Chapter 13
Jaxon
Flint’s words reverberate through the room as the life I’ve managed to rebuild, piece by piece, starts crumbling around me.
“This isn’t what I wanted,” I whisper as a crushing weight presses down on my chest. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t you dare,” he snaps as he heads for the door. “If you were actually sorry, none of this would be happening.”
He reaches for the door handle, but before he can pull it open, someone pounds urgently on the other side.
“What the fuck?” He starts to exchange a confused look with me, then remembers he hates me and just pulls the door open.
“Where have you two been?” Eden demands. “We’ve been texting you for hours.”
“We?” I ask, instinctively reaching for the phone in my back pocket.
“I messaged the Bloodletter tonight to check in on Mekhi.” She swallows, and for a second she doesn’t look like the tough badass I’ve known for the past several months.
The one who never lets anything get under her skin.
Instead, she looks as lost as the rest of us.
“She says this is the last time she can put him in Descent. It isn’t working—the shadow poison is too powerful, and it’s spreading so fast it’s making Descent almost as dangerous.
She says if she does it again, it’ll kill him. ”
“But if she doesn’t do it, it will also kill him.” My voice shakes at the realization of just how precarious Mekhi’s situation has become.
“That seems to be the consensus,” she agrees. “Which means…”
“Which means if the only way to find the Shadow Queen is to go to the Shadow Realm, then that’s what we’ll do.
” This is the worst possible time for this to happen—between the fight Flint and I just had, the hunters, the dragon clans stirring up shit, and whatever the hell happened to Reginald at the Vampire Court.
But this is Mekhi we’re talking about, and there’s no way I’m going to let him die.
Not if there’s even the smallest chance that I can do something about it.
“Of course you are,” Flint sneers from his spot near the door. “Good old Jaxon. Always good in a crisis.”
“You really want to keep pushing this?” I narrow my eyes at him.
But he just narrows his right back. “What are you going to do about it? Leave?” He nods toward Eden, who is suddenly looking incredibly uncomfortable. “There’s the door. Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out.”
“You’re being exceptionally difficult right now, you know that?” I tell him.
“No, I’m just not jumping to give you whatever you want. You’re simply so used to it that anything else feels problematic.” He turns to Eden. “Let me pack a few things and grab some water, then we’ll head out. I’ll meet you on the roof in ten.”
She nods carefully, like she’s as worried as I am about setting off this new version of Flint. “Okay.”
“There’s water in the fridge,” I start. “And you’ve got clothes in—”
I break off as Flint plows past me like I’m not even here. Which leaves me with a very curious, very annoyed Eden.
“What the fuck did you do to him?” she demands as she swaggers through the door, gaze locked on mine.
Fantastic, the badass is definitely back in full force and aimed at me. “It’s complicated—”
“That’s what all bad boyfriends say when they fuck up,” she shoots back.
“Yeah, well, if you want to shock me with all the reasons I suck at being a boyfriend, you’re going to have to dig deep. Flint just got through a pretty exhaustive list.”
She looks impressed. “I didn’t think he had it in him.”
“Seriously? I thought we were friends, too. You’re just automatically going to take his side?”
“We are friends.” She motions between the two of us. “But Flint’s my platonic ride or die. So yeah, I’m always on his side. And since I am, I’m going to give you some good advice. Fix it.”
“I don’t know if I can fix it.” I think about the look on Flint’s face when he figured out I was leaving.
And then I think about how scared I was in that damn park tonight—when he was throwing up and powerless—and how terrified I was that he was going to die.
Not to mention how pissed I still am at myself for being the reason he was in that position. “I don’t even know if I should.”
Eden’s eyes cool considerably at my words. “Well, if that’s the case, then maybe you should just leave him alone. Let him get over the fact that he’s been breaking his heart over you from the first day you met.”
Before I can come up with an answer to that that doesn’t make me look—and feel—like a total dick, she whirls around and waltzes right back out the door.
A quick glance at my phone tells me I’ve got about seven minutes left to make it to the roof.
Which really means about seventeen, as everything takes Flint about ten minutes longer than he thinks it should.
Still, I’m not about to risk being late tonight—not when I’ve now got two pissed-off dragons on my hands who would be more than happy to leave my ass here.
After a quick face and hand wash and an even quicker change of clothes, I hit the roof exactly one minute early. Neither Flint nor Eden are here yet—or they left me, but only time will tell on that front—so I pull out my phone and text Grace.
Me: We’re heading out in a few minutes
Grace: You okay?
Me: I’m fine. Things are a shitshow here, but what else is new?
Grace: What’s going on?
Me: Besides the council turning against Nuri? And Aiden pressuring Flint to step up, which he doesn’t want to do because of me?
Me: He thinks I don’t know, but I’ve got a brain. I can figure shit out. And now Flint’s mad at me because I won’t stand between him and the throne. Especially not when the dragon clans are trying to kill us
Grace: Who are they trying to kill
Me: Flint. But I’m not about to let that happen
Grace: Do you need guards? I can send some gargoyles
Me: The day I can’t handle a few humans is the day I hang up my fangs
Grace: Humans?
Me: It’s a long story
Grace: Sounds like it
Grace: If you won’t let me send some Gargoyle Army, what can I do to help?
Me: Nothing to do
Grace: I don’t believe that. We just haven’t figured out the options yet
Me: There are no options
Me: Why the fuck does doing the right thing always have to be so hard?
Grace: Hey. It’s going to be okay.
Me: I don’t know about that… Life can be shit, you know?
Grace: I do know
Grace: You want to talk about the latest round of shit? Because I’ve got you.
Me: Maybe later. We’re about ready to go
Grace: Can you do me a huge favor?
Me: Anything
Grace doesn’t ask for favors often. So if she’s asking now, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Grace: I haven’t been able to reach Macy for a couple of days now and I don’t want to do this without her unless we really, really have to
Me: You want me to go get her from Turin?
Grace: Do you think Flint will mind?
I think Flint will try to set me on fire over the Atlantic Ocean for that kind of detour. But Eden’s already bawled me out, and I don’t think I could take it if the rest of our friend group piled on.
Me: Don’t worry about it. I’ll get her
Which isn’t exactly the same as Flint won’t mind, but thankfully, Grace seems to accept it.
Grace: Tell Macy I love her and miss her. This no phone/no portal punishment Uncle Finn has her on is the worst thing ever
Me: I’ll tell her. Or, if we’re lucky, you can tell her yourself
Grace: Counting on it
Grace: Be safe
Me: Where’s the fun in that?
Grace: Now you sound like Flint
Before I can tell her all the reasons that’s not true, the stairwell door opens and Eden and Flint walk through it. Like me, they both have thin backpacks over their arms. “Change of plans,” I tell them, careful to stay as far away from Flint as the roof allows in an effort not to piss him off.
Which he notices. “I don’t have rabies. And even if I did, I’m not the one who bites.”
Eden blows out a long breath and shoots me a look that very clearly tells me not to engage. Not that she needs to—I have no intention of saying anything more to Flint right now than I absolutely have to.
After all, he’s not the only one here with a broken heart.
Just because I don’t wear mine on my sleeve doesn’t mean I don’t want to take him in my arms and apologize for hurting him.
It’s the last thing I ever wanted to do—which is why I thought leaving New York, and the Dragon Court, was the best solution.
I’m terrified if I stick around, things will just get worse and more dangerous for him.
“What’s the change?” Eden asks warily.
“Macy’s not answering any of Grace’s texts. She wants me to swing by the Witch Court and see if she’s in for a trip to the Shadow Realm.”
“You?” Flint asks.
“Well, she mentioned the both of us. But I figured you might want to go with Eden—”
His eyes narrow. “Now you’re telling me what I do or don’t want?”
“That’s not what I meant,” I answer, clenching my teeth in a desperate effort not to say anything that will end up making things worse between us.
For a second, it looks like Flint is going to push on what I did mean. But in the end, he runs for the edge of the roof without another word. And then he jumps, shifting into his dragon form in the air as he heads east—toward Turin.
“Looks like this is going to be a fun flight for you,” Eden deadpans, slapping my back right before she does the exact same thing. Only she heads west, to San Diego.
Which leaves me to pull up the rear as I, too, shift into my dragon. And try not to think about all the reasons I wish it didn’t have to be like this.
It’s not as hard as it might be—lately, life’s been fucked-up enough to give me a lot of practice.