by Katya Moore
He rested his hands on his knees and bowed his head. "She's a good kid. A good dragon." He shrugged. "My parents had me young. I took advantage of that every chance I got. They didn't know what to do with me. I ran them ragged." He chuckled. "Watched a lot of action movies, fell in love with human martial arts. Started sneaking out to dojos and parkour hangouts and soaking in what I could. By the time I was supposed to head out to the Proving Grounds, I thought I knew everything. Mouthed off to my teachers a few too many times, got booted for insubordination.
"Lina... she was day to my night. She sat at Dad's knee and soaked up every pearl of wisdom about being a fire dragon that he had to offer. She loved it. Loved the lore, loved the warrior tradition, thrived in the discipline." He laughed. "She kept a running count of the days until she got to go to the Proving Grounds from when she was six years old. She couldn't wait to start her training. Dad would take her out in the yard and run her through her shifting and teach her little bits. She soaked it all up." He shook his head. "I was a pretty useless big brother. I tried to teach her my way, and she'd tell me I was doing it wrong." He snorted. "Little hotshot. I thought she was the most obnoxious little thing in the world, but I loved her anyway."
I put my arm around his waist. He didn't move. He just sat there, his steel blue eyes gazing into nothingness, his face an unreadable mask. I could feel the pain pouring off him, thick and heavy, dragging me down and drowning me. My heart broke for him. I searched for words, for some way to comfort him, but I couldn't find anything. All I could do was hold him.
I couldn't just sit here and watch him suffer. Fuck the Elders. Fuck royal duty.
"When do we leave?" I asked softly.
Chase shook his head slowly. "I can't ask you to do that."
"You didn't ask me. I said it. I meant it." I pulled back to look at him properly. "When do we leave? We have to go find her."
"Schulte..."
"Fuck Schulte. She hasn't even called me yet to tell me that my mate's sister is in enemy hands. She doesn't trust me, and I don't trust her." I gave a hard sigh. "I think we're just going to have to accept that as the status quo from here on out. If she's going to try to keep me out of the loop, I'm going to have to break my way in."
Cass rested a hand on my arm. "Maybe you should try calling them. Be proactive. Show them you're willing to play ball."
I frowned at him. "She's going to want to know how I found out. I already have to tell them they have one leak. I don't want them thinking that Chase's source is their prime suspect. She's just a kid helping her friend out, and I don't want to narc on her." I sat up straighter. "No. This one has to be on me. I've got to own this. This investigation involves one of my mates. She has to understand that I'm not going to sit on my hands forever."
Chase reached over and placed his hand on my knee in mute thanks. I put my hand on his and squeezed.
Aric leaned back in his chair. "You can't go anywhere near the Proving Grounds, yer maj. You're not ready."
I glared at him. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
He snorted. "Remember what happened with the dragons at McKinnett's? You were clueless. You've never been to the Proving Grounds. You've never been around dragons who aren't...well, us. You’re learning, but you still don't know shit about dragons and it shows. You'll make an ass of yourself, and the up-and-coming dragons of our world don't need to see that their queen is clueless. It's bad for morale."
My jaw dropped a little.
"Very helpful, Aric," Galen growled.
"Look, it's nothing personal," Aric said with a dismissive wave. "You know how I feel about you."
"Do I?" I asked icily. "Cuz it sounds an awful lot like you think I'm an idiot."
Aric rubbed his eyes wearily and sat up in his chair. "I don't think you're an idiot. I think you're out of your freaking mind. The Proving Grounds are where dragons go to become soldiers for dragonkind. It's where we train. It's where we meet other dragons. It's where half of dragonkind finds mates. It's as intense an experience you can get, and every dragon goes there, at least briefly, when they're sixteen. Every dragon except you." He met my glacial gaze with a regretful smile. "The Elders want to keep you hidden until you can pass for having had the Full Dragon Experience. These kids at the Proving Grounds, they're getting their experience now. They expect their superiors to be experienced, knowledgeable, proven." He sighed. "I love you, Sia, but you're none of that. You've fought the Chosen, sure, but you haven't gone through the rites of passage that make dragons dragons."
"Dammit." I threw myself back in my seat and covered my face with my hands, overcome with frustration. "So, how do I pass for a dragon? Because I can't just sit here." Slowly, the rest of his words filtered through my angry haze. "And I love you too. Even if you’re an asshole."
"Because I’m an asshole," he corrected. I rolled my eyes at him, too pissed to argue. I caught him flashing a smug smile at Cass, then settling down with a contented half-grin.
My phone chose that moment to buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and set it to my ear.
"It’s Veta. Are you alone?" Her voice was urgent. The Elders’ assistant wasn’t one to mince words.
I looked around at the boys. "Yes."
"It’s regarding Mr. Hearne’s sister and the other scout. We’ve received intelligence that they were seen being loaded into an unmarked van by agents of the Chosen of Apep." She paused. "That was the last report from that scout. We fear she’s gone missing as well."
I nodded at Chase. He watched me intently. "I’m getting in a car now. I’ll be at the Proving Grounds by morning. Expect us."
"Elder Schulte…"
"Elder Schulte needs to fill me in on what is going on, and I have intelligence for her as well. Things that can’t be discussed over the phone. I will be there as quickly as I can."
"But…"
"Good evening, Ms. Veta." I hit the button and dropped the phone into my lap.
Galen gave a low whistle. "You’re scary when you’re mad, you know that?"
I cracked a small smile. "Thanks."
"Thank you." Chase stood up and walked toward the door. "I’ll go pull the SUV around. The sooner we can get going, the better."
I stood up and took a few steps toward him. "Chase…" I began.
He looked back at me, nodded tersely, then headed for the front door to pull the car around.
I watched him go, my heart a lead weight in my chest.
Chapter Six
I nestled myself against Aric in the back of the SUV. Cass sprawled on the bench behind me, playing with my ponytail. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy the cuddling, though. Chase sat in front of me, steering wheel clutched tight. Galen sat next to him, half-navigating, half-keeping an eye on Chase's tension level. The tension was stifling.
"I need to know everything there is to know about the Proving Grounds." I pulled myself out of Aric's arms to sit at attention. "You all went there when you were kids. What's it like?"
Aric slid his arm behind me, bumping Cass' hand aside. "It's a snooze-fest, if you don't count Torture 101." He nuzzled at my ear. "At least water dragons only have to put up with it for a week."
I pulled my head away from him and turned to face him. "But what did you do there? I didn't get to go, remember? I was off in a human public high school in Boston at sixteen."
Aric sniffed. "Public school, private school, homeschool... all dragons go to the Proving Grounds at sixteen. It's a rite of passage. Like I said, the water dragons only send their kids for a week. We can get away with it. We're not usually on the front lines. We make our connections through society functions. We do politics, not fisticuffs."
I gave him a little nudge. "Could've fooled me. You do pretty well."
He flashed me a cocky smile. "I hold my own." The smile wavered. "Getting the shit beat out of me on the regular by Dario honed my fighting prowess a bit. My parents encouraged it. They thought it would toughen me up. By the time I got to the Proving Grounds, I was used t
o having someone swing at me. It was satisfying to learn how to swing back." His smile took on a dark twist. "When I got home, the first thing I did was punch Dario in the throat. Knocked him on his ass. He still beat the shit out of me afterward, but the look on his face made it worth it."
He slipped a finger under my slack jaw and tipped it closed again, then looked away. I gripped his knee tightly. He stared out the window with a disaffected look on his face, but his hand found its way on top of mine and squeezed.
When I found my words again, I turned to Cass. "How about the ethereals? I can't imagine you spend a lot of time at the Proving Grounds either."
Cass gave my ponytail a gentle tug. "What, you think us nerds can't fight?" he teased.
I turned to peer at him over the back of the seat. "I never said that," I huffed, poking my tongue out at him. "I just figured you spent more time at the Academy."
Cass grinned at me. "You figured right. But we actually spend six months at the Proving Grounds. The location itself is fascinating. It's inside a mountain, straddling one of the most powerful ley lines in the country. It's got as much magical power to it as the Academy, if not more."
"Ley lines?" I squinted at Cass. "You lost me."
Cass let go of my ponytail and wove his fingers together at eye level. "The earth generates a lot of magical energy from deep within itself, down in its core. You know how volcanoes form? Tectonic plates rubbing together, and sometimes magma seeps out and causes a big ruckus?" I nodded, cocking a brow. He looked satisfied. "Ley lines are where layers of magical energy rub together. And, like the plates, some places get... seepage."
"Ugh, gross." Aric snorted.
Cass shot him a look, then continued. "Okay, 'seepage' is probably not the best word. Along the ley lines, energy surges up from the center of the earth and is more easily accessed. Dragons are attuned to those places and seek them out. We take in the energy and become stronger for it." He frowned. "The Chosen are attuned to it as well. We try to get to the pools of energy first and ward them."
"Are there any we haven't gotten to first?" I asked, chewing my lip.
Cass nodded solemnly. "And it's always ended badly. The Chosen gather and corrupt the energy. The corrupt energy flows to the Great Serpent, strengthening it." He shook his head sadly. "With our population dwindling, it's harder and harder to protect the ley lines. We're stretched thin. Remember how I said the ethereals were having trouble keeping up with warding dragon property?"
"You're trying to ward lines all over the planet, and people are giving you shit for not warding their houses." I reached a hand back and gave Cass a shoulder squeeze. "That's messed up."
Cass shrugged. "Both are important. We have to protect the planet, and we have to protect dragonkind so that we can all fight the Chosen together. It's a lot of responsibility on us, but all dragons have their own responsibilities."
"Yeah." I sighed. "Back to the Proving Grounds, though. It's on one of these pools of energy? And the ethereals go there, what, to study it?"
"Partly." Cass leaned forward, resting his arms on the back of my seat. "We get a full course on combat, too, though. Hand-to-hand, draconic, and magical. We're expected to use our arcane studies in combat. Shielding troops, spellwork... some of us specialize in combat magic." He blushed slightly. "Not my strong suit, though. I've always been stronger in lore and theory."
"Yeah, you're stronger in theory, all right." Aric smirked. "In practice, you're a nerd."
I shot Aric a dirty look, then rested my hand on Cass' arm. Aric sniffed and went back to looking out the window, jealousy oozing from every pore. I rolled my eyes, gave Cass' arm a squeeze, then turned. "How about the earth dragons? What kind of training do they get?"
"Huh?" Galen looked up from his cellphone and scooted around to peer back at me. "Oh. Proving Grounds. Yeah." He glanced over at Chase. I followed his glance and noticed that Chase's jaw was clenched tight. Galen’s face brightened as he tried to draw my attention away from Chase’s discomfort. "So, earth dragons go for a year. We're expected to be able to rush onto the field and administer medical care, which can mean fighting your way to the front lines."
I cocked a brow. "Did Jared go to the same place you did?" I thought back to the surgeon's near-catastrophic freeze-up when Aric was pulled out of the Chosen hideout. If Galen hadn't been there, we would have lost Aric. I gave Aric's knee a squeeze as the memory made my stomach churn.
Galen snorted. "Some of us are better in theory than in practice. I'm guessing Jared rocked the theory, but never had to put it into play." He leaned back in his seat and smiled fondly. "I dug it, though. Learning to fight in both forms, learning the theory on how to fight in dragon form..." He paused and looked at me. "When we stopped being able to shift to full dragon form, they switched to teaching the theory behind dragon combat. Classroom time led by wistful-eyed instructors who remembered what it was like to fly."
My stomach knotted a bit at that. My mother's death didn't just cost the dragons their Shadow Queen. It cost them the ability to shift into their full dragon form. Without a fully-mated Shadow Queen, the closest they could come was half-form. Right now, there were three full dragons in the world- me, Cass, and Aric- and until I fulfilled my duties, took a mate from each bloodline, and performed some sort of major sex magic, we were the only ones.
Galen continued. "My dad was a combat medic. He'd go in with fire dragon commando teams and patch them up when they took out Chosen strongholds. That's what I wanted to do, too." His gaze shifted to a point on the floor. "We didn't have the money for med school. So I did the next best thing and got my EMT cert. I still get to rush in and help people in crisis, so it's all good."
"You've kept us alive," I said with a smile. "You're perfect."
Galen grinned at me. "Aw, shucks." He shook his head. "But yeah, combat training and healing people using earth magic are the big things we get taught at the Proving Grounds." His eyes flicked over to Chase, then back to me. "Fire dragons generally go for four years."
"Whoa." I felt my eyes go large. "That's... intense."
"We're the warrior caste. We're expected to specialize in combat, to fight the Chosen to the last man, woman, and child." Chase's voice was flat, emotionless. "No questions, no thought, just kill and die."
I swallowed hard. "That's...awful."
"Yeah." Chase shifted in his seat, eyes glued to the road. "They drill it into us from birth. Discipline's pretty tight. You ask permission for everything, every moment of every day. Your parents are your commanding officers, and disobedience is squashed hard." A tight smile crossed his face. "Most kids fall into line."
I smiled softly. "You're not most kids."
"Never have been, never will." The smile softened a little.
I hemmed and hawed for a moment, trying to find the tactful way to ask my next question.
"You got kicked out in your first year, didn't you?" Aric piped up. "Mouthing off to the General or something like that?"
I winced. Galen gave him a baleful glare. Chase's mouth went tight again.
"Insubordination, yeah." He gave a short humorless laugh. "I asked too many questions about what was considered an 'acceptable loss.'"
"They kicked you out for asking questions?" I gasped.
Chase bit his lip, trying to stifle a chuckle. "I may have called Schulte a soulless bitch as well."
My eyebrows hit my hairline. Cass and Galen roared with laughter. Even Aric smirked approval.
I snickered once the shock wore off. "Well, she kinda is."
Chase sobered. "Well, we're going to her house. The Proving Grounds are her baby, and she's one hell of a mother."
Chapter Seven
Cass
I unfolded myself from the SUV and stretched my legs. Why they decided to cram the tallest person in the group all the way in the back was beyond me, but at least I had the bench to myself. I looked at Sia and Aric and my chest tightened with jealousy. Having the bench to myself was small consolation. Watching th
e two of them snuggled up together for the past two hours had been torture.
She's the Shadow Queen. Four mates. You have to get used to this. Good in theory, hard in practice, especially when her other mate was Aric Beauvais, King Dickhead of the Realm. His chief joy in life during our entire working relationship was harassing me for my inexperience with the world and my, as he put it, 'nerdiness.' Had she chosen Chase, or Galen, I could have borne her shiny new mate-bond with a bit more grace. But...ugh.
"I'm going to get some snacks," Aric told Sia, kissing her on the forehead. The jealousy, it gnawed. "You want anything?"
Sia chewed her lip adorably. "If they have any beef jerky, I'll take a bag, please."
Aric made a disgusted face. "Seriously? See if I kiss you after that."
"Your loss," she replied with a sassy grin. Aric shook his head, but I could see him grinning to himself as he walked away. The same grin I'd worn a hundred times in the past few weeks.
"I volunteer!" Galen shouted, raising his hand and beaming at her.
Sia let out a short laugh, then cupped Galen's face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. "You can have all the meaty kisses you want."
"Score." Galen pulled away reluctantly. "I've got...business that needs attending to. Back in a few." He started off toward the men's room. Chase followed silently, with only a cursory glance at Sia.
Sia watched them go, her smile replaced by a look of profound misery.
I walked over to her and slipped my arm around her waist. She startled slightly, then leaned into my shoulder.
"I shouldn't be smiling. Or laughing. Or kissing you guys." Her voice was somber. "Not in front of Chase. Not now. Not while his sister's in danger. I'm a thoughtless, careless, tactless ass."
I kissed the top of her head and pulled her into my arms. "You are a wonderful, vibrant person, full of life. People react to situations like this differently. Galen makes jokes, because he's been in so many dark situations as an EMT that humor keeps him sane. Aric... well, Aric's Aric no matter the situation." I stroked her hair. "I tend to hide in my brain and go analytical. Not a good look, but it's gotten me through my life so far. And you... you want to take care of everyone, and since everyone has different needs right now, you're being pulled in different directions. And that's got to be miserable."