Page 81 of Draekora

Taken off-guard by his gentle—almostintimate—touch, it took a moment for Alex to focus on his words.

“Last night was interesting,” she offered, directing their conversation away from the danger zone of the Claiming ritual. “You have a lot of… friends. I didn’t realise there were so many other people willing to rebel against the king’s consideration for mortals.”

A wondering light glistened in Aven’s eyes. “Willing to rebel?”

Alex looked at him strangely. “Uh, yeah. Isn’t that what you’re all doing?”

“You’re saying we’re rebels?”

“Aven, what…” She trailed off as the translation washed over her and she realised just how ridiculous this moment was in the paradigm of time.

“I like that,” Aven mused in the common tongue, not waiting for her to finish her question. “Rebels. We are theGarseth.”

Alex wasn’t sure whether to laugh incredulously or punch herself in the face. Who would have thought it was she who originally gave Aven the name for his followers? She might as well have offered to have her teeth pulled out one by one, so acute was the horror of what she’d just done.

“But, yes,” Aven continued, “essentially that is what we are. Ignoring your brief, unpleasant run-in with Skraegon—”

Unpleasant run-in?Alex scoffed to herself, remembering the brute lunging for her. And that wasafterhe’d suggested Aven take the throne for himself. ‘Unpleasant’ didn’t quite cover how she would describe their encounter.

“—I’m glad you were able to see last night what we stand for; that our cause is just and valid. Can you disagree with that?”

“I can,” Alex said instantly. Aven’s fervour dimmed and his expression morphed into disappointment, so she explained, “There’s a saying amongst mortals: ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.’” She paused to let that sink in and then continued, “If you were to place a wolf cub in the care of a herd of sheep, that cub would grow up loving the sheep, not seeing them as its next meal. And if another wolf was to come along and threaten the cub’s adopted family, can you blame that cub for doing whatever it could to protect its sheep? To protect its family?”

Aven’s face softened again. “We’re your family now, Aeylia.”

Unwilling to let his declaration sway her, Alex responded, “That’s what the new wolf would likely say to the cub, too.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a long while, but soon Aven’s lips moved up into a reluctant smile.

“Such loyalty,” he said, sounding awed. “Yet they’ll never know how fortunate they are to have a cub like you protecting them.”

“I still have to manage that feat,” Alex said. Sensing it was time to let go of the heavy metaphor that meant more to her than Aven could yet know, she poked him lightly in the ribs and finished, “And that’s something I have a feeling you and your merry bunch of Rebels will be making increasingly difficult for me.”

With a chuckle, all Aven said was, “It will certainly be interesting to see if the wolf or the cub end up winning the battle for the sheep.”

Like an icy droplet of water, a shiver ran down her spine at the strikingly valid analogy.

Aven pushed off the table, standing to his full height as he looked down at Alex, his expression thoughtful.

“You know, all this talk of wolves and sheep, it does beg the question,” he said, reaching out to trace his fingers across the cover of the book Alex had slammed shut upon his arrival.

Following his actions closely with her eyes, she asked, “And what question is that?”

“What if the sheep spent so much time with their cub that they started to think they’d rather be wolves themselves?” Aven asked, his tone pensive. “What if the real wolves had to find a way to control the sheep, to make sure they didn’t try to become something more than they were? A sheep can never be a wolf, no matter how much it might wish to be.” He gazed thoughtfully down at the closed book. “What if the wolves discovered a way to keep the sheep in line, if they found a way to…” He trailed off, his brow furrowed in thought.

“Aven,” Alex breathed, her heart heavy with dread. “Are we—Are we still talking about animals?”

Just as quietly he returned, “You know we were never talking about animals, Aeylia.” A fire lit in his eyes as he continued looking at the book, his expression calculating. “I have to admit,” he said in a voice so hushed Alex had to lean in to catch it, “if it wasn’t forbidden, I’d be curious as to the effect theMenada dae Loransawould have on a mortal. I don’t believe it’s ever been tested.”

It was then that fear took complete hold of Alex, “That would be—You can’t—It’s not—” She couldn’t finish a single sentence, so acute was her distress at the idea that she might have been the catalyst for the future Aven’s decision to start actively using the forbidden blood-bonding ritual.

Sensing her anguish, Aven hastily laughed off his words. “Of course, no Meyarin would ever be immoral enough to attempt such an act. The stealing of one’s will…” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine anything worse. But it’s a curious thing to hypothesise the potential influence on mortals, even if we’ll never know the answer.” He resolutely pushed the book away. “Now, Aeylia, it seems I’ve been entirely distracted from the reason I originally came to find you.”

Feeling cold all over, Alex managed to pull herself together to ask, “And what reason is that?”

“The best reason there is,” he returned. “Food.”

“Food?”

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