Page 57 of Betrayed By Dragons

He scarcely needs the excuse. We're all thrown back into our seats as he floors it. Jianyu glares at me, but I ignore him.

We need to get to the castle. I need the details of whatever the fuck my father is doing.

He may not listen to any of us besides Eagan.

But I swear to the gods, I'm going to make him listen to me.

Chapter Fourteen

EMBER

By the time we arrive at the castle overlooking The Crimson City, we're all running on fumes. Jianyu isn't trying to hide it, even. He's testy and sullen, though still not as outwardly angry as I expected, considering the way the royal guard turned on him. I keep thinking the betrayal will sink in, but who knows?

Rafe, on the other hand, is one giant live wire. He's burning fury as fuel to fight off the exhaustion, but he can't go on like that forever--can he?

Ever since we set foot on Fire Kingdom soil, he's had a new energy to him. Maybe there's something about the place itself that's giving him this vitality, or maybe he's really just that pissed.

Either way, I lean into him as we pull up to the castle gates. They're enormous wrought-iron monstrosities, gilded at the tops and with images of dragons worked into the dark metal. Beyond them, the red brick castle looms. It has none of the lightness of the Air King's mansion, nor the solidity of the Stone King's palace. Instead, it's big and raw somehow, like lava that's hardened into place.

I know from my visits here as a child that the seat of the Fire King’s power has stood here for millennia. It looks its age, but there's a brittleness to it, too. Like the entire structure could explode into fire--or collapse under its own mighty weight.

Fitting, I guess, all told.

We drive around back and into an underground garage that houses dozens of gleaming, expensive luxury sports cars.

"Are any of these yours?" I ask Rafe.

"A few," he admits.

My mate's wealth shouldn't be able to surprise me anymore; he did just fly me and all my friends from one kingdom to another at the drop of a hat. My other mate is equally rich. Hell, my ex-boyfriend Storm was, too. But the whole situation still manages to catch me off-guard sometimes.

Mentally rolling my eyes at myself, I shake it off--and not a moment too soon.

Dorran doesn't slow down at all as we round the corner of the garage. If anything, he speeds up before making a sharp, terrifying turn into an open spot. I grip onto both Rafe and Jianyu's knees as we come to a stop mere inches from the garage wall.

"Handles like a dream, right?" Dorran asks.

He's looking directly at me in the rearview mirror, a smirk on his face. My stomach sucks in. I'm not going to let this guy unnerve me--especially considering he already pulled this trick back at the air strip before. Consciously releasing my death grip on my mates' legs, I nod.

Rafe flips his brother off before opening his door. He extends his hand to help me out, and I accept it, gently touching Jianyu's knee as he moves to exit from the other side.

As I continue gawking at all the luxury vehicles, Cael leads us to a sleek, modern-looking elevator in the far corner of the garage. Rafe's phone pings as we're getting in. He reads the text and looks to me. "The others are a few minutes behind us."

I nod in appreciation, grateful that Amy and the rest of our friends are being looked after.

The elevator sweeps us up to the third floor of the castle. We exit into a hallway that echoes the dissonance I felt, staring at the building from the outside. Intricately tiled black and white marble floors are lined with bright red carpets. The walls are painted a muted gold, with warm-colored tapestries interspersed with modern art. It's excessive and eclectic in the extreme.

"Your interior decorator..." I trail off.

"Is on meth," Rafe finishes for me.

Not how I would have put it, but he's got the sentiment more or less right.

"No one will be up before noon," Cael tells us in a hushed voice. He looks to Rafe. "Keyrie had quite the rager last night."

"My sister?" Rafe asks, utterly dry. "Shocking."

Dorran bumps him with his shoulder. "Don't be jealous."

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