Page 98 of Wrath of the Dragons
Both of them giggle as I smack my lips and huddle closer to hear their lowered voices. “There are rumors Prince Zarius frequents The Oracle.It’s a gambling den a few blocks over and much more expensive than this.”
My eyes light up. “Tell me more.”
The one closest to me leans in again, her brown eyes alight with mischief. “He’s allegedly an awful drunk and even worse when he’s sober. He has no inheritance but somehow has money despite his father disowning him. I’d steer clear if I were you. He’s not known for his kindness and his red eyes are said to be quite unnerving. It’s like looking into pools of blood.”
“Then wish me luck trying to find a different rich man who will please my father.” I sigh and hop down from the stool, reaching over to pat their hands that rest on the bar.
They raise their glasses to me and I make sure to stumble over a chair leg as I wave over my shoulder. The scary bouncer at the door glares like he’s ready to throw me out if I linger too long and annoy him. I fist my skirt as I strut down the steps and around the corner to greet my friends again.
Cayden’s eyes light up at the sight of me and Ryder groans as he tosses a sack of syndrils into his outstretched palm. I drop into a curtsy, share the information I acquired, and the five of us make our way to the unknowing prince.
Chapter
Forty-eight
Cayden
Ryder and Finnian have polishedoff Elowen’s stolen bottle of rum by the time we make it to The Oracle. The streets are slightly less crowded, but still packed. I walk behind Elowen, glaring at every man whose head she turns, which makes my sneer nearly constant. Not only do I do it for my own selfish reasons, but Elowen’s also having fun, and she’d become defensive and wary of her surroundings as soon as a man approaches her. I want her anxiety to leave her be for just one damn night.
We claim an empty high-top table across the road from the gambling den, but a little far off from the main entrance so we’re able to observe the side door as well, the only other exit.
“What’s the plan?” Finnian asks. “Ihumblysat out while Elowen got information despite my cheeksnotreddening when I lie, so I volunteer to venture inside.”
“Have at it, Finny,” Elowen responds, waving her hand toward the building.
“Saskia and I will also go,” Ryder adds. “You two can monitor the exits, but since we’re in a more expensive part of the city, you and Elowen should stay out of sight as much as possible. We managed to slip under their radar, but let’s not push it.”
I raise my brows. “Youdon’t want to push luck?”
“Maybe I’m maturing.”
“You cartwheeled into a melon stand on our way here.”
“I said maturing, not changing.”
“Maybe one day I’ll be blessed with you experiencing both,” Saskia grumbles while following him, the gold beads Elowen braided into her dark locks glinting as they sway. They’re all dressed in the summery attire donned by the locals and will hopefully blend in…I don’t have much hope for Finnian, though.
I tap a finger between Elowen’s creased brows as I claim the stool beside hers, pulling her between my legs to keep an eye on the gambling den. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Her lips quirk to one side. “Thoughts far too dirty for your ears.”
“If you can’t voice them, you could always just show me. I’m more of a hands-on learner anyway.”
“Mmm.” She scrunches her nose and shakes her head before looking down to twist her wedding ring. “I can’t make the fire on the torch move. I was trying to pull it toward me like I did the dragonfire. It’s like the power flooded through me and then went dormant in my body.”
Gods, what I would have given to see her melting Imirath’s wards, summoning all that dragonfire like a goddess reborn. I’ve forced her to recount the events several times, but it never gets old. I love watching her instill fear in our enemies; it really is a beautiful sight.
“Slip into Sorin’s mind,” I command, wanting to show her not all her abilities are dormant.
She cracks her knuckles, glancing from side to side to ensure nobody is looking at her face. My back is to a curved seawall overlooking the ocean, and the other white tables with painted orange and yellow tiles are filled with rowdy drunks too deep in their cups to notice if someone slapped them across the face.
Her irises disappear, and her hand tightens on my thigh as she spends time with Sorin. He’s by far the most mischievous, but I know she loves it. She returns after a few moments, her brown eyes lighter than before. “I practiced slipping into their minds while we traveled soit’s a lot easier for me to mindwalk, but that ability has never left, unlike the fire-wielding. Did you feel any different when you woke up after the ritual?”
I run a thumb down my stubbled jaw. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean by that?”
My knife glints as I twirl it around my fingers, contemplating the best way to answer her question. “Death and darkness have shaped my life, and I’ve always felt them following me like a shadow. The markings that I got through the ritual prove just how much darkness has infiltrated me.” I gesture to my arm and neck where mainly black lines swirl around my skin, but the singular blue line is so dark it may as well be black. “It’s always lived within me, been a part of me, but I feel as if something inside me is pulling me toward you. I’ve always felt like that, but it’s stronger now. More of a volatile pull. I’d kill for you without question since the moment we met, but now it’s like I can’t sleep because taking my eyes off you even for a moment puts me on edge. Something in my blood pushes against my skin and bones to keep me vigilant, and it’s not a peaceful force. Your presence has always quieted the voices in my head, but now it’s like something has been awakened and it calls to you, but I don’t know what.”
