Page 26 of Dragon Revealed (Dragon Kings 1)
“Stop your investigation,” he said.
She blinked. Surely, she hadn’t heard him right. “You’re the one who set me on that path.”
“I know, but that was before you were in danger.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He glanced at the ground and drew in a deep breath. “Lass, I think you stumbled onto a wealth of secrets that are better left buried. You keep digging, and it might cost you your life. If that happens, then I’ll have to hunt down those who hurt you.”
“You would do that?” She should chastise him for wanting to harm her people, but she couldn’t when he said that he would do it because of her. No one had ever said such a thing to her before.
“In a heartbeat,” he replied.
Jeyra licked her lips and rested her head against the bars. “Whether the truth has been intentionally kept from me or not, I need to know.”
“What happened to your family is horrific. I wish I could take that pain away. You want and need justice for them. I can see that. What you’re doing, you’re doing alone. You have no one to watch your back. That’s reckless.”
She smiled at him. “I don’t trust anyone else with this. If Rankin were here, I’d ask him for help.”
“But he isna here. At least wait until he returns before you continue your search.”
Jeyra shot him another grin. Because she didn’t want to lie, she didn’t say anything. While she understood what Varek said, there was no way she could put it off now. The truth was out there, and she would find it. For herself. For everyone.
“Doona tell the council my answer tomorrow,” he said into the silence.
“Why?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Because they might think that you are no’ doing a good job and send someone else.”
“They probably will.”
“Which is why I said no’ to tell them.”
She looked at their joined hands. “I’ll only be able to put them off for so long.”
“You’ll only be telling them that I’ve yet to make a decision. That isna on you. It’s on me.”
Jeyra hadn’t thought of it that way. “Good point.” She released a breath. “Other than escaping, agreeing to a marriage is the only way you’ll get free.”
He chuckled softly. “That just proves how verra little you know of Dragon Kings, lass.”
“I’m not joking. It’s the truth. Your magic is gone.”
“It isna gone,” he corrected. “It’s merely being obstructed. Magic played a role in my becoming a King, but that wasna my only qualification.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I get that you’re some great and powerful being, but not here. You’re as normal as I am.”
“I’m a dragon, lass. First and foremost. I spend the majority of my time in this form because I must. And, if I’m honest, I do enjoy it. That in itself makes me anything but normal, to your standards. I’ve no’ yet worked out how I was duped to end up here, but I will. Just as I will figure a way out.”
Fear flooded her. Fear that he might find out she was responsible, and fear that she might never see him again. “You know nothing of Orgate. You can’t possibly think to get free of the prison and exit the city gates before being caught.”
“I could if I had someone helping me.”
She couldn’t look away from his gaze. Jeyra wanted to refuse him, but just like everything else involving him, she found her loyalties were changing.
“Someone is coming,” Varek whispered as he released her hand and moved into the shadows.
Jeyra fisted the hand he’d held, instantly missing his warmth and nearness. She jumped to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest while looking into the dark where she had last seen him. A few minutes later, she heard someone coming their way. She decided it was better to remain quiet.
Her head turned when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A guard paused, looked at her, then turned on his heel and walked away. When they were once more alone, she wanted to rush to the bars and hold out her arm for him. Instead, she took a step back, needing to put some distance between herself and the handsome Dragon King who made her feel things she didn’t think were possible. She needed time to think, to digest everything that had occurred.
“Please heed my words from earlier,” Varek’s voice said from the shadows.
She couldn’t find any words. Instead, she lifted a hand in a wave and forced a smile before walking away.
“Until tomorrow, lass.”
Her eyes burned with unshed tears that she couldn’t explain. By the time she was out of the dungeon, she was once again in control of herself. Control. What a joke. It was a word she bandied around a lot, but the truth was very little could be commanded. Control of the situation was an illusion they gave themselves, a false sense of security.
She was halfway back to her flat before she realized that she was being followed. Jeyra wasn’t in the mood for anyone. Her mind was too full of thoughts of Varek. She could go back to her place and wait to see if they came up to question her. But it had been over a week since she sparred with anyone. Training was a great release for anger and frustration. And right now, she was awash with both emotions.
Jeyra cut through an alley and made her way to the training grounds. If the two men and one woman following her wanted to talk, they could do it there.
Yet, once she arrived, the three disappeared. Jeyra knew they were most likely waiting for her to leave so they could see where else she went—and who she spoke with. She went to the armory and chose her favorite spear. When she walked into the arena, she wasn’t holding a blunted weapon, but one that could pierce flesh.
For the next thirty minutes, she trained with a number of warriors. There was no talking, only sparring. Sweat covered her skin, and her breathing turned ragged, but the activity did wonders to clear her mind, to the point where she didn’t feel as if she were being crushed under the weight of everything.
That changed when someone came up behind her and put a blade against her spine. If any of the other warriors saw, they chose to ignore it. Jeyra weighed her options for which way to move that would deliver the slightest injury to her when the stranger spoke.
“You’re looking into things you shouldn’t be,” the man said in a gravelly voice. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop.”
“Who sent you?” she asked, then winced as the blade pushed through her shirt to prick her skin.
He leaned closer so his mouth was against her ear. “Perhaps you didn’t hear me. Stop questioning others about the past. If you don’t, I’ll push this blade into your heart myself.”
She wasn’t one to suffer threats. Rankin had raised her. “Do you know who I am?”
“The only reason you’re not already dead is because of your affiliation with Rankin. Don’t test us. You won’t like what you find.”
Jeyra thought back to Varek’s warning. He’d known. So had she. But she’d ignored all the warning signs because she was a warrior. But, like Varek had said, she had no one to watch her back.
Suddenly, the pressure on her spine was gone. She whirled around, but only saw others training behind her. Any of them could have approached her. And unless she wanted to speak to every one of them to see if she could recognize a voice, she was out of luck. It might be better if she left things alone. She was alienated as it was.
The one place she had thought she was safe was at the training center because her fellow warriors were there. But they weren’t the only ones. The guards from wealthy houses came to train there, as well. Not to mention, the warriors were notorious for keeping to themselves. Friendships were formed, but none deep and trustworthy.
She’d never understood that. They were all one and the same. They had the same jobs. It stood to reason they would be inclusive. But that wasn’t how it was. Jeyra saw a handful of warriors she considered friends, but she couldn’t trust anyone now.
And she felt more alone than ever before.
