Page 37

Aurora

T here was an urgency about his question, a desperate plea from Damian to me. It turned my stomach into a ball of knots. Why did the answer to this question matter so much to him? Something had happened, something bad. I only hoped I wouldn’t disappoint him.

I tried to ignore the steady drip-drip-drip of blood falling from the blade of the sword. It wasn’t easy. Knowing Damian had shed blood to get to me, that he’d killed his own kind, just to reach me, a human, did not sit well.

“Damian,” I whispered, suddenly unsure. “What are you expecting from me?”

“Last night. You said there was something you noticed about the attack? You tried to tell me about it on the roof,” he said. “Remember? What was it, Aurora? What did you see?”

That wasn’t an answer to the question I’d asked. Not directly, but I could hear the anxious need in his words. He thought I was going to solve it all. That I had the answers to the problem of the missing scepters.

A sharp burst of pain served as notice I was chewing on my upper lip.

“Damian …” It was almost a moan of pain. “It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean? You saw who did it, didn’t you? The person behind all of this, the one stealing the scepters. You know who it is. I know you do.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s not it at all.”

The left side of his face twitched, tightening into a grimace, then slackened once more into something harder than marble. “Just tell me everything.”

I nodded. “I was looking out the window, and I saw them coming. The attackers. The shadows moved, and I knew it, I just knew. Then I could see them creeping up. I wanted to shout an alarm, to come find you, but they attacked before I could. They were so fast! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I wanted to …”

“It’s okay.”

He didn’t react or show much emotion. We’d already been over this part. Damian didn’t blame me for not sounding an alarm. According to him, he was happier I stayed silent so the attackers stayed unaware of my presence.

“Just before I left the window, I noticed there was one more out there, one more attacker, I mean.” I shrugged. “He was watching the attack. Pacing back and forth.”

“That’s it? You saw someone pacing? Why didn’t you tell me that before?” he roared, throwing the sword away in frustration. “Do you have any idea what I’ve done?”

I cringed away, hating that I couldn’t provide what he wanted.

“He was also slapping his legs?” I added. “Really hard, which I thought unusual.”

Damian spun. His eyes were gone, consumed by silver fire. “Slapping his legs?”

“Yes.” I mimicked it, bringing my hand up and whacking my thigh. “It was the strangest thing, he did it so hard. How could it not hurt?”

There was a blur, and then Damian had me by the shoulders, gripping almost tightly enough to hurt. “Listen to me, Aurora, listen very carefully. I need you to close your eyes, and replay this memory. Replay it exactly .”

“O-okay,” I stuttered, still recovering from the speed of his movement. “I can try.”

“Don’t try. I need you to do it perfectly. Everything hinges on this. Everything, Aurora.”

Great. Nothing like a little pressure.

With my stomach churning, I did as he requested, closing my eyes, calling up the memory of the man in the dark, pacing back and forth, slapping his legs while he waited.

“What do you see?” Damian asked, his voice intruding my thoughts like a narrator.

“A man, big and muscular, likely a dragon. He’s in the dark. Too far away for me to notice his features. He has long hair, probably a dark color, but I don’t know. He’s walking back and forth, watching the temple we’re in. He’s sent his men to attack. They’re coming for you. I want to come and warn you. But I don’t.”

“Forget that. Talk to me about his legs, about the slapping.”

“He’s hitting himself. Constantly. Over and over,” I said. “Just smacking the side of his thigh.”

“Is it both legs, or just one?”

“Bo—” I paused the memory, rewinding it, letting it go again. “It’s just his left leg.”

Damian growled loud enough that it echoed down the stone hallways. My eyes popped open at the noise. His hands fell away from my shoulders, knuckles cracking and popping as he clenched his fingers into tight balls. Muscles swelled and stretched his shirt, and his face was a mask of pure fury, unlike anything I’d seen before.

“Who was it?” I asked. “Who is this person?”

He rolled his neck, more cracks and pops filling the air. Mighty lungs rose and fell with a long, controlled breath.

“My brother.”

My jaw fell open hard enough to be painful. “Your brother? ”

“Yes.” There was no emotion in his voice as he talked. “A career criminal. Just like his son, Tobias. They both have that nervous tick where they tap the left side of their leg. It can only be him.”

He took my hand, and we started walking fast through the palace hallways. His blood-spattered outfit drew more than its fair share of looks. Guards slowed, many eyeing us suspiciously, and more than one went for their sword but stopped at a look from Damian.

When we reached a set of large double doors with ornate carvings etched into their surface and magnificent friezes set into the walls around them, I knew we were somewhere important.

The pair of heavily armed and armored guards standing watch helped to emphasize this point. Only certain people were allowed inside.

“The council hall,” Damian muttered. “Wait here for a moment.”

I came to a stop in the middle of a four-way intersection. Dragons passed behind and in front of me, moving out of the way. Damian didn’t slow as he approached the doors.

“Magistrate, the council is in a closed session,” one of the guards said, raising a hand to stop Damian. “You cannot go in at this time. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Damian echoed.

“For what?”

“This.”

I gasped as he grabbed the outstretched hand and wrenched it around. The guard shrieked, but Damian wasn’t done. He hauled on the mangled hand, pulling the guard closer, where an elbow was introduced to an unarmored chin. The guard collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Damian was moving before the man had even hit the floor, leaping over him and slamming into the second guard, wrapping both hands and legs around him. The added weight sent them both crashing to the floor. The sound of the guard’s dragon-scale helmet slamming into the stone instantly induced a wave of nausea. Nothing should sound that bad.

The attack had caused a commotion, half a dozen or more dragons pausing to watch the goings-on, but none interfered.

“Come,” Damian said, beckoning me forward. “I have secured us an invite to this ‘closed’ session. Let’s not waste it.”

I struggled to find words. Was he making a joke about what had just happened?

Taking my hand, he kicked open the double doors and strode between a set of bleachers into the center of the room. Seats rose up around him like a bowl, holding several dozens of dragons. Every single one of them looked down on him, most in disdain.

“Magistrate!” an unfamiliar voice called. “You are not part of this body. You are not welcome. Please remove yourself while we—”

“Councilor Jinson.” Damian’s voice was pure ice as he spoke, instantly silencing the pompous-looking councilor. “I am the magistrate, as you said. When my duty requires me to seek justice against those who would threaten our entire nation, there is nowhere I am not welcome.”

The councilor looked around for support, but with none forthcoming, he was forced to sit down, bowing to Damian’s superior will. I bit my lip. It was hot watching him put that fool into his place.

“Now, where is Councilor Laurana?” he said, sweeping the assembled dragons, searching for someone in particular while I waited off to one side, in case I was needed.

Thankfully, my time in human politics had prepared me for such a stage. I was not afraid to speak to these dragons. I’d addressed the entitled dicks of the Senate on more than one occasion. The Dragon Council were rank amateurs in comparison. I felt no fear being under their scrutiny.

“She is not here.” That was Councilor Parun.

“Where is she?” Damian demanded. “Why is she not a part of this closed council session.”

“I don’t know,” Parun admitted.

To my surprise, he sounded genuine.

“Something is wrong,” I said to Damian, but the way he looked at me told me he felt it, too.

“I agree.”

“What is going on?” Parun demanded to know. “You have interrupted a very important council meeting.”

Damian threw his head back and laughed. “Important? Hardly. You’re trying to convince these idiots to support you in your attempt to usurp the throne from the sovereign. You want to rule yourself. You’re using the missing scepters as your threat, the ‘proof’ that the sovereign is no longer capable.”

Parun’s jaw tightened.

“I don’t have proof of your guilt,” Damian snarled. “I will, but not yet. For now, I only have enough to interrogate Councilor Laurana. I’m sure she’ll be forthcoming … eventually.”

“Well, she isn’t here,” Parun snapped. “So, if you would please leave us alone?”

“He doesn’t know where she is either,” I said to Damian. “And it’s bothering him. Something’s going on here.”

Damian looked at me, searched my face, then nodded. “We have to find her, then. If she’s broken away from them, it means she’s not going to use the scepters as a threat.”

I gasped, it all settling into place. “She’s going to bring the shield down no matter what. The crazy bitch! We have to stop her.”

Damian took me by both shoulders once more. “No, Aurora. I’m sorry. We don’t have to. You stay here. I must deal with this.”

“But—”

Any further protests I had were cut off as he covered my mouth with his, kissing me firm and deep. In front of the entire council.

“Go the sovereign,” he said, escorting me from the council chamber. Behind us, it erupted with shouted accusations. “Find her. Tell her what’s going on. Have her send help. But I have to get there before she can do any more damage.”

Damian stepped away, heading down one hallway, while I went down the other.

The sudden distance between us snapped something I hadn’t even realized was there.

“Damian!” I cried, running to him. “Wait!”

He spun. His eyes searched mine. I licked my lips. Why had I called him back? What was I hoping would come of this moment?

“I …”

My voice failed me.

Damian’s hand brushed my chin, and he smiled tightly. “We’ll talk when I’m back.”

Then he was gone, rushing off down the hallway, his skin turning to scales as he leaped up the stairs in a single bound.

“I think I’m falling for you.”

The words fell on an empty hallway.