“You’re distracted.” He rolls and darts below me, his tail smacking my leg. “If I’d been a DaySilver, you’d have been in some deep shit right now.”
I don’t have a retort for that. Iamdistracted.
“The mortal has you by the balls, brother.” He floats up, gliding just off my right wing. “When you bed her, I fear you might crack in half from all the tension. By the way, why haven’t you had her yet? I thought last night you intended to?—”
“She is new to the ways of males.”Gods, the thought of her being only for me is enough to send my blood coursing through my veins like lava. She is a gift I intend to enjoy thoroughly.
“So you’re being gentle?” He chuckles. “DragonKin never tread lightly.”
“There’s more to this than simple lust. She’s the Bargain. She could be the one.”
“Do you think she’s the one?” He descends as a light rain begins to fall, the storm from the vampire lands finally rolling in.
“How would I know?”I follow him down, my gaze raking the sky and the ground, searching for any sign of our enemies. “Theprophecy is hazy at best. The Bargain can break the curse—only a mortal given in sacrifice can restore the DragonLands. Which mortal? Which dragon? We don’t even have the exact wording of what was prophecied. Only the Arbiter is privy to that knowledge, and she hasn’t deigned to share it with any DragonKin as far as I know. Besides, prophecy, I find, is always a sliver of truth covered in a bucket of horse shit. This one is no different.”
“Hmm.” He looks at me, his silvery scales almost melting into the gray mist of rain. He’s already close to indetectable in clouds. Only Rivon has more stealth, thanks to his shadows. “Sounds to me like you need to sheathe yourself so deep in the mortal that you don’t know the difference between prophecy and truth. Or where you end and she begins. In short, dear brother, you need to break all this questioning and worry with a good, solid fuck.”
“Your advice is always the same note.” I turn us away from the western peak and back to Crone’s Crag, to the keep where my mortal waits.
“Doesn’t mean it’s a wrong note.” He slaps his wing against mine in his usual obnoxious way. “I find getting myself off inside a maiden does a lot to clear my head.”
“Your head is exceedingly empty at all times. The only thing you need to clear are the cobwebs.” A shudder rips through me, my heart skipping a few beats.
“What was that?” Faraday tightens formation, his head swinging back and forth, looking for a threat.
“I don’t know.” Another shudder, this one so deep that it rattles my bones, all the spikes along my back standing straight. “Something’s…”
“What?” He sends out a sweeping arc of crystalline breath into the cloud ahead of us. “DaySilver?”
“No. Fly faster.” A horrible foreboding grows, festering inside me as we hurtle toward the keep embedded in the side of Crone’s Crag.
“Something’s wrong. I have to get to her.” Larellin is … A roar rips from me as I finally understand the odd sensation rippling along my spine.Fear. And it’s not my own. She’s afraid.
I tuck my wings in close, turning myself into a golden arrow as I pick up speed.
“Not so fast!” Faraday calls.
I ignore him and aim for the cave, the approaching maw beckoning me back. “Be ready.” I send a burst of golden flame into the dark cavern right before I enter, assuring any interloper is either dead or maimed before I land, my talons screeching across the cavern floor and leaving deep gouges.
“Larellin!” I roar, my voice barely intelligible as I change form and dive into the chasm that leads to the keep. Bursting through the doors, I rush through the hallway.
“Larellin!” I call. The closer I get to our room, the more certain I am that she’s not here.
My gut wrenches, my heart hammering. Fear again. Wherever she is, she’s terrified. One look inside our bed chambers, and I know the truth. She’s gone. Something’s happened.
Storming down the stairs, I bang open the doors to the kitchen.
Sprite jumps, his flames a somber blue.
“Where is she?” I glare at him.
His flames gutter as he looks at me with sheer terror on his face.
“Where is my treasure?” I ask.
“Vander!” Faraday hurries in, his gaze going to the frightened Firefolk. “What are you do?—”
“The DaySilver Clan took her.” Lenka’s weary voice comes from the dining room.
