“Sook, Remo’s my . . .” I looked up into my fiancé’s golden eyes trying to decide which term to use, but then became distracted by his irises. I missed the green, but not because it changed his appearance . . . because it was the color of the eyes that had watched over me during our imprisonment.
“Friend?” Sook supplied dubiously.
He was way more than that.
Giya squeezed my shoulder. “What Amara’s trying to say is that we like Remo now.”
“We do?” Sook asked, directing the question at me.
“Yeah, we do.” I smiled. “Your eyes are gold.”
Remo seemed to be drinking mine in, even though their color hadn’t changed. The corner of his mouth tipped up. “And yours are blue. Shall we move on to hair?”
I laughed. Amidst all the awful memories of prison, that had been a good one. I reached for his hand even though I wanted to push up on tiptoe and reach for his mouth.
“Amara Wood, we meet again.” The familiar voice made my gaze leap off Remo, who’d become as stiff as the buffed black marble beneath our feet. Joshua Locklear stood, one arm draped over his sister’s shoulder. She seemed so slight and small beside him. “Looking a little bedraggled, but still hot.”
Remo’s fist crunched into the Daneelie’s jaw, sending his face flying to the side.
As Josh pivoted back toward us, his brows slanted viciously beneath his sideswept blond bangs. “Back the fuck off, Farrow, or you’ll be cleaning urinals for the rest of yourlucionagacareer.”
Remo grunted. “Like you have any power.”
“Actually, I do.” Josh beamed. “You’re looking at Neverra’s brand-newdraca.”
“You’re shitting me,” Sook said.
That’s when I realized that Josh’s eyes were green instead of blue. “Wicked, huh?”
Wicked wasn’t the first word that came to mind.
“Who the hell was cracked enough to make youdraca?” Giya sputtered.
Kiera sent her a sharp glare.
“Why, Massin Wood. Apparently, our dearest king will do anything for his daughter.” He tossed me a wink that vanished behind thickening swirls of sparkling smoke. The lines of his body changed, becoming almost too wide and tall for the high-ceilinged apartment, and then black scales slicked over his skin like an oil spill.
Kiera took in her brother’s new form, from his long muzzle to his pointed horns, with a squeak of surprise. Chuffing, he extended his fibrous black wings and lowered his neck, an invitation for her to climb aboard. It took her a minute to react, but as soon as she understood, she hurled herself onto him like Cruz had hurled himself atop thetigrithe first time we’d met. Tucking his clawed paws into his abdomen, Josh took off, flying so fast toward the window that when his horns hit the curved glass, the entire pane shattered.
Outside thecalimbor, lightning slashed the Neverrian firmament, weakening the glow of stars. I imagined I was responsible for the weather, although it was entirely possible Kiera and her dragon brother had provoked the storm.
Once my ears had stopped ringing from anger, broken glass, and thunder, I swung toward my father, bumping into Remo. “You made Joshua Lockleardraca, Iba?”
I wasn’t sure if I was shaking with anger or if Remo was, since his chest was flush with my shoulder blades. Maybe we both shook.
Iba stared out the broken window. “He was the only person who knew where you were and would only volunteer the information against agajoï.”
Had that been Josh’s end goal all along? I doubted he was smart enough to have planned that far ahead, but damn, had my disappearance been convenient. Again, I lamented asking for his help. Sure it had brought me close to Remo, and we’d found Cruz,andkilled Kingston, but now Joshua had an inordinate amount of power and weight. Skies only knew what he would do with it.
Iba approached me slowly. “It was either that or your hand. I chose not to sacrifice you a second and final time.” His gaze darted to Remo, whose heart seemed to beat more violently against my tensed spine.
“You have no reason to apologize, Iba.”
“I do, Amara. I should never—” He faltered and cleared his throat. “I should never have forced your hand into the Cauldron in the first place. I should never have told you about my suspicions about Kingston.”
“It’s not your fault I ended up in that prison, Iba.” I wanted to add that I wasn’t angry about the first part, but I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of so many people. “Is Gregor stillwariff?”
Iba dragged his palms down the length of his face. “No.”
