Aurelia teleported in as soon as the door was shut. I looked from her to the other dragons. “I contacted her,” Malcolm admitted.
“How can I stop him?” I plopped down in Cookie Monster and dropped my head into my hands. “Please tell me you know a way.”
Val sat on the floor next to me. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he laid his head against the side of my chair. His desire to be close to me didn’t bother me like it had at first. While the other dragons acted like guard dogs, Val reminded me of a puppy that just wanted affection.
Aurelia perched on the edge of the couch as close to me as she could get and pulled my hand from my face, holding it in hers. “We can try to capture him again. We had been working with the Nephilim to figure out a better way to contain him. Though, it seems we are out of time.” She leaned back, dropping my hand. “The elders are not being as helpful as they should. They fear that anything they say to the Nephilim will eventually be used against them.”
“Maybe it should be.” Dan climbed up into Samantha’s loft.
The dragons’ heads all snapped in his direction.
He set his jaw and spoke with conviction. “It might put a stop to other dragons doing what he’s doing.”
“Yes,” Aurelia said, “but it could also lead to dragons being hunted and captured. After what Draconian did—” she shook her head “—the elders will not willingly let it happen again.”
Cody leaned on my chair, making it rock back. “Capture’s not the answer then.”
“Probably not.” Malcolm shook his head and smiled sadly.
“So … what do I do?” My voice sounded desperate and weak. The room seemed to squeeze in on me. The air thickened and became hard to breathe. I wrapped my hands around my stomach and leaned forward. My vision blurred, and my heart beat in my ears, blocking out all other sounds.
Cody knelt in front of me and put his hands on either side of my face. He rubbed his thumbs along my cheeks. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t make out anything he said.
My lungs burned, and black spots dotted my vision.
Breathe! Aurelia’s voice screamed inside my head.
I sucked in a startled breath, and the spots diminished.
Cody smoothed my hair back. “You okay?” He stared into my eyes, not letting go of me.
“Yeah.” I placed my hand on top of his. “For now.” I turned toward Aurelia. “Thank you.”
She dipped her head but said nothing.
“Am I going to have to kill him?” The thought brought images of Draconian dying to mind, the feeling of his blood on my hands, watching the light fade from his eyes.
“We’ll be with you,” Malcolm said.
Cash put his hand over his heart. “I’ll spare you from that fate if I can.”
“If we do not end this, he will never stop hunting you.” There was sadness in Aurelia’s golden eyes like I’d never seen before. “How the mighty have fallen,” she whispered.
“What about—”
Malcolm shook his head. Keep it between us.
Better to ask forgiveness?
He nodded his head slowly. “What about what?”
“Nothing.” I pulled my hand through my hair. “Never mind.” I didn’t need to pretend to be flustered. I’d hoped for better news. “Do you really think it’s the only way?”
Russ dropped his chin to his chest. “He’s too strong to contain, and he’s too stubborn to see past his righteousness.”
Cody stood in front of me, facing the dragons, with his arms folded over his chest. “Gonna make her do it for you?”
“No.” Aurelia stood. “She stands a better chance than any of us, but we will do what we can to spare her from that fate.”
Expelling the breath I’d been holding, I said, “Thank you.”
“I must go to the elders, let them know we are out of time, and hope they do the right thing.” Aurelia turned from me. “Keep her safe.”
After she left, Cody sat on the edge of the couch. “Need to do something.”
“What?” I asked.
“Get outta here.” He shrugged. “Keep your mind off things.”
Everyone in the room stared at me. I felt them weighing my mood, judging my actions. Unstable, I was a danger to everyone. I sucked in a deep breath and focused on the blue of Cody’s eyes. I’d never been able to capture the color in a drawing or painting, cobalt with aqua shooting through them like lightning.
He blinked, and I shook my head. “If I’m gonna keep my mind off things, I need to do something besides sit.”
“Basketball, racquetball, sledding.” Cody ticked choices off on his fingers.
Arianna cocked her head to the side, landing her birdlike gaze on him. “What is sledding?”
“Well, that decides that.” Dan, still perched in Samantha’s loft, smacked his hands together, then rubbed them excitedly. “Sledding it is.”
D
The sky was a dismal gray. The clouds looked threatening. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was my doing. Tomorrow I would go to my death, and this time, it would be permanent. If Argentum ate me, I doubted even Death could send me back.
I stood on top of a hill. We’d parked the cars, then the dragons had teleported my friends to the peak. Cassandra bounced on her toes. Her voice was high pitched. “That was a-mazing! I never dreamed I’d do something so cool.”
Bryce fiddled with his gloves loosening and retightening them over and over, fighting against the smile that tugged at his lips.
Cassandra grabbed his arm. “Wasn’t that awesome?”
“Yes.” He pulled her against his side, and a grin spread over his face. His pale green eyes lit up with amusement.
I dropped my sled and sat in it. Cody climbed on behind me and pulled me against him. Then he shoved off. We skimmed over the top of the snow, gaining speed as we zipped down the mountain, dodging trees and boulders. My hair whipped around my face, and a laugh burst from my lips.
Excited screams echoed through the valley,
