Hidden Fate

23

I lifted my head as the world tilted. Wait. No more running away? You actually want to stay?

Let’s just say I finally see that you’re right. He kissed my forehead. Our people don’t deserve to live in fear and under constant threat. They deserve to have full lives, happiness, and a leader who will fight for them. If we run, it wouldn’t be right. All these dragons are being killed because Drake doesn’t understand their worth. We have to fix this, for them and for the two of us to have the kind of life we deserve with each other.

I cupped his face, afraid my chest might crack open from all the happiness swirling through me. My mate was amazing, and he was finally seeing his worth and what was right for us all. Plus, combining my dreams would be fantastic. I nestled back into his side. I’d like that future. You could rub my feet as I studied all night.

I’d do more than rub your feet. His chest rumbled with desire.

I smiled.

“Ew,” Saphira gasped. “I don’t know what you two are saying, but quit it. I can smell the effect. You are not alone in the backseat.”

I laughed, but it cut off as I fell asleep quickly.

Darkness descended with no word from Edna. None of us knew how to take it, and Theron had sent several text messages that had gone unanswered.

I was worried that something had changed with Emily, but I believed Mindy or Edna would’ve contacted us by now. We’d all been exhausted, but Thorn and I had woken up a couple of hours ago, hungry and horny, and not necessarily in that order.

Thorn, Vlad, Theron, Hydra, Sol, Eva, Cassidy, Errol, Brenton, and I were sitting in the den. Tyson and Elliott were upstairs in the room with Peter, playing their video game, while Saphira was still sleeping.

Errol sat on the far end of the couch next to his brother. “If you keep helping dragons, word will get around.”

Brenton scowled. “But so will our location. We all know how Drake is about that.”

“Has your thunder heard anything?” Cassidy asked Theron from her spot between Brenton and Vlad.

“Nothing.” Theron blew out a breath from his spot on the far end of the couch, opposite Errol. “They haven’t even heard from Drake since it all went down.”

“That’s because the warriors are focusing on those who oppose him.” Vlad rubbed his forehead, his elbow brushing me. “Which is good. That’s one reason they haven’t gotten further with their search, but Drake will want to solidify his hold on the throne as quickly as possible.”

Eva’s forehead lined as she asked, “How would he do that?”

“The coronation.” Sol slid an arm over the back of the couch behind her.

“This is insane.” Hydra pouted, but her irises twinkled at what her son had done to Eva. “I don’t know how we’re going to fight this.”

“It’d be a whole lot easier if we had someone on the inside,” Thorn said as he placed a hand on my thigh.

Theron’s phone beeped. He glanced at the screen and raised his eyebrows. “Well, this just got interesting.”

My lungs seized. Who could be messaging him now?

I rubbed my hands on my legs, trying to calm the ringing in my ears. We always seemed to be running toward or away from something, but Theron’s body language was one of puzzlement, not danger.

Thorn tensed, his jaw twitching. “What’s going on?”

“I just received a text from Wyvern.” Theron swiped his finger over the phone again.

Saphira’s head snapped toward him, her eyes bright.

Chuckling, Sol rolled his eyes. “That’s not interesting. You two message each other constantly. I’m surprised Mom hasn’t gotten jealous yet. You run to your phone every time it dings, wondering if it’s him.”

“Not all the time.” Hydra wrinkled her nose at her son. “When it matters, his attention doesn’t stray, so I’m not worried.”

His smile disappeared as he grimaced. “I don’t want to hear stuff like that.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I’ll be hearing and smelling stuff like that from you soon enough.” Hydra’s smile was blinding.

Eva dropped her head, her cheeks reddening, and her hair fell across her face as she used it as a barrier.

I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed how they revolved around each other, but I understood my sister was more on the private side and didn’t like the attention. I could relate to that, though I’d overcome it recently. “What was interesting about the text?”

“A warrior is at our thunder, asking Wyvern to contact us on his behalf. Apparently, he’s been talking to Vlad’s parents as well, and there’s no telling who else.” Theron placed the phone on his lap. “He wants to schedule a time and place for all of us to meet.”

My head tilted back, and a lump formed in my throat. I hadn’t expected that.

“Obviously, that’s not going to happen.” Cassidy chuckled hard. “I get that there were warriors fighting against Drake when the king died, but we know he’s putting them in their place. We can’t trust anyone.”

She had a point, but I still believed that most people wanted to do the right thing. Of course, there were exceptions—there always were—but I couldn’t bring myself to think most people were bad. That was too black and white when the world was full of gray. Everyone was a villain in someone else’s story. By teaching me my love of painting, my mom had also helped me to understand that the world was more complex than right and wrong, and to capture an image perfectly, you had to see it from all angles.

“Who is it?” I doubted I knew them, but I had to ask.

“A warrior named Uther.” Theron mashed his lips into a line.

Uther? Now my head really jerked back. Out of every warrior possible, it would be him.

“I don’t know him,” Theron continued. “But he’s been poking around. Vlad’s parents informed Wyvern that someone was asking about us discreetly, and now this person is doing the same thing. It can’t be a coincidence.”

“I heard of him recently.” Errol leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “He moved to the château grounds the week Everly was taken, but he wasn’t assigned to the king and me, so I’m sure his allegiance is with Drake. I wouldn’t trust him.”

Drake had hand-picked him, and I wondered where he’d pulled Uther from.

I swallowed to get rid of the uneasy feeling. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Vlad’s attention landed on me. “What makes you say that?”