Page 32 of Beautiful Beast

“What is it?”

“They would not allow me to carry it, and requested you come to the bastion.”

Even Endre stopped his pacing at that, going still. A familiar feeling of dread crept in. The reasons for collecting a message directly were limited, and few of them were good.

“Put on a shirt,” I said to Endre. “We wouldn’t want all of Skalisméra to fall into a rut of lust when you walk by. Or the human. If we see her.”

“Fuck you.” But the words had no strength.

When he turned away, I allowed my worry in while he couldn’t see it. He’d expended too much. Would continue to expend too much to avoid the need driving his mind.

“You’re dismissed,” I said to the runner and turned back to Endre. “Do you need me to put you under until the meeting?”

“Fuck you,” he said again, striding past me and through the door. I followed.

We didn’t speak the entire way to the bastion. Buried down deep in the heart of the mountain, it was easily my least favorite place to visit in this city. My dragon felt the pressing weight of all the earth above when we were so deep, and he didn’t like it.

I steadied myself as we came into the presence of the stone. Or the small piece of it that was visible within the mountain. The deep vibration under my skin never felt quite right. But the hulking chunk of obsidian the size of a hundred dragons jutting out from where it had buried itself on impact didn’t give a Fallen fuck what I thought about it.

The rest of it was outside the mountain.

It contained no true sentience that we knew of, though it often seemed otherwise.

We made our way through the crater and beyond, to the carved rooms where the messengers spent their time. Still within reach of the stone’s amplification, but comfortable.

“Ah, you’re here.” Idroal stood at the doorway to their space. A chaotic collection of scrolls and scribbled notes tracking various messages and conversations, and beyond that, research. The dragon was constantly curious about the ways of the world and always had been in the centuries I’d known them.

“I think you gave the poor runner a fright.”

Idroal smirked and allowed us through. “Perhaps I did. But the intensity of the message warranted speed.”

Endre’s jaw was tight, eyes burning like he still warred with his beast. “What is it?”

“A message came in the night, wanting to know if your lordships were in residence. No one had received instructions to avoid the answer, so we confirmed, and heard nothing. Until a, frankly, brutally rude message came through not long ago. The Elders demand to know why you have come to Skalisméra and not returned to Doro Eche. They also want to know if you have succeeded in their instructions.”

I looked to Endre. The final word in matters like these would always rest with him. We were equals in every way that mattered. Power, status, title. But Endre had suffered the most at the Elders’ claws and we deferred to him when dealing with them.

“Tell them the assignment took more out of me than I expected,” Endre said calmly. Not a lie. “I could not make the flight to Doro Eche and came here instead to recover. And tell the Elders that the status of their instructions is too sensitive to be passed through couriers. Even ones as trusted as you, Idroal.”

The dragon sat on a large, low cushion behind the desk, also close to the ground. Their eyes shone gold, dragon appearing for a moment. “Could this detour have anything to do with the rumors of a beautiful human woman in the halls?”

“With all you have to do, you have time for rumors?”

“You know I hear everything, Sirrus. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

I wouldn’t. Idroal did hear everything, their abilities allowing them to hear echoes through stone and not only project their mind to communicate. Nearly anything spoken in the mountain had a chance to be heard if Idroal happened to be listening. Something we would do well to remember.

“If our message receives a response, you know where to find us.”

They shook their head. “It’s safe to say it will get a response. One that’s likely going to give me a headache. Thank you for that.”

“Add it to our debt,” I said.

The running, and joking, tally of times Idroal had taken the brunt of messages meant for us.

“Someday I’m going to call in that debt,” they warned.

I clapped Endre on the shoulder and turned him back to the door. “Looking forward to it.”

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