Page 62 of Dragon's Code

He sighs. “Jasmine, I can’t trust you right now. My mate is in this building and if you are determined to be a spy, I can’t trust you.”

“Your mate?” Her eyes widen even more. “Oh my gosh. It’s all of you. You’re all mated to humans. That’s why you’re meeting here.”

Jerrick just sighs like he’s glad the secret is out but also that he’s fed up with her.

I shake my head. “Jasmine, the fate of the dragons rests on us being able to bring this to the Elders and be reassured they’ll hear us out.”

Jasmine slams her hand against the bars. “Then you’ll be waiting forever for the time to be right. They’ll never stand aside and let dragons breed with humans.”

“Why?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes. “Come on, Kashton Wystan. I know you’re smarter than that. It’s not complicated and it’s certainly not a new story. The Elders believe in purity. If the Obsidians were former humans, then they were tainted.”

“How do you know this?”

She lifts her chin. “There’s a reason why I was sent. I’m good at finding, retrieving, eavesdropping, and getting the information with any means necessary.”

“Say more,” I reply.

She glances at Jerrick and then turns her attention back to me. “I’ve heard more than one Elder meeting over the years. There have been plots, secrets, and all sorts of naughty details I’ve learned over the years. I’ve managed to blackmail a few royals in the process. I even tried to get something on Darius, but the man is as pure as they come. Until recently. I knew he was up to something. Him and Khalid became far too secretive, but they were smart enough to never speak about their secrets where I could listen in. Darius is smarter than his own father.”

“You’re loyal to no one,” Jerrick snaps.

She scoffs, “I’m loyal to those that have been loyal to me. It’s not my fault, I’ve been found wanting. I’m loyal to me.”

Jerrick frowns. “What happened?”

Jasmine turns away from the bars and keeps her back to us. Her arms are folded across her middle like she’s protecting a soft center. “I’ve been a bargaining chip my entire life. My parents had the last female dragon. The last one born. No females have been born for twenty years. Not on the North American continent. Not the South American continent. Not in Europe. Asia, Africa. Not even in Antarctica. Maybe you can look on the moon or fly to the sun, try to find more females in the outer reaches of space. I’ve been nothing but something to barter with. So I tried to make it worth my while if that’s all I am to the dragon clans. Even if I wanted to mate with someone, live a more simple life, there’s no way the Elders would’ve let me.”

Jerrick scoffs this time. “You expect us to feel sorry for you?”

She spins around. Her eyes are not her human brown eyes. They’re amber and gold with a reptilian intelligence looking back at us. “Sorry for me?” She laughs. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m priceless and therefore untouchable.”

“Priceless?” I snap. “There are dozens that have found a human mate. You’re no longer priceless. You’re just a female dragon, just like our mates.”

Her mouth slackens and goes agape. “You would value humans over your own kind?”

“What happened to our belief in fate? We’ve always believed fate will lead us to our mate. Humans are noble creatures, just like dragons.”

Jasmine shakes her head. “Are they? They kill each other over money, have no loyalty, not even when they’ve found their mate.”

“Dragons are no different. My father conquered his king because he was trying to destroy everything we hold dear. He’d teamed up with a vampire. Dragons are no better or worse than any human,” I spit at her. “If you think you’re better–”

“Think I’m better? I’m valued for my sex and nothing else. Go fuck yourself.”

Jerrick moves to stand next to me. “What do you want, Jasmine?”

She pauses, her entire body going still. Her gaze affixed to the ground. After a long, pregnant pause, she lifts her eyes to Jerrick. “You know, no one has ever asked me that.”

“Forget all the intrigues, the games, the bullshit. What do you want?”

“Freedom,” she says with a lifted chin. “As long as my parents and King Marcus have me in their claws, then I’m nothing more than a pawn.”

“Jasmine, if freedom is what you want, if that would send you out of here without taking our secrets with you, then I will do everything in my power to get it for you,” Jerrick says.

“As will I. People have tried to use Krystana in the past. There are plenty of those who treat female dragons like their only purpose is to have baby dragons.”

Jasmine’s eyes well with tears. “Just like that?”

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