Shadow on the Water

by Katya Moore

  "A water dragon who saved my pub," I reminded him. "You have your badass moments."

  "Yay, I'm a fire extinguisher," he grumbled. I could see a sparkle in his swollen eye. The redness had faded already, leaving them bright and blue again. My heart leapt at that. "And my brother thinks I'm a traitor."

  I growled softly at that. He tried to raise an eyebrow, but thought better of it.

  "Do you think I'm a traitor?" he asked.

  "Of course not," I sighed. "Don't be ridiculous."

  He fell silent for a moment. "I could be a traitor. You wouldn't know."

  I gave him a stern look. "You're not a traitor. You're an asshole, but you're not that big an asshole."

  He laughed, then moaned. "I kinda wish I was. They really wanted to know some stuff. And if my nose stays like this, I'm gonna be pissed."

  I snorted. "I'm sure you'll be just as pretty as you were."

  His brow wiggled. "You think I'm pretty?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Pretty obnoxious."

  "Whatever." He frowned. "I hope the Elders agree with you."

  A protective wave crushed my chest. "I won't let them do anything to you."

  "My hero," he smirked, then the smile faded. "You might not be able to stop them. But I appreciate the thought."

  I wavered a little on my feet. It was late, and I still hadn't recovered from my collapse. Aric jerked his chin at the edge of the bed. Gratefully, I perched next to him, hand still pinned under his. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I fumbled for words, for thoughts. In the end, I just sat there, thankful to be sitting next to him. It was hard to read his face, swollen as it was, but I hoped the feeling was mutual.

  His blinking slowed, his eyes closing for a few long moments. My heart lurched.

  "Do I need to get Galen?" I gasped.

  His eyes closed, and he snorted again. "No. M'tired, fer chrissakes."

  I laughed at myself. "Yeah. Duh. Okay, Prince Charming. Get some rest."

  "Mmph." I rose and started to draw my hand out from under his. To my surprise, he pinned it tighter. His eyes opened again.

  I looked down at him quizzically.

  "Stay," he whispered.

  I felt tears rising again. That one word cut me deep in my heart. I sat back down. He nodded weakly, then closed his eyes again.

  I waited until his breathing slowed. It was steady, if a little hoarse. His hand slid off mine. Slowly, I rose to my feet. I bent over him and placed a gentle kiss on the least bruised part of his forehead.

  "Sweet dreams," I whispered as I walked away.

  As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Chase and Galen running for the door.

  "What's going on?" I shouted as I dashed down the stairs.

  "Alpha Squad is under attack," Galen answered.

  Chapter Twenty

  The SUV screeched to a halt in front of a townhouse a few blocks away from the mansion. The wrought iron gate out front hung loosely off its hinges.

  "Wasn't this place warded?" I asked breathlessly. I could hear shouts and crashing from inside.

  Cass was already halfway out of the SUV. "Yeah. Quinn did it himself. And he's good. I don't know what the hell happened."

  "We're about to find out," Chase growled as he threw open his door and began to shift.

  Galen put a hand on my shoulder. "Stay here. If any come at you, you can hide. But you've done enough for today. No shifting."

  "But..." I shoved his hand off my shoulder defiantly.

  "No but. As your earth dragon, I'm saying you don't want a repeat of what happened earlier." His deep brown eyes gazed into mine. "I don't want a repeat of that. I thought I was losing you."

  I squeezed his hand. "Fine. But get in there. They need your punches."

  He grinned and shifted. "On it, boss." He dove headlong out of the car and charged the front door.

  Sitting in the car like a neglected pet sucked. I poked my head out the car window, listening to the sounds of combat. I wanted to be in there. I wanted to help. I wanted to fight.

  That, I realized, felt really weird. Up until recently, my reaction to any sort of conflict was to hide in the shadows and make myself scarce. Even in the endless shove-fights in school, I'd land the minimum number of punches and bolt as soon as I could get myself free. Now, there was a hunger in me. My dragon wanted to stretch her claws, to tear into the enemy. It was frightening, but at the same time, I'd never felt so powerful. I wondered what the guys would think of me, being all bloodthirsty and stuff. Chase and Galen would probably be proud. I wondered about Cass, though. He was a gentler soul.

  Just as I thought that, I saw electricity crackle through the open door. A robed cultist tumbled backward out the door, face charred. I could see Cass inside, turning his attention to someone else.

  Okay, maybe not as gentle as all that.

  The townhouse fell silent. I could hear faint moaning. Galen stuck his head out of the door. "Sia! Bring my bag! Quickly!"

  I dove over the backseat, grabbing the medic bag by the handles and hauling it with all my waning strength. I managed to get it over the headrests with some wriggling, then swung it out of the SUV and ran.

  The scene inside was horrific. Bodies lay sprawled over the furniture, slung over the railing to the upstairs, crumpled into corners. There were a surprising number for the space. In the middle of the chaos, Alpha Squad lay in the middle, panting for air. Kane knelt next to Dario, pumping at his chest while Galen poured green earth energy into him. Quinn sat staring, a stunned look on his face. Jared lay on the ground, groaning in pain, his right leg bent at a stomach-mangling angle. I could see exposed bone. I slapped a hand over my mouth in nausea and horror.

  Dario sputtered and coughed. Kane sat back, pale and fatigued. Galen checked his vitals, nodded to himself, then whirled and turned his attention to Jared.

  "What happened?" I gasped.

  Kane snarled. "Aric sold us out, that's what happened."

  I looked at him in horror. "What?"

  "How else would they know where we lived? How to get in here? How to get past the wards?" he spat. "That fucking traitor sold us out so they wouldn't tear his useless soul out."

  "We don't know that," Chase rumbled. "There are other ways to get information. You could have been followed. They know where we're based, and you've been back and forth."

  "Do you think we're that stupid?" Kane sneered. "We take precautions. We know how to spot a tail. This isn't even a dragon-owned property. Dario bought it from a human realtor."

  "It can't have been Aric. He wouldn't do that." I wanted to sound more confident than I did. "How did they get past the defenses? You were warded, right?"

  "Warded. Right." Quinn sounded dazed. "But she was here. She came in first. But it wasn't her. Not really."

  I looked at him wide-eyed, then looked back at Kane.

  "One of the sorcerers took the form of a gold dragon. A friend of Quinn's from the Academy." Kane ran a hand over his face. "We fell for it. We let her in. Then, she let the rest in."

  "It was her. But it wasn't her." Quinn's eyes were locked onto a fallen body. It had reverted to human form, charred and limp on the ground. "Why wasn't it her?"

  Realization hit me. "The missing gold dragon?" I asked.

  Kane nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, dragon essence makes for a very convincing duplicate."

  I knelt next to Quinn. "It wasn't her. It's over now." I put a hand on his shoulder, stroking it gently. His head bowed. I looked over at Galen helplessly. He was still setting Jared's leg. Jared chomped down on a wad of gauze between his teeth, a thin pained noise tearing itself from his throat.

  Chase sat down next to me. "You don't believe it was..." he began.

  "No, I do not," I snapped, then winced at my own ferocity. "Sorry. This just..."

  "Looks really bad," he finished.

  The Beauvais mansion was turning into a hospital quickly. I gave up my room to Jared and bunked with Cass. Dario still had a room at the mansion, so he was squa
red away, with Sanders pressed into additional nursing staff to monitor him. Galen gave his bed up to Quinn, who barely registered where he was. Once he was sure everyone was stable and resting, Galen collapsed onto one of the couches in the sitting room.

  I woke around noon, my head nestled in the crook of Cass' arm. He murmured softly in his sleep as I slipped out of his grasp and pulled on one of his dress shirts. My whole body ached from exertion and stress, like I'd run a triathlon after a lifetime of sitting on the couch. I moaned softly as I pulled my jeans on. Everything hurt.

  I stepped out of Cass' room into a nightmare. I turned to go check on Aric and saw two fire dragons I'd never seen before, half-shifted in front of his door, holding swords point-down in front of them on the floor in some sort of military posture.

  "Who the hell are you?" I asked, charging over to them against my better judgment. "What are you doing?"

  They stared straight ahead, ignoring my rage.

  "Answer me, damn it!"

  "They are here on behalf of the Council," an icy voice said. I looked up. Mrs. Beauvais looked at me dispassionately. "Aric is being held on charges of treason."

  "Like he's going anywhere," I growled. "He can barely move. Also, he's not a traitor."

  Mrs. Beauvais fixed me with a cold stare. "That is up to the Council to decide."

  My dragon writhed in my chest. I fought it down. Dragoning out wouldn't help me here. "I am the Shadow Queen. I..."

  "You are the last shadow dragon. Be careful about how you throw that around, Miss Bellmont." Her lip curled. "You don't have the authority. Not yet."

  I gaped at her. "He's your son. How can you be so cold about this?"

  She narrowed her eyes at me. "Dario is still unconscious. If what Alpha Squad says is true, Aric is no son of mine."

  My mouth slammed shut. "Just like that?"

  She turned and walked away. "Just like that."

  I stared after her in abject horror.

  She paused a moment and glanced over her shoulder. "The Council will be here soon. You should..." She looked me over appraisingly. "Perhaps your own clothes would be more appropriate." She disappeared around a corner. I flipped her off enthusiastically. One of the guards coughed softly. I glared at him and stalked off.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The limo was quiet without Aric. I thought back to our last trip. He'd spent the whole time griping about my taste in music, claiming that the Clancy Brothers were going to bore him into a coma. I'd spent the whole time searching Cacophony for even folksier folk music, just to torture him.

  I swallowed hard at that word. All I could see was the bruises. The bandages. The way he winced when he laughed. Tears pricked at my eyes. Now, he was in a plain white van behind us, under guard, being hauled off to whatever the Elders had in store for him.

  I have to protect him. I have to.

  Chase broke the silence. "Do you think..."

  "No. I don't." My voice was hard. "I don't know how they found out where the Alpha Squad was, but it wasn't him. I know it wasn't him."

  Chase raised his hands defensively. "Sorry." He looked away. He’d been doing that a lot since we got back from the rescue. "But it really doesn't look good, Sia. The Elders are going to need a lot more convincing."

  I pulled away from him, sliding closer to Galen on the bench seat. "I don't need to hear this right now." A tear trickled down my cheek. I wiped it away roughly. "I know, all right? I know this looks awful. I know everything's stacked against him. I just have to figure out how to help him." Galen wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. I fought it for half a second, then collapsed into him. Holding in my emotions was exhausting.

  "What will they do to him? If I can't convince them?" I asked dully. I didn't want to hear, but I had to know.

  Cass spoke up. "At best, imprisonment. There's a facility in Alaska. The Cooler, people call it." He looked away from me. "If the Beauvais family uses their pull, he'll wind up there."

  Fat fucking chance. "And if they don't?"

  Cass studied the upholstery on the door of the limo. "Death."

  I tore myself away from Galen's embrace. "What?"

  Cass sighed heavily. "Betraying another dragon to the Chosen of Apep is a capital offense. Betraying four dragons, four of the most prestigious dragons in the country, and possibly betraying the last shadow dragon herself..." He looked at me finally, pain in his eyes. "The Elder Council won't stand for that, Sia. Even with your vote, he doesn't stand a chance unless we can convince them."

  My body went cold. My head spun. Tremors ran through my limbs. I felt like I was being torn apart. There was no holding back the tears now. They poured forth in thick, choking sobs. Distantly, I felt Galen's hand rubbing my back in an attempt to soothe me. Chase rested a hand on my knee. Cass buried his face in his hands, miserable that he'd been the one to break me. I huddled in the midst of them, lost to my grief.

  "No." Chase's voice was low, firm, determined. "I'm not going to lose a teammate today."

  I looked up from my hands, sniffling wetly. He reached over and tilted my chin up to meet his eyes.

  "You're not going to let that happen. I know you aren't." A grim smile crossed his face. "You are powerful. You are the Shadow Queen. You will save his life, and you know it." He let go of my chin and looked away. His arms crossed, closing him off. "No matter what it takes."

  I shook my head. "I... Mrs. Beauvais said I didn't have the authority yet. She said..." I felt my dragon clench its claws. A burning sensation rose in my chest. "Horrible things." I wiped my eyes and drew a deep, angry breath. "She's a stupid, awful bitch and I'm not going to listen to that crap."

  Galen smiled at me. "Damn right."

  I sat up. Galen stretched his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. I flashed him a smile, then set my jaw. "She may not care about him, but I do. And I'm not going to crumple like a wet tissue when he needs me the most." I looked over at Cass. "What goes into a dragon trial?"

  Cass ran his fingers through his hair and coughed. "A normal trial is a lot like an American human trial. There's an advocate for the defense, an advocate for the prosecution, and the Elders preside."

  He looked away for a moment. I reached out and gently took his chin in my hand. "What aren't you telling me?"

  "In a capital trial, when it's life or death, the stakes are higher. The prosecution can use... every means at their disposal to get to the truth."

  My stomach clenched. A chill ran up my spine. "Torture."

  "Interrogation," he said, but his eyes agreed with my assessment. "With the loss of the Shadow Queen, there was no way to get to the heart of things. So we had to use other methods. The Elder Council has permitted some intense interrogation techniques in situations like this."

  The dizziness returned. Aric wouldn't survive this. Even if I did manage to save him, he'd be broken for sure.

  Wait.

  "What do you mean, 'with the loss of the Shadow Queen?'" I chewed my lip.

  Cass raised a brow, then sat up. "Traditionally, the Shadow Queen conducted the interrogations."

  I swallowed hard. I wanted to throw up. Galen tightened his grip on my shoulder.

  "Do you... do you think..." I didn't want to say it. They wouldn’t make me do it. Would they?

  Cass' brow furrowed, eyes dark. "I wouldn't put it past them."

  A fire dragon guard, armored in silver plate, met us at the door of the mansion. "The Shadow Queen is to come with me. The three of you may proceed to the chamber." He bowed to me and extended an arm, ushering me in. I glanced over my shoulder at the boys. Chase nodded. Galen smiled encouragingly. Cass bowed his head. I straightened my back, turned, and followed the guard.

  "The Elders wish to meet with you before the trial begins," the guard said as he led me to the room I'd eavesdropped on only days ago.

  I nodded back at him, too sick to my stomach to form words. I put on a neutral face and approached the door. It opened as I reached for the knob.

  "A
rysia," Elder Meriwether said warmly. "So good of you to join us."

  I nodded silently, then stepped past her into the room. The other Elders sat in leather armchairs in a circle. Meriwether gestured to the two empty seats. I sat down as gracefully as I could manage with my legs wobbling.

  Elder Schulte looked even more severe than the last time I'd seen her. "I'm sure there is no need to tell you that the crime we're discussing today is grave. Your friend is accused of the most serious crime a dragon can commit. Had he killed his brother by his own hand, he'd be in less trouble."

  "Dario is still alive, last I checked," I said flatly.

  She nodded curtly. "That he is. He'll be testifying today." Her eyes bored into me. "From the preliminary reports, it will not be testimony in Aric's favor."

  I blinked hard. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it still hurt. "Is there any testimony in Aric's favor?" I asked, trying to keep the pleading out of my voice.

  Her cold stare was the only answer I needed.

  "It's not looking good, dear," Elder Long added, a note of pity in her voice. "His records at the Proving Grounds showed a weakness to torture. That, coupled with the attack on Alpha Squad's base mere hours after his rescue..." She folded her hands in her lap. "His testimony will have to be very convincing, indeed."

  "Honestly, I can't think of what he could say." Meriwether's voice sounded downright chipper. I wanted to slug her one. "The evidence is there, and it's damning."

  "It's damned circumstantial, is what it is," I shot back. Silently, I thanked my eldest foster mother, Esther, for her love of legal dramas. "The timing is awful, sure, but we don't have proof that it was Aric who gave them the information." I wracked my brain for anything, anything at all. "One of the sorcerers posed as a gold dragon. Quinn's friend, from the Academy. Maybe she gave them up."

  Elder Long shook her head sadly. "Jacqueline didn't know their whereabouts. She was a librarian. She wasn't privy to Alpha Squad's movements."