The dragons surrounded the four of us as soon as we stepped outside. The sky was a brilliant blue. White, puffy clouds floated across it. Melting snow dripped off the tree branches.
Val’s shoulder bumped against me as we walked, and even though he was closer than the others, he was still vigilant. Like they’d done in the beginning, they didn’t move aside for anyone. When we were all inside my room, they relaxed.
“Was he out there?” I walked over to the window and peeked through the curtains.
Cash shrugged. “We don’t know, but we’re not about to take any chances.”
“Are the other dragons still watching over me?” I turned and faced them. “The four that saved me that day.”
Arianna tilted her head to the side. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t be.” She looked at the other dragons. “We have been kept separate from them for a reason.”
Samantha cleared her throat. “I need to get food before class. Does anyone want to come with me?”
“It’s food.” Cody shrugged. “I’m in.”
Dan looked at me. “I guess we better go with them.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “Somebody’s got to keep an eye on them.”
The walk to Sedum started just like the one from class. Malcolm walked in front of me. Suddenly, his muscles went taut, and he growled. We stopped moving, and the dragons took defensive positions. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to peer over Malcolm’s shoulder. When that didn’t work, I ducked down and looked between his body and his arm. Tye strode toward us. He seemed relaxed and confident, the Tye I’d thought of as a friend.
He lifted his hands to shoulder height. “I’m not here to hurt anyone.” He took a couple steps closer and stared into my eyes. “Argentum wants you to come to his cave tomorrow night.”
This time all the dragons growled and flashed their inner beasts. Cash stepped forward. “That’s not going to happen.”
“If it doesn’t, Argentum will bring the fight here.” Tye dropped his head to his chest. “Innocents will suffer.” He stepped back. “I made a mistake, Dacia, and I’m sorry. I thought you’d be like him. I see now that I was wrong.”
I pressed my hand against Malcolm’s back, trying to get him to step aside, but he didn’t budge. “Let me read your aura, Tye. Stand with us.”
“I can’t.” He shook his head and lifted his hand. “They’ll never forgive me.”
“Damn right we won’t.” Russ’ voice was animalistic.
“But I will.” I raked my fingers through my hair.
He backed away. “They’ll kill me.”
“Tell him I’ll be there.”
“No, Dacia.” Cody grabbed my arm. “You can’t.”
I pulled away from him. “I have to. I can’t let anybody else suffer because of me.”
“He’ll kill you.” Dan’s voice was panic-stricken.
I huffed and shook my head. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Sorry.” He squeezed Samantha’s hand.
The dragons relaxed as Tye backed into the trees. We walked into the dining hall, but I’d lost my appetite completely. The smell of food made my stomach roll. I walked straight back to our table and sat down with Cassandra and Bryce.
“Not eating?” Cassandra pointed her fork at me.
“No.” I closed my eyes and pictured Mavros like I’d seen him in my dream. “Not today.”
“Everything okay?” Bryce asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing’s okay.” I pulled my hair back, clutching it. “I dreamed about Mavros and woke up with his coat covering me and my room smelling like him. If I don’t go to Argentum tomorrow, he’ll come here. I don’t know how to beat him. I can’t kill him. I can’t.”
“Oh.” Cassandra set her fork down and pushed her plate forward. “So, what are you going to do?”
“Try not to die.”
She moved next to me and put her hand on my back. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” When Malcolm and Cash walked past, I patted the table. “Sit here, please.” As soon as they sat down, I asked, “So, what does it take to summon him if I need to tomorrow?”
“We’ll be with you.” Malcolm cut into one of the bloody hamburgers on his plate.
I folded my hands behind my head and leaned back into them. “Tye didn’t say I could bring you.”
Cash lifted his shoulder to his ear. “He didn’t say you couldn’t either.”
Cody sat down next to me and slid a plate of cookies in front of me. “They’re fresh.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him but didn’t touch the cookies.
When Dan and Samantha came over, Cassandra moved back to her seat. She clutched Bryce’s hand but never took her ice-blue eyes off of me.
Diana strolled toward us. Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her blue jeans, and she looked like she had just been told her best friend had only days left to live. She stopped across from me. “We will stand with you if that’s what you want.”
“No.” I looked across the room at Olivia. “This isn’t your battle.”
“I’m sorry I tried to force you to go to our sanctuary.” She lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see through to your soul. I should’ve realized how strong you were. I should’ve seen that your heart was pure.”
“Thank you, Diana. That means a lot to me.” I picked up one of the cookies and ripped it in half. A gooey ribbon of melted chocolate clung together, and my mouth watered.
Diana turned to go back to her seat. “Be careful tomorrow. Come back.”
Chapter 41
Weighing My Options
Skipping class was never something I’d dreamed I’d do, but since coming to college and facing monsters, it was something I’d done all too often. Samantha wasn’t happy about it, but I was skipping again. I needed to figure out how to stop Argentum, so when everyone finished lunch, Arianna walked to class with Samantha, and the rest
