Page 32 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
He couldn’t argue that point.
“You have no other aspirations?”
He laughed with irony. “No, not anymore. I wish to be near my family and to fight to protect them. That is enough for me, perhaps even…my final wish.”
Aidan truly wanted to believe him, and something deep in his heart tugged at him.
“Very well.” He worked his jaw. “I will give you a chance. You will patrol the western border of Taugud territory near the fortress and keep watch for any Kandoran activity. If you perform and behave well, I will allow you to stay and fight with us.”
It would free up one more guard for war preparations, which he desperately needed.
Relief filled Zoran's face, and his tense shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, milord. Is there a chance…I could see Orion at some point?”
If it were up to Aidan, that would never happen, but his son wouldn’t accept that.
“My schedule is quite demanding, but I will arrange a time for you to see him when it is convenient. Of course, I will be there to observe,” Aidan said, giving him a warning look.
Zoran dipped his chin. “You have been most gracious. I promise you will not regret it, and I will do all I can to earn your trust.”
Only time would tell if that were true.
“You will fly back to the fortress with us. You may not enter yet, but I will inform the guards of your probationary return and new duty assignment. We’ll arrange to have a full meal delivered that you can consume before you’re escorted to your post.”
There was no way Zoran had eaten well while hiding in the area these last months, and despite his massive size, he was thinner than before with his worn and dirty black camrium clothes loose on his body. Even his square face showed a disturbing level of gauntness, and his cheekbones were starkly prominent. He would need to be healthy to perform his duties at full strength.
Zoran expelled a breath. “That is more than fair. You have my deepest gratitude.”
Oddly, a weight lifted from Aidan’s shoulders at his response. Perhaps the absence of his eldest brother had bothered him far more than he’d realized. Even since Bailey and Orion came home, he’d still felt a small piece of himself missing.
Simply knowing Zoran would be back and guarding the border nearby made him feel better. In his heart—despite their ugly past—he knew he was making the right choice. His newly honed senses as a pendragon also confirmed his brother’s sincerity, which he trusted even more.
“Then welcome back, brother,” he said, not quite willing to reach the hugging stage yet.
Zoran began walking alongside him. “You won’t regret this.”
Chapter 9
Bailey
“They look suspicious,” Freya said, gesturing toward a group walking past our hideout.
I snorted. “All teenagers look suspicious when they’re roaming free from their parents. I’d worry more if they appeared innocent.”
The female shifter snorted. “Some things are the same no matter the species.”
For two days, we’d been hiding in an old laundromat while observing the building across the street where Javier had reported unusual activity. We’d cleaned the space where we sat and small sections of the windows to look out, but otherwise, we sat in a large room full of dusty washers and dryers.
A small shopping center that had been old before the dragons arrived was diagonal to us across the intersection. It used to house a restaurant and appliance store. Most of the large windows had been boarded up at some point, which indicated someone had wanted privacy. Most damaged places in Norman had either been demolished to get rid of the eyesore, fixed up to look nice again, or sat waiting to be assessed.
The place we’d been observing fit the latter. It remained in a state of poor condition with no obvious purpose. Regardless, I might have given up on staking it out if we hadn’t caught someone dropping off a box of supplies the day before.
The woman had appeared paranoid as she parked her bike around the back. She’d peddled up slowly, kept running her gaze everywhere, and didn’t stay long. Since we’d watched from across the street, we couldn’t be certain what she’d carried into the building, aside from a white file box with a lid, or if she’d done anything else in there during the five minutes she’d visited. Freya and I both agreed it wasn’t worth grabbing one person and decided to wait for more of the rebel group to come. No need to tip our hand early.
It was late afternoon on day two, and we’d already been sitting for almost three hours. The still air inside our lookout was hot and stifling. I took a drink from my canteen and leaned my head against the wall. As a slayer, I preferred actively tracking down my prey and hated itwhen I had to wait for them to come to me.
Freya squinted her yellow eyes as she peered through a small, cleaned section of the window. “Some people are walking up the street.”
“Where?” I asked, moving closer to look. We had to share the small rectangle we’d cleared for observing. “I don’t see them.”
