“Slow?” I pushed out with a panting breath.
“Let me help you.” She cranked the machine to its highest setting—only two notches higher than I’d previously used—and I thanked her with a snap of my teeth.
“Why are you here?” I grumbled.
“In a lovely mood, I see.” She flashed me a big smile. “Well, this should make you happy. And furious. Mostly furious. Guess what? I know who’s abducting our best soldiers.” She paused for dramatic effect. “It’s not who you think. Well, it probably is, but also someone we haven’t considered.”
I waited… “Well?”
“The professor, on behalf of Lorik.”
Everything inside me cringed. The name alone carried the promise of war. Lorik was the newest shifter-king and a former elite who’d made a play for my crown and lost. The defeat had acted as a spark in a powder keg. Like my father, he’d welcomed evil into his heart, allowing his dragon to overtake him, transforming him into a full-on shifter.
“So, the mortal professor is working with Lorik.” I switched off the machine, aimed for a training dummy and punched it until it burst into flame. Mystrength had returned full force. Yay. Only problem was, my mood continued to sour.
My sister extended the teacup she’d carried with her, all casual like. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my missing one. “And that’s why I brought you some delicious green tea laced with gelu root.”
I took a sip and wrinkled my nose. “What did you do? Triple the dose?”
Wisely, Adelaide was already backing out the door. “You’ll thank me later.”
Considering how much I wanted to both throttle and hug Taron Locke at the moment, yeah, that tracked.
“By the way, I’m still working on digging up information about the Yrnblade. Whoever hid the details did a better job than most, but I’m so close to success I can taste it.” She left with a finger wave. “Ta ta.”
Mumbling about know-it-all sisters and annoying professors, I drained the remaining tea, then showered, braided my hair, and dressed in flame-resistant leather pants, plus a collared white blouse with dragons embroidered in vibrant pink thread. A black corset completed the look. Then I strapped on an arsenal. Daggers tucked in my boots. A belt/whip combo around my waist and of course the ornate hairpin that could be used as a dagger.
“Nyla!”
“Nyla!”
“NYYYYYY-LAAAAAAA!”
My father’s voice shook the walls with the power of a natural disaster. Everything rumbled. Somewhere in the palace, a priceless vase shattered. I ground my molars.
Though a fated mate was supposed to have a calming effect on a berserker, Nyla had only ever brought out his worst traits. Once kind and caring, he’d become volatile,quick to dive headfirst into a temper. Unable to find peace, he’d grown paranoid.
He’d slain my mother to have Nyla, only to kill Nyla too. Or had he? The council wondered if she too now lived.
Another worry to add to my plate.
I stomped through the palace, headed for the dungeon. Along the way, four of my sisters, all younger, caught sight of me and screeched.
“The she-beast!” Gretchen grumbled. She, Lucinda, Frieda and Millicent hastily switched directions, vanishing around a corner before I could even call out a greeting.
They must have spoken with Adelaide. “I’m not that bad,” I called. But yeah, okay, lately I’d been a wee bit short-tempered.
A problem for later. The closer I got to my father, the more I dragged my feet. Our meetings never went well.
Finally, I reached the dungeon, and Daddy Dearest’s cell. Bloodstained stone walls barely contained him. As the primordial, he possessed attributes regular dragons did not. He sprayed flames that disintegrated matter in an instant. Obsidian bones etched with symbols we had never successfully deciphered. Scales that shifted like tectonic plates, revealing tiny spikes that expelled molten poison upon impact with a living being. Eyes capable of mesmerizing any who gazed upon him. Any but his daughters.
Since his arrival home, he’d slowly transformed into a semblance of his humanoid self. Currently, he reclined against the far wall, one leg stretched out, the other bent at the knee, an arm covered in scales and tipped in onyx claws resting against it. He possessed thick red hair, wide shoulders and a barrel chest. While his irises had retained their silver sheen, they contained glowing emberrose rings around thin, slitted pupils.
Thick chains circled his wrists and ankles, the metal the same as the Chains of O. Thankfully, I hadn’t cried on these and bound myself to them.
For once, he waited predator-still, no longer straining for freedom. There’d be none.
“Here to command my silence, daughter?” The words boomed, bubbling with a terrible blend of menace and amusement.
