Page 3 of Kingdom of Chaos
“When will he be back?”
Drake shakes his head and lets out a humorless laugh. Without bothering to try closing the door again, he turns and walks away. I shove the door fully open and watch as he strides around the large black dragon sculpture in the center of the foyer, disappearing into a room beneath the curving double staircase.
I take a tentative step into the house.
Drake might be intimidating, but I’ve stood up to him once before, and I’m ready to do it again. I’m not leaving until I find Talon.
Striding forward, I move through the foyer, skirting the ugly dragon sculpture, and follow into the room where he disappeared. It’s dimly lit, with dark wood trim and burgundy walls. Thick red curtains are drawn tight, blocking out any natural light. Wall sconces glow with muted faelight, and a fire crackles on the far side of the room, casting flickering shadows that leave parts of the space shrouded in darkness.
Drake is seated in a wingback chair in front of the fireplace, his gaze fixed on the burning logs as he slowly swirls the liquid in his glass.
I stop beside him, liking that I’m now taller than him. “Where’s Talon?”
“I already told you, he’s not here.”
“But when is he?—?”
“He’s not coming back,” Drake says, still staring into the flames. “He’s gone.”
Gone?
My stomach drops, and nausea prickles at the back of my throat. Talon can’t be gone. He owes me. Owes me answers. Owes me his help.
“But . . . I need Talon to find Becks,” I say quietly, mostly to myself.
Drake scoffs, a sneer tugging at his mouth. “Haven’t you heard? The dragon heir is dead.”
My insides twist painfully, like a lemon being wrung dry. “You know as well as I do that that’s not true.”
“Do I?” he says, his eyes locking with mine.
The leading theories about Becks are that he was either taken by the mysterious game master, who they believe intends to use him for ransom, or killed by the unhinged creature whoorchestrated the nefarious games. The police now believe the entire point of Chaos was to trap the dragon heir.
Neither Talon nor I told them that Kerrim was the game master. What would have been the point? He was long gone, and it’s not like they were going to find him. At least not in this world. Our official story was that we were knocked out when the floor caved in and only regained consciousness shortly before the police arrived.
But Talon must have told his uncle what really happened Friday night, which, admittedly, doesn’t look good for Becks. Even as I’ve come to accept that Becks is gone, I refuse to believe he’s dead.
“Becks is the strongest creature I know. He survived. But he doesn’t understand where he is, and he won’t know how to return,” I say.
In his own way, Drake cares about Becks, even if it’s only because he’s the dragon heir. He might want to control Becks, but I know he doesn’t want him dead. If there’s a chance to get Becks back, I believe that would still be in Drake’s best interest.
“Haven’t you done enough?” Drake’s tone is hollow and emotionless, but I still flinch as if he delivered a physical blow. As much as he blames me for what happened to Becks, I blame myself more.
“You care about Becks, or at least about your precious dragon heir,” I say. “No one’s looking for him because they all think he’s dead. But I’m going to figure out a way to find him and bring him back. I need Talon to do that. So you need to tell me where he went.”
Drake finally looks away from the fire, eyeing me as he swirls the liquid in his lowball glass. “They’ll just pick a new heir. Everyone is replaceable.”
My chest tightens. That’s not true. Becks isn’t replaceable. And anyone who thinks he is can go to hell.
“Tell me where he is, or I’ll . . . I’ll . . .”
I’llwhat? What leverage do I have to make Drake tell me anything?
Drake arches a brow. “Or you’ll what?” he asks, echoing my thoughts.
I clench my fists, anger and frustration churning inside, threatening to boil over. Once again, I’m powerless against a powerful creature.
The frustration sharpens into fury. Before I even know what I’m doing, I slap the whiskey glass out of his hand. It sails through the air, shattering against one of the burning logs in the fireplace and sending a small burst of flame and embers into the air.
