She lowered her head, and the other dragons seemed to shrink in on themselves. Suddenly, the room didn’t feel quite so crowded.
“I had no choice.” Aurelia’s voice was soft and wholly human. “I have been in conference with the Nephilim, trying to convince them of your worth.”
“So.” Maybe the dragons’ anger had diminished, but mine hadn’t. “Couldn’t you have told me? Couldn’t you have responded? I wanted to tell you about Mavros. I needed you.” A strong burst of wind blew in through the window.
Cody trailed his fingers from my temple to my chin. “Breathe.”
I pinched my eyes shut and focused on controlling my emotions. Other students were still outside, enjoying themselves. They didn’t need me ruining their evening for them, whether they’d blame it on me or not.
“They are afraid of you.” She looked directly into my eyes. “They would not let me communicate with you for fear that you would control me.”
My thoughts seemed to freeze. I shook my head. “Control you? How would I control you? Why would I?”
“You know my true name, Dacia.” She looked pointedly at all the dragons. “You know all of our true names. You could control all of us.”
My shoulders slumped forward. “But … I wouldn’t.”
“I am aware of that and have been trying to convey that sentiment to the Nephilim.” She sat up straighter and glanced at Malcolm. “When I found out about Mavros, I told them I needed to leave. We need to figure out who summoned him before he can enact some wretched plan.”
Malcolm walked to the window and stared up at the moon.
The doorknob rattled, and Cody and I tensed. Dan and Samantha walked in, and Russ and Val stood in the hall. Samantha’s laugh stopped immediately when she saw us. “This can’t be good.”
“You may as well come in,” Aurelia said.
As soon as the door shut, Malcolm turned his back to the window. “Mavros didn’t seem to want to hurt Dacia. It seemed like he wanted to protect her.”
Cody snorted, and Malcolm shrugged at him. “Demons are deceitful, but they can’t change the smell of their emotions. Even though they were coated with the scent of sulfur, I could smell his resistance to whatever orders he’d been given, his pain at not following them, and his concern for Dacia.”
Cash crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “As could I.”
“Me, too.” Arianna and Tye both agreed in turn.
“Why would he want to protect me?” I asked.
Cody’s arms tightened around my waist. “Wants you for himself.”
“I don’t think so.” Arianna shook her head. “He didn’t seem to have selfish intentions.”
Cody covered his face with his hands. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” He nudged me. I stood up, and he paced. “For forty-five days, I heard he wasn’t as bad as I thought.” He pointed to himself, then to Samantha and Dan. “He planned to kill us.”
“Right,” Arianna agreed, “but circumstances have changed now. He’s not here to win Dacia over, and whatever his master wants from him, he’s fighting it.”
I stood in front of Cody with my hands out. He stopped, not touching me. I looked over my shoulder at Aurelia and said, “We’ll be back.” I grabbed Cody and teleported. My normal go-to place would have been Falcon Lake, but I didn’t want Nephilim, dragons, or Mavros to follow me. I thought of what Malcolm had said about being able to smell me within fifty miles, so I took a risk and teleported us further away.
Cody spun in a circle when we arrived. Unfamiliar trees surrounded us. “Where are we?”
“Cougar Lake.” I grabbed his hand and led him through the trees to the water. The moon reflected over its calm surface.
He stepped up beside me. “Why?”
“Hopefully, it’s far enough away for privacy.” I slid my arm around his waist, hoping he wouldn’t pull away from me. “I understand why you don’t want to believe anything good about Mavros. I don’t know why, but he seemed like he was trying to help me. I don’t trust him. I don’t want him here.” I turned so I was facing him. “But he was struggling against the hold on him. He tried to get me to use ice against him. Then he told me to make the dragons take him away. He could’ve fought them, and the way Cash acted, he might’ve been able to win, but he didn’t even try.”
Cody dragged his hands down from my shoulders, skimming over my arms. “I know.” He rested his forehead against mine. “I’d rather have Nefarious or Draconian back.”
Chapter 10
Knowing
Mavros stands in front of me. His fingers are tipped with claws. Please, Dacia … don’t let me hurt you. Pain flashes across his face. His eyes plead with me.
I think about ice, funneling my energy into my hands, but nothing happens. Sweat drips along my temples.
My master knows. I can’t keep fighting. Do something! The muscles tighten in his neck and jaw. His hands clench and unclench. He roars and slashes his hand across my chest.
Blood wells up, cresting before spilling over the edges of the cuts. Searing pain rips a scream from my throat.
Mavros presses his palm to my chest and pulls me against him with his other hand.
My body is limp in his arms. The pain is dragged from my wounds into Mavros’ fingers. As he draws the poison out and heals the slashes, he mumbles over and over again, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to do this.”
I stare at him, unable to comprehend why he’s healing me, why he says he doesn’t want to attack me, why he’s helping.
Why won’t you use your powers against me?
“I can’t.” My voice was weak even though he’d healed my wounds. “Nothing happens.” As soon as the words are out,
