Page 37 of The Bond That Burns (Bloodwing Academy #2)

I always enjoyed my thrallguard sessions with Rodriguez. But when I pushed the door to his office open a few days later, my mood immediately soured.

Kage Tanaka was flipping through a book as he leaned against one of the tall shelves that lined the room.

“What the hell is he doing here?” I barked as I strode in.

Rodriguez sighed and turned towards me. “Good to see you, too, Blake. Come in and shut the door.”

I slammed the door, glaring at Tanaka. “I didn’t come here to play nice with an Avari. This is a private lesson.”

One which I paid handsomely for. Though over the last few years, my relationship with Rodriguez had developed into something more than that of teacher-student. He was a man I respected. A good man. A mentor. Hell, some days I secretly thought of him as the father I no longer had.

“I invited Kage here,” Rodriguez said, calmly but firmly. “Both of you need to hear what I have to say.”

Kage raised one thick, perfectly arched eyebrow. The bastard was handsome—I’d give him that much. Too buttoned-up for my taste, though. Probably the kind of guy who kissed with his eyes open and apologized afterward. But maybe Pendragon was into that whole “stoic restraint” thing. The thought made my blood boil all over again.

“Try not to pass out, Drakharrow,” Tanaka drawled. “I know this may come as a shock to you, but not everything is about your fragile ego.”

I growled. “Say that again, Tanaka. I dare you. Sounds like you want to go a second round.”

Tanaka just smiled.

“Enough,” Rodriguez snapped. “If you two can’t handle being in the same room as one another, then I suppose you can’t handle what I’m about to tell you.” He looked back and forth between us. “So, what’s it going to be? Make up your mind. Are you just little boys fighting over a girl in the school yard? Or are you men I can count on to lead the way?”

I kept my mouth shut. So did Kage.

“Good,” Rodriguez said with satisfaction. He walked behind his desk and sat down. “Before I begin, let me make one thing clear. What I’m about to tell you here today is tantamount to treason.” He pointed to the door. “There’s your out if you need it.”

I glanced at Tanaka and saw he was looking at me, too.

I didn’t particularly have a hankering to be executed. But hell, the axe was already hanging over my head thanks to Aenia. Fuck it.

I shrugged. “I trust you, Rodriguez,” I said loyally. I looked over at Tanaka and waggled my fingers. “See you around, Avari.”

Kage stayed put. He walked slowly over to one of the two chairs that faced Rodriguez’s desk and planted his hands on the back. “I’ll need to know a little more than that.”

Rodriguez hesitated. “You don’t know me as well as Blake does, so I can understand that. But once I begin talking, what I say doesn’t leave this room. Regardless of what you decide.”

“Fine,” Kage said. “But what’s this about?”

“It’s about protecting blightborn lives,” Rodriguez said simply. “If I’ve read you correctly, that’s something you care more about than most highbloods do.”

I glanced at the other House Leader. Was Rodriguez right? I’d never given Tanaka’s personal moral code much thought.

Tanaka gave a brief nod. “So what? What about that is treasonous?”

Rodriguez laughed. “Everything, Tanaka. Protecting blightborn is an act of treason and always has been. Most highbloods just don’t like to admit that.”

Memories of last year flitted through my mind. Walking through the slums of Veilmar with Rodriguez, delivering food and medicine to the blightborn families of those who’d been slaughtered by a nameless highblood killer who still roamed free. I recalled the desperate poverty, the grief, the hollow-eyed children. And that was only when we could find the survivors. Some children had already vanished by the time we went searching, both their parents murdered.

It had been a vision of hell. The killings had stopped for now, but Rodriguez and I had always suspected Marcus was behind it all.

“I could get killed for what I’m about to tell you,” Rodriguez said, the easy smile on his lips belying the seriousness of his tone. “And if I hear you speaking of it to anyone else, I may have to kill you myself.”

My eyes widened slightly. Rodriguez had never threatened me before. I couldn’t help it, my eyes went to Tanaka again. His expression was neutral.

“Unless you’re asking us to incite a civil war,” Tanaka said coolly. “I don’t see how anything you have to say today could be construed as treason. So please, proceed. I’m all ears.”

“Civil war?” Rodriguez shook his salt-and-peppered head. He must have been at least thirty-five, by my estimate. For an older professor, he was still fairly handsome. I wondered if the rumors about him and Sankara bunking up sometimes were actually true. “No. Not yet. Though I have no doubt one could arise. But what about dragons?”

“Dragons?” I echoed.

Rodriguez nodded. “That’s what this is about. Dragons. Last chance, boys.” He gestured to the door again. Neither of us moved.

“All right then.” He leaned forward over his desk. “I’m part of a secret order. One with an exceedingly long legacy. The Emberwatch.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Kage said immediately.

Rodriguez smiled ruefully. “Well, I’m currently the only member.”

“What does this order do exactly?” I asked slowly. Rodriguez was acting a little strange, sure, but I was prepared to indulge him. Obviously this was important to him.

“The Emberwatch was created to safeguard blightborn lives. I may be the only surviving member, but at one point there were many of us. My family has guarded the Emberwatch’s memory for generations. Many of my family were members themselves.” He picked up a quill from his desk and began tossing it in one hand. “I want you to think back to the age of dragons. During highblood wars and feuds and squabbles, blightborn casualties weren’t just common—they were accepted and expected. Entire villages burned, cities razed—all to fuel highblood rivalries and power grabs. The Emberwatch believed in protecting the innocent however we could.” He took a deep breath. “Even if it meant standing against the dragons.”

The room seemed to grow colder.

“You’re talking about sabotage. Fighting those who rule Sangratha,” Kage observed with a frown. “Is that the treason you meant?”

“The Emberwatch did whatever they needed to do to thwart dragons from harming blightborn civilians. Even if that meant sabotaging the dragons themselves,” Rodriguez said coolly.

“You killed dragons?” I asked in disbelief. I frowned. “What about riders?”

Rodriguez looked away. “Yes. Sometimes both.”

The burden of his words settled over the room like a mist of blood.

“If this is about harming Pendragon in any way, I’m out,” I said, moving towards the door. “I’ll see you dead before I let you hurt her, Rodriguez—and you’re a fool if you didn’t already know that. You should never have invited me to this... this little conspiracy club.”

“Blake, stop. It’s not about that.” My teacher sounded weary.

I paused. “It had better not be.”

Rodriguez shook his head. “It’s not. I swear it. You know, when Medra appeared, I thought she could be different. I believed she represented hope.”

I scowled at the implication. Pendragon did represent hope–at least, she did to me. “Different? She’s not exactly commonplace.”

“No, she’s one of a kind,” Rodriguez agreed. “I believe her heart is in the right place. She’s brave. I hoped she could bring balance, be more than a tool for highblood domination. But now...” He paused, his face turning gloomy. “Now we know there’s a plan in place to soul-bind her. And that changes everything.”

I glanced back and forth between Rodriguez and Kage, grasping the context.

“Wait a minute. You knew ? You already knew and you didn’t fucking tell her yourself?” I spat at Tanaka. It took everything I had to resist grabbing him by the collar and throwing him across the room.

“Keep it together, Blake,” Rodriguez commanded. “Kage brought his concerns to me. Which is why I decided I could trust him now.”

“He should have brought his concerns to Pendragon,” I snarled. “Or better yet, her archon.”

“Archon in name only,” Kage said coolly.

“Oh, it’s more than in name, believe me,” I wanted to say. But Pendragon would punch me in the face if she heard me say something assholeish like that. And then I’d never get her alone in a library—or any other place for that matter—ever again.

“Are you two done comparing whose is bigger?” Rodriguez snapped. “We’re talking about damned dragons here.”

“One dragon. One dragon who Pendragon has under her control,” I retorted.

“Under her control?” Rodriguez shook his head. “No. I highly doubt that will ever be the case.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded.

“So long as Nyxaris remains free, she’ll constantly be in danger. And if she’s successfully soul-bound, we’ll have lost her completely. As well as any hope of controlling Nyxaris. With only one dragon under the control of a single highblood family, the blightborn will suffer more than they ever have. A war between the houses will be inevitable.” He grimaced. “Even more than it is now.”

“We don’t even know which highblood family is trying to soul-bind Pendragon,” I pointed out.

Tanaka laughed. “Oh, I think it’s fairly obvious.”

“Elaria Avari is many things, Blake. But Kage assures me his grandmother has no interest in risking her own life in an attempt to control the dragon. She values her life and her family too greatly for that,” Rodriguez said.

I rolled my eyes. “As if I’m going to just take the word of Kage’s grandmother. Apparently highbloods used to do this all the time. Why wouldn’t she want the power now?”

“Because she’s not your fucking uncle,” Tanaka snapped. “She’s ambitious, yes. But not a monster.”

For a second I bristled. Then I shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m not going to defend good old Uncle Viktor.” I looked at Rodriguez. “So we know it’s him?”

“I have every reason to believe so, yes,” Rodriguez said.

“Well, he’ll fail. He won’t get within a foot of Pendragon.” I glanced at Tanaka. “I’ll make sure of that.”

“ We will make sure of it,” Tanaka had the nerve to say.

“I can protect her on my own,” I growled. “Back the fuck off.”

“Stop it,” Rodriguez roared, slamming his hands down on the desk. “Both of you. The girl is too difficult to protect. It would be all too easy for your uncle to take her prisoner, Blake. You know this. And what could you do to stop him? Take a stand against the most powerful highblood in the land? You’re useful to him right now, but if Viktor was pushed, I have no doubt he’d kill you.”

I was quiet. I had no doubt about that either. “Fine. So what’s your grand plan?”

“Dragon’s blood is key to forging the bond. Without it, Pendragon is useless to them. We need to return Nyxaris to stone.”

I stared at him. “Are you out of your damned mind? We don’t even know how the dragons became stone in the first place.”

“Yes, we do,” Rodriguez said, looking completely unphased. “The Emberwatch performed the ritual.”

Tanaka moved around the chair he’d been standing in front of and sat down, looking for once in his life, a little shaky. “You’re saying your order turned four living dragons into stone? When no one in Sangratha could figure out what had been done and still hasn’t figured out how to bring the others back?”

“Me, personally? No.” Rodriguez shook his head. “But the order, yes. We had that power.”

“Do you know how to bring the other three dragons back?” I demanded, striding over to the desk.

Rodriguez hesitated. “I have some idea. But if you’re asking if I’ll do it, no. And it would take more than me, in any case.”

“Pendragon,” I guessed.

He nodded. “She woke up Nyxaris by mistake. I think she was trying to do something else. Work some kind of a ritual. I’m still not exactly sure what.”

I froze. Had Pendragon been trying to break our bond last year? Was that why she’d been in the Dragon Court?

“Whatever she was trying to do, I don’t believe it succeeded,” Rodriguez continued. “Nyxaris’s awakening was simply an unexpected byproduct of that failed ritual.”

“So you didn’t tell her to bring the dragon back?” Tanaka asked, looking a little surprised.

“No. I was...tempted,” Rodriguez admitted. “Until I recalled the matter of soul-binding. I also wanted to get to know Miss Pendragon better before even considering something as extreme as awakening a dragon.”

“So you didn’t get her to bring Nyxaris back, but you know how to put him back to sleep?” I said skeptically.

Rodriguez hesitated. “Basically, yes. We would require Miss Pendragon’s help to do it though.”

I laughed. “You think she’d help you? If she could hear us talking now, about returning Nyxaris to stone, she’d probably try to kill us all.”

“I have no doubt she’ll be furious if we succeed. But if we don’t act, Medra could become the ultimate weapon,” Rodriguez said quietly. “Her soul lost. Her body either destroyed or inhabited by your uncle.”

I shuddered.

“I’m asking you to protect her. But more than that, I’m asking you to think beyond yourself and to do something which will protect all blightborn. Perhaps even prevent another war.”

“No, you’re asking me to betray her,” I said, my voice tight but controlled. “Because make no mistake about it–what you’re proposing is a complete betrayal. You know she’d never accept this, Rodriguez.”

I didn’t know how much Pendragon cared about Nyxaris, but I had no doubt she did. Even though she’d never said so, everything led me to believe that. I doubted the dragon returned much of her affection. Still, Nyxaris had stood by her. He’d protected my consort when she’d needed him to. How could I betray him, knowing that?

“You think this is all about you, Blake?” Rodriguez exclaimed, looking disgusted. “Your relationship? Your feelings? Or even Pendragon’s? Grow the fuck up. This is bigger than any of that.”

Kage was watching me in silence, his expression unreadable. For once, he didn’t seem eager to insert himself into the conversation. He must have been weighing the decision just as I was.

I ran a hand through my hair and started pacing the room. I wanted to protect the blightborn. Of course, I did. But this was different. This was about Pendragon. And a beast I’d believed I’d only ever see in the pages of storybooks.

But this dragon had lived for who-knew-how-long before Pendragon had awoken him. Nyxaris had already had a full life. She hadn’t. So, maybe the dragon would understand why I had to do this now.

“You’re asking too much,” I said, my voice strained. “There has to be another way.”

“If there is, we don’t have the time to find it,” Rodriguez said grimly. “Based on everything I’ve heard, your uncle is losing patience. Do you understand that he’ll torture her? Force her to bring the dragon to him? He’ll make her lift the knife herself, take the blood, complete the ritual that will destroy everything about her that you care about.”

I glanced at Kage. His face was stony. If he was feeling the same turmoil I was, he was doing a damned good job not showing it.

“What happens if she finds out?” he asked, finally.

Rodriguez’s face hardened. “Neither of you will tell her. And that’s a risk we’ll just have to take. If we follow my plan, by the time she realizes what we’re doing, it’ll be too late to stop us.”

I clenched my fists and paused my pacing. Pendragon would hate me for this. There was a good chance she would never forgive me.

I gave a bitter laugh. If I’d thought she’d hated me before? This would change everything. I doubted she’d ever understand why I’d done what I’d done.

But could I really stand to live in a world without her? Having her hate me was better than her not being alive to feel anything for me at all.

I looked at Rodriguez. “I need to think this over.”

He nodded. “Fine. But don’t take too long. Time isn’t on our side.”

“If we do this,” Tanaka said, his voice quiet but steady. “It has to be done carefully. No mistakes. No risks to her.”

Rodriguez nodded. “Agreed.” He glanced at me. “We’d need you to convince her to get Nyxaris to the Dragon Court. That’s if you agree to help.”

“When?” I said simply.

“The night of the solstice. It’s a night of great power. Highbloods already know this,” Rodriguez replied.

I nodded. The Bloodmaiden Rite had been cancelled this year. I wasn’t surprised. There was no point trying to reinforce the coercive magic that kept the blightborn in check when the dragon’s very existence was working against it. I knew other measures had been suggested instead, including martial law.

I turned to leave. As I reached the door, Rodriguez called after me. “Think hard, Blake. The cost of doing nothing could be worse than the one you’re worried about.”

As I stepped into the hall, I realized Tanaka was on my heels. He’d followed me outside. I stopped and turned to glare at him.

He held up his hands. “Sorry. Just wanted a quick word.”

I narrowed my eyes. “About what?” I thought of something. “You’re not going to rat Rodriguez out now that you’ve heard all that, are you?”

He shook his head. “No. Although I’m not sure my family would want me to support him in this.”

“Fuck your family,” I said bitterly. “Fuck all our families.”

He looked at me with something approaching sympathy. “Viktor’s pretty rough on you, isn’t he? I can’t imagine having him for an uncle.”

“Don’t pretend to care, Tanaka,” I snapped. “Say whatever it is you have to say and then fuck off.”

He chuckled under his breath and fell into step beside me as I started walking. The hall was empty at this time of the day. “Always so charming, Drakharrow. Is that what she sees in you? But fine. I’ll get to the point. How long have you been showing symptoms?”

I froze mid-step. “Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?” I said, trying to make my voice light. But I could feel the tightness in my jaw, the unease in my eyes—and I knew Kage was watching every move I made.

Tanaka’s eyes glinted. “You know exactly what I mean. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed either.”

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up against the wall. “What did you see?”

“Easy, Drakharrow,” he murmured. He wasn’t even trying to fight me back. Maybe that’s what disarmed me the most.

I released him and he smoothed down his jacket. “You’re not exactly subtle, are you?”

“Fuck off,” I snarled.

But instead he stepped in front of me, blocking my path. He’d moved so quickly—faster than any highblood I’d seen. My heart started to pound. It reminded me of how I’d moved that day after the Tribunal evaluation.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded. “How did you do that?”

“Patience,” he said smoothly. “That might be hard as I can see you don’t have any. But I’m being serious with you now. If you can’t control this , that’s going to be a big problem, Drakharrow.”

“Control this? What even is this?” I demanded, breathing harder. “What the hell is happening to me? What do you know about it?”

He shook his head.

“Fine,” I said, my voice cold. “Maybe my being a threat will be a good thing. It’ll make it even easier to dominate you.”

Kage gave a snort of derision and folded his arms over his chest. “Don’t be so sure about that.”

“Care to test me?” I stepped closer, pushing my chest up against his. My anger was spiking and I wasn’t even bothering to rein it in.

“Careful now,” he said quietly. “You don’t want to shift right here in the hall, now do you?”

“Shift?” I ran my hands over my face. “What the fuck does that mean? Shift into what?” I couldn’t help it. I knew it was pathetic but I was practically begging. “Come on, Tanaka. If you know something you have to tell me.”

“I think there’s someone better suited for that job,” Kage replied softly.

I scowled. “Who?”

“Ask your dear uncle,” Kage said, his voice dripping with disdain. “Ask Viktor Drakharrow what he knows. Ask him about your father. About his death.”

The words stabbed into me like a sword. I stared at him. “What? What are you talking about?” I shook my head. “I should have guessed. You’re so full of shit.”

“Am I?” Kage’s dark eyes narrowed. “You think your house is the only one with secrets? We all have them. Every one of the four houses. Every bloodline.”

I stared at him, trying to make out the meaning in his words. “You’re saying...the other houses... they can—”

“Don’t,” he interrupted. “Don’t even finish that sentence.”

“What the hell does that mean? You’ve been through this too, haven’t you?”

Something passed over his face but I couldn’t pin down what it was. Fear? Regret? Sympathy? All three?

“No,” he said firmly, shutting me down. “What you’re going through... It’s different.”

“Different? Different how?” So, I was alone in this? Great. Just fucking great.

He didn’t answer me directly. “Look, I want to help you, Drakharrow. Believe it or not, I do. But all I can say is, you need to be careful right now. What’s happening to you, it’s not just going to affect you. It’ll impact everyone around you. People could get hurt. I don’t want that to happen. Especially if it’s Medra.”

“Keep her name off your lips,” I growled. “Stay the hell away from her.”

Kage rolled his eyes. “Think about what I said. If you can’t learn to control yourself, you’ll be a danger to her, too. Do you really want that? She’s vulnerable enough already.”

“I don’t see you exactly stepping up with words of wisdom,” I spat. “Only cryptic bullshit.”

“Look, when the time comes, you’ll know it. You’ll learn. Just like I did.” It was the closest thing to an acknowledgement that he’d gone through something similar. But what exactly? The Avari bastard. He’d rather keep his secrets than actually help me. “If you survive...”

I stared at him. “Survive? What the fuck does that mean?”

“If you survive,” he repeated. “You’ll have to start working on control. If you can’t figure it out...” He sighed. “Well, come see me then. Maybe we can talk more.”

“I’d never hurt Pendragon,” I said, my voice low.

“Let’s hope you’re right,” he said lightly, then turned to go. “For her sake and yours.”