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Authors: Liliana Hart
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he hoped the Master behind these Drakán murders would kill me as well. It would be a lot easier to have someone else do the dirty work for him.
“How is Rena to stop what she isn’t allowed to see?” Erik asked boldly. “You are sending her to her death without the proper preparation. She needs to meet with the Council herself.”
Before I could blink, Erik was on the floor of the study, his throat slashed to ribbons as his blood poured like thick wine onto the Persian rug. His eyes were wild with panic as the instinct to breathe like a human took over all logic and reason. But Erik calmed as he remembered he wasn’t human, and therefore didn’t need to breathe like one.
I knew better than to try to help him, or I’d end up back on the floor. The flesh at his throat was already knitting itself back together.
“You will get your wish, Alasdair,” I said calmly. “I’ll hunt for the Master until I find him. But I won’t be tied down by Council laws once I have him in my grasp. The warrant of execution doesn’t need a name attached to it. Only that I be able to kill any and all responsible for the death of the Drakán I found, and any other deaths that occur during my search. You and the other Archos can’t hoard all of the power all the time. I have the right to kill just as you do. More of a right, actually. And you never know. Whoever this Master is could be after you next.”
Alasdair gave me a hard look. “I’ll get your warrant on your terms this once, Rena. But you’d better be damned sure you have all the guilty parties responsible. I will not have any more shame brought to our clan. If there is, I will punish you until you’re begging for death. Enforcer or no.”
Alasdair’s skin flowed like liquid and his muscles elongated as his dragon form fought to escape his human body. His blood-red scales rippled like rubies, and his teeth gnashed together with enough force to bite a human in two. He launched himself in the air with his powerful haunches and flew through the front window into the rain. The house trembled with his rage, and his roar rumbled across the sky like thunder.
Chapter Six
“Leave the boy alone, Rena,” Calista said. “He’ll be fine in a while. There’s no need to waste the dragon tears. I never understood this need you have for compassion. No doubt the influence of your mother’s blood.”
I’d limped my way down to Erik’s lab after Alasdair’s dramatic departure. It had taken two vials of dragon tears to heal my body, and I’d grabbed a smaller vial for Erik’s wounds.
“He’s my brother. I’d do the same for you. Family should mean something.”
I lifted Erik’s head and poured the vial down his throat. The skin at his neck knitted itself together seamlessly.
“I’ve always told you that your need to have a connection to someone, to belong somewhere, is what is hindering your Drakán powers. You’ll never be great unless you rid yourself of these useless feelings.”
“I get by well enough the way I am.”
Calista rose from the chair in an angry cloud of swirling silk and paced the length of the room. “Getting by is not going to be good enough,” she finally said. “You’re going to get yourself killed. You need to explore your other Drakán powers, see if you can awaken them from dormancy. Otherwise, it’s like going into a fight with only one good arm and leg. You have to be better. Your people need you to be better. Or we will all die.”
“What are you not telling me?”
Calista hesitated and gave me a long look. I could feel her probes, though they were subtle, but she was unable to breach my shields.
I grasped Erik’s arm to help him up, and I could see him fighting with his Drakán instincts to keep from attacking me. Erik may not have had any powers, but the thirst for violence was still there. It was what had made him such an impressive soldier.
We sat on the couch across from Calista. “Is this about the disappearances?” I
“How is Rena to stop what she isn’t allowed to see?” Erik asked boldly. “You are sending her to her death without the proper preparation. She needs to meet with the Council herself.”
Before I could blink, Erik was on the floor of the study, his throat slashed to ribbons as his blood poured like thick wine onto the Persian rug. His eyes were wild with panic as the instinct to breathe like a human took over all logic and reason. But Erik calmed as he remembered he wasn’t human, and therefore didn’t need to breathe like one.
I knew better than to try to help him, or I’d end up back on the floor. The flesh at his throat was already knitting itself back together.
“You will get your wish, Alasdair,” I said calmly. “I’ll hunt for the Master until I find him. But I won’t be tied down by Council laws once I have him in my grasp. The warrant of execution doesn’t need a name attached to it. Only that I be able to kill any and all responsible for the death of the Drakán I found, and any other deaths that occur during my search. You and the other Archos can’t hoard all of the power all the time. I have the right to kill just as you do. More of a right, actually. And you never know. Whoever this Master is could be after you next.”
Alasdair gave me a hard look. “I’ll get your warrant on your terms this once, Rena. But you’d better be damned sure you have all the guilty parties responsible. I will not have any more shame brought to our clan. If there is, I will punish you until you’re begging for death. Enforcer or no.”
Alasdair’s skin flowed like liquid and his muscles elongated as his dragon form fought to escape his human body. His blood-red scales rippled like rubies, and his teeth gnashed together with enough force to bite a human in two. He launched himself in the air with his powerful haunches and flew through the front window into the rain. The house trembled with his rage, and his roar rumbled across the sky like thunder.
Chapter Six
“Leave the boy alone, Rena,” Calista said. “He’ll be fine in a while. There’s no need to waste the dragon tears. I never understood this need you have for compassion. No doubt the influence of your mother’s blood.”
I’d limped my way down to Erik’s lab after Alasdair’s dramatic departure. It had taken two vials of dragon tears to heal my body, and I’d grabbed a smaller vial for Erik’s wounds.
“He’s my brother. I’d do the same for you. Family should mean something.”
I lifted Erik’s head and poured the vial down his throat. The skin at his neck knitted itself together seamlessly.
“I’ve always told you that your need to have a connection to someone, to belong somewhere, is what is hindering your Drakán powers. You’ll never be great unless you rid yourself of these useless feelings.”
“I get by well enough the way I am.”
Calista rose from the chair in an angry cloud of swirling silk and paced the length of the room. “Getting by is not going to be good enough,” she finally said. “You’re going to get yourself killed. You need to explore your other Drakán powers, see if you can awaken them from dormancy. Otherwise, it’s like going into a fight with only one good arm and leg. You have to be better. Your people need you to be better. Or we will all die.”
“What are you not telling me?”
Calista hesitated and gave me a long look. I could feel her probes, though they were subtle, but she was unable to breach my shields.
I grasped Erik’s arm to help him up, and I could see him fighting with his Drakán instincts to keep from attacking me. Erik may not have had any powers, but the thirst for violence was still there. It was what had made him such an impressive soldier.
We sat on the couch across from Calista. “Is this about the disappearances?” I
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