Page 139 of Silent Jay

Rehan:Jay’s awake.

Rehan:I need to see her.

When I didn’t get an immediate response, I seethed, and my steps became leaden. I shouldn’t expect one. Lux made the rules clear. But we were shooting ourselves in the foot by not gathering with Jay at our center.

I looked down at my phone again just as my dad pulled me into our accommodation. It looked the same as always. The network of apartments had too much white, modern metal furniture and generic pictures of clouds dotting the stone walls.

“You’re at my back for this meeting.” He growled. “And you will have all our backs, no matter what happens, understood?” His gaze softened. “I understand how you’re feeling, but this is much bigger than one woman. I know you will side with the family.”

I flattened my lips.

Dad gritted his teeth. “Stop mooning like a sullen teenager and get your head in the game. Our island is threatened by change.”

I didn’t say a word. I’d made my stance clear. My family was in my heart. My dad patted my shoulder before sliding over to the open bar, only to have Tukaqu shoo him away from it.

Although my dad’s advice not to moon was good, I couldn’t stand still. I put a few braids in my long hair, remembering the matching ones Jay put in mine before the fire ritual. A smile brightened my face before it fell again. Mine weren’t near as clean. I ended up pulling my hair back in a half ponytail. After that, I changed into the pale khaki shorts and light blue button-down uniform Tukaqu chose for us. All of which matched his robes, making us look united. Except I’d never felt so isolated.

What would I do if my family turned on Jay?

After a final preen in the mirror, I avoided all of them and marched myself to the corridor leading to the meeting room.

Lights which resembled flying dragons dangled from the ceiling. Fresh white paint covered every inch of the space. King Leberecht already sat in his place at the square table. The seat next to him was empty, but his advisors milled about, along with a few guards strategically placed around the large room. It reminded me of a prison.

I placed myself near the door. Every dragon would have to go past me to get in, including Jay’s other mates. After waiting two seconds, I started pacing.

In twos and threes dragon shifters slowly appeared. I found myself nodding and smiling as any dutiful son would. Like us, the fire dragons coordinated their clothing. A jeweled red button-down and black shorts perfectly fit Tyson’s broad shoulders and narrow hips. The fire prince trailed behind his lighter dad and brother. We made brief eye contact before he scowled and focused on the room beyond.

The corridor quieted, then echoed with footsteps again. The speaker for earth, Olivia Rose, led her representatives as a unit. Unlike fire and water, earth hadn’t even coordinated their styleof clothing, much less the color. Ogden, dressed in his signature Mandarin attire, broke away from his group. He rushed toward me with a smile and a firm handshake, which he tried to turn into a hug. His attempt lightened my heart, but I held back and watched his four companions, unsure of their loyalty.

The twins Ofri and Obadiah slightly hid a young woman with mossy green hair and excited eyes, obviously new to the earth council. The trio studied me with the same question on their faces before looking toward Olivia Rose for direction. I held my breath.

The leader of earth nodded, and the trio relaxed.

“We will support Jay,” Ogden pulled me forward a second time, though he didn’t attempt to hug me. “We don’t believe fire’s reports. Our mateismagical. Even if we can’t put a number on it yet and she’s aware of current events in the outside world. It’s beyond narrow-minded not to include her in this meeting.” Ogden frowned. “I couldn’t talk Lux into bringing her. Maybe tomorrow. Can you sneak out tonight? If the four of us can meet with her and free her magic…”

I crossed my arms over my chest and recited the technical names of fish to distract myself from the thought. Sharing Jay with Ogden had been much hotter than I wanted to admit. I wasn’t into men. But with making a Jay sandwich… turned out my dragon and I were very much into that.

“Ogden, come,” Olivia Rose said, thankfully unaware of my current thought process.

Ogden nodded and squeezed my hand a final time before rejoining his friends. Although pacing on my own hadn’t bothered me, upon Ogden’s exit, I suddenly felt very alone. Flexing my pecs, I pushed away the sensation.

“Ah, hello,” a voice said behind me.

I turned to find the most beautiful male dragon shifter I’d ever seen. A deep ‘V’ neck dipped down to his belly button,exposing a defined but subtle set of abs. His eyes swirled with a storm. A simple black band held his hastily trimmed hair away from his face.

He wrinkled his delicate nose. “I’m Lux.”

A growl rose in my throat. “You’re our fourth?”

The shifter’s posture stiffened. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“You didn’t answer my text.” I scowled at him.

“The only thing I could tell you was no.” Lux scowled right back. “You know the rules. I even had to boot Ogden out of my room the moment we closed our borders. Elements cannot mix outside of the meeting.”

“She’s my mate.” I leaned forward. Despite having a few solid inches on the guy and double his muscle, Lux didn’t back down. I growled and stepped into his personal space. “She’s not a dragon, and the rules don’t apply.”

Lux flattened his lips into a line and held his ground. “They shouldn’t, but we don’t know what applies to her and what doesn’t. She’s safe in my room.” He frowned. “I hate locking her away… but what if fire tries to retake her?”

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