Page 38 of Bound By Roses

Abby’s voice fills my mind, only a faint whisper making it through the shock we’re both feeling.‘You and Jade are…’

‘Cousins.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ABBY

“Any sign of him?” Quinn asks when Merrick reaches the bridge where we stand. It’s been four days since Jade left, and Merrick has spent a good portion of each and every one of them scouring the beach and sky for traces of him. The only place he hasn’t yet searched is the forest, though I don’t think anyone thinks Jade could hide there now. Not with what he’s become and the complications that have arisen from that.

“Not today,” Merrick sighs, rubbing his forehead. He has bags under his eyes that weren’t there before, so he’s likely been getting about as much sleep as I have—which is almost none at all. The dreams have only worsened since we woke Jade. Now it’s not just Void that plagues my nightmares—it’s Inferna, too.

The Goddess of the dragons, responsible for the destruction that birthed their land of fire. The story goes that in a vie for power, Inferna created a new race of humans that were strong and faster than the rest. Just as Tideus gave his people fins, Inferna gave hers wings. All my life I thought the legends of sirens and dragons were nothing but myth, but so much has changed in a year. Even I’m not what I thought I was.

“You’ll find him when he wants to be found.” That much I know to be true. If I was a betting woman, I’d say that Merrick has already crossed paths with Jade at least once and had no idea. Jade knows how not to be found, even when the person searching for him has heightened senses that rival his own.

Merrick says nothing, though he doesn’t seem to much like my answer. He’s not used to not getting his way, at least with his kin.

“I’ve been meaning to ask…” Quinn says, running a hand through his hair. It’s gotten longer over the last few weeks and desperately needs a cut. “This is probably a stupid question, but I need to know. We’re not cousins, right?”

Merrick laughs, and it’s more boisterous than I’ve ever heard from him. “Thank the Gods, no. No offence, but Jade is enough.” So Aurelia doesn’t have any other dragon offspring running around. Or if she does, at least we know Merrick isn’t one of them. Quinn has been wanting to broach this subject for a while, so I guess today is the day. I brace myself for what I already know is coming.

“You could have told me.” Quinn’s words are softer than I’d expected, more betrayed than angry. He’s toeing a fine line between the emotions and, depending on Merrick’s response, this can easily turn into an argument I don’t think either of them have the energy for. “You knew from the moment we met. Did Jade?”

“No. Aurelia may be his mother, but she nevermotheredhim. As far as he knew, both his parents were dead. And as for not telling you, it would have only caused more trouble. You were better off not knowing.”

Oh, Quinn is definitely not going to like that answer.

“That wasn’t for you to decide.” The words come out as a growl, but I’m genuinely surprised he’s staying this calm. He’s been looking for someone to blame and even though that’s notreally fair, I can’t hold it against him. I know what it’s like to be told too late that someone you knew shares your blood. If we knew they were family, that could have saved a lot of heartache.

Or maybe it would have made things so much worse.

“I told Aurelia to tell you herself. That was more than enough.” Merrick sounds equally annoyed now.

“Again, that isn’t for you to decide.”

Merrick rubs at his forehead again. “Forgive me, but I have enough to deal with. Your family drama does not concern me.”

He moves to walk away, but I can’t stop myself. Quinn’s disappointment mingles with mine and swirls into something a whole lot stronger. I’m supposed to be the voice of reason here. The peacemaker. But all I want to do is hurtle accusations of my own. “Are you even looking for Jade?”

Merrick stops in his tracks, his body tensing with even more frustration than he’d shown Quinn. He turns to face me, slowly, his eyes narrowed and jaw tight. “Of course I am.”

I really shouldn’t push this. “Then why haven’t you found him? Shouldn’t you know where he is? You’re the Regent.” Jade may know how to hide, but Merrick is the one person he shouldn’t be able to hide from.

“And he is a Chosen,” he barks. “No one wants to find him more than me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Abby—” Quinn warns, but this is already happening. I hold up a hand to silence him, and he knows well enough not to push me. He got to say his peace. Now it’s my turn.

Before I can say something else I might regret, Merrick speaks. “Nuri and I are expecting a child.”

What? That was the last thing I was expecting him to say, and it throws me entirely. Maybe that was his intention. “I didn’t know you two were—”

“We’re not, but I needed an heir, and she volunteered. Jade cannot be trusted to lead if something happens to me and I cannot choose another. Our blood decides, and if that bloodline is severed, my kind will cease to exist. Jade is a threat to us all.”

“So you’re going to kill him?” A part of me had been worried about that since the first time Merrick went out looking for Jade. I feared he would return covered in blood, or, if Jade gave into his violent urges, not return at all.

“No, but I cannot allow him to wander unchecked. He is no longer compelled to obey my orders, yet he is still my heir. At least until my child is of age.” I’d ask how that works, but I’m certain he doesn’t know. Merrick is still very much the Regent, and he can still feel that Jade is next in line, yet Jade is immune to Merrick’s influence. I may not know everything about the dragons and how they’re blood magic words, but I know enough to know that this isn’t supposed to happen.

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