Layla watched the color drain from Justin’s face, before he flushed a deep crimson. Narrowing his eyes on Adrian, he finally gave an irate sigh before glancing to Layla. “Dragon Bind. Apologies. I retract my statement concerning witchcraft.”
“Apology accepted.” Layla didn’t want to start a row right now when they were supposed to be having a peaceful discussion, but she let her flat gaze pin Justin nearly as hard as Adrian’s. She saw him hesitate as he watched her, before glancing resolutely away, done being an asshat for the moment as he was put in his place.
“Though I disagree with Justin’s tone against our Clan First,” Rachida spoke up now, giving the Frenchman a chastising stare from her cultured elegance, “I do agree with the problem that has awakened here. Let’s say Dusk had stood as Layla’s champion in a fight. Because of his formidable strength and his current…tempestuousness… the potential is high for his Dragon getting out of control again. I love Dusk like a son, but I fear for the clan’s safety if he continues to stay here as his new power awakens. He needs other Crystal Dragons around him to help soothe his changes. Singing bowls were a stopgap measure, and we were all thankful your Bind was able to express Crystal-resonances today, Adrian, Layla. But what if it hadn’t?”
Layla knew what Rachida was saying. Rachida loved Dusk, but in her hard green eyes was the woman who had survived countless battles and eons of strife to protect her clan. Like Emir, Rachida was infinitely practical, though she had the more expressive temperament.
“Today was a battle, and our wounds reflect it.” A petite woman spoke from the edge of the crowd, standing near the doors. Wearing a silky white v-neck shirt French-tucked into skinny jeans with gold strappy platform heels and a gold medallion belt, her exotic features were exquisitely Middle Eastern, a glossy black ponytail cascading down to her perky butt. Their First Healer, Yasmin Khoury hailed from Lebanon, a refugee in Adrian’s clan from the Desert Dragons of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Women healers weren’t allowed to practice in the Middle Eastern clan, and she had escaped to Morocco on pain of death from her First. Yasmin was the most talented doctor and magical healer Layla had ever met, and a lot of fun at parties. But she was sober now, her pale jade-green eyes fixed on Adrian as she stood in the doorway, fingertips tucked into the pockets of her skinny jeans.
“Yasmin, thanks for taking a break from the wards,” Adrian nodded in her direction. “What’s your report on injuries?”
“Twelve cases of magical exhaustion, recovering,” Yasmin spoke briskly, with a doctor’s swift professionalism. “Fifteen people with crushed or broken bones, all on the mend. Six cases of crystal-skewering. Not recovering.” She spoke more darkly now, holding Adrian’s gaze. “The wounds won’t close even when the injured shift. They’re resisting with some kind of crystalline powder coating the edges. I’ve called the Arizona Crystal Dragon clan healers, and they’ve given us a few tips on how to use singing bowls to shatter those crystals so the wounds will heal. It’s working, butveryslowly. And those six individuals are in fucking awful pain.”
“Casualties?” Adrian asked quietly, his gaze intense.
“None so far.” Yasmin returned just as intensely. “Though the amount of morphine I’m having to pump through those injured so they don’t scream their lungs out is insane.”
“Keep going. Summon me if anyone becomes critical overnight.” Adrian held her gaze a moment longer, and Yasmin nodded. Swiping a falafel sandwich wrapped in warm pita from a tray on a table, she gave a casual flick of her long ponytail as she stalked out the doors, heading back to her wards.
“Yasmin is a blessing to our clan,” an old white-haired man spoke as she departed, a fellow named Mehkar who had been in the clan for ages, and had no last name. “But against Crystal maladies we have few tools, my First. And Dusk seems to be an anomaly even among his own kind – is he not stronger than most Royals of his Lineage?”
“He is.” Adrian spoke quietly, not about to bullshit his clan. “Vastly stronger.”
“So let him be off to Egypt, then.” A woman spoke up, a curvaceous dark-eyed beauty with long waves of silky brown hair and a distinctly Italian accent. Wearing a crimson cocktail dress that fit her tall curves, she wore spiked blush heels and diamonds around her neck. Gorgeous as a Victoria’s Secret supermodel, Paloma Andretti hailed from the Desert Dragons of Rome, who had only recently joined the Mediterranean clan. A small but exquisitely wealthy clan, the Desert Dragons of Rome were proud, and Paloma would have been their First had her mother not negotiated a treaty with Adrian’s mother forty years ago. Paloma was still chafing at having had her position stripped from her, but she wasn’t strong enough to challenge Adrian, or at least hadn’t yet. Slowly working her way up the ranks, she had recently battled into the Clan Seventh position, and was eyeing a higher berth.
“I really don’t see any problem,” Paloma continued pleasantly, smiling around the assembly now with her lovely dark eyes. “If Dusk wishes to re-start his clan in Egypt, let us wish himbuon viaggio.There is no need for bad blood or tension. Dusk is becoming a powerful Royal and would take leadership of a powerful clan. Would it not be in our best interests to help him do so and then make friends with the Crystal Dragons of Egypt – one of the wealthiest clans who ever lived?”
Clearly, Paloma had done her homework. But as Adrian’s gaze rested upon her, Layla felt his energy tighten. Paloma was a clever manipulator, and it showed as her dark eyes glittered, holding Adrian’s calmly. Heat sighed off her as she watched her First – the kind of heat Layla knew all about. Paloma’s glance flicked to Layla, and Layla saw a clever smile twitch her lips.
Layla set her jaw as she gave Paloma cold eyes back.
Nowaywas she going to get in Adrian’s pants, not if Layla had any say in it.
“I would give Dusk all he asks,” Adrian returned, not responding to Paloma’s sexy heat. “As my adopted brother, he is precious to me, and his welfare is akin to the welfare of family. If he truly wishes to travel to Egypt and re-start his clan, I would support him. But I’m not inclined to simply push him out of Riad Rhakvir, if he wishes to remain here. This has been the only home Dusk has ever known.”
“It will be the last home any of us will know if you allow him to stay.” The arrogant Justin rejoined the conversation, glancing at Paloma as the two shared an accord. “It was miraculous lives weren’t lost today, Adrian. Dusk needs to be with his own kind. Your father may have tried to do him a kindness by taking him in, but in doing so, he endangered the clan. Don’t tell me you can’t see that.”
Adrian gave a hard sigh. Stroking Layla’s fingers as if for comfort, he turned to Justin again. “I can see it, Justin. Dusk will never cease maturing in his magic, and there are many people here who possess little Desert magic and could never protect themselves from him. As Clan First, I protect them. And though my magic is strong, even I failed to give Dusk what he needed today. Only Layla could.”
Adrian’s gaze rested upon Layla, and she felt the weight in it, the sadness. Adrian knew Dusk didn’t belong with the Desert Dragons anymore, but the problem was that Dusk didn’t belong anywhere at the moment. His power was too unbalanced after his first full shift to return to the Hotel, but it was far too dangerous to stay here and threaten Adrian’s clan. Layla watched Adrian close his eyes a long moment, but when he opened them, they were clear.
“It’s time to vote. Either we allow Dusk to remain here in residence at Riad Rhakvir… or we help him return to Egypt and re-start his clan. I would have amnesty in either decision, and if we vote to return Dusk to Egypt, I will see that it is done personally. All in favor of allowing Dusk to remain in his childhood home of Riad Rhakvir, here among our clan?”
A few hands went up, but only Desert Dragons that Layla knew were friends of Dusk’s personally. Adrian looked stricken as he glanced around the hall and saw how little the clan wished Dusk to stay among them. “Thank you. And now, all in favor of helping Dusk return to Egypt, and maintaining a good relationship with the new Egyptian Crystal Dragon clan as he re-establishes it?”
A wave of hands went up in the hall; the vast majority. With a deep inhalation and a nod, Adrian acknowledged the vote. As he glanced to Layla, she saw his heartbreak, though his decision was made. Adrian was a good Clan First, and protecting his people meant not having a raging Royal Crystal Dragon opening up to insane power in their midst. Layla saw his gaze drift past her to a group of children seated on a turquoise ottoman. They were from the most recent group-hatch only seven years ago, and Layla saw Adrian’s decision firm as he took in their small faces and big eyes.
As she watched him, Layla saw a flicker of memory surface through their Bind. Adrian had been like those children once, tender and innocent, watching his parents smash their way through the palace fighting each other in Dragon-form like savages in their rage. He didn’t want to subject any more innocents to that kind of violence in the place that was supposed to shelter them.
Or give them the scars it left behind.
“My decision as Clan First is made.” Adrian spoke at last, looking back to the hall with his piercing aqua gaze as his hot spiced winds moved through the evening. “Dusk will return to Egypt. And I will go with him, to make sure he settles in. We will leave in three day’s time.”
The weight of his pronouncement moved through the gaming hall as everyone shifted in their seats, watching their First. As Rachida’s pained gaze found hers, Layla felt how much this was going to break their family up, and she watched as Emir reached out, quietly taking Rachida’s hand. They held hands, and for the first time Layla realized Emir was more than just a good Battle-Lord. He was compassionate in his stern way, and as his gaze found Layla’s, he gave her a solid nod, though something in his dark eyes was both tired and sad.
Rising, Adrian extended a hand to Layla and she claimed it, coming to stand at his side. She didn’t have an official position in the clan yet, but it was common knowledge she was Adrian’s mate and a Royal Dragon Bind, which gave her the ability to be at his side in clan matters. It didn’t give her clout, though, and as Layla gazed around, she saw a number of hostile gazes upon her – some of Adrian’s opponents thinking Layla was nearly as much a liability as Dusk, though that had not been on the agenda tonight.
“Be merry of heart,” Adrian spoke in his smooth baritone as he surveyed the hall. “None have perished this day, and the might of our clan has prevailed in a dire situation. I would like to personally thank our Wind-Warders for holding such a strong barrier for so long, and also give thanks to those who played the singing bowls today. To the healers who are still working, let my words be known – you are the heart of our clan, and we cherish you. To those who protected the younglings today – you saved our future from harm. Know that I am sad for the news I must now deliver, but I am glad we stood strong today. You are all my brothers and sisters, and I would weep if I lost any one of you. Drink well tonight, eat and make merry, and let the air clear. We will address cleanup of the palace tomorrow, but tonight, let us celebrate being alive.”
