Silas was the only one of them I could say I wasn't in love with, but even saying that felt wrong somehow. I didn't understand the deep desire to love the men I had bonded with, but there had to be a greater reason for it.
I just hoped they wouldn't end up hating me for sharing my curse with them. Everything was going almost too well for us, and I had lived long enough to know that there would always be new obstacles. I just didn't know how to handle it now that I wasn't alone anymore.
8
FAWN
A vicious humresonated in the back of my mind, jolting me away from my deep sleep nestled between the guys in the large bed.
The room was dark, the only source of light being the faint glow of the sliver of moon seeping through the curtains.
I blinked away the sleepiness, sitting upright in the bed and waking the guys who jumped up with me.
A magical shimmer parted the air before expanding into the vision of Matthieu. His eyes were wide with panic, and his hair stuck up all over the place.
Next to Matthieu was a separate vision of Emperor Lloyd, who looked mostly confused. "Matthieu? Silas? What is this about?"
Silas's expression was just as confused as the rest of us, and he rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. "We were woken up by this call. We don't know either."
There was a rasp as Matthieu inhaled before speaking. "In royal robes they lurked, with whispers of death, an empire so vile, secrets to be left. Treachery struck, trust morphed to ash." He sucked in another rattled breath as a trail of blood seeped from his temple. "A loyal one tainted, intentions remained. Truth reached the empress's ears, a tale of betrayal, one he couldn't bear. At last, her gaze fell upon a face, a trusted companion, an unexpected disgrace."
"Matthieu, you're not making sense," Emperor Lloyd murmured. "Start from the beginning, please."
"No time. Hayes is aware of who I work for, and she plans to make an example out of me. Emperor Lloyd,you know the truth." Matthieu glanced behind him as shouts and screams filled the background. "Please don't let her use me for her plans."
Matthieu's connection died out just as a loud series of knocks banged on our door.
"What did he mean byyou know the truth?"The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Emperor Lloyd frowned, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head. "It's not important. What is important is that he needs to be saved."
"How do we know he was actually captured?" I pursed my lips.
"He contacted both of us at the same time. You heard the guards shouting in the background and his riddle," the emperor stated like it was cut and dry.
"What does his riddle have to do with anything?" I questioned.
Silas reached over Bastian and gripped my hand, squeezing it. "She's just concerned that Matthieu isn't captured, and we would go there and fall into a trap."
"Matthieu is abnormal..." Emperor Lloyd swallowed hard. "I'll admit that, but I know more about him than any of you. He's aligned with us. In time, I may tell you why, but as of now, he has asked me to keep it from you. What you need to know is that if Empress Hayes finds out about it, then this warwillhappen, and we will be at a severe disadvantage."
My gut told me something was wrong, and I knew I needed to listen to my instincts. I'd learned to trust that gut feeling after everything I'd been through. But the emperor wouldn't let this go either, and being a shield was important to most of the guys. Maybe we could take this opportunity as another chance to snoop around the palace. Spirits knew I didn't want the Revivium Empire to come out on top.
"Fine.We will go after him, but we need to have a plan in place."
"Of course we need a plan," Silas agreed without missing a beat. "We can go in the morningafterwe gather the necessary supplies."
Emperor Lloyd nodded, rubbing his hand up and down his cheek. "That's reasonable, but I'm also sending a group of guards to go to the Revivium Empire now with the same mission to save Matthieu. I don't want to know what could happen if Matthieu is outed publicly or used to their advantage."
The emperor's face fizzled out, and it felt like a huge weight pushed down on my shoulders.
Irritation bubbled through me like a vapid snake. Idespisedtaking orders, especially when I knew the orders were not in my best interest.
I yanked my hand from Silas's and called upon my wind magic to float me over to the door, where I flung it open.
Outside of the door, a guard stood with a shimmering emerald dragon egg and a fierce look of distress across his face. "This was found in the throne room on the emperor's throne."
"Give it to us." Jasper held out his hands for the egg, standing beside me.
