“No.” I tried to stand but my legs refused to work. “No!”
And then fire ripped the night sky, burning a path through the guards.
Blue fire.
Dragon fire.
Relief was a sob trapped in my throat, and the guards’ screams of pain were a symphony to my ears, and then they were falling to the ground, clawing at their burning faces. Fuckers. If they were going to use Obrilian steel armor they needed fucking helmets.
Blue lightning flared.
Watch out.
You have to watch out.
The words never made it past my lips, and the darkness that wanted to drag me under surged up to claw at me.
Anya. A cool, calm voice I didn’t recognize filled my mind. It’s all right, Anya. You can sleep now. Sleep and heal. We will protect you.
The cold kiss of frost soothed my brow and then I was flying.
Chapter Eighteen
“Who knows?” I recognized Dante’s voice, strained with concern.
“No one but the three of us.” This voice was calm with a crisp edge.
A memory fluttered in the back of my mind.
“I can’t believe it,” Vesper said. “Fuck, I left her to die.”
“Typical Vesper move,” Dante said bitterly.
“Look at it. It’s a suppresser, a pretty powerful one.”
Something cold grazed my ankle and then a chill kissed my cheeks.
Cold. The voice. Royce and the attack. My eyes opened to storm-gray ones fringed in thick dark lashes. Straight, no-nonsense brows were pinched together in examination and a stern mouth sat beneath a straight, regal nose.
“You’re new.” My voice was a croak.
“Good. You’re alert.”
The Dreki sat back and I noticed his hair for the first time. Long, silken, and deep blue, it spilled over his shoulders like an enticing waterfall.
I knew who this had to be. “Orion?”
He smiled and his stern features softened. “How are you feeling?”
My memories came back online in a rush and I sat up so fast my head spun.
Orion gripped my shoulders with cool fingers. “Slow down.”
“Helgi and my dad. I need to find them.”
“They’re here. They’re both safe. Your father is still unconscious, but the brood mothers are monitoring his condition.”
I sagged back against the pillows. “Thank you. Thank you for coming for me.”
Something I couldn’t quite decipher crossed his features, and my scalp prickled as logic asserted itself. “Um…Why did you come for me?”
“Orion, we need to tell her,” Dante said.
I looked at him for the first time, pulling my attention away from Orion with force of will. The Dreki was…magnetic, but Dante was familiar and warm and…home.
I smiled at him. “I see you made it out of the wilds without being eaten.”
But he didn’t return my smile or laugh at my attempt at amusement. Instead his jaw tightened as if he was holding back words.
“Dante’s right,” Vesper said. “As much as I detest this whole situation, we need to do this before word gets out.”
Okay, now my gut was singing a warning. “Do what?”
Orion pulled a book from his jacket pocket. Illyrian’s book. He held it up. “Do you recognize this?”
“June gave it to you.”
“She did. And I read it.” He frowned. “Do you know who Illyrian is?”
“He’s the man who raised me. What is this? What is all this about? And why are you all looking at me like I’m some kind of anomaly.”
“Because you are,” Vesper said.
He looked angry, like he wanted to punch something, probably me. What the fuck was his problem?
My hackles rose. “You know what? I’m sick of your tone and your attitude toward me. What the fuck did I ever do to you, aside from save your ass?”
Vesper grit his teeth and dropped his gaze.
“Anya.” Orion drew my attention with his soothing tone, and the heat of my anger cooled under his regard. “Illyrian is a mageri. He is my friend, and he was my confidant.”
Mageri? “No, that can’t be right. Illyrian is…He’s just Illyrian. Sure, he has some skill with enchantments, and he knows a few shamans, but he’s not…not…”
The gem that Azazel had been bound to, the fact that Illyrian had been able to do such a thing…I hadn’t allowed myself to dwell on it, but now it made sense. If he was a mageri, it made complete sense, but where did I fit into this?
“You’re wondering how you fit into this?” Orion asked.
“Do you read minds?”
“No, just faces.” He smiled again and my anxiety ebbed. “Maybe we should start from the beginning.”
“A story, yes, because we have time for that,” Vesper drawled.
Orion shot him a cutting look and Vesper pressed his lips together. All three Dreki were lords, but it was obvious that Orion was slightly more alpha.
“Illyrian was advisor to the dragon queen,” Orion said. “He was also my friend. This book is his account of events leading up to the dragon queen’s death. He records her affair with a human. They met in the Arc and fell in love. Illyrian kept her secret and performed a mating ceremony for them in secret.”
Vesper made a sound of disgust and Orion’s lips tightened in annoyance before he continued. “It seems that the dragon queen was working on a weapon with this human.”
Puzzle pieces began to slot into place. “Eamon…I think I met him. He’s still alive. He said he was working on the EMP with her.”
His devastation, his grief made sense now.
“Yes, that’s right,” Orion said. “Anara didn’t inform us because she was afraid there was a spy in our midst. A traitor. Twice her scheme or play had reached Gustov’s ears. She was being cautious not to tell us, and according to Illyrian’s memoir she still hoped to reach a resolution with the Draco. She thought of them as her children, and wanted to build bridges, to bring them into the fold. So when Gustov reached out to parlay, she agreed to go.”
“Without us,” Vesper snapped. “Without her lords to protect her.”
Orion tucked in his chin. “Anara was idealistic, trusting, and maternal. I don’t think she believed a
