Cody noticed, picked it up, and held it out as if asking if I wanted a drink. I nodded, and he supported my head, helping me drink. When he lowered the water, I asked, “Will they listen to the fairies?”
“Only time will tell.” Arion backed away. “We should know soon.”
Aurelia stood beside Arion. “We must take your memory to the elder council. Argentum cannot be allowed to get away with his betrayal. Any other dragons who helped him must also be punished.”
They disappeared, and the cavern seemed huge without them in it.
“Dacia needs to rest.” Malcolm’s voice startled me.
Cody started to stretch out beside me, but Malcolm said, “Not tonight, Cody. We can’t have her accidentally taking more of your strength.”
Cody narrowed his blue eyes at Malcolm. “If she needs it—”
“No, Cody.” My voice was softened by exhaustion, but he still heard me. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He kissed my forehead, then walked away from me.
I thought it would take me a while to fall asleep. I was worried about Cash, Aurelia, and Arion, but when I closed my eyes, sleep embraced me.
Chapter 28
Names Have Power
“He’s angry, Dacia.” Mavros prowls toward me. Each step is slow and deliberate. “You’ve backed him into a corner, and now he’s desperate.”
Gentle flurries drift to the ground. The snowflakes catch on my eyelashes, melting a second later. Lights from the campus shine on the bottom of the clouds.
I bite my lip, wondering what a desperate elder dragon is capable of. “Well, that makes two of us.” My chest still aches from Mavros’ last attack, and I don’t know how well my body will be able to cope with another one. “The Nephilim drove me out of my home.”
Mavros rolls his obsidian eyes at me. The action is so human it’s hard to remember he’s a demon. “That cave wasn’t your home.”
“It was the closest thing I had to a home.” My voice rises, I fold my arms over my chest, and glare at him. “Your blood and the Nephilim drove me out of my real one.”
He tips his head to the side still stalking closer to me. “I am sorry about that, but the Nephilim would’ve driven you out without my blood there.”
“What are you waiting for, Mavros?” I watch every step he takes, waiting for a sign of attack, hoping I can force myself to wake up before he takes me out of my dream.
He stops moving and lifts his hands in the air as if surrendering. “He did not send me here tonight.”
“You can say his name now. You know I know it.”
“He hasn’t given me permission to speak it yet.”
I shake my head, sending snowflakes flying through the air again. “Then why are you here?”
He lowers himself to one knee and folds his hands together. “Use my name. You heard him say it. Use it and free me from his command.”
“How?” I lift my hands in front of me. “Won’t he just use your name and take you back?”
He shakes his head. “He might, but you are stronger than him. That is why he fears you, why he wants you stopped.”
“If I’m so strong, why do I keep losing control of my powers?” Nervous energy moves my feet across the snow-covered ground. I pace twelve steps away but only ten steps back, wanting to increase the distance between Mavros and myself.
“Remember what Aurelia told you about Draconian.” He says each word cautiously as if waiting to be stopped or punished.
I continue pacing more steps away from him than back toward him. “She told me a ton of things.”
“What could you have done with fifteen dragons that he never considered?” He clutches his head, dropping it to the ground. “Think!”
I press my eyes closed and pinch the bridge of my nose. “He’s using your power to increase his?”
D
“What do I do?” I asked Malcolm. “If I use Mavros’ real name to gain control of him, will the Nephilim think I’ve been in cahoots with him all along?”
He was curled up in dragon form on top of a stack of treasure. His ebony, horned head rested on top of his massive paws. Even though his dragon form was intimidating, his bronze eyes were those of my friend. “The dragons, Arion, and the fairies have all vouched for your character. I don’t see how they can deny you freedom without undermining their authority on other issues.” His deep voice made the treasure rattle and the ground beneath me vibrate.
Cody sat up and stretched his arms over his head, arching his back. “So, is she free?”
“I will know more when Aurelia arrives.” He opened his massive jaws and yawned. Flames curled in the back of his throat, begging to be released. “As far as his name, part of me thinks you should use it, and part of me believes nobody should ever use somebody else’s name that way.”
“Even if I free him?”
He lifted his head off his paws and stared down at me. “You mean to free him from his bonds?”
“I don’t know.” I tried to push myself to a seated position, but my chest resisted the move. I fell backward, gasping for breath. “He needs to be released from Argentum, but should I free him? What will he do if he can roam the Earth without being called back to the Abyss? Will he become my enemy again, or will he repay me by being honorable?”
A black fog filled the cave. I lit a fire in my palm, but it did little to dispel the dark. The ebony mist pulsed, then receded until Malcolm the person stood in front of me. “Mavros’ only experiences had been deceitful, vengeful, and evil until he met you. You were the first person to treat him with
