by Avril Sabine
“Is that the sword?” Charles asked.
Amber nodded.
“Who did you kill,” Charles asked again.
“Paili.”
Helen gasped and Charles repeated the name.
“Impossible,” Charles said.
“Hold it up and set it alight,” Ronan ordered Amber.
She had no idea how that would help, but so far she’d only made progress when Ronan was helping. Although he’d also caused her some setbacks too. Holding the sword up, she widened her stance, pulling away from Kade as her sword blade burst into flame. “I cut her heart nearly in two.” She shied away from the thought that Ronan had cut the heart into twenty even pieces, eating a section after having first offered it to her.
“She was in the book,” Helen said. “One of the few dragons in there we had a name for.”
“My captors spoke of her in tones of fear.” Charles’ eyes were fixed on the blade.
“What is the point of this?” Amber asked Ronan, her arms starting to ache from holding the sword up for so long.
“They help you till the end of the year. We have Dragon Mages to kill and dragons to hunt. They get to kill as long as they stay away from the Knights,” Ronan said.
Amber extinguished the blade, handing it to Rian. “You don’t care what dragons you kill, do you? You just want to kill them.”
“No dragon deserves to live.” Charles looked at each of the three dragons in the room.
“Then what if I give you the opportunity to hunt dragons. You remain our allies until the last day of the year and then we let you go back to your Knights,” Amber said.
“We’ll be free to hunt who we wish after that,” Charles said.
Amber nodded.
“What is the catch?” Charles asked.
“There’s no catch,” Ronan said. “Maybe we think you’ll enjoy working with us so much you won’t stop.”
“Not likely, dragon,” Charles said.
“What else would it involve?” Helen asked.
“You stay in my home, I’ll give you access to an area that will be locked off from the main part of the house and you’ll help sort through all the information gathered, looking for anything to help us track down the dragons we’re trying to find.”
“That all seems very one sided. We would be helping remove some of your enemies,” Charles said.
“They’re dragons. What more do you want?” Ronan asked.
“We’ll think on it,” Charles said.
“What is there to think about,” Amber demanded. “Do you want to kill dragons or not?”
“We want to kill dragons, but we don’t want to be told which ones we can and can’t kill,” Charles said.
“The offer isn’t going to last forever.” Amber felt like shaking them. Was there nothing they wouldn’t argue? “Think of it as earning your freedom. Your ransom wasn’t cheap.” She couldn’t help wondering if Topaz was safe. Were the mages somehow connected to Blair and Irvin? They better not be.
“There must be something else you want. I know I’m not worth a Gold female,” Charles said.
“I didn’t want your death on my conscience. When they found out you were my grandfather, they’d try and hold me hostage with you.”
“I would have killed you before I let that happen,” Ronan said to Charles.
“What are you to our granddaughter?” Helen asked.
“Why, we’re allies.” Ronan turned to Amber, his predatory smile momentarily appearing. “Aren’t we, kitten?”
Amber nodded.
“We will expect an answer by Friday.” Ronan headed for the door, holding it open. “Time to go,” he said to Amber, Kade and Rian. They all filed out of the room, stopping in the hallway while he locked the door. “I’ll let you know when they make a decision.”
“What do I tell my mum? She’ll want to visit them,” Amber said.
“Gary can deal with her.” Ronan strode away.
Amber stared after him. He could be so annoying sometimes.
“Do you need me or will I return to our lands?” Rian asked.
“No, I’m right.” At least she hoped she was. It wasn’t like Rian could face her mother for her. “Thanks for bringing my sword.”
Rian nodded and strode off in the direction Ronan had taken.
“Where to?” Kade reached for her, holding her close.
“Your place. I guess.”
“Straight to my room?”
She hesitated. “No. I probably should get the lecture out of the way.”
Kade laughed, taking them to his front door through the Void.
Chapter Fourteen
All Thursday Amber waited to hear from Ronan while she, Donna and Gary continued to stay at Kade’s. It wasn’t until Friday evening that Alsandair appeared from the Void as she stepped out of the bathroom, having just finished filling the last of her jewellery with power. A quick mental search showed her Kade was in the lounge room with Brann.
Grabbing hold of Alsandair’s forearm, she tugged him outside before he had a chance to speak. Letting him go, she pointed a finger at him. “You stir Kade like that again and I’ll tell him I don’t care if he kills you. What did you think you were doing winking at me like that?”
“Give me a call when you get bored with Kade and-”
“Stop right there. I’m not interested.”
“You kept him from killing me.”
She shook her head, barely able to believe what she was hearing. “Are you serious? Did you really think I’d have let him kill you over a misunderstanding? You dragons are unbelievable. I did not save you because I’m interested in you. I saved you because I don’t believe in killing people because of a moment of stupidity.”
“You think I’m stupid?”
“No,” she growled the word. “Why are you here anyway?”
“Ronan sent me.”
“Why does he keep sending you? Why not one of his other Golds?”
Alsandair shrugged.
Amber stared at him a moment longer, trying to figure it out. Giving up, she asked, “What’s the message?”
“Your grandparents are ready to talk. Ronan wants to see both of you.”
She nodded. “Let him know we’ll be there soon.”
With a nod, Alsandair disappeared into the Void.
Amber sighed heavily, hoping she’d sorted Alsandair out. She’d hate to see him killed over a misunderstanding. Although she was beginning to wonder if it had been more about a dragon seizing what he thought was an opportunity to get close to a mage.
“Amber?” Kade stepped outside. “What are you doing out here?”
“Ronan wants to see us. My grandparents are ready to talk.”
“Who brought the message?”
She wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter, but she could see it clearly did. “Alsandair.”
“Why did you bring him out here?”
“So I could tell him that if he keeps stirring you I won’t care if you kill him. Happy?”
“Yeah.” Kade stepped forward, a grin in place as he held her. “Is that a promise?”
“It doesn’t count if you,” she jabbed a finger against his chest, “stir him first.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“I need to tell Mum-”
“Brann can tell her.” He took them through the Void to Ronan’s place before she could object.
“Kade!”
“We didn’t have time for a lecture.”
“Well you better make time for this one.”
They both turned to face Ronan.
“A lecture about what?” Amber asked.
“He’s the reason we were attacked at Feralenzi.” Ronan’s gaze remained on Amber, but he nodded towards Kade.
“I told no one,” Kade said.
Ronan finally looked at Kade. “Except for putting in a request to make it another test. Negotiating for and gaining something of value. Well you nearly lost something of even more value.”
Kade nodded.
“What about Flinn? He needs to do tests too.” She couldn’t help worrying about Crystal, whose fate was currently tied to Flinn’s.
“He completed a test last week. Stole something valuable.”
“Why didn’t Crystal tell me? We talk nearly every day.”
“He let her think it was another training exercise.”
“He lied to her?” Her anger flared when Kade nodded. “Do you lie to me?”
Kade grinned. “No, but you’re more dangerous than Crystal.”
Ronan chuckled. “You can’t argue that, kitten.”
“So what does this mean? No more tests until we catch the other mages?” Amber asked.
“No, it means you need to set up your next test as soon as possible,” Ronan said.
Amber stared at Ronan, uncertain if she’d heard right. “You want them to attack us?”
“Bait,” Kade said.
“Yes. Draw them out. Let them think we don’t know they’ve got a spy. When they’re found, it’ll be death. No one can interfere with tests, particularly by sharing information gained from test requests,” Ronan said.
“What test?” Amber asked.
Ronan shrugged. “I’m sure Kade can figure one out. It doesn’t matter what, just that we bait the trap.”
“And Flinn is included. I don’t want him and Crystal falling behind.” Amber looked to Kade who nodded in answer.
“Flinn will be included because I want all three of you mages there. And when we find Shannon, she will learn what happens to those who cross me.” Ronan turned his attention to Kade. “Let me know the details as soon as you figure them out. Make sure it’s one where you can have three Golds. I’ll play warrior to one of my Golds.” He started for the doorway. “Time to see what our reluctant guests have to say.”
Amber stared after Ronan, mentally trying to catch up with everything that was happening. It was a wonder any dragon survived more than a handful of years.
“Amber?”
She met Kade’s gaze, reaching for his hand. “Yeah, I know. We can’t stand here all day.” Heading in the direction Ronan had taken, they caught up with him as he was unlocking the door. He checked the room before he let them in.
Charles and Helen rose to their feet the moment Amber stepped into the room. It was Charles who spoke. “We want to talk to our granddaughter alone.”
She felt like pointing out that they only claimed her as their granddaughter when it suited them, but guessed starting an argument probably wasn’t the best of plans.
“Amber? Do you want to be alone with them?” Ronan directly asked Amber.
She started to say no, then nodded. Her hand tightened on Kade’s before she slowly pulled away from him. “I won’t be long.” When Kade and Ronan left the room, closing the door behind them, she turned back to her grandparents. “What do you want?”
“How well can you control your dragons?” Charles asked.
“I don’t own them.” She pushed away the memory of telling Kade he was hers. “They’re my allies. Well, Kade is obviously more than that.”
“Can you make sure they keep their word?” Helen asked.
“Dragons always keep their word,” Amber said.
“They always twist it so they don’t have to keep the same word you think you’re getting them to keep,” Helen said.
She tried not to think about how Ronan had promised to consume only one more dragon heart. Finding out he could do that one twentieth at a time and practically live forever had not been what they’d expected. “Ronan said you’d be free at the end of the year.”
“Death is also freedom.” Charles moved as close to her as his chain would allow him. “How do we know it isn’t death he’s offering us?”
“How do you know it won’t be death going up against some dragons?”
“Death in battle is honourable. Death from being tricked by a dragon isn’t,” Charles said.
“They won’t kill you at the end. If you survive to that point, you’ll be leaving alive. I’ll make sure Ronan says exactly that,” Amber said.
“And Kade? You would let him kill us?” Charles asked.
“No. If you need it, he can make the same promise.”
“We’ve talked about it,” Charles said.
“We have conditions of our own,” Helen added.
“Then I’ll call them in so we can discuss them.”
Helen shook her head. “No, only the three of us.”
“I won’t go against them.” She met her grandmother’s sharp gaze.
“If we work for your dragons until the end of the year, you work for the Knights for the same amount of time,” Charles said.
“No.” She didn’t even have to think about it. Not after seeing what they thought was a crime.
“Yet you would have us work for our enemies,” Charles said.
She should have known he was going to be difficult. “You’re earning your freedom.”
“No. We’re betraying our people,” Helen said.
“So you won’t do it?” Amber asked.
“That depends on you,” Charles said. “What do you have against working for the Knights. You don’t seem to have any objection to killing dragons.”
“The only dragon I’ve ever killed was one trying to kill me.” An image of Paili attacking her filled her mind. Forcing herself to focus, she pushed the image away. “I won’t work for people who kill every dragon they see regardless of what they’ve done.”
“Yet you’ll work for a dragon who is a murderer. He’s killed someone from your own family,” Helen said hotly.
She didn’t know what to say. Telling her grandparents that it was better than letting him kill her family probably wouldn’t help the situation. But it was more than that now. He knew how to survive and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her friends and family. And everything she learned about him and what he’d experienced had her wondering how he’d managed not to become as bitter as her grandmother. “I won’t work for the Knights. I don’t work for Ronan. We’re allies. I have a say in what happens.”
“Do you?” Charles asked.
“Yes.” She met his gaze, refusing to look away. “What’s your answer?”
Charles didn’t look away either. “That you will at least meet the Knights and give them a chance. You only have the dragons’ side of things. Give the Knights six months to prove themselves.”
It didn’t look like he was going to give in on the subject. “I will give them a month. That’s more time than necessary,” Amber said.
“You will keep an open mind and not shame us in front of our people,” Charles said.
“I won’t stand by and let them harm any of my people,” Amber warned.
“Dragons aren’t people,” Helen snarled.
Amber didn’t even look at Helen, she continued to hold Charles’ gaze. “Well?”
“We’ll help you kill dragons, but we won’t do anything to harm our people,” Charles said.
Amber nodded, holding his gaze a moment longer before she opened the door. “You can come in,” she said to Ronan and Kade.
Chapter Fifteen
Amber pushed the shopping trolley while her mother walked beside her. She wondered if it was possible to learn how to not give into guilt. Ronan would probably tell her it was only a matter of not being so weak. But he hadn’t been there last night when her mother had begged her to take her to her parents and then complained how there was nothing normal about their lives anymore. If spending a Saturday morning doing grocery shopping was the highlight of a normal life, maybe her crazy one wasn’t so bad.
Donna reached for a bottle of herbs, dropping them into the half full trolley. “We haven’t done this in ages.” She smiled at Amber as they turned into the next aisle.
“Maybe because I hate going grocery shopping.”
“At least no one is trying to kill you here,” Donn
a said.
The lady ahead of them stopped suddenly and Amber nearly ran into her. “Great.”
“Wait up.” Donna stopped in front of a shelf, trying to reach one of the jars at the top.
“Let me get that for you.” A man who had entered the aisle, hurried forward. He handed the jar to Donna and smiled.
“Oh, hello.” Donna returned the smile. “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name.”
“Wayne Smith.” He looked towards Amber. “Is this your daughter?”
“Yes, this is Amber.” Donna placed the jar into the trolley. “How is your daughter? Uhm, Jennifer, isn’t it?”
Wayne chuckled. “At least you remembered one of us.”
“Mum, I’ve got other plans for the day, remember?” Amber stared at her mother, wishing she could talk directly to her mind so she could remind her that she’d only agreed to two hours. The rest of the day was hers. And she wasn’t about to spend it shopping with her mother. This wasn’t fun. It was a chore.
Donna ignored her, continuing to chat with Wayne. Amber glared at the man, wondering who he was. He looked a little younger than her mother and was probably a gym junkie if the muscular arms showing beneath the sleeves of his t-shirt were anything to go by. He had sandy brown hair, which was little more than stubble, and a ready smile. Her gaze narrowed. The man smelled odd under his excess of aftershave.
“Mum.” Amber couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her tone. “Gary will be wondering where we are.”
“Gary?” Wayne looked from Donna to Amber.
“A friend of mine,” Donna said.
“Her boyfriend,” Amber added.
“Well, I’ll let you go then, but my offer for dinner is still open. My daughter and I know very few people here. It’s tough being new to a town. It’d be nice for her to meet someone her own age. And you’re welcome to bring your boyfriend along too.” Wayne’s smile never slipped.
“No teenager wants their parents choosing friends for them. I’m sure she’ll meet enough kids at school.” The last thing Amber wanted was her mother organising her social life. If her mother thought grocery shopping was fun then she hated to think what she’d arrange for her social life.