“Blake?”
“Relax. I told her I made a joke with the wall. She would’ve known about Paegeia and the wall if Herbert had told her.”
My father stared at the table in thought and nodded.
“Why didn’t he tell her, Dad?”
“I don’t know.”
“Which means she knows nothing about what she has to do. She doesn’t know that dragons exist, and that she has to tame me one day. I doubt she can even fight.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She looks like she is going to break any minute.”
“Okay, just do what you have to do to get closer. I’ll think of something.”
“About that, there might be a problem.” I looked up at my father.
“What did you do?” My father sighed.
“Nothing, it’s what she did. She sort of ordered me to leave her alone and…” I brushed my hands through my hair.
“No, Blake, that is not possible.”
“I couldn’t follow. I tried. It felt as if an invisible force held me in place and locked my jaw. If that is not a true order, then I don’t want to know what one feels like.”
My father said nothing. Which only meant that it was a true order, and whatever we were going to become was going to be something that nobody in Paegeia had ever witnessed.
“You need to break it.”
“Yeah, no shit. The only problem is my mind is blank on any ideas. How the hell is she going to take it back without me telling her? She already thinks I’m weird.”
“In what way?”
“Dad, I had to act weird today to find out what she knows.”
“Blake.” My father closed his eyes. “This is your rider. Don’t make her pull away from you. I don’t care if it’s for my benefit or for any of the royals. The bond comes first—always. Remember that. She comes first. Don’t break the bond for anyone else. Herbert knows this, too. He might not like it, but he will step aside when the time comes. She is our fucking responsibility, not his.”
I didn’t like the look on my father’s face when he said it.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that Albert was supposed to trust me with Elena, told me she existed. I would’ve raised her as my own, with you, to train her for when she needed to claim you. You both have a duty and Herbert does not know how much he fucked that up.”
My dad got up and went to his office. He was dealing lately with many emotions revolving around Elena’s father. Why didn’t his rider trust him with Elena, not telling anyone that there was hope? What was the original plan in all of this, and why didn’t anyone fucking stick to it?
I sighed, thinking about this bloody order to leave her alone. I wished Isaac was here. He would whip up a song in no time. My lips tugged as the valentine serenaders popped into my head. Jace said they made a ton of money doing this yearly, serenading the girls on guys’ behalf.
Isaac wasn’t here, but there were others in that school just like him, and I do not need a bloody new song. There must be one this side that could be just what I needed.
“Dad?”
He walked out of the room he claimed as his office and looked at me.
“This order, it’s just me that can’t go near her, right? She can get close to me.”
“Yeah, it’s usually what breaks it. Why?”
