don’t think about it. You need answers. You can spend a few minutes talking to him even if he gives you the creeps.
“Were you alive for the last tournament?” I started with because there was no way of telling anyone’s age.
“I’ve been alive for the past three.”
My heart skipped a beat. I had no idea how old Hael was or when he competed, but I prayed Cash had seen it and could give me insight. “Who won the last tournament?”
He cocked a grin. “You don’t know?”
“Clearly or I wouldn’t be asking,” I said, pretending to take a sip from my drink, only because Cash was watching me.
“Their leader.”
So Hael. My heart accelerated because finally the conversation organically came up.
I’d been waiting for this. I knew it was safe to ask about the Vargothi in general, but I couldn’t be the first person to bring up Hael.
I hadn’t heard his name until the triplets, so I had no idea if he was publicly known, and if I was wrong, it would have immediately blown my cover.
“And what did he pick?” I asked. I could feel Arrik’s gaze on us, but I tried to block him out. If he didn’t want me talking to Cash, he should have just answered my questions himself.
“Are you asking if you have a chance with him during the ball?” Cash smirked, pushing a blonde strand of hair off his forehead.
My cheeks heated, but I tried to hide it by looking out at the projection. It was worse knowing Arrik probably heard it too. The idea of him thinking that I wanted to hook up with a drakin turned my stomach.
I had no idea why it bothered me, why I didn’t want him to know…
I could feel Cash still staring at me. I couldn’t get a read on him.
Anytime he trained me, he was ruthless, agonizingly taunting me to the point that I hated him, but outside of training he wasn’t completely awful.
He never tried touching me, and from what I could tell, he didn’t mock me for what he inferred about my Token. That had to count for something, right?
But there was something off about him despite it, something I didn’t like. I wasn’t sure if it was just from training, from my brain confusing him with Dahes, or if it was something else entirely.
“Call it curiosity,” I shrugged, trying my best to keep my face neutral.
I overheard people gossiping about who he slept with, but maybe they were also riders.
I wasn’t sure if they had to wear their uniforms all the time or not, and if someone wasn’t wearing their drakin leathers or Wielder’s jumpsuit, I had no way of knowing.
It wasn’t like there were any physical characteristics that set us apart. Even commoners looked exactly the same.
“He didn’t get a choice,” Cash said.
That was surprising, and finally some sort of lead. “I thought that was the point of winning? Or one of the points,” I added, remembering Arrik said something about being sanctioned from a burning.
“It’s supposed to be.”
“So he was selected to breed?” I guessed.
“Nope.” Cash chugged the rest of his drink. “Believe it or not, Elion banned him from breeding. He was sterilized.”
That was even more surprising. “Why? If he won, wouldn’t that make him the strongest?” I assumed that was the whole point of the forced breeding, that Elion wanted the Drakin Army to be formidable.
“You would think,” Cash deadpanned. “Honestly, it surprised the hell out of everyone.”
“Did he have too many family lines then?” I asked, remembering Cash told me yesterday that the selection was picked based on skill but also past breeding lineage.
He shrugged. “No idea. Breeding within the drakins is never talked about. Sometimes it’s obvious if a female rider hasn’t been seen in awhile, but King Elion mostly keeps them at MonClem, so it’s not uncommon to not see one for months. Makes it easy to hide a pregnancy.”
“MonClem?”
“It’s the ceremonial housing for riders up on the Drakin Mountains.”
“So the female riders have to stay there all the time?”
Cash gave a half nod. “I don’t know if they are forced to, but most do anyway.”
I couldn’t stop the mumbled slur before they left my lips, “Kind of seems unfair if the guys have free reign.”
“Careful, convict,” Cash smiled. “You don’t want anyone overhearing you questioning King Elion’s decisions.”
I crossed my arms, knowing full well Arrik was definitely listening. I stole a quick glance at him and if looks could kill, I’d be dead. His jaw was set, his hands gripping the railing, as his gaze flicked from Cash to me.
“So it’s against his rules to even question him?” I asked, forcing myself to not look at Arrik again.
The smile wiped off Cash’s face. “Yes,” he said, his playful demeanor turning serious.
“And to answer your question, I don’t think the riders mind.
Most of them like to keep to themselves anyway.
Only young riders fresh out of the Vargothi usually dabble with Wielders for the first couple of decades anyway. Most stay in the mountain pass.”
“What’s it like?” I asked, knowing the chances of me having to go there would be significantly higher if I couldn’t figure out who Hael was this week. Maybe that’s where he stayed.
“No idea.” Some time between my question and his answer, a servant refilled his drink.
“Only riders are allowed to enter, so no one really knows.” He took a long sip, looking out at the projection.
Only half the initiates were still alive and most were struggling navigating the piling bodies—they weren’t cleared.
Even all the way up here, I was starting to smell a metallic scent from the amount of blood that coated the mud.
“Apparently they have a whole village there,” Cash said. “Their dragons are close by, which is probably why they don’t like to leave to come to the castle much.”
“So the riders and initiates all live together?”
“So many questions about drakins,” he taunted, not giving me an answer. Maybe he didn’t know.
“I was just curious,” I deflected, trying to sound casual. “This is all new to me, and I find it fascinating.”
“Fascination can be dangerous, convict,” he eyed me. “But I’m guessing you already know that.”
I bit my lip as my gaze narrowed. I hadn’t missed this. The manipulation that came with human interaction. Back in Moriann everything was a game with your life up for gamble.
Instead, I turned back toward the projection.
The suns were starting to shift, sinking lower into the sky.
It was a reminder that another day would be wasted after the fighting ended, and other than finding out that Hael competed in the last century Vargothi and won—despite not getting a choice—I had nothing.
He was picked for sterilization, but no one knew why.
It meant he had no children. And judging from the gossip, there didn’t seem to be any romantic connection to use.
It was odd. I still couldn’t understand how I hadn’t found him yet.
He had to be here, right? There was no way they had a tournament without their leader present?
“Will he be at the ball?” I asked because I had to. I was running out of time, and I didn’t particularly want to walk across a mountain pass where dragons could burn me to a crisp… or eat me alive.
Tomorrow was the last day the tournament would be held in the Dome. Which meant there was only two more days left, counting the ball, to guarantee that Hael would be at the castle. Two more days until the official end to the Vargothi, that was it.
Cash just laughed at me. “Happy to find out he can fuck Wielders?” he arched a brow.
“That’s not why I was asking—” But I stopped myself, because maybe that should be why I was asking. It would come off as suspicious for any other reason. Suns, I hated this.
Cash just laughed, but didn’t answer. Instead, he left me alone by the railing as he went to talk with the other Wielders on our balcony.
I looked back at Arrik. I hated it, hated that it felt compulsive. Even if I didn’t want to, I couldn’t stop my eyes from veering toward him.
Only now I wasn’t surprised to find him staring right at me. Ever since I left to talk to Cash, he hadn’t stopped glowering at me from the other side of the balcony.