Page 82 of Burdened Bonds

“What happened?” I ask.

“You go first,” she says. “Tell us what happened.”

I start from the beginning. From the moment of the attack at the academy. Of fighting alongside Tristan, of seeing him fall. Of losing my mind and then falling into the hands of Lowsky. Of Renzo saving me, nursing me and then knocking me fucking out. Of the attack in the forest,of our climb up the mountain, of our discovery of the dragon.

I skip over our stay in the shepherd’s hut and Renzo eyes me with curiosity.

When I’m done, Winnie’s mouth is hanging open.

“You rode on the back of a dragon? Oh my stars! What was that like?”

But Azlan is less concerned with the dragon and more so with the men that attacked us in the forest.

“Who were they?” he asks me.

“Lowsky’s men,” Renzo says, then shrugs. “Or not anymore. Lowsky’s dead.”

“You killed him?” Stone asks.

“Yep.”

“Good.”

“And the men in the forest,” Renzo adds.

Both Azlan and Stone nod reluctantly.

“Why did they attack you?” Azlan asks.

“They weren’t attacking us at first. They attacked a couple of families fleeing through the forest.”

“And you intervened,” Stone says flatly, shaking his head like I’m stupid.

“You’d have done the same,” Winnie says. And we all know she’s right. Stone may act the asshole with the hard outer shell. But underneath, he’s soft as butter really.

“They knew who she was,” Renzo says from the ground. “They said the reward for her capture has quadrupled.”

“My uncle,” Azlan sneers, “the new Lord Protector is after her.”

“I don’t think he’s the only one,” Renzo says, stroking Pip’s head.

“What makes you say that?” Stone asks.

“The men at her house–”

“The men at my house?” I say.

“Yeah, the ones who came for you when we were leaving.” I stare at him flabbergasted. He never mentioned them before. “They weren’t from the authorities, or the gangs. They were from the West.”

“The West?” Stone stares at me. “Why would men from the West want Rhianna?”

“Same reason your uncle does, I presume,” Winnie says.

I peer at Renzo, wait for him to say more, for him to reveal–

“What?” Stone says. “What was that?”

I spin my face around to face him. “Nothing.”