Page 35 of Dragon Unleashed

“If the Virrey demands he go home, he can’t refuse. He’s trapped. Like me,” I say, patting his arm.

Chano rights the chair and slumps into it. “Not you too, chica. He’s manipulating you, all of you.”

Naeve hesitates before reaching out to me, her fist curled around something. “He left this for you.”

She drops a small but oddly heavy object into my hand. It’s a delicate gold chain made of slim plates woven tightly together with a small jade pendant, face down. I flip it over and an intricately carved dragon stares back at me. Very Farrell.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Wear it,” Zephyr snarks.

“Wait, Lorelei.” Naeve stills my fingers on the clasp. “He wants to post on Maga about gifting it to you. Also…” Naeve pauses. “By the goddesses! I hate being in the middle. Will you two just talk already?”

“Nope,” I say, popping thep. “What else, Naeve?”

“It’s charmed, with a suppressant.”

I yank my hand away, dropping the necklace on the table like it’s on fire.

Zephyr sighs and picks it up. “He wanted you to know it was charmed. When you’re in class with Lady T, it will dampen your magic. She’s a devious bitch. The more the allegiance patches things up, the quicker she’ll work it out. She’ll realize you’re hiding your power.”

“But I need to learn to wield my aether.”

“Farrell knows that. This way you can learn the techniques. You can really try, you can get better. But everything will bemuted. When you take it off, you’ll still have the skills she’s taught you.”

“Farrell suggested it?” I ask, trying to keep the disbelief out of my voice.

“He cares, in his own way.”

“I guess. Thank him for me.”

“You could do it yourself,” Naeve suggests.

“Maybe.”

Chano chokes beside me. As Zephyr tries to hand me back the chain, Chano bats his hand away. “Farrellismanipulating you,” he growls.

I cross my arms over my chest and stare Chano down. “I know you hate him, Chano, but think about it. What’s he getting out of this?”

He mirrors my stance. “To woo you, or at least pretend to. Putting posts on social media. You’re not his, you’re mine.”

“First, I don’t belong to anyone, I’m not property. Second, I don’t like it, but I’ve thought about it. Doing what the Virrey wants, Farrell pretending to pursue me…it’s keeping the Virrey off my back.”

“I don’t like it,” Chano blusters. “Why does he have a suppression charm anyway? I’ve seen him wear that.”

Zephyr places the little gift on the table, and I stare at it for a long moment.

Chewing on the end of my pen, I turn to the others. “Can we forget about it for now? We’ve got a shedload of work to do and we’re a man down.”

It’s a relief when everyone settles into working, but it’s quickly apparent we just don’t have enough to go on, despite Naeve’s efforts. At least Chano has an inside line to NewShift. He should be able to get the media corporation to send over anything that’s relevant, but it will take time.

“Must be nice having the criminal underworld at your fingertips,” Zephyr mutters.

“NewShift is legit. They just happen to be Maverik owned,” Chano says before burying his head in his hands. “We better make use of them now, before it’s too late.”

I look up. “What do you mean?”

Chano glances between the other two uncertainly. Finally he sighs and continues. “Mytiosare stirring up trouble. It’s Farrell’s fault.”

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