Page 94 of Her Tortured Beasts

“We’re getting there,” Charlotte says, consulting her list. “Since we tripled the venom tax, we’re well on our way?—”

“That’s not what I want to hear, Charlotte,” Mace says tersely. “I want the numbers. Have we replenished the stock that was destroyed or not?”

“Not yet,” Charlotte says quickly.

“Well, perhaps—” He stops short, frowning and pushing up one heavy sleeve. Before our eyes, five of the black tattoos on his skin fade into nothing. Uh-oh. “Pull up surveillance of Drakos Estate.”

I get out my phone and message the two serpents we have hidden in the trees outside the dragon’s lair. It takes a few minutes for the photos to come through.

What I see makes my heart race. I show the king.

“That’s the entire team,” I say with surprise.

Mace stiffens, and for the first time, he runs a hand through his hair.

“He figured it out immediately,” I say quietly. Of course he did. Xander is far too clever.

“He can’t have spoken to Flores yet,” Mace says, quickly pulling out his phone. “I’ll get to him first.” He leaves the room, dialling the dragon king’s number as he goes.

“Such a shame,” I say conversationally to the room. “I really enjoyed my time there.”

Chapter 53

Xander

Four Seasons (Winter) — Vivaldi

There are few joys left to me in this world, but one of them is the piano. Both of us children were trained on the piano, violin and flute since we could walk, and even though the piano has called to me little of late, I’m compelled to it now. My fingers skim across the keys, finding familiar and comforting chords that ease into my chest and soothe the sharpness inside of me.

The best part of it is that I don’t even need to see to enjoy it. I don’t even need my earphones in either. I can just be free to listen and feel the vibrations in the air. Let the waves of it crest and plunge into my ears in a rhythm that’s mine alone.

It’s here that my father finds me when he storms through the castle, a light-footed Francesca in tow. Two cosy peas in a pod. Perhaps she’s the son he wished he had.

Father’s heat slams into the room like a sledgehammer, dangerously vibrating the air around me. “You don’t know what you’ve done!” He stops a distance from the piano. My fingers never falter upon the keys.

His chest heaves with rage, his power licking furiously around him. But I answer him simply, not taking my focus off the keys. “I did what I had to do. Those worms would’ve tried to kill us in our sleep as soon as they had the chance.”

His chest rumbles. “That was our entire fertility team.”

“Mace’s team,” I correct. “And they betrayed us.”

“You have no proof. If you hadn’t broken your bond, I would have suspectedyoufor this and cut out your cursed heart. Mace was not involved.”

Those words hover between us, my fingers trailing off gentle notes before I answer quietly. “You know it wasn’t me, but someone did let that dragon in.”

“Mace thinks it was the wolves.”

Ruben’s lot. “It wouldn’t be in their best interests to betray me.”

“Nor Mace’s!” he roars. “You are a fool and completely useless. The damage control itself!” He takes a step toward me. “Perhaps I should not have listened to Mace when he told me to take you back.” With that, he whirls around and storms out.

Shock makes my fingers trip over the keys. Mace. Fucking. Naga.

Francesca hovers for a moment. “This entire thing is your fault. That dragon wanted revenge for thingsyoudid. No one else butyou.”

I continue playing as if they’d never come in. According to our database of records, the only dragons that pale in this country were Chen dragons. No doubt Nadine’s family felt slighted by my choosing of Francesca over her and wanted to assert their dominance. But to parlay with a serpent to gain entry was something no one expected. I knew Mace was cunning, but this is a game of a new level.

Five minutes later, I hear the roar of Father’s lungs as he coasts above the castle, crying out his anger and challenge to the world.

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