Page 25 of A Dagger of Twisted Starlight

My dad walked to his desk, sat down, and placed his head in his hands. He was framed by an open window behind him, which looked out to a rose garden. “The president is in critical condition.”

“What?” we all said in unison.

“He likely won’t make it.”

It was as if gallons of ice water cascaded down from the ceiling.

The president… dead? That would cause a tidal wave of chaos and change.

And it would leave my father as his replacement.

Holy shit.

“By the huntress,” Warrick said, hand on his chest. One of the lenses in his glasses had a thick crack down the center.

“How did they even get in here?” Xavier asked. “These grounds have dozens of different types of protection. How did they get through the protective barriers?”

My father shook his head. He seemed ten years older than when I’d seen him this morning. “Many of those shifters had invitations, so that’s how they got through without suspicion.”

“Who invited them?”

“We don’t know. The guest records were wiped clean. The few that we did apprehend aren’t saying a single word. And that’s not all—they were able to get into the Warded Room.”

“That sounds bad,” Warrick said, leaning forward in his seat. He ran a hand through his short brown hair.

“It’s not,” I said. “It’s terrible. There’s so much in that room that could wipe out entire countries. How did they get in?” Ilooked to my dad. There had been plenty of times during his career that shit hit the fan, and he had to keep his composure. I’d seen him receive major intel calls at dinner and still keep calm as he thanked the servers and chef.

I could tell this time wasn’t like any of the others. There was a crack in his calm facade.

“That’s the question everyone’s asking. Thankfully—if I can even say that—only one item was taken. I’m saying it in this room because I trust each individual in here. I understand the dragon’s strong sense of honor, and I’ve known you two since you were babies.” My father looked around the room. He settled his hands on his desk, forming a tight fist. “They stole the starlight dagger. It has the power to tear a rift in time and space itself. The wielder can travel back to any point in time that they desire. From then, they could alter the very present that we inhabit. We would blink and be living in an entirely different world, none the wiser. According to the few pieces of literature we found on it, the dagger can only be used once, though. When it’s used, the power is drained from it regardless of what timeline it’s in.”

Xavier huffed out a breath. “So the attack on the gala must have been a distraction.”

“Correct. And I believe the president was targeted to cause as much chaos as possible. They need time now. No one knows how to use the dagger. The government’s had it in its possession for the past decade; no researcher has been able to figure out how to activate it. They’ve only been able to discover what it does. Just not how to use it.”

Cassius cleared his throat. He was still in his dress shirt and slacks, his long black hair no longer perfectly styled the way heusually liked it. “What if whoever has it now knows how to use it?”

“That’s one of my biggest concerns. They knew of its existence, and they knew where to get it. It isn’t a large leap to think they may know how to use it.” My dad’s hawkish blue eyes turned to Xavier. “Which is where you come in.”

I squinted my eyes at my father. Where was he headed with this?

“I don’t know who I can turn to right now. I’m skeptical of my own Secret Service agents. You’ve proven yourselves as proctors of my son, but I need to ask you for more. I need the dragons famous for stopping the Dragonfall to help me stop another disaster in the making.”

My jaw dropped. That was a massive ask, and I’m sure it went far,faroutside of the scope Xavier was hired for. I looked at him, but his face was as expressionless as stone.

Warr was the one who chuckled. “Definitely wouldn’t be the first time we saved the world.”

Xavier’s brows pulled together. “It’s a lot to consider, Mr. Vice President.”

“Technically, President right now,” Warr quickly added.

“I’m sorry,” Xavier said. My father waved it off.

President. What the fuck is happening?

“I understand it’s a lot to ask for. But I don’t know who else I can go to right now. And time is very limited. I can’t go around interviewing people for the job.”

I swallowed. My palms sweat.

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