“Silas might have taken it with him,” I suggested.
A flash of hurt and betrayal crossed Kass’ face. “What? He wouldn’t - he can’t do that!” I watched as Kass buried his face in his hands for a moment, groaning deeply. “He doesn’t trust me either. I knew it. He’s been acting strangely since the minute I showed up!”
“You know, Kass, you can always just... shift and break the cuffs,” I offered gently.
His head snapped up, as if shocked by the simplicity of the idea, but then his eyes narrowed suspiciously at me. “Why didn’t you do that, then?”
The paranoia rolling off his body in waves made me bark a tired laugh. “I’m running on fumes, here. I barely have any magic, I’m exhausted and hungry andcold, and I can barely keep my head up, and you want me to shift? Please, Kass.” In a gentler tone, I added, “If there’s anyone trying to trick you here, it’s not me. Come on. You know me better than that.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t. But I’ll admit you’re right.” He sighed. “Just stand still. I don’t want to bite your hand off.”
“I wonder if I’d be asvaluableto Silas then,” I mused.
“Enough. Not funny.”
“Uh, Kass? Not trying to be funny again, but if you shift, aren’t you going to break the ceiling?”
Kass growled without a pause. “I don’t care. Silas can deal with it.”
“Wow. Really not a fan of him right now, are you?”
Ignoring me, Kass stepped back and shut his eyes. His form seemed to glow with light as it twisted and writhed into a massive shape completely unlike the man standing before me just a moment ago. Despite my annoyance at Kass in general, watching him shift into his dragon was still a sight unlike any other. I couldn’t help the way my breath caught in my throat at the stunning, magnificent beast he became - dark and broad, scales glittering like water under the moonlight, with royal blue horns and spines snaking down his back. The underside of his wings, creamy and pale, flashed as he spread them out. I stared in awe at his striking and imposing form. There was no denying that he was truly the most stunning and powerful of all the dragons in the Knights.
And, of course, he broke the ceiling.
A low growl erupted from his throat as he shook himself to dislodge the debris. In his deepened draconic voice, he said, “Don’t move.”
No smart remark came from me this time. I outstretched my wrists, which were chafed and aching from the rough contact with the handcuffs, and waited nervously for Kass to get it over with.
This is a lot of trust to put in someone I’m supposed to be pissed off at, I thought.
Kass’s dragon fangs bit through the handcuffs and chains like they were paper. The scraps of steel clattered to the floor. I let out a sigh of relief and rubbed my wrists.
“Thank gods,” I muttered.
Something thin and yellow floated in the corner of my eye. Kass must have strewn the papers on the desk while he stretched his wings. Curiously, I picked up the paper.
“We should leave, Halo. What are you doing?” Kassius asked, his voice laced with a growl.
“Kass, this note...” I frowned down at the writing. “It’s addressed to Silas, I think.”
“What?” He lowered his snout over my shoulder and accidentally brushed my cheek with his cool scales. I shivered at the contact.
I cleared my throat and read it out loud. “Silas. Welcome back. There is much to discuss. I assume the omega and the child are in your possession. Come to me at the Death’s Peak caverns. Be prompt about it.”
“And?” Kass said. “Who signed it?”
“There’s no name at the bottom,” I told him.
Kass growled deep in his throat and thrashed his tail. “Coward.”
“The Death’s Peak caverns… That must be that dark place in the mountain tops that the sun doesn’t reach,” I said. “If it’s even still there, I mean.”
The irritated rumble in Kass’s voice continued. “I don’t know. Keep the note. For now, we need to find safety.” Then he added, “We both need time to heal.”
Something flickered in my chest. Kass spoke of healing, and I knew he meant physically - for both of us were weak and tired, and desperately needed a good nights’ rest - but part of me wondered if he meant emotionally as well.
If he means it that way, then... I don’t know if I can ever truly heal from what he did to me,I thought resentfully.
