“Wait—your father was thegovernor? And what do you mean, dragons were extinct? Aren’tyoua dragon?” She turned to face me in bewilderment.
“I’m the first dragon Shifter in two hundred and fifty years. The dragon line was eradicated after the emperor back then became afraid the Shifters would form an army and take over. Dragons were too powerful to let survive. Nobody knows how thegene got passed to me, but everyone suspected my parents had experimented on me.” I grunted. “Kane Scarven challenged my father for his position and won. My father died, and my mother, sister, and I were taken prisoner.”
“Fates, that’s…” She let out a breath. “And you were onlyfourteen?”
“Many of his prisoners are far younger,” I said, working to keep my voice even. “My sister was barely a year old.”
“And he wanted you because you’re the only one of your kind,” she guessed. “You told me before that your sister isn’t a dragon. But she must be powerful, if he’s kept her locked up her whole life.”
It wasn’t a question, but I responded anyway. “She has all six.”
“All six what?”
“Magics, Devora. My sister has all six magics of the Veridian Empire.”
“What?” Devora nearly fell out of the saddle with how quickly she twisted to gaze up at me. “I haven’t been here long, but I’m assuming that’s not normal.”
A snort escaped me. “No, that’s not normal. Some Veridians have two types, and there have been maybe four recorded cases in history that had three. But nobody has ever dreamed of wielding all six.”
I thought back to the first decade of Vera’s life, where she, Mother, and I were still allowed to see one another in Scarven’s manor. It was before her magic manifested, before Scarven knew what she possessed.
“When she was eleven, Vera showed signs of lightbending. We were all surprised, but it can happen—somewhere down the line, one of our ancestors could have been from Emberfell. But then she partially shifted. Scarven grew curious. Two years later, she created shadows.” I paused when Devora’s fingers started tapping anxiously against my thigh.
“When she was fifteen, she accidentally cast her first illusion on one of the guards. That was whenScarven took her away. For good. I haven’t seen her since, and it’s been five years. He would give me reports on her every once in a while, so that’s how I found out she’d been able to cast spellsandstride.”
Devora’s hand flattened out on my leg, and her thumb dug into my pants before she pulled it away. “I’m so sorry, Nox. Five years…” She shook her head. “I know I’ve said this before, but I need you to believe me. I’m going to doeverythingI can to help. And this isn’t about what I can get out of it. I want to help you because…because it’s the right thing. Becausenobodyshould have to suffer like that. And if we don’t help them, who will?”
I pressed my lips together, a lump forming in my throat. I wondered if she knew how many times I had the same exact thought.
I paused before quietly saying, “I believe you.”
She turned so her profile faced me again, and a smirk climbed its way onto her face. “Look at us. Working together. Who would’ve thought?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
She rolled her eyes, then stretched out her back with a sigh. I inhaled as more of her body moved against me, tension building in my core.
“It’s kind of nice, you know,” she said, and I froze. “Not being your prisoner.”
A snarl rumbled from my chest and up my throat. I slid my hand to her stomach and jerked her back so my lips grazed her ear.
“You know how much Ihatethat word.” Her breath hitched when my fingers elongated into talons and gently brushed her side. “Call yourself that one more time, darling, and I’ll show you what it means to be under a dragon’s control.”
When I released her, she lurched forward as if I’d burned her, the sound of her pulse pounding in my ears.
She was silent for the rest of the ride.
28
Devora
We stopped in a village at the base of the Mistwood Mountains to purchase two new horses for Arowyn and me for the rest of the trip.
Thank the Fates.
I could hardly sleep that night, what with the fear still pumping in my veins, the exhaustion of using all that power, the ghostly feel of claws scraping over my skin…
Things with Nox felt different. I couldn’t tell if it was agooddifferent. I still didn’t think he trusted me, and I wasn’t sure if I trusted him. There was all this lingering animosity mixed with somethingnew, something heated and tense and raw, and I didn’t know where it came from. Was it born of anger? Distrust? Curiosity? Desire?
