Page 66 of Challenged

“Yes.”

“Director, we had nothing to do with it,” Blaze says, his voice low and steady, though I can tell he’s struggling to keep his emotions in check. “Aksel’s dad was a monster, but we didn’t kill him.”

I want to smack him for including the monster part. Don’t give them more reason to suspect you.

“Can’t talk anymore now,” the director whispers, and the line goes dead.

My heart races, pounding against my chest like a caged animal. Aksel was arrested?

“Let’s all stay calm, Anna,” Felix advises. “We need to think rationally about this. There must be a reason for all of this.”

“Rationally?” Blaze growls, the heat in the room rising with his temper. “Our friend has been arrested, and you want us to be rational?”

“Enough!” Rion interjects, the authority in his voice silencing the brewing argument. “We need to focus on finding out what happened and how to help Aksel.”

“Okay, so let’s consider our options,” Felix says, breaking the silence. His eyes are filled with determination, but I can see the fear lurking beneath.

“Options?” Griffyn scoffs. “Our options are severely limited right now.”

“Griffyn’s right,” Blaze agrees, his eyes narrowing in frustration. “We need to lay low and figure out how the council could have possibly connected us to Aksel’s father’s death.”

“Blaze, we have to help Aksel,” I say, desperation creeping into my voice. “We can’t just abandon him.”

“Of course not, Anna,” Blaze replies, his gaze softening as he looks at me. “But we need to approach this carefully. We don’t want to make things worse for Aksel – or ourselves.”

The weight of the situation settles on us like a suffocating blanket.

“Blaze,” I whisper, my eyes wide with disbelief, “how could they have possibly known?”

He rakes his iron-black hair back with one hand, his gaze clouded with frustration. “There’s no way they could, Anna,” he says firmly.

“Dragon’s fire,” Felix mutters, breaking the silence as he rubs his hands together nervously. “That must be what they’re basing it off of.”

Griffyn narrows his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. “That’s not enough to arrest someone. There are other dragons out there and other ways to make fire that burns that hot. It doesn’t mean any of us were involved.”

“Okay, so they don’t have any solid evidence against us,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fear gnawing at my insides. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Aksel is locked up somewhere right now, and we need to figure out how to help him.”

“Anna’s right,” Blaze agrees, his eyes dark with worry. “We need a plan, and we need it fast.”

“We can’t get caught ourselves either,” Felix says.

My phone rings. On the off chance it’s Aksel, I pull my phone out. Aly is calling. I send it to voicemail.

Felix paces back and forth, his hazel eyes narrowed in thought. “If we can find out who’s behind this, maybe we can prove our innocence and get Aksel released. Someone is pushing it.”

“This whole thing stinks of deception,” Griffyn adds bitterly.

For a moment, no one speaks. The uncertainty that hangs in the air is palpable, and I feel a shiver run down my spine as I contemplate the possible consequences of our actions, or inaction.

Rain pelts against the window panes, coating the glass in a glistening sheen, mirroring the unease that shrouds our thoughts.

Text come in on my phone rapid fire. I check and see at least ten text from Aly asking why Aksel was arrested.

I’m assuming Nic’s connections got her that information but I really wish this would have stayed quiet.

I shoot back a text.He didn’t do it. I’m sure he’ll be out in no time.

Ignoring her response I look at my mates.