Page 63 of Firedrake Betrayal
A churn starts up in my belly and I press my palm over it, trying to stop the sick feeling from getting worse.
Almeth preyed on me in my sleep, not once, but twice.
But the thought of killing someone…
“He deserved much worse than that, beautiful.” Patten must have guessed the direction of my thoughts to be studying me with a look of such concern. “I’d have slammed him into the next century if I had a blue ribbon friend.”
I aim a smile at him. “I know.”
But I don’t know.
Because the Jade I was before was ordinary, and she’d gotten used to living a quiet life.
ThatJade had no desire to hurt anyone. Just to spend more time with her dad, who was always away hunting.
ButthisJade…
As Almeth reached toward me, I wouldn’t have minded if I’d killed him.
Now I don’t know which version is me. What will happen to the old ordinary, boring Jade when I emerge? Will I even recognize her?
Let it go, Jade. The longer you think about it, the more you’ll drive yourself crazy.
I refocus on my surroundings.
Patten is talking with Shep about how long of a drive it would be back to Chicago, and what if Atticus attacked en-route? Isaiahis looking thoughtful. Dominik has his arms crossed, and he’s watching me as if he’s been doing it for a while.
Until my dad heals, Dominik is the only one who could tell me more about myself. Maybe he could even teach me how to use this gift.
Then I remember how he bonded us together and locked me in his hoard.
I can’t trust him to tell me the truth because I know what motivates him.
He wants me back in New York. With him. And he wants me to forget all about Shep, Patten, and Isaiah.
Dominik doesn’t know, or he doesn’t care that I need Sep, Patten, and Isaiah as much as I want them. I don’t want to know what my life would be without them in it.
“What do you think, Jade?” Shep asks me.
“About?”
He doesn’t seem the least bit annoyed that I wasn’t paying attention. “Leaving Wilkerson today.”
“Today? But my dad is here,” I remind him.
“Meliah is watching him. I think she has some kind of a guarding spell protecting her house,” he explains.
“A spell?” Patten’s lips flatten. “It’s always a spell with them, isn’t it?”
Shep eyes him for a beat, his expression thoughtful as his brows knit together. Shaking his head, he turns to me. “I think he would be safe.”
“But you don’t know that. What if Atticus sends his guards? Can a spell stop his guards from storming the house?”
No one responds.
I stiffen my spine, my mind made up. “I can’t leave him here, Shep. He’s my dad, and he can’t protect himself.”
“But staying would not be safe.” Dominik speaks for the first time. “We should not have come.”
