Chapter 20
Portia’s mind had lurched between rage and despair the whole way back from the Academy.
Milo had betrayed her. He had stolen her work and used it for himself.
How could he? She stalked back into the auditorium, not even sure how she was going to get through the rest of this stupid competition, let alone talk civilly to anyone.
She used one of the rear entrances rather than the main doors and make her way back to the tent before running into anyone she had to be polite to.
Perhaps she could explain what had happened to Iris and then leave them to it.
Her great-aunt would understand. She’d probably promise to help with an unholy retribution, but only after the show. The dragons would always come first.
As Portia reached the exhibition area a trill of recognition made her look up, startled to find Jade looping through the air, much to the delight of the people watching her. How had she got away from Iris and Noah?
‘Jade! Get down here,’ she called and the dragon dutifully landed on her outstretched arm. ‘What are you doing all the way over here?’
It was the other side of the hall. Anything could have happened to her. But Jade looked so agitated that Portia didn’t have the heart to scold her.
People followed, drawn in by the dragon, wanting to ask Portia questions and pet her and she backed up hurriedly, rapidly excusing herself.
She’d been here often enough in her time in Tesh, and knew the layout.
If she ducked through the administrative offices, she could come out further down towards the arena and slip back into their tent.
The ground floor of that area was taken up with people processing late registrations, but if she went up the stairs to the first floor and cut through the corridor there, the offices would all be empty.
Everyone who worked here had other tasks to attend to down on the main floor itself.
Stairs at the far end led back down. She didn’t expect to hear a raised voice halfway along the hallway, coming from an office at the far end.
A voice she recognised, one which sent a shock of alarm through her.
Virginia Moorland.
Jade shrank back, cooing in alarm, shuddering. Someone else replied and it was suddenly so much worse. Noah. It was Noah.
Portia listened in horror to their conversation, cradling the teacup dragon against her. He had been intent on selling them out to Virginia right from the beginning. He had only been there to spy on Iris, all this time.
Portia had always known that his plan was to leave on his expedition to explore the remains of Elanholm, that he was only there until he secured the funding he needed. He had admitted as much.
But she had no idea what the source of that funding might be, or what he planned to do to secure it.
Sickened, Portia sank back against the wall, tears blinding her, one hand covering her mouth to stop the sob that that was threatening to give her away, the other curled around Jade.
She’d made love to him, even if that had ended up being a disaster.
She had trusted him. She had even started to care about him.
And it had all been a lie.
But the next moment, everything in that room lurched from simple conspiracy to something much darker by far. Portia listened in outright horror as it unfolded. Virginia was using magic to manipulate him. Worse, she was using magic to force him to poison the dragons.
Before she could do anything, the door swung open.
Panicked, Portia darted back into the next office along, hiding, and Virginia Moorland strode off in the opposite direction without seeing her.
She took a few long deep breaths, trying to calm herself, and then rushed back to the room where Noah stood, as still as a statue, almost as if he was frozen to the spot.
His arm trembled, and then shook but it didn’t move. It was outstretched, holding the bottle Virginia had given him. The poison. He was trying to release it, Portia realised. His teeth were gritted and his jaw locked with effort. But he couldn’t. The spell would not allow it.
He was fighting it as hard as he could, but he was losing that fight.
Her heart ached at the thought.
Noah was trapped, ensnared by magic.
She reached out silently, laying her hand on his arm and he recoiled as if burnt. ‘Portia! What are you doing here?’ he gasped, the strain in his voice making him hoarse. Jade trilled softly, jumping to his shoulder and trying desperately to comfort him.
‘Let me see,’ she murmured.
The anger in her had melted away. She pressed her fingers harder against his jacket. His arm was like a steel bar beneath it.
‘I can’t… Portia… Get Jade away from me. I could hurt her. Please…’
‘I know. I heard. And you would never hurt Jade. She knows it too, look at her. Just let me work. I can fix this.’
And she could. She knew how to do this kind of thing in the same way she knew how to breathe. Too many years of Seb accidentally bespelling people, or August losing his temper, or even her own mistakes.
The spell was a nasty one. It clung to him like spiderwebs but she let herself breathe her way through it, peeling it back.
Not Virginia’s own magic. As far as Portia knew she wasn’t capable of a spell like this.
Her abilities had barely got her into the Academy in the first place, her father’s money doing all the heavy lifting.
But a lot of people would do anything for money.
Noah was a case in point.
‘I’m sorry,’ he told her in a rush. ‘I don’t have an excuse. I didn’t know what I was getting into until now. I just thought she wanted to know about Iris and there wasn’t anything to tell her anyway. Not until… not…’
He hadn’t said a word about the elixir, Portia thought as she worked. Nor about what had happened with the magic of the island. All right, perhaps he didn’t believe in that anyway, but he still could have used it to placate Virginia.
He hadn’t given them away. As far as she could tell he hadn’t let anything of the secrets of the Teacup Dragon Sanctuary slip at all.
The last thread of magic binding him snapped, and his hand spasmed, fingers flying open so the bottle dropped. Threads like ragged gossamer still clung to him but it was enough. He was free again. The rest would soon fade.
Portia picked up the bottle. It was Dewsalt, a nasty poison indeed. Not one easily available. Hard to detect, especially in small doses. It would only take the smallest drop to incapacitate a teacup dragon. And only a little more to kill one.
‘I wouldn’t have done it,’ Noah blurted out. His eyes glittered like broken glass as he hugged Jade so very gently. ‘I swear to you. I would have found a way to stop myself. I promise.’
The truth spell had gone as well but that didn’t matter.
She believed every word he said. Noah looked ready to break down.
Portia slipped the vial into her pocket.
She would have to dispose of it later, somewhere safe to do so.
If she took it back to the Academy they may even be able to tell who had crafted it. It was evidence.
Then she took both of his hands in hers.
Jade nuzzled his ear, rubbed herself against his jaw, cooing so softly at him, as upset as he was.
He was trembling wildly, still trying to catch his breath.
She didn’t blame him. This was such a violation, tantamount to assault.
She was going to make sure Virginia paid for it.
‘It’s all right,’ she told him and was surprised to realise that she meant it. ‘I heard everything, Noah. We both did.’
He looked down at her, the shame in his eyes painful to behold. ‘Everything?’
Portia tried to smile but the heartache wouldn’t let her. ‘Yes. But I also heard you refuse to help her. And I heard all the things you didn’t tell her too. Take a deep breath and let it go, Noah. It’s over. We can go to the authorities.’
‘I would never have – the dragons, Portia, you have to know—’
‘I know.’ She let go of his hands. He was going to be all right and that was all that mattered. Whatever had been building between them had been based on lies, but then it had never been going anywhere anyway.
Portia dragged in a shaky breath and felt her anger erupt inside her.
She turned for the door, ready to track the wretched woman down and expose her. Hang the authorities. She’d denounce her here and now, in front of everyone she valued. Let the world know the kind of monster she was. Jade took off, flying around her, as incensed as Portia.
Noah came after her. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m going to find Virginia Moorland and put an end to this. Right away. Everyone needs to know what she’s done to you, and what she tried to do to the dragons. I’m going to expose her in front of everyone here.’
* * *
Her temper was blazing by the time she reached the main auditorium. First Milo and then Noah, but most of all Virginia. She didn’t know how these people got away with it but she was not going to allow it any more.
The competition was about to start. She hadn’t factored that into the equation.
Iris had taken the dragons into the heart of the arena and was already there, talking to the other competitors on either side of her.
Jade took flight, swooping low over the crowd, which caused a murmur of excitement as everyone got a close up look of the beautiful green fenland teacup dragon in flight.
‘Portia, Noah, there you are!’ Iris exclaimed. ‘Wherever did you get to? The first-round judging is about to begin. Hurry up.’
‘No time for that,’ Portia said as loudly as she could to the gathered judges. ‘I need to report a flagrant violation of the law, and an attempt to endanger the lives of—’