Page 74 of Betrayed By Dragons

EMBER

Like the gods themselves are guiding me, I forge a path down a flight of stairs and out into a courtyard. It's a wide-open space, laid out with brick paths that lead between patches of showy flowers and enormous succulents, and it's somehow exactly, precisely, miraculously what I needed.

I breathe in the cool night air and cast my gaze up at the dark sky and brilliant stars. Then I close my eyes.

Whatever was stirring within me is still there, but it's quiet again. My dragon is settling back down, and I don't know how to reconcile the wildness in her spirit that I just felt.

Opening my eyes, I look down at my wrist. The Shadow Bracer sits there, innocent and inert where it wraps around my skin. Swallowing, I trace my fingers along its edge. There's still no gap in the metal. No way to take it off.

A sudden claustrophobia claws at my insides. I can't blame the bracer for Storm's rejection or for my exile from the Air Kingdom. But is it a coincidence that everything else in my life went haywire the second the bracer wrapped itself around my arm? My two mates, my protection magic, the magic I share with both of my men--not to mention whatever just happened when Rafe and Jianyu started fighting again... How much of that was me, and how much was this...this thing?

Why did it tingle when the Shadow Dragon looked at me?

All the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

Better question--why is it tingling right now?

I whip around to find Jianyu's assistant Li exiting the castle via the same door I did. I put my hand over heart, struggling to calm it.

Right. Twice now, I've promised the guy I'd find him later to talk about whatever on earth it is he needs to tell me. Seriously, though, could his timing be any worse?

I open my mouth, ready to apologize and beg off yet again, but then I spot Rafe's assistant Atina right behind him, and my brows pull together.

That's weird. The two of them are friendly enough. Given their jobs, managing the lives of powerful royal figures, they must have plenty to talk about. But they both have a certain purpose to their gait as they approach.

"Ms. Ember," Li begins.

I inhale deeply and prepare to stand my ground. I'm still all kinds of freaked out, and I don't know if I can keep my shit together right now. "This really isn't a good time--"

"I'm afraid it can't wait." Atina has a sharpness to her gaze. She glances around, as if making sure we're not being overheard. "It's about the bombing of the summit."

Ok, that gets my attention.

Neither of them was invited to our video chat with Freya, so they haven't heard the news about the traces of moonflower crystal found in the wreckage. But if they have a new, unrelated lead, we could really be making some progress here.

I'm still confused about why they're approaching me, though. I'm even more confused about why they're doing it now and here, in the middle of the night outside the castle.

I narrow my eyes. "Okaaaayyy..."

Atina darts her gaze around again before closing in. "We have a suspicion. But we can't discuss it here."

"Why not?"

"The walls have ears," Li tells me.

A shiver runs up my spine. He's not wrong. There's a reason we had Jett sweep the conference room before making the secure call to Freya.

"We have a car waiting at the west gate of the castle." Atina tips her head in that direction.

Instinctively, I take a step to follow her, but then my better sense prevails. "What about Jianyu and Rafe?"

The two assistants exchange a glance, and there's a suspicious tingle in the back of my head that has nothing to do with magic.

"We just," Li says quietly, "think this would be better if you heard it directly from us. They might not understand."

Yeah, I'm not buying that. "There's nothing you can say to me that you can't say to them."

In my heart, I cast out a silent call to my mates. I don't know if they can hear me, or if they can follow our connection to find out where I am. We really should have spent more time testing the limits of our bond. Nurturing it and helping it to grow.

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