Everett looks as sick as I feel. “Oh. Oh, holy gods, that's…”
Silas pulls me onto his lap. He holds me for long moments until he quietly speaks, changing the topic—thank the universe.
“The Entity has sensed changes to your shadow heart because of us, but does he know you are sharing dreams with him?”
I shrug. If Amadeus does know, it doesn’t seem like he’s been utilizing this strengthened link.
But if he does figure it out—if he gets a sense of my gambit through my dreams…
I glance out the window, letting my worry shift to something more present. After all, my missing match feels like a gaping hole left in this room.
“I’m going to check on Baelfire again.”
I can see that Silas and Everett want to protest since they think he may be a danger to me right now. We spent half the day watching the golden beast prowl through the woods, flying, hunting, and generally not behaving like Baelfire. The beast tried to take a bite out of his brother, Declan, when he shifted and tried to speak with him.
Meanwhile, Crypt nods in agreement. I wonder if his support stems from guilt because none of us know if Bael's current condition is from his curse worsening or passing through Limbo while conscious.
Or maybe Crypt is just more fond of Baelfire than he will ever admit.
Not changing out of my pajamas, I slip into my boots and leave the mother-in-law’s suite, followed closely by the others. Since it’s past one in the morning, it’s dark and quiet in the Decimus family home.
But when we step out onto their massive back deck overlooking the woods, Everett swears in surprised alarm.
Baelfire's dragon is staring at me through the snow and trees. The beast’s piercing, possessive golden gaze follows my everymovement. Its tail slowly curls left and right behind it as it remains perched on the mountainside, its crown of magnificent horns gleaming in the moonlight along with all those golden scales.
“Baelfire?” I check, hopeful.
The beast tips its head to a comedic angle, long neck craning. Smoke rises from its nostrils as it unfolds and refolds those beautifully expansive wings.
“It's just his dragon right now,” Brigid Decimus says, joining us on the back porch.
She's still dressed in day clothes, her brown hair tucked into a loose bun. Baelfire’s mother stands at the edge of the deck to watch her son, her hands clasped behind her back in a militant posture. She glances at me with her one golden eye, smiling softly.
“You know, this dragon isn't nearly as bad as Baelfire likes to think. Poor thing is just cursed.”
I nod, watching my dragon as it stalks through more trees to watch us better. Something about the smooth, sleek movements paired with the massive body and serpentine tail is mesmerizing. Those slitted dragon eyes never budge from me.
“His dragon saved my life once,” Brigid adds.
“I heard there was a coup against you.” I frown, recalling what Silas and Everett mentioned before. “Five years ago. That would have made Baelfire just sixteen.”
She nods, checking a watch with a little screen on it before assuming the same straight-backed stance.
“Yes. It was on his sixteenth birthday, actually. I got permission to let him come for a brief visit to where I was stationed near the Divide so we could celebrate together. I knew some of my new troops were troublemakers, and I already had people I trusted looking into things. What I didn't know was that those troublemakers planned on killing me that day. They foundme alone, tranquilized me, and began carving out my scales while I was unconscious. Baelfire's dragon sensed the danger in time and killed them off.”
The dragon has now stalked so close that when it lifts its long neck to peer at us, my other matches take an almost synchronized step back.
Brigid and I stay where we are. I stare into the beast's animalistic amber gaze.
It’s such a terrifying beast. I love that.
“You're saying we can trust it,” I surmise quietly.
Brigid shrugs a shoulder. “Maybe not entirely, with how cursed he is. Not until you five are bound by the gods and your curses broken,” she adds.
She has no idea my quintet's curses are already mysteriously being broken—most likely because the gods are messing with us. We've kept that to ourselves.
“I only wish Baelfire was less at war with his inner beast. Even cursed, it looks out for him and those he cares about, whether he'll admit it or not. He's a fierce dragon, and I couldn't be prouder. I'll be even more proud when he's finally in harmony with the damn thing,” Brigid adds, laughing.
