He slid his gaze to her for a second on those resolute words.Would she try to kill him someday?
Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to the gates of the Yard.He opened the trunk and pulled out her bag.She took it, hefting it over her shoulder.Her eyes were devoid of anything when they looked at him.He had mastered that lack of emotion for most of his life.So why did hers gut him?
Her gaze drifted to his bare chest, probably to the bruises and scratches she’d inflicted.Only then did he see some flicker of something, though he couldn’t figure out what it was.Neither remorse nor triumph.
“Do you want to hit me again?”He remembered the fire in her eyes when she’d talked of killing the man responsible.That was better than the deadness in them now.He spread his arms as he’d done in his office after handing her the letter opener.“Get it out of your system.”
She raised her eyes to his.“I don’t want anything from you.I don’t need the Dragon Prince anymore.I can handle myself, my power.I never want to see you again.”
Why did it feel as though she’d plunged that letter opener into his chest?He forced himself to nod, putting his mask in place.“Be safe, Ruby.”
He didn’t leave as she turned away, punishing himself by watching her.She went in, relocked the gate, and walked into the Yard.Even when she was out of sight, he couldn’t seem to move.
The sense of loss acted the same as the poison in a Citrine’s tail, working its way from his legs, up to his chest, his throat, pounding in his head.He realized he hadn’t breathed in a long time, maybe the whole time she’d been out of his sight.He leaned his forehead against the edge of the car’s roof, grimacing from a pain he’d not felt before.His fingers even hurt.He realized he was gripping the metal and released them.Eight small dents marred the surface.
He pushed himself to get into the car.Then he had to force himself to drive away.He had a Dragon bitch to hunt down.He was still Ruby’s sworn protector, even if he never saw her again.
* * *
Friggin’Hidden.She was done with it.
Friggin’ Cyn.She was done with him, too.
Ruby dropped her bag on the floor and sank down next to the pile of photographs.She hated him.H-A-T-E-D him.“I hope you’re hurting, Cyntag Valeron.I hope you are suffering at least a fraction of what you’ve put me through.”
Then why does your heart ache?
She’d fallen in love with the man who’d murdered her parents.That was bad enough.The worst part was she still wanted him.Her head fell forward.I suck.
She could smell his scent, his essence permeating her.Well, of course, she was wearing his shirt!She wrestled out of it and threw it across the room.The pictures on the floor were of happier times, and yet, now she knew her father had been doing something that endangered people.Had he known before Brom warned him?Had he resisted destroying his work at first?She would never find out.At least at the end he’d intended to destroy it all for the sake of humanity.
She stumbled into her bedroom, catching her reflection in the mirror over her dresser.Her beautiful red Dragon seemed to be looking at her with sympathy.
“I’m stuck with you, aren’t I?”
It shifted, the tip of its tail wiggling.
“I guess I can live with you.”She pointed at it through the reflection.“But you can forget the black Dragon.Forget any Dragon.If I can’t date… Mundanes, then I’m not interested in dating.I was doing fine before.I didn’t need a man in my life then, and I don’t need one now.”
Something thrummed through her though: need, desire.
“Stop it.”She dropped onto the bed.Emotional and physical fatigue, along with a night spent in a car, caught up to her.She was bruised, achy.Achier in her heart than in her body.
She tried to recall Mon’s fairytale, how Garnet had gone on after the Dragon Prince died.She would go on, too.Sleep claimed her as the final battle played out in her mind.A sound scratched at the outer edge of her dreams.
Probably nothing.Or Fergus.She sank back into sleep.
The Book of the Hidden
Garnetand her army bided their time, gathering intelligence on the comings and goings of the Shadows and where they had guards stationed.Her heart ached at learning how many of her people had died, how many were now slaves to the Shadows.Thinking of her slain husband and Opal, her fury grew.
More refugees joined them.Their army gathered, timing their attack toward the end of the guards’ shift, when they would be the most tired, but before the new shift arrived.
The time was now.She gave the signal.Each troop brought their particular skills to battle as they rushed forward.The Deuces pounded the Shadows with fiery orbs.She’d told the Dragons how the prince had defeated the Shadows when he had rescued her.She fought, too, cutting down monster after monster as she remembered how they had killed her parents.The battle raged for hours, and eventually they brought down the Shadows and their ruler.
In the aftermath, she was heralded as a savior, more beloved than any queen.She helped clean the rubble, restoring her castle and the kingdom to a semblance of its former beauty.
A fortnight later, she stood at the Great Room’s window, looking out at her lands.A dove alighted on her finger, rubbing its head against her palm.She knew all would be well.
