“What did you do?” I asked him in a whisper.
Only now did he look at me again, and the expression in his eyes suggested . . . Nah, I couldn’t be reading him right.
“You defended me?” I asked softly.
“Tempest?” Airia called out again. “Are you sure you’re alive? Because Madrood . . .”
“I’m alright,” Thankfully, my voice held more strength than the rest of my body. “I’m coming out.”
“You need to. Right away.” Horror lifted her voice to a screech. “Look what he did. That dragon is terrifying. Unpredictable.”
That was an understatement.
I walked over to him, tentatively stretching out my hand. Would he bite it off or . . . I didn’t know what, but I felt I should acknowledge whatever he’d done in some way, not limp from his stall and lock the door behind me.
My leg nearly gave out, and I swore he frowned as he glanced down at my thigh, though dragons didn’t frown. His brow tightened. Was that a dragon scowl? You’d think by now I’d know something like that.
I was so wound up, I was rambling within my own mind.
“Thanks.” I ran my fingers down his snout.
As I reached the tip, he nudged my fingers up and released a shower of sparks that rained down the front of my leathers like golden stars showering across a dark sky. They winked out when they hit the sandy floor, and he returned to grab another bite of food.
I backed to the gate and slipped through the opening, closing the latch behind me.
The taint of scorched flesh hung in the air, but only a smoldering pile of ashes remained of whoever had attacked me. Oh, wait, no. That wasn’t exactly right. A blade lay among the ruins, a long, silver thing with a black hilt. It had been seared clean, blazed anew, and I kicked it out of the pile. It hit the wall with a thud, falling to the floor. I left it there, looking toward Airia standing near the entrance to the aerie.
“What happened?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I was . . . I can’t imagine why. If I wasn’t here, I . . . I still don’t believe it.”
“Did you see who it was? Because there’s no identifying them now.”
“I knew he was upset, but why would he do something like that? He had no reason. No reason!”
“Prenton?” I guessed.
“I saw him standing outside Madrood’s stall. I thought he was waiting to speak with you. He was fidgeting, but like I said, he’d been weird all day. I didn’t think he’d ever . . . I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“He attacked you. If I’d known he was going to do something like that, I could’ve . . .” She shrugged, and her voice cracked. “I could’ve helped you.”
“Madrood did it instead.”
“Yeah, and why? He only does stuff like that for the king and when he’s commanded.”
He also did stuff like that for me, apparently. Today, at least. Tomorrow, I might be the pile of ashes coating the sandy floor of the hall.
“Who collared Prenton?” I asked.
“The high advisor.”
Shit. Lots of shit in this place, actually. Delaine had wrapped a collar around Will’s neck. Would I have to watch out for him as well? Actually, I had to keep my eye on everyone. I needed to remember I could only trust Vexxion.
“Who collaredyou?” I asked Airia.
“I, um . . .” She backed out of the aerie and fled before giving me a reply. If she was wise, she’d pack her bags and beg whoever had claimed her to take her to the opposite end of thecontinent. Even better, beg them to put her on a ship and take sail for a place where no one knew the fae existed.
