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In the darkness of my mind a brilliant silver-white dragon stands before me, radiant like a star, vast as a mountain. She glows with light that emanates from within, casting out the shadows with her very presence.

"The dragon of light… " I say in awe.

She nods, smiling gently. "I was. Yes. But even I was not bright enough to burn the darkness out of the Order, or out of the Council of Dragons. I am sorry I cannot help you further, but I wish you the best in your quest, daughter." She leans in to kiss my cheek, and I feel a spark between us. Her eyes widen in wonder and surprise, and she studies me carefully as we are escorted out the room and back into the alley.

“She was our mentor,” Cole tells me as we walk back to the carriage where the others have gone to wait. “For a while, anyway. She taught Druids about the light. My brothers had a propensity for the other elements. Fire. Water. Earth. Air. But I...” He holds up a hand and a ball of white light appears, lighting up the dark alley.

“You were a light Druid,” I say, realization dawning on me.

“Once," he says, his voice soft. Reflective. "Very long ago.” He drops his hand, and the light fades, drawing us into darkness once more.

Chapter 8: The Flame

She,In the dark, Found light Brighter than many ever see.

~Helen Keller by Langston Hughes

After some deliberation,it's decided Cole will come back to the castle with us.

I fill them all in on what Lyx said, and now we need to decide what to do next.

"Investigating the dragons will be tricky, at best," Derek says as we bump along the road.

I rub my backside, confident there will be bruises. "Any chance we can get some, I don't know, cushions back here? I'm going to be black and blue after today."

"If you need a massage, I have excellent hands," Cole says, holding said hands up with a wink.

He's not wrong. They are fine looking hands. Strong with long fingers. A musician's hands.

Elijah and Derek both frown.

"We can make it more comfortable," Elijah says. "I've actually been considering some upgrades to the carriage. Just haven't had time."

"Thanks," I say. "If you need help, let me know. I'm pretty handy."

Elijah raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"I'm not just a pretty face and a smart brain," I say. "I have other skills."

Cole throws an arm around my shoulders. "That doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, I look forward to learning all about your other skills."

His attention is flattering and disconcerting and I'm just glad the two hotheads up front aren't here to witness it. Though with their vampire hearing, Liam and Sebastian probably aren't missing much.

Derek clears his throat. "Back to the dragons?"

"Yes, this will need to be handled very carefully," Elijah says. "They are too powerful to come at directly. We need to be discreet in our questions, and we can't let anyone suspect that we are going after them."

"Or what?" I ask. "Shouldn't the people have the right to question their leadership?"

Cole smirks. "Not here. This isn't a democracy. This is an autocracy. It may seem the Dragon Council is balanced, but really Dath'Racul runs things and keeps the other dragons under his thumb. Lyx'Ara dissented by trying to put their focus back on the people rather than their own personal power and look how that turned out for her. The Dragon of Darkness mostly holes up in his dungeon and doesn't much care for the rest of the world. And the others are too cowed by Dath to stop him in his pursuits. Especially now."

"So, they can do anything to anyone and there's no one to hold them accountable?" I ask.

"Pretty much," Cole says.

"That's not entirely true," says Elijah, pointedly. "We do have some checks and balances. We have a legal system set up with rules. There is a way to work within the system to change things."

Cole scoffs. "Right. How's that going for you? Or did you give up helping people when you became vampires?"