“Fern…?” A muffled voice came through the door. “Fern, is that you?” I pulled it open to see a rumple-haired Sparrow standing there, blinking owlishly. Perhaps because it was the middle of the night and she should’ve been asleep. “You’re back already? What happened to riding into the sunset on the back of your dragon?”
“The general has other ideas.”
I didn’t dare give away too much. While Sparrow had given me a heartfelt farewell hug, she was born in the keep, and so that’s where her loyalties had to lie.
“The general?” She shook her head, then raked her hands through her hair. “What has that man done now? He’s been in a foul mood all evening. My best friend, Virginia, has served at the keep all her life, and he tossed her out on her ear for coming to clear his tray away, like she has every day for the past five years.”
My lips pursed, and that reminded me of the state Rex had found me in. At the tingle left by Dain, I couldn’t find it in myself to regret it. My fingers went to my mouth as I recalled the big man’s confessions. That journal… His drawings… Part of me wanted to clasp my hands to my bosom and sigh. The other half wanted to march right up the stairs and into that idiot general’s office and make clear that I would never spare a single rider a kind look.
“Well, he caught me kissing Dain in the mountain, so that could hardly have improved his outlook,” I said.
“Kissing—?” she squeaked. Her eyes went wide as saucers as she bounced up and down.
“We were supposed to be leaving, but we got… caught up. Lance tried to break Kael and Lorien out of the stockade, but I’m guessing that didn’t work, either.”
Viridian says his rider is in the same cage, Auren informed me.
“Auren says they are all locked up now.” My hands became fists. “I don’t know what the man thinks he’s doing. There is no way he can contain four dragons, and ordering me to go to my room like I’m a little girl that needs to think about my actions will last as long as Auren’s patience.”
Marching over to the windows that spanned one wall, I flicked the curtains open, hoping to find an easy means of escape. Riders looked up, staring through the glass at the two of us.
“He can’t keep us here.” That was said more to myself than anything. “He can’t. Auren will break down the keep brick by brick.”
“And he knows that.” Sparrow moved closer, then she took my hand in his. “Which means he must have something planned.”
“But what? Auren’s father is king of the dragons,” I said. “He won’t stand for this kind of behaviour, and then there’s the agreement with the wild dragons. Even if the silver beasts don’t lift a claw, he won’t be able to force Auren to do anything.”
“But he thinks he can.” Sparrow frowned as she tugged her dressing gown tighter. “But what? Oh gods…”
“What?” I asked.
“Virginia…” Her finger shook as she pointed at the door, but I had no idea what she meant. “The general got terribly mad because she entered his office when he was out. All she went to dowas take his tray away, but he had her pinned to the wall, screaming at her about a box.”
“A box…?” I blinked and then touched minds with Auren.Do you know anything about that?
I try to touch that male’s mind as little as possible, she replied.It’s a diseased place, full of dreams of power he’ll never achieve. I…Auren was the voice of confidence most times, but her voice trailed away now.I am trying to read his mind, but I can’t see any thoughts or memories about a box.
I relayed that information to Sparrow.
“But Virginia definitely mentioned a box. I’m sure of it.” Sparrow rubbed at her forehead. “I could go and ask her. She’s still bunking down in her quarters despite being given her marching orders. Not a local girl, so where else would she sleep after being sacked so late at night and without references?”
“Or we could go and take a look at the general’s office ourselves.”
I looked around me, trying to work out how that would be possible.
“Auren could scare off the riders outside our window,” I said. “We could… No, that would put the general on high alert and we have no means to force our way into his office.”
“The servants’ corridors!” Sparrow stared at me with a wild grin. “They wind their way up through the walls, with doors that open up on every floor, into most rooms…” She nodded slowly. “Including the general’s office.” Her cheeks flushed pink. “Me and some of the other keep children snuck in there one day as part of a dare. My mother beat my butt raw when she found out.” With a sparkle in her eyes, she turned to me. “How do you feel about spiders?”
“I despise them with every fibre of my being,” I replied weakly.
No need for sneaking around, Auren assured me.I am coming.
“Auren says…”
My voice trailed away as we all spun around at a loud crash.Dragon roars followed that, then the muffled sounds of men yelling. The riders outside our window went running, but why?
“What the hell is going on?” Cora stumbled into our room, pulling on a dressing gown as she went, blinking just in time to see four dragons land beyond the window. I was moving towards it, unlatching the panes, then swinging them open.
