“I believe you’re probably extremely fast, but you’re underestimating howbloodthirstythey are.” I could see appeasing him was the only way to nudge him away from the idea.
He shrugged, cinching his wings.
“You don’t have to go back,” the queen whispered to Ro.
Ro fiddled with the scroll in her hands. “Dae’s right. The dragons will be our best shot, and The Eleven wouldn’t be able to stop them. I thi—No, we don’t know, but the dragons originate from the Black Pool and I don’t think you did.” Ro looked at Jasper.
Confused eyes glanced around our group. Jasper’s gaze darted from person to person before landing on Ro. “Did I say that out loud?” He pointed to himself.
Dante, Queen Nora, and Melody all shook their heads.
“Wait, your powers work on me?! How come we’ve never figured that out before?” Jasper asked, hands latching onto his bald head.
“Maybe because you generally say whatever comes to your mind,” Dante replied with a teasing smirk.
Jasper dropped his hands, shooting Dante a scrupulous stare, but conceded. “That’s probably true, actually.”
Dante clapped his friend on the back.
“Alright, so you two will go and coordinate with the dragons. That still leaves the rest of their Order to deal with, and we don’t know how many. How will we know when to attack?” the king asked.
“We’ll return to report,” I said, absentmindedly sliding my hand across Ro’s back. I needed to touch her, to feel her. Something churned inside me, something dark. It was worse in my shifted form, like my animal instincts ran deeper, more powerful. I didn’t even want to think about what they called me to do, like delving deeper for understanding would only strengthen it.
“It’s a couple hours from here. We’ll travel with you until we approach the nearest sentinels position. That’s where you’ll remain until we return.” I didn’t miss the look Jai shot me. He couldn’t believe I used such commanding language in front of a king. For any other circumstance, I’d agree. But king or not, he didn’t have the knowledge I did, and considering what was at risk, I wouldn’t tolerate someone else making the wrong call. I focused my senses on Ro’s heat, using her as my balm.
I wouldn’t approve of Ro returning if her magic wasn’t our best shot at turning the tides in our favor by way of dragon organization. It didn’t have to do with her capabilities. No, she’d been capable since the moment I met her.
It had to do with what would happen to me if I lost her.
Those hours waiting to hear if she’d been slaughtered by Taja had been more excruciating than anything else I’d endured. I wasn’t willing to lose her. To lose her would be to lose myself. I’d already done that once, and though my body was honed with muscle, I wouldn’t have the strength to endure it again. I would protect her with my life.
We would do what needed to be done. We would orchestrate the demise of The Eleven, and demolish The Order once and for all. Then Ro and I would get a chance to have the life I dreamed of for us.
We left the army behind, and I shifted into my dark new form. Generally the shift brought on a spurt of pain that quickly subsided. However, in this state, something uncomfortable lingered. I barely felt Ro on my back as we ran.
Before, the sensation of running toward the Black Pool had been something to avoid. Now, it was like it beckoned me.
“Dae,” Ro said in my mind.
It pulled me from a trance I hadn’t known I’d fallen into. I’d been running at full speed, not with the intent of getting us there quickly, but out of instinct. The dark magic urged me to return. I understood now why The Eleven rarely left camp if they felt this tied to its power. In a sense, they were tethered to it. If they succeeded in their plans that Ro had discovered, using a combination of dragon’s blood and an amplifier to unleash the might of the Black Pool like had been done a century ago, they would be able to wander freely, always within reach of the magic that owned them.
“I’m sorry,” I said, summoning control over myself and slowing my rapid pace.
“Dae, I’m scared. I can’t do this without you.”
I sensed what she meant, but didn’t know what to say. If I told her I could handle this, keep the dark magic at bay, stop it from spreading and corrupting me like it had The Eleven, I would be lying. That was something I wouldn’t do.
Already, the insidious magic dug into me like claws. Its pull was strong, a guiding force that was becoming increasingly harder to ignore, especially as we drew nearer to the source. A constant string of thoughts flowed through my mind to ground me, reminding me what I had to do—and who I had to do it for.
“Ro, you have to promise me something.”
“What is it?”
“There may come a time when staying with me isn’t smart. I need to know that when that time comes, you’ll leave.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m not saying now, but if, at some point in the future, things start to erode—”
