Page 86 of Dragon Unleashed

You could hear a pin drop.

Farrell rounds on me. “Show me.”

I play the clips again and again. And with each replay Farrell grows increasingly morose, and Naeve sniffles more, clutching Zephyr’s arm.

“I’m sorry, Zephyr,” Farrell mutters. “Another thing he’s taken from you.”

I hang back, feeling like an outsider. Chano’s playing game after game of pool by himself. Is this how he feels all the time? Like an outsider?

“There you are, Miss Bal.” A fully uniformed P.I.G. agent stands in the doorway. “The police would like to invite you to the station for preliminary questions. Be at the portal in an hour.”

Message delivered, the clean-shaven asshat leaves. I lean my butt against the wall, my fingers drumming away. It’s beginning. I framed myself.

Everyone is staring at me.

“Tell them, Lorelei.” Zephyr stands and moves toward me, arms out like I might bolt.

He ushers me to a seat, and I curl up in it, wrapping my arms around my knees.

“Tell us what?” Farrell snarls.

I stare at a point on the floor. Zephyr would keep it to himself if I asked him to, but what’s the point? Maybe they can help. I sure as hell don’t know what to do except tell the truth.

“I wrote to the academy last night. I included some of the footage of Zephyr and Professor Allegra.” I pause, trying to gauge their reaction. “I might have ranted about how Allegra and I hated each other, about how she’s ruined my life.”

Chano whistles, long and low. “Got yourself in a pretty pickle there, princess.”

The sneer on his face is anything but caring.

Farrell rounds on him. “Piss off if you have nothing productive to add. If you don’t want to be here, please, be my guest.” He gestures angrily to the door.

Chano stalks out without even glancing at me.

My wrist prickles and I steel myself. They’re going to be gone, aren’t they? Our allegiance mark, my Aeternum mark. Forcing myself to look down, I gasp.

The allegiance bond isbetter. The lines between Zephyr, Naeve, and I, they’re normal. My heart hammers… My Aeternum mark. It’s gone from a kid’s pencil drawing to looking more like a bad tattoo.

It’s a start.

All it took is the risk of expulsion, a dead professor, and the threat of being pinned for a murder I didn’t commit.

Chapter Forty: Lorelei

The concrete walls are plain, undecorated, and the only window is a small rectangle up high, covered by metal bars. A long table sits in the middle of the room, a single hard-looking empty chair in front of it.

“Sit, Miss Bal,” the younger of the two officers in front of me snaps.

Little plastic name tags identify them as Derek and Marcus. Derek is young, almost too young to be an officer. He can’t be older than I am. His dirty-blond hair is swept up with too much gel and he’s obviously trying for clean-shaven. Trying and failing.

“Why thank you, ever so kind.” I plonk my ass down with great enthusiasm. Holy hell, this chair is hard.

The older one clears his throat and leans in. He’s sporting a worn-out sort of look. His uniform is slightly crumpled, a suspicious stain on the leg.

“We need to ask you a few questions. You are required to answer truthfully,” Derek snarls.

“Am I under arrest?” I ask lightly.

“You will be if you act out,” says Derek.

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