Page 144 of The Bond That Burns

Rodriguez smiled ruefully. “Well, I’m currently the only member.”

“What does this order do exactly?” I asked slowly. Rodriguez was acting a little strange, sure, but I was prepared to indulge him. Obviously this was important to him.

“The Emberwatch was created to safeguard blightborn lives. I may be the only surviving member, but at one point there weremany of us. My family has guarded the Emberwatch’s memory for generations. Many of my family were members themselves.” He picked up a quill from his desk and began tossing it in one hand. “I want you to think back to the age of dragons. During highblood wars and feuds and squabbles, blightborn casualties weren’t just common—they were accepted and expected. Entire villages burned, cities razed—all to fuel highblood rivalries and power grabs. The Emberwatch believed in protecting the innocent however we could.” He took a deep breath. “Even if it meant standing against the dragons.”

The room seemed to grow colder.

“You’re talking about sabotage. Fighting those who rule Sangratha,” Kage observed with a frown. “Is that the treason you meant?”

“The Emberwatch did whatever they needed to do to thwart dragons from harming blightborn civilians. Even if that meant sabotaging the dragons themselves,” Rodriguez said coolly.

“You killed dragons?” I asked in disbelief. I frowned. “What about riders?”

Rodriguez looked away. “Yes. Sometimes both.”

The burden of his words settled over the room like a mist of blood.

“If this is about harming Pendragon in any way, I’m out,” I said, moving towards the door. “I’ll see you dead before I let you hurt her, Rodriguez—and you’re a fool if you didn’t already know that. You should never have invited me to this... this little conspiracy club.”

“Blake, stop. It’s not about that.” My teacher sounded weary.

I paused. “It had better not be.”

Rodriguez shook his head. “It’s not. I swear it. You know, when Medra appeared, I thought she could be different. I believed she represented hope.”

I scowled at the implication. Pendragon did represent hope–at least, she did to me. “Different? She’s not exactly commonplace.”

“No, she’s one of a kind,” Rodriguez agreed. “I believe her heart is in the right place. She’s brave. I hoped she could bring balance, be more than a tool for highblood domination. But now...” He paused, his face turning gloomy. “Now we know there’s a plan in place to soul-bind her. And that changes everything.”

I glanced back and forth between Rodriguez and Kage, grasping the context.

“Wait a minute. Youknew? You already knew and you didn’t fucking tell her yourself?” I spat at Tanaka. It took everything I had to resist grabbing him by the collar and throwing him across the room.

“Keep it together, Blake,” Rodriguez commanded. “Kage brought his concerns to me. Which is why I decided I could trust him now.”

“He should have brought his concerns to Pendragon,” I snarled. “Or better yet, her archon.”

“Archon in name only,” Kage said coolly.

“Oh, it’s more than in name, believe me,” I wanted to say. But Pendragon would punch me in the face if she heard me saysomething assholeish like that. And then I’d never get her alone in a library—or any other place for that matter—ever again.

“Are you two done comparing whose is bigger?” Rodriguez snapped. “We’re talking about damned dragons here.”

“One dragon. One dragon who Pendragon has under her control,” I retorted.

“Under her control?” Rodriguez shook his head. “No. I highly doubt that will ever be the case.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded.

“So long as Nyxaris remains free, she’ll constantly be in danger. And if she’s successfully soul-bound, we’ll have lost her completely. As well as any hope of controlling Nyxaris. With only one dragon under the control of a single highblood family, the blightborn will suffer more than they ever have. A war between the houses will be inevitable.” He grimaced. “Even more than it is now.”

“We don’t even know which highblood family is trying to soul-bind Pendragon,” I pointed out.

Tanaka laughed. “Oh, I think it’s fairly obvious.”

“Elaria Avari is many things, Blake. But Kage assures me his grandmother has no interest in risking her own life in an attempt to control the dragon. She values her life and her family too greatly for that,” Rodriguez said.

I rolled my eyes. “As if I’m going to just take the word of Kage’s grandmother. Apparently highbloods used to do this all the time. Why wouldn’t she want the power now?”

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