Page 64 of Emerald Waves
“Dragon,” he gasped, “it was whispered that he’d unlocked it. Could shift. Was banished for not being able to. Others too. Maybe too hasty. Our alpha wants to know.”
“Too hasty! As if there is ever a time to tear someone away from their family and throw them out of their home!” I roared. “You humiliate your own kind, you pray on the younglings and now you want to brush it off with such a mild phrase astoo hastily, like you should have waited another year or three or five before you ripped apart their lives? You are the worst kind of dragons imaginable. Literal serpents that pray on your ownkind and think that's how you determine the strong from the weak. You are all weak and fucking pathetic for standing around witnessing it happen and doing nothing to stand up to whatever leadership structure foolishly thinks the whole travesty is a good idea. You have no clue about the damage your actions have caused to the ones you’ve cast out that way and I doubt any of you want to know, either. It’s only power that matters to you! Isn’t it?”
When he did not answer I twisted a bit more vigorously, driving deeper as my claws furrowed into that abused flesh.
“Isn’t it!” I roared, shaking the already weakened building and bringing another shower of brick and debris down on our heads.
I was more dragon than human again and my dragon was beyond furious, head whipping around at the sound of company, though this time the arrival of more dragons did not signal a rekindling of the battle I’d just fought. My brother’s faces as they stepped over the rubble left by the hole in the wall, were grim and a bit stunned when they saw the mess I’d made of the other dragon. I quickly relayed the information he’d already given me, along with my frustration over his refusal to answer the rest of my questions.
It was only then that Mattias raised an eyebrow at me and gestured for me to fully look at the fallen dragon. When I did, I saw the third piece of rebar, one I’d forgotten I’d picked up, I’d been so mad. It was impaled through his heart with enough force that I’d driven it all the way through his body.
Shit.
Guess there was no more getting answers out of him.
Chapter Twenty
Emerson
Rage.
That was what I felt through my connection with Caro.
Quint had come to escort me to Ionus and Alex’s home where he and Odem were ordered to keep us safe while the other three dealt with a threat at the archive building. Thankful didn’t even cover how I felt upon insisting the most important pieces be moved to our horde space when I moved in with Caro. Granted, I didn’t want to lose any of the extensive collections, but after they dealt with the threat, I knew we’d move the rest to a safer location. Likely within the compound for which we lived.
But something felt off. Not necessarily with Caro, but in general. I sensed a familiar presence and one that had me on edge.
Gramps and the Drakemyre clan were here, all except for Baird and Angus, who’d flown into town to assist the protectors.Odem was rocking the twins to sleep, while Griffin and Luna napped on the couch between Gramps and Alex, and Quint paced nearby. Ignatus, Elgin, Rory and Hamish were outside, having eyes and ears on the exterior in case any threats came this way.
I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this one bit. Why would anyone target the archive building?
Unless…
“Mate.” Caro’s voice startled me. Grim thoughts had held my focus far too long. I’d been so lost in what-ifs that I’d not heard them return. I jumped into his arms, and it wasn’t until the foul, coppery stench of blood assaulted my senses that I actually looked at him.
“What happened? Please tell me that’s not your blood?”
He squeezed me tighter. “Some here and there may be, but for the most part, it’s not.”
I took a life, mate. I hadn’t meant to, but anger propelled me.
How does one respond to that?
Don’t jump to conclusions and hear him out, my dragon warned.
“Alex and I will put the children to bed, then we’ll debrief you.” Ionus scooped up Griffin and Alex cradled Luna while Odem carried the twins up for them.
Do we have reason to be worried?
Uneasy silence filled our connection for a few moments until the answer I’d hoped not to hear came.
Yes.
“Raven is in town adding a new caveat, if you will, to the wards,” Ionus began as he returned. “When we arrived at the archives tonight there were several dragons that had tunneled in and were in the midst of destroying the building in order to get into it.”
“I collapsed their tunnel,” Caro added, though the tick in his jaw was still present.
“Sheriff Larkin has two of the intruders in custody, a third didn’t make it.”
