The freezing wind pulled tears from my eyes as my fear for Roary rose up in my chest like this all consuming beast, desperate to destroy every hope I tried to cling on to.
Dante landed on the roof of his family home beside his secret garden and we clambered off of his back, dropping down to the tiles before he shifted back into his Fae form again. He put his pants back on and crossed the roof, pulling open a door which led to the little garden where the hot tub stood.
The tingle of magic shivered over my skin as the detection and defensive spells tested the taste of my power to make sure I was allowed to be here before letting me pass. I had no doubt they would have killed me if I wasn’t.
Leon caught my hand and tugged me through the gate, pressing me down onto one of the wrought iron chairs there before falling to his knees before me.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a rough voice, reaching up to push my hair back behind my ears as his gaze shifted back and forth between my silver rimmed eyes like he just had to see for himself that I was.
"I'm fine, Leo," I breathed, I hadn’t even been involved in any of the dangerous parts of the job tonight, but I guessed after losing his brother he was feeling pretty shaken. "I'm more worried about you. Tell me what we can do to help Roary now?"
He shook his head hopelessly before dropping forward to rest his forehead against my knees as he released a long breath.
My heart broke for him as he gripped my thighs tight enough to bruise, like he was worried I might get ripped away from him at any moment too. I pushed my fingers into his long hair, massaging his scalp in an effort to soothe him, the golden strands slipping between my trembling fingers as I kept up the motion. I pressed healing magic from my fingertips to heal the cuts and wounds he’d received during his escape too, but he just remained silent while I worked.
Dante and Rosalie were talking in fast Faetalian that I couldn't catch, her face painted with tears and a ferocious expression that looked all too like self loathing.
"He went back for you because that's what family does, Rosa, no man left behind. It wasn't your fault. You can't seriously blame yourself. A morte e ritorno,” Dante snapped.
"I don't want to stand here listening to you making excuses for me, Dante," Rosa spat, reaching for a knife which was laying on the table beside me. She turned to look up at the moon, her beautiful, young face streaked with tears but a savage determination shining in her gaze all the same. "I swear on the power of the moon and the Wolf that lives inside my limbs that I'll set Roary Night free," she snarled, lifting the knife and scoring a deep slash down the centre of her palm.
"Rosa," Dante hissed in shock, but she ignored him, her gaze fixed on the silver crescent hanging low in the sky as she continued with her vow.
"Whatever it takes, whatever I have to sacrifice to make it so, I will right this wrong and repay the debt I owe him. Blood for blood. A life for a life. Let the moon curse me if I ever sway from this path and end my life if I fail." She raised her clenched fist towards the heavens, blood trickling between her fingers as she glared at the moon and a silvery glow seemed to pour from her skin, bathing her in moonlight which sent a shiver running down my spine.
Without another word, she tossed the bloody knife to the floor and stalked away from us, heading into the building and down the stairs, that silver light following her as she walked away, leaving the taste of magic on the air.
"What the fuck was that?" I breathed as the door banged shut behind her and silence fell around us. Rosalie wasn’t Awakened, so there was no way she should have been able to cast any kind of magic, but there was no doubting what I’d just witnessed either.
"Rosa is a rare form of Werewolf," Dante said as he released a sigh filled with worry. "She's a Moon Wolf and her powers are...to be honest, she has a hell of a lot of powers which we don't even fully understand. We haven't been able to find out much about her kind that we can call solid facts because there are countless legends about Moon Wolves and very few true accounts. As far as we know, there aren't any others of her kind alive at the moment and in times like this she just...seems to know what to do with her power instinctively, I guess. We're hoping she will be able to figure out the truth of them in time and utilise them fully."
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.
"She will be once we get Roary back home safely. I'll get the family lawyers onto it, they've gotten me out of enough crap to figure this out-"
"Dad is going to freak," Leon breathed as he lifted his head from my lap enough to speak. "Like...I don't even know the level of rage he will feel at this. The shame this will bring on his reputation will send him insane-"
Leon was cut off by the sound of Dante's Atlas ringing and I looked over at him as he plucked it from his pocket, a curse spilling from his lips as he looked at the caller ID.
"It's Lionel," Dante growled and Leon sat up, swivelling to look at him as he moved to stand beside us and laid the Atlas down on the table. It seemed really damn unlikely that the high Councillor would call for a casual chat after that shit storm, so it was pretty easy to guess that he’d figured out Dante’s part in what had happened. "Stay quiet while I figure this out," Dante warned before answering the call and waiting to hear what the Dragon asshole had to say.
"I really should be flying over there and tearing your entire family apart for the stunt you just pulled," Lionel's low growl ruptured the silence, making the hairs raise along the back of my neck.
"I don't know what you mean," Dante replied, his voice giving nothing away.
"Don't play dumb with me, boy, or I'll come down there and take your pretty Vampire whore and make an example out of her. Don't think I'm above cutting her to pieces to drive my message home. The least you can do is be a man and admit what you've done. I know that piece of shit thief I caught comes from Alestria and I also found a tear in my wards which has all the magical signatures of lightning lingering around it. So don’t insult my intelligence or yours with your lies and just own your actions like a true Fae. Or are you willing to let the Lion rot for your crimes?"
"What do you want?" Dante demanded as Leon shoved to his feet and started pacing as he forced himself to bite his tongue. Lionel wouldn't want to speak to anyone but Dante, and we couldn't risk fucking this up by riling him against us for no reason.
"You," Lionel purred, sounding so fucking self assured that it made my blood boil. "If you were anyone else, I'd have you executed for what you pulled tonight and I'd lock every member of your criminal family up in Darkmore Penitentiary for good measure. But lucky for you, you have some things I want and I'm willing to cut you a deal to make sure I get them."
"We've already come to an arrangement on those issues," Dante snarled and I knew he was thinking about the sex tape he was holding over Lionel's head to make sure he didn’t have to go to Zodiac Academy.
"Well now I have a video of my own. One that clearly shows a troubled little Wolf pup running from my manor right after that break in occurred. Tell me Dante, how do you imagine an unAwakened fourteen year old girl would do in a high security prison full of murderers and rapists? And she’s such a pretty girl too, it does seem like a waste to see her rot in a cell with some psychopath to use as their play thing."
A roar of rage escaped Dante and he yelled a string of Faetalian at the Atlas which was clearly filled with threats and insults before he could control himself. I leapt out of my seat and shot towards him, muting the Atlas before Lionel could hear too much of his outburst then gripping his face between my palms and forcing him to look at me.
"Breathe, Drago," I commanded. "He wants something from you. He'd have sent the FIB here to get her already if he wasn't willing to negotiate."
Dante blew out a harsh breath and nodded before I released him. He swiped a hand down his face as he made an effort to calm himself before he unmuted the call again.
"What do you want?" Dante snarled.
"To put it bluntly, I want everything you have to offer. I want you to fall into l
ine and swear an oath to the Dragon Guild. Then I want you to gift me your storm magic regularly. I have lightning jars which can contain the power of a storm to be unleashed at my will which I will require you to fill monthly."
"If you want that then I want all record of Rosa's visit to your house wiped out. There won't be an investigation, no FIB, and you won't press charges. And I want Roary Night set free too," Dante demanded.
"Tut, tut, Dante. I really expected you to be smarter than that. Besides, I haven't finished telling you what I want," Lionel said, his voice dangerously low.
"Get on with it then," Dante growled.
"I want the items you stole from me returned. And finally, I want more Storm Dragons. You can marry my niece Juniper and start producing heirs as regularly as possible."
My heart turned to stone in my chest and I shook my head in fierce denial as Dante's gaze fell on me. There was no way in hell I could watch him get married off to some fucking Dragon bitch for the sole purpose of procreation. It would kill me, cut me apart and leave me bleeding out in the dirt. And fuck knew what it would do to him. But how could I really deny the request either? It wasn't just mine and Dante's freedom on the line, it was Rosa and Roary's too.
"The law says I can't get married until I graduate," Dante snarled, his honey brown eyes set on mine and a thousand promises burning in them which I knew he wouldn't be able to keep if it came down to their lies or our love. I could never ask him to make that sacrifice for me, but what was the alternative? Giving him up to a miserable marriage? Watching him sacrifice his life and happiness to pay this fucking debt?
"Then we can arrange it for the day after you do. Although eighteen months is a long time for me to have to trust in your word. Perhaps I should keep the little Wolf pup and the Lion under lock and key until you've fulfilled your end of the deal?" Lionel suggested coldly.
"No...wait..." Dante said quickly as it sounded like Lionel might cut the call, but it was obvious he didn't even know what he could offer to try and buy our way out of this.
My heart was thundering with panic and Leon moved up behind me, winding his arms around my waist as he squeezed me against him, trying to reassure me even though the whole world seemed to be falling apart on us.
"Do you really care about marriage?" Dante asked quickly. "Or is it just my gifts? What if I do all the things you wanted. Move up to live in your house and go to that fancy academy and-"
"No. I don't think that will work. I've come to realise that you are too uncivilised to pass off as one of mine if you are among high blooded company too much. So you can stay in Alestria, out of sight and out of mind, returning to my side whenever I summon you. But you're right, I don't care about marriage. I care about heirs."
"Heirs?" Dante echoed and I started shaking my head in refusal even as Lionel went on.
"Yes. A batch of little Storm Dragons who I can raise in the image required of them without your uncouth input."
"You're just looking to put Storm Dragon babies in her belly?" Dante asked, his face doing nothing to hide the disgust he felt at that idea.
"Oh good, you aren't as stupid as I was beginning to fear," Lionel said and I swear I could hear the smarmy grin in his voice.
"But I’m from a line of Werewolves, there’s no reason to assume my children would be Dragons," Dante said, almost to himself, his throat bobbing as my lips popped open in horror at the idea of him having children with some woman he didn’t even know let alone love.
“No. But it’s a punt I’m willing to gamble on. In fact, if you’re offering to fuck my niece and put a baby in her, then I’m sure I could consider being more lenient with your little friends," Lionel suggested with a breath of laughter. "Because I'm certain she would be more than happy to oblige. Women do love a bit of rough every now and then for some reason."
"For the love of the stars, you can't honestly be asking me to whore myself out to her?" Dante growled, his anger returning as he got over the shock of this fucked up request and I reached out to grab his hand in solidarity.
Lionel sighed like Dante was testing his patience. "Do you care about your cousin and the Lion or not? Because this conversation is wearing on me and I can just as easily call the FIB and allow them to deal with this situation."
"Of course I care about them," Dante snarled, clearly taking offence at the suggestion that he wouldn't do everything it took to protect his family.
"Good. So the price of their freedom is this: I want the gold you stole from me returned. I want you to swear into the Dragon Guild and attend social events at my request. I want regular donations of your storm magic. And I want you to put a baby inside Juniper within the next three months."
Silence fell and horror consumed me as I stared into Dante's eyes, wanting to beg him to refuse, my mind racing with the hopeless need to find any alternative, but there wasn't one and the pain in his eyes said he knew it too.
"It's okay," I breathed even though it wasn't, but I couldn't let him agree to this if he didn't think I understood because I did. I understood it all because I knew I would have done anything and everything to save Gareth. And if this was what it took to save Rosalie and Roary then I knew it was a price we had to pay.
"Done," Dante said and I swear I watched his heart break as the word left his lips. Family was everything to him, how could he be expected to just father some children and give them up to that monster of a man? But what other choice did he have?
"I thought it might be," Lionel purred. "But I'm not just willing to take you at your word after the shit you just pulled, so I'll spare the girl now assuming my treasure is returned within the hour, but I'll be sending the Lion to Darkmore Penitentiary. If you want me to pardon him then I suggest you keep to this deal and don't try to fuck me over. I gave you the chance to fall into line by choice so now we'll do it the hard way."
The line went dead and I swear the pain we were all feeling following his words was like a ton of bricks falling down on our heads.
Somehow the three of us ended up tangled together, our arms around each other as we all just stood there in silence, not having words for how fucking wrong that had just gone.
"I need to take the gold back to him," Dante murmured eventually, focusing on the task that was the most urgent even though the weight of the other things Lionel wanted from him must have been weighing him down more heavily than I could imagine. "You should go and use the spyglass to figure out what the fuck is in that book. He didn't specifically mention it and if we're lucky he won’t have realised it’s gone and we can get away with keeping it. If not then you need to have figured out what the book is hiding before I have to take it back to him."
"Okay," I agreed, because I didn't know what else to say.
"I need to go home and tell my moms and dad about Roary," Leon said, a frown tugging at his brow.
"It's alright, you go tell them and I can check out the book with Gabriel," I said quickly, seeing the hesitation in his gaze. "That way if Lionel realises it's not there then we will at least have bought ourselves a few hours to look at the damn book and your parents aren't left in the dark."
We all reluctantly agreed to going our separate ways, none of us really wanting to abandon the others to deal with their tasks alone, but time was of the essence and we didn't have any to spare.
I messaged Gabriel, telling him I would be coming to meet him at his apartment, but he quickly replied telling me that the stars wanted us to meet back at the academy instead.
Dante flew us back beyond the boundaries of the Oscura land and Leon and I slid from his back before he shifted into his Fae form again and pulled on the clothes I’d carried for him.
He pulled the pouch of stardust from his pocket but before he could hand it out, I moved forward and caught his hand.
“I know you had to agree to his demands for Rosa and Roary but we will do everything we can to find a way out of it, Drago,” I swore to him. “You won’t have to have a baby with some bitch you don’t even know and
leave them to be raised beneath the watch of that monster.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Leon agreed, gripping Dante’s arm briefly and our Storm Dragon nodded before we stepped away from each other again, but there wasn’t any real hope in his honey brown eyes.
My heart was heavy with sorrow for the two of them, but we all had jobs to do and we headed away to our separate destinations with a pinch of stardust each.
My heart pounded with concern for the two of them, but I didn't have time to waste, so I had to force it out of my mind, knowing we were all doing what we had to.
The moment I arrived outside the Aurora Academy gates, I shot through them, passing the magical wards which recognised me as someone who belonged before running all the way through campus to the Vega Dorms and racing up the fire escape to Gabriel’s hideout on the roof.
I skidded to a halt and found him already waiting for me, his eyes alight with knowledge as he held the Magicae Mortuorum book in his arms and beckoned me in to join him on the blankets.
"You saw me coming?" I asked as I dropped down beside him and pulled the spyglass from my pocket.
"I always see you coming," Gabriel confirmed. "But I'm still never prepared for you when you arrive."
He held his hand out for the spyglass and I handed it over instantly, having zero qualms about avoiding that damn book. I crossed my legs beneath me and leaned close to look over Gabriel's shoulder as he let The Sight guide him to the right page.
I held my breath as he flicked through the thick sheaths of paper, the taste of dark magic coming off of that thing making me gag as I waited to find out whatever we could about it.
The page that Gabriel stopped on was annotated with a drawing which was almost impossible to focus on until he held the spyglass over it. In the image, a cloaked figure was depicted, arms in the air as all around him, kneeling people cut their own throats and their power was transferred to him.
Broken Fae Page 50