Page 103 of Exquisite Monster
The softrushingsensation I felt from her bond had me studying her. That feeling usually meant she was thinking, and swiftly.
“There is no way through this without conflict.”
It was not a question, and Zovai shook his head along with most of the other dragons. “No.”
A flurry of emotions from Lena. Sharp interest followed by regret and shame. Then determination. Not so different from the path her thoughts had taken before we called this meeting.
“The Elders. They have to return to the stars if there’s any chance for Viria.”
“Yes,” Endre said.
Lena stood and wandered around the edges of the courtyard, weaving between the chairs and the columns. “And you said you only need a moment? For the Elders.”
I felt the shift in the air and the sharpening of interest from my brothers. My beast rose to the surface. Eager. “You have an idea.”
“I wish I didn’t,” she said. “But that doesn’t matter if it works. It needs to be done.”
“Lena—” Endre said, and she didn’t let him finish.
“Scalefire. Even the Elders can’t fight against it, right?”
Every dragon in the room froze. Familiar traces of both fear and relief rolled through me. I’d had the idea more than once, but it wasn’t as simple as saying it aloud. “It could work,” I told her. “But we would be at risk ourselves using it. We also have none, and no one on this half of the continent knows how to make it.”
“Gleym does,” she said.
Zovai frowned. “You said she won’t teach you.”
“Maybe she’d change her mind if she knew our intent.” Sheturned to Endre. “Or maybe she would teachyou. You are not human. She already agreed to help you.”
“Maybe,” he nodded his head in acknowledgement. “But I don’t think it’s likely. Her single choice eventually led to where we are now. I doubt she wants to make that mistake again.”
I held out a hand to my mate, and she took it. “I understand why it is tempting. But as strong as we are, dragons are not infallible. Given the right opportunity, a knife to the throat is just as deadly.”
A flash of green flew overhead, followed by the rumbling vibration of a dragon landing. Idroal.
They came to meet us wearing the loose robes they often favored and carried with them, pausing to stand in the doorway and observe us all. They seemed tired, but their posture was tall and straight as they bowed to the three of us. Smiling, they lifted a hand in greeting. It felt casual, like they hadn’t been flying across the continent trying to figure out our fate. All things considered, it hadn’t been that long.
“I hope that your smile means we are still invisible,” I said.
“Invisible?” they asked. “No. You are very much on the minds and in the mouths of many dragons. But your whereabouts are currently unknown to the Elders. They know something has occurred, but they do not have confirmation of your escape. They are unsettled and restless, but nothing, for the moment, has changed. At least with respect to them. It will not remain that way.”
Zovai moved so there was a place to sit. It was only the heaviness with which they sat that gave away Idroal’s exhaustion.
“Then something else did change?” Lena asked.
Idroal accepted a drink from Ravi and swallowed deeply before speaking once more. A wry smile crossed their face. “You could say that, Your Highness.”
Beside me, Lena tensed. She didn’t like to claim her royal heritage anymore, but she was still royalty. Both to the humans and to us. Being addressed by her title wasn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
“If our discovery is imminent, why are you smiling?” Zovai asked.
“Because I come bearing new and different news. Something I think will intrigue you.”
We waited, and when they said nothing, Endre huffed a breath. “Please don’t keep us in suspense, Idroal.”
“Word reached me while in Doro Eche of a human party approaching the barrier. We had to move very quickly.”
“We?” Lena asked quietly.
