Page 67 of Valor’s Flight (The New Protectorate #5)

Chapter Forty-Five

Things could’ve been a lot worse. She wasn’t sure how, exactly, but it had to be true.

Alashiya sat in the uncomfortable metal chair in the interrogation room, her wrists shackled to the shiny tabletop. She was slumped over, her forehead cushioned by her forearms, in an attempt to hide from the glaring overhead light.

She’d lost count of the hours she’d spent there.

So many dragons had come and gone that she’d lost track of them, too.

Except for Inspector General Anneli Saar, of course.

Vael had handed her over to the stern-faced dragon almost as soon as the m-gate opened on the side of the road.

She’d been Alashiya’s main interrogator, though many more dragons had made an appearance, demanding answers she didn’t have or to just glare at her from the doorway.

She was fairly certain it was some sort of strategy to break her. It hardly seemed like it could be a coincidence that those glaring visitors came by like clockwork, always just after she managed to snatch a moment of sleep.

What they hoped to gain from keeping her delirious with sleep deprivation, she couldn’t fathom.

Alashiya was past exhaustion. She was past hunger.

She was past the discomfort of the cold air piped directly onto her from above and below.

She was past everything except the dull ache of worry for her husband, who’d been whisked away from her so fast, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye.

Her only comfort was that he was alive.

They hadn’t told her so. In fact, they’d refused to answer any question at all. But the hyphae didn’t lie. Taevas was alive somewhere not terribly far from her. That was all that mattered.

Alashiya desperately wanted to let sleep pull her under.

It was a heavy drag on her mind, begging her to let go, but she’d been awoken so many times that it’d become muscle memory to jolt upright whenever she gave in.

To keep herself from slipping, she curled and uncurled her right hand into a fist. The sharp burn of her scabbing marriage cut was a painful but invigorating stimulant.

With nothing else to do, she stared at her warped reflection in the shiny silver surface of the table, too tired to keep her head up but too paranoid to sleep. Her mind was a shifting landscape of abstract shapes and warped memories, but she still managed to pray that she’d done the right thing.

Her eyes closed.

It was no surprise to her when she jerked awake not a moment later. Skin prickling with awareness, she lifted her head just enough to see a huge, pale green dragon in black military gear closing the door with the heel of his boot.

Normally, she would’ve been afraid. Everything about him screamed of a threat.

His face was all hard angles, his eyes narrowed, and his monstrously large fists clenched.

A swirl of tattoos peeked above the collar of his tight black shirt, and when he took a step toward her, the whole tiny, sterile room seemed to quake.

But even as he advanced on her, tail thrashing behind him, she felt no fear. Only resignation.

Her fingers, half-frozen by the continuous blast of cold air, curled into tight fists against the tabletop. Whatever happens now, I know I did everything in my power to do what was right.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she expected, but watching the dragon kneel beside her chair wasn’t it. He said nothing as he immediately began to disengage the locks on the shackles holding her ankles to the chair legs, so she didn’t dare let herself feel relief.

The best she could hope for, she supposed, was that she was finally being put in a cell. At least there was likely to be a bed there.

For as big and deadly as the dragon’s hands were, he was shockingly gentle as he eased her ankles out of the metal restraints. That done, he stood up and, broad shoulders hunching, began to do the same for her wrists.

Blinking owlishly, Alashiya forced her head up just in time to catch the door opening behind him.

The inspector came rushing in, her orange face darkened with outrage. “Radek!” she barked, storming across the short distance to slam a hand down on the table. “You can’t just waltz in here and take my suspect out of custody! She’s the primary—”

Radek? Alashiya stared at him with renewed interest. Taevas had told her the names of everyone in his Wing. His name sounded very familiar, but she wasn’t in any state to be certain of it.

Radek had been nothing but stoic since he entered the room, but the moment the inspector reached for Alashiya’s wrist, a monster took his place. His face, already harsh, transformed into a visage of pure ferocity as he rounded on the inspector.

“Touch her again and I’ll take your hand,” he snarled.

Alashiya wasn’t sure how the inspector managed it, but she somehow held her ground. Sounding only a little thready, she protested, “This nymph is a criminal held on suspicion of kidnapping and attempted murder of our Isand. I can’t let you just walk out with her!”

Radek’s fingers, each one as thick as two of hers put together, were exquisitely gentle as he eased her wrists out of the shackles and guided Alashiya to stand. When she stumbled, he tucked a hand under her elbow and held her weight until a little bit of her balance returned.

Turning his back on the inspector, the terrifying look on his face faded into a dark frown. He took in Alashiya with a long look. “He’s gonna fucking kill us all,” he muttered.

“Radek! I know you’re out of your mind, but you can’t just break the law!”

Alashiya’s gaze darted to the inspector, who looked about two seconds away from pulling her hair out by the roots. Glancing back at Radek, she dared to ask, “What’s going on?”

“You’re safe now,” he gruffly assured her. “I promise.”

She eyed him warily. “I don’t mean to be rude, but there’s only one dragon I feel safe with, Mr. Radek. And you’re not him.”

A soft huff escaped his proud nose. “Good instincts.”

Gently placing a hand on her elbow, Radek half-turned to give the inspector a narrow-eyed look. “Inspector, I’m relieving you of the custody of Alashiya Ardz. She’s officially under the protection of the Isand’s Wing. Any questions you have for her can be forwarded through me. Understood?”

The inspector was stunned into silence for all of a heartbeat before she sputtered, “Protection of the Wing? What in— Why?”

Radek’s tail snapped behind him like an angry barn cat, but he didn’t push Alashiya to walk faster as he guided her toward the door. His hand was steady and careful as he patiently matched her much shorter strides.

He only bothered to answer the inspector’s question when they were nearly out of the room. “Because,” he rumbled, giving the inspector a pitying look, “she’s our new Emand.”

Alashiya didn’t know what that meant, and she didn’t get any clues from the inspector. They didn’t stick around to see her reaction.

A small fleet of grim-faced dragons waited outside the interrogation room and formed a tight column around them.

Radek stuck close, his hand gently pushing her forward.

The only time he spoke was when he snapped a command at one of the group.

It was in a language she didn’t know, but she figured out what he’d asked for when the dragon returned with a soft gray blanket.

She had no idea just how cold she was until Radek wrapped it around her shoulders in a tight swaddle before depositing her in the backseat of a bulky black vehicle with darkened windows.

Her teeth chattered and a wave of nausea crashed through her as Radek put the car in drive and peeled away from the curb at what felt like breakneck speed.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she croaked, “Where are you taking me?”

Radek didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he did flip open the center console and pull out a water bottle. Passing it back to her, he commanded, “Drink.”

A spark of irritation burst in her at his bossiness, but she didn’t have the energy to complain. Only when she’d taken a long drink from the bottle did Radek answer her question. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

A shudder of uneasiness ran through her. She’d never been in one of those before. “Why?”

“To see the Isand.”

In an instant, every bit of her exhaustion melted away. The water bottle crunched in her tight grip as she leaned forward. “You’re taking me to— I’m going to see Taevas? Really?”

“Yes,” he muttered, casting her a wary look in the rearview mirror. “And to have you checked out, too. Has anyone even looked at that cut on…”

Whatever the end of the sentence was, Alashiya didn’t hear it. Her ears filled up with white noise as she processed the fact that she’d be seeing Taevas soon.

A part of her had been absolutely certain she’d never see him again, so the joy of knowing that wasn’t true was indescribable.

Alashiya hardly blinked as the minutes passed. She didn’t look out the window. She barely noted the security checkpoint. She didn’t feel the fabric of the blanket over her shoulders or the bottle crumpled in her fist.

When they entered the hospital, the hallways were a smear of white and pale blue. The small group of dragons who’d escorted her out of the station reappeared, but she didn’t notice them, either. Her attention was honed on the awareness that every step brought her closer to Taevas.

He’s all right, she silently chanted. He asked for me. That must mean that he’s awake. That he’s well. I’m going to see him.

Her right hand flexed, making the cut on her palm burn. Her stomach bottomed out.

Oh gods, I’m going to see him.

Anticipation and joy crackled in her veins. So did a creeping dread.

She didn’t regret anything she’d done to keep Taevas alive, but she hadn’t exactly thought through the consequences, either.

Her stomach tied itself into a series of increasingly painful knots as worries began to bombard her from all sides. Would he be angry at her? Would he even understand what she’d done?

Before she could make herself sick with anxiety, the group of dragons peeled off to line the long, quiet stretch of hallway on the top floor of the hospital. They joined several others already stationed there.

She wasn’t entirely sure what made them stand out, but she could immediately tell that the three dragons closest to the door were different from the others.

The way they held themselves, their sheer size, and the look in their eyes made them seem…

more. More what, she couldn’t even begin to speculate about.

All she knew for certain was that every single pair of eyes was on her.

Alashiya tightened the blanket around her shoulders and ducked her head. The gods only knew what she looked like, with dried blood crusted over her arm and the rest of her painted with rain-streaked dirt. She could hardly blame them for staring.

No one said a word as Radek approached a door and rapped his knuckles against it twice. Without another second of hesitation, he pushed open the door and steered her inside.

She’d been prepared to see Taevas in a hospital bed. What she wasn’t prepared for was everyone else.

The room was practically bursting with dragons, and every last one of them stared at her like she’d just gotten off the first shuttle from Mars. For half a second, the room was blanketed in complete silence. Then, a voice she’d come to love so much barked, “Everyone standing in her way, move.”

A stricken look rippled over every brightly colored face in the room. Suddenly there was a whirl of activity as dragons stepped aside, allowing her to get a direct look at the bed.

The breath left her lungs in a great whoosh.

Taevas was there, sitting up, clean, free of bruises and blood.

He had on a loose white shirt with an open back.

It appeared his wings had been bound tightly with some sort of splint.

His deep purple skin glowed with vitality in a way she hadn’t seen before.

Compared to how he’d looked when she last saw him, Taevas was the very picture of robust health.

And he looked furious.

“Shiya,” Taevas choked out, “come here.”

She wanted nothing more than that. The only problem was that she couldn’t seem to move. There were so many eyes on her. The instinct to run and hide from all the dangerous strangers was a siren blaring in her mind. She didn’t think she’d ever been around so many unknown people at once in… ever.

But there was nowhere to hide. There were no trees, no loamy forest floor, and no safe haven of her house.

Everything around her was clean and modern and sterile, free of all of the things that made her feel safe.

She stared at Taevas, helpless, her discomfort rippling through the hyphae with mindless panic.

A flash of understanding crossed Taevas’s expression. Lifting his left arm, he gestured for her to come closer. In a gentler voice, he coaxed, “All is well, metsalill. They’re clan. You’re safe.”

After the twenty-four hours she had, Alashiya really couldn’t be sure of that, but she knew one thing for certain: Taevas was safe. Taevas was home.

Taevas was her grove.

The soft gray blanket fluttered to the ground as she hurried across the room. Her eyes stung fiercely, but her body seemed to have lost the ability to make tears. It was a blessing, really. She didn’t think she could handle crying in front of so many strangers.

The moment she was close enough to the bed, Taevas lunged. He snatched her to his chest, his tail a tight coil around her waist, and pressed her face into the crook of his neck.

The relief was instant.

His scent, the thrum of his thundering pulse, the warmth and darkness that came with being sheltered by the fall of his hair… It was no forest or hiding place amongst the roots of her trees.

It was better.

Alashiya shuddered. Her fingers curled into the strange shirt he wore. She didn’t feel the sting in her palm or her exhaustion. The hyphae hummed with joy in her, like his nearness struck a chord that sent music to even the most distant branches of the network.

My grove, she thought, breath hitching. I have a grove.