Page 42 of The Healing Dragon
“You have failed.” His lips mouth the words, and I can hear them despite the distance between us.
“Matias.” Bianca breaks from the crowd. Her steps are slow and careful. The apprehension in her face fears hope. From her new angle she asks again, “Is that you, Matias?”
He doesn’t look like the boy who found me in the forest all those weeks ago. The most recent events have not helped his appearance, either. Sleeping under the stars never does.
Before he can answer, her feet hurry until her arms are flapping and her legs cannot run fast enough to meet her strands. Brandon tries to stop her, but she side steps him expertly. Her arms are around Matias before Calaca can even react. The tears in her eyes are testimony of a sibling's love. She only allows him to step an arm’s length away to search his face.
“Where have you been?” She asks him between tears. He doesn’t get the chance to answer before she continues. “I have been looking for you for months. Do you know that?”
“We found him as a prisoner of the rebel group.” Jesse steps away from Roman and hugs Brandon next. “I don’t think they knew his connection to Bianca.”
“You made it to their keep, but don’t have the book with you, which means things did not go well.” Roman crosses his arms and scowls at me. “Care to explain what happened?”
“We fled for our lives when we attempted to steal the book,” I say to them.
I don’t mention my choice to take Matias over the book. I expect Jesse will fill them in on that instead. There’s no remorse for my decision, but its weight is becoming apparent.
“You did not complete your part of the deal,” Brandon says in his King voice.
“Not yet.” I clear my throat. “I still plan to do it if you allow it.”
Now that we have fled, my father is sure to move locations, but there are a few other places he might be. Best of all, I don’t have to be the one seeking these locations. Calaca should be able to travel through the night and scout the locations at a fraction of the time it would take by foot.
His eyes narrow. “You think you can find them again?”
“I just need time,” I say.
My voice comes off far more confident than I feel. It might also be the exhaustion. Thinking of doing anything other than sleeping right now sounds horrendous.
The King nods his head, digesting all the information.
“You gotta be joking. She can’t stay here,” Alejandra says from the back.
I recognize her instantly as the castle's head guard. She also happens to be a close friend to the Oscuro brothers. I remember her following Brandon around during the tour. The blank stare she once directed my way has now been exchanged for hatred.
An echo of boos travels through the crowd. Their opinion of me is evident.
“Are we to just welcome her as a royal again?” Someone shouts from the crowd.
“If she goes, so do I.”
The words make everyone turn to the side. Matias is standing tall with the dark shadow of the Calaca at his back. The duo is scary from this angle. His sharp cheekbones and eye bags make him look dangerous and deranged.
“The Red Book was used on me multiple times. I can show you what it did, but I can only do it if I stay. I’m not doing that without her.” His arm is limp as he tries to point at me. Matias is on the verge of collapsing any moment now.
“Matias, you don’t understand.” Bianca gives him a sympathetic expression. “While I appreciate Janelle’s help inbringing you home, it’s not as easy as it seems to allow her to stay.”
“It’s you who doesn’t understand,” he snaps. “None of you understand what I had to endure these past couple of months. None of you understand what the rebel group is even doing. What they did to me changed me and they are only getting started. I was their test subject and only I have answers to your questions.”
“Is that your final stance?” Brandon asks.
“Wait a damn minute.” Bianca rounds on Brandon. This time her back is to Matias standing between him and the King. “He’s not going to be thrown out.”
“He is not,” Brandon says simply and calmly. “Janelle and he may stay as long as both of them cooperate with our plans. The Calaca must remain outside. Too many magical shields have to be lifted to allow their kind inside.”
“Are you welcoming back the daughter of the traitor family?” Alejandra doesn’t back down. “She herself has taken the lives of loved ones. You might not feel the loss like we do.”
“Is our late king not loss enough?” Brandon pushes closer to her space. “You are not the only one who has lost someone. We all did. I’m not allowing the grief to cripple me from fighting to get my people peace. That peace comes when the Red Book is back safely, and the threat is exterminated.”
