“There are soldiers out there,” I tell them immediately, “out in the academy.”
“The Empress’s elite guard?” Beaufort asks.
I shake my head. “No. Soldiers from Onyx,” I say. “Lots of them. They were guarding the dragon.”
“Dragon?” Dray and Beaufort look at each other and then back to me.
“What do you think it means?” Dray asks us both.
“That my mother is taking precautions given what’s happened with Bardin,” Beaufort says, “and the incursion by the demons deep into our realm.”
I nod. This was my suspicion as well.
I come and join them by the kitchen counter, and Beaufort pours me a glass of whiskey, sliding it along the top where I catch it in my hand. I don’t usually drink, but after today’s events – after nearly watching Nini fly off to the demon wastelands alone – I think I need it.
I lift it to my mouth and take a long gulp.
“What are we going to do about the bloodsucker situation?” Dray asks, leaning back against the counter.
“I already told you,” I say, lowering my own drink. “If Briony wants to go after him, then we’re going with her.”
“Yeah,” Dray says. “But can we trust him?”
“We can trust him,” I say.
“You always say that, but...”
“I went to his room,” I tell them both. “And I searched it.”
“And don’t tell me,” Dray says, “you found his fucking diary and every page was love hearts and pictures of our girl.”
“Well… no,” I say.
Dray eyes me and Beaufort frowns. “Did you find anything?”
I nod.
“What?” he says.
“A lock of her hair,” I tell them.
“That’s kind of creepy,” Dray mumbles.
“How many pairs of her panties do you have snuffled away in your bedroom?” I ask him.
He simply grins.
“It’s not definitive proof,” Beaufort says.
“No, it isn’t. But I trust Nini, and I trust her feelings for him.”
“Doesn’t make it any easier though, does it?” Dray says. “Following him into the demon wastelands, it’s still a suicide mission.”
“Yes,” I agree. “We’re going to need help.”
“Help,” Dray says. “Yeah, but I’m not sure the Little Kitten’s skinny friend or the four-eyed one are gonna prove that useful.”
“No, we need proper help,” Beaufort says.
