Page 17 of Dragon Revealed (Dragon Kings 1)
She put all the books back, plastered a smile on her face, and walked from the library. She had expected to find answers there, but her discovery only made her more suspicious. The only person she could ask was Rankin since she didn’t trust anyone else.
“Where are you, Rankin?” she whispered as her gaze moved over those walking along the street.
The more she thought about the missing pages, the more concerned she became. She briefly thought about going to the council with it, but they might say she was the one who took them. As it was, she would be lucky if they didn’t discover how Varek had come to be their prisoner. Why would she bring undue attention on herself if there was no need?
Because someone took those pages. You wouldn’t know about that if you didn’t go looking. You can thank Varek for that.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to give him credit. He’d caused her to think about the past in ways she hadn’t before.
You can’t blame him for pointing out something you know you should’ve looked into long ago.
Why did her damn subconscious always have to be right? It was very irritating, especially when she was trying to prove that Varek wasn’t someone she could trust. Trust. She snorted at the word. Why would she even think to trust him? He was a Dragon King. No doubt he was lying about everything.
He wouldn’t have known about the missing pages in the archives. All he did was nudge you to find answers. You’re the one who went to the library.
She fisted her hands and started walking, telling herself to shut up before she did something stupid. As she made her way through the crowd of people, she noticed more than one person staring in her direction. Jeyra ignored them, or at least pretended to.
With no particular destination in mind, she was surprised to find herself in front of Rankin’s home once more. He lived on the outskirts of the nobles’ district. His years of loyal service had earned him that. She hadn’t cared that they’d lived so close to the upper class of society. Rankin had never put on any airs, and neither had she. What mattered was that she had a home to go to, somewhere she could be herself. And a man who had taken on the role of father and mother.
She wanted to talk to him. He might be angry with her, but she knew he would listen to her, at least. He was wise, and his advice was always worth whatever lecture or story she had to endure to get it. If she could trust anyone, it was Rankin. Though now, when she needed him, he was nowhere to be found.
Jeyra went to the stables and got a horse. She didn’t think she had a particular destination in mind, but the minute she rode out of the city gates, she turned the mare toward her family’s home—or what remained of it.
When she reached it, she drew up on the reins to halt the horse. She dismounted and let the mare eat at her leisure as she looked around. Jeyra wasn’t sure what she was searching for. Maybe she just wanted to jog her memories. Walking through the rubble of the house and barn, and even through the nearby woods, gave her nothing more than she already had.
She was surprised that no one had taken over the land to farm it since Loyd’s crops had been in such high demand. Many, many years had passed since then, but her memories hadn’t faded. She knew how proud Loyd had been to have the land so many others wanted. Why wasn’t it being farmed? Why was no one else living here?
More questions. Her stomach was one huge knot. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted, but she wouldn’t get any rest until she found the answers she sought. At the current rate, she feared that might be years.
Her thoughts turned to Varek and his questions about the babies—or bairns as he’d called them—the border, and any others killed by the dragon. She had snapped at the King because she’d thought she knew the answers. Until she tried to explain them. That’s when it occurred to her that she didn’t know any more than what she had been told. And she had happily believed it and moved on with her life.
Oddly enough, that had been just fine with her. Why? Why had she accepted everything she was told without looking deeper or searching for anything? Was it because she wasn’t from this realm and was just grateful to have someone caring for her? That might have been an explanation when she was younger, but once she went out on her own?
She was someone who always pushed for more, be it training in weapons, learning about history, or any other number of things. Yet she had simply accepted so very much.
Jeyra walked to the mare and mounted the horse before turning the animal back toward the city. She clicked, starting the mare walking as her mind tumbled the new thoughts over and over again. The closer she got to the walls of the city, the more she had the urge to ride away. While anyone could come and go as they pleased in Orgate, she knew some kept track of such travel.
She half expected someone from the council to be waiting when she returned. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone. It felt like every eye in the city was on her, however. It was hard to ignore the feeling as she returned the mare to the stables, then gathered more food to take to Varek. She would have to face the council in the morning. She needed to be able to tell them something other than the fact that she’d found missing pages in the archives.
When she reached Varek’s cell, he was nowhere in sight. She said nothing as she set the food bag down, along with two jugs of wine—one for him, and another for her. She sat with her back against the bars and took a long drink of the alcohol.
“Either you trust me no’ to harm you, or you found something you didna like,” Varek said softly from behind her.
Jeyra didn’t turn to look at him. She stared at the flames from the torches along the wall, bathing the small area in a red-orange glow before the shadows took hold. It shocked her to discover that she wanted to talk to Varek about what she’d found. Despite him being the enemy.
Or maybe because of it.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he leaned back against the same bars, their shoulders side by side.
She turned her head to meet his gaze. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you look lost. I pushed you to search for things you were fine no’ knowing.”
“Maybe.” She looked forward and shrugged. “I got angry because I knew I should’ve already looked into all of it. The more I questioned myself about not searching for the answers, the less I could answer why I hadn’t.”
Varek uncorked the wine and drank deeply, the sound drowned out by the jingling of the chains. “You didna go looking because you were happy to be alive, glad to have someone who would look after you, and grateful that you could go on with your life.”
“I searched for Rankin today. I knew he was the only one I trusted to give me answers.”
“What did he say?”
“I couldn’t find him.” She swung her gaze to Varek once more. “I guess he’s away on some mission. When I couldn’t find him, I went to the library.”
Varek’s brows rose. “Did you find anything there?”
“Everything that happens with the council is written down for anyone to read. I found the book from the day the dragon attacked. Pages were missing.”
A frown marred Varek’s brow. “Missing? As in someone took them?”
“No one is supposed to do that. It’s a law.” But the words no longer held the meaning they once had. It could be because she had broken the law to trap Varek. Whatever the reason, the words sounded silly even to her ears.
“Is there no one else you can ask?”
Jeyra shook her head. “Our city is run by a council of five, each from the different districts that make up the city. They’re elected officials who hold an obscene amount of power. Their words are law, and they’re the ones who make sure our laws are upheld at all costs. I’ve never been good at navigating politics. To me, a person is only as good as their word, and that has to be earned.”
Varek grinned. “I agree with that.”
She hated the kindness in his eyes and the partial blame she saw in the dark depths. “I could be making more of this than there really is.”
“You could be, but if all you’ve told me is true, why are there pages missing from the archive?”
“Specific to the day the dragon came,” she added, then shrugged. “My accounting, as well as Rankin’s, is gone. I was so young, and in shock, I can’t remember the entire ordeal, but I know we were there for a long time. There should be a lot more recorded in the book for that day.”
