Taya sucked in a deep breath and met my gaze in the dark car, the light from the dash reflected off her eyes. She was a medic, not a fighter, and it had been a fluke to begin with that she'd been assigned as my guard.
I let the subject drop, afraid he might change his mind, and continued to stare out into the inky, black woodland. The forest blocked out everything except for a narrow strip of cloudless sky high above me filled with stars. That was one thing I missed while living with Evgeni—the stars. In LA, it was nearly impossible to see the stars.
After a while, my eyelids grew heavy, but the road was far too bumpy to allow me to sleep. So, I continued to gaze out the window, my eyes closing on long blinks.
When the car slowed to a stop, I sat up straight and stared out the front windshield. A small cattle fence swung open, and we began to drive through.
"Are we here?" I asked. "I hope you have more security than that little string of wire."
Taya's mouth curved, and she tilted her head. "Oh, that's not security. That's just for show. That's just the edge of the property. The Dragonborn base is huge."
"How are you all able to operate a militia like this? Isn't it illegal?" I asked.
Durand didn't look back at me as he drove. "No. The Dragonborn Militia is also known as BSS—Balaur Security Services. Balaur Academy is considered a feeder academy for military universities and entering Balaur as a career soldier. We've worked all over the world doing different things. We do customized training for international deployment, physical security at home and abroad, logistics and operations for new facilities, security and risk management…"
I covered a sneeze then interrupted him, "I thought BSS was a computer system."
Durand turned around to look at me this time. "That's why the initials are helpful because they're common. We don't want to be easily discovered. We're for professionals who use word of mouth. Dad, PL Lambert, started the company back in the nineties."
"So, you do all this… how many people live at this base?"
Durand didn't turn around this time to say, "You have a lot of questions. Look, the Dragonborn are international. We have local bases scattered all over the world under the Prime Leader's authority."
"So, the PL, my grandfather, rules all Dragonborn?"
"No…" he replied.
"Yes," Taya answered at the same time, then explained. "We're basically one large group worldwide, but there are other smaller groups out there. But everyone lives in their own local area, goes to their own schools in their own mundane country, but all are required to serve at least two years in the militia once they're done with school."
"Girls too?" I asked.
"No, but about a third join anyway. It's an excellent job and opens up a lot of doors, especially if we want to work in the mundane world," she said. "But I like what I do, I get paid well, and many other Dragonborn do as well—so we stay and work for BSS."
"So, BSS is Briony? What exactly is Briony?" I asked.
"It's a community first and foremost, but also a military base," my uncle growled, clearly tired of all my questions.
But hey, if I didn't ask, I wouldn't find out. Besides, if I didn't get a say in where, when, or why I was transferred around like the Queen's jewels, then the least I could do was learn the lay of the land.
In about a year, I'd be eighteen. Then what would happen? What if I wanted to go off alone to college—wait tables, drink and party? Would the Dragonborn still claim some kind of ownership over me?
The more I learned, the more I wondered if this was why George and my mom, Celine, had wanted to keep me away from them.
With them, I'd be free, but at what cost? Never having that soul-deep connection with Aaraeth? Never knowing about dragons or this strange world I'd stumbled into?
Not having my connection with Ashe?
It was an easy decision for me, though—knowledge was always power.
Coming into a clearing, Durand drove toward a small cabin. Two cars were parked out in front, a truck and a dark-colored Subaru wagon. Warm light glowed from the house's windows, and we slowed to a stop near the covered porch where the dirt road wound close to the building.
A man appeared from the shadows, shining a light into our group's lead car before turning toward our vehicle. He wore the black uniform of a Dragonborn soldier and carried a semi-automatic gun slung across his body. Durand rolled his window down, and the two exchanged small talk as we waited. After ID's were shown and lights shone into faces, we began moving. Around the cabin, in the trees, we stopped again. I caught the glint of sharp anti-vehicle spikes as they sank into the ground to allow us to pass.
There was one way up this mountain, and it was through this gate.
After driving up the impossibly steep road, we came out of the trees into another meadow dotted with aspen trees. Several deer lay not far off the road, bedded down for the night.
Entering the forest again, I gripped the handhold above my window as we wound farther into the woods. The tall, dense trees surrounded us like a cave until we stopped again at the base of a cliff.
It was late, and I had that drunk feeling that came from sleep deprivation. So when the rock wall began to shift aside and slide open, I blinked to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
Light spilled out into the inky night from a glowing cavern, and the cars in our group began to enter one by one. When we were all inside, the heavy doors closed with a resounding boom that made me jump.
Taya grinned from ear to ear, and I raised an eyebrow at her.
Why is she making that face? I asked my dragon.
I felt the same glee from Aaraeth when she answered, this place is unique. I feel it.
I was keenly aware of being underground and not quite sure what all the fuss was about, but then again, I could've fallen asleep on command if given a chance. I am one of those who needs a lot of sleep—I mean like almost 12 hours a night to function. And this trip was severely cutting into my precious sleeping time.
My unease increased when Durand wound his way down a striated parking garage-like spiral before stopping in a dimly lit cavern, in a long row of nondescript trucks, jeeps, and other four-wheeled vehicles.
I cracked my door open and followed the group hesitantly along the front of the cars. The cavern reminded me a bit of Evgeni's underground garage, but the thought only made my heart ache. The first and only time I'd been inside that underground garage had been with Ashe.
It seemed that everything reminded me of Ashe.
Dragons reminded me of Ashe.
Soldiers reminded me of Ashe.
Taya reminded me of Ashe.
Balaur reminded me of Ashe.
And here I was finally in a new place, and yet everything reminded me of HIM!
Taya gave me a sidelong glance and rubbed my back in a circular motion.
"You okay?” she asked softly.
I nodded as a cold breeze fluttered my hair from the downward side of the cave. At least the area was well ventilated.
Picking up my pace, I followed the group to a thick, metal door that blocked our path. Numbers were carved into the rock with an intricate frame above it.
I read it aloud, "1782. What's this?"
"That's the date this passage was first carved," Taya answered.
"Seriously?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. The Dragonborn were some of the first people to come to the Americas.
The red light on the door turned green at the swipe of my uncle's hand. He reached out and heaved it open, his muscles bunching in his arm as he did so. It was no secret that Durand was a notorious bachelor. As the Prime Leader's son and a Prime himself, even my friends at school fussed over him—which was super gross.
I guess he wasn't ugly. He had short-cropped brown hair and hazel eyes.
But still, eww…
Durand stopped abruptly and turned to me. "Are you okay climbing the stairs?"
I tilted my head, "Stairs? Yeah."
The other soldier, M
att, glanced back at me and groaned. I'm sure he was trying to hint at something, but I was too tired for guessing games.
I ignored him and focused on the narrow set of winding steps carved into the rock. They were smooth with wear, and every once in a while, the middle of a stair was patched with concrete. Bolted to the wall was a thin pipe handrail that looked nearly as old as the passage itself, and above us were baskets that gave off an eerie orange light.
"What is that?" I asked Taya, pointing to the basket.
"Oh, those are glows," she said. "They're from the dragon realm."
I hadn't been counting the steps, but by the time we stopped, it could've been a million because my thighs ached from the exertion.
Turning off onto one of the landings, we were met with another locking mechanism. Durand opened it before motioning me to go inside.
My jaw dropped as I took in the elegant entryway that rivaled Evgeni's home.
The cave mimicked a well-appointed house, with a gleaming chandelier, antique round entry table, and expensive rugs covering the tiled floor.
But my gaze was drawn to dark blue curtains as they fluttered in the breeze of open French doors. Unable to stop myself, I wandered to the opening.
"Easy," Durand warned, pulling me back with a tug on my arm. "That's a dragon ledge, and it's a long way down if you fall off."
Matt cleared his throat, gaining our attention. Sighing, he set my suitcase down with a thud. "Colonel? Do you need anything else?"
"No. You're free to go," Durand dismissed the soldier, closing the heavy metal door behind the young Prime.
I shivered from the breeze as it dried my sweat from the climb.
My uncle blew out a long breath, a slight smile on his lips. "We could've taken the EV, but I was tired of Long's complaining. I told Conner that everything would be fine."
"Wait, we could've driven up here instead of walking?"
He nodded.
I groaned. "Did you say Conner? As in Ashe's dad? Why would Ashe's dad have any say about today?"
Durand gave me a long-suffering look. "They're claiming you as part of their family." He held up a hand to ward off more questions. "And no, you aren't. But letting them send a representative was merely a friendly gesture."
I pressed my lips together and closed the space to my discarded suitcase.
"So, who exactly lives here?" I asked.
He gazed around the entry as if seeing it for the first time. "This is the Prime Leader's house—Arthur, Elise, and I live here, and now so do you."
I stared pointedly at the heavy iron bolted door. "So, I'm a prisoner here too?"
This made Durand smile widely, showing teeth. "You're not a prisoner. Actually, I think you might feel a lot more freedom here than at Garin's mansion. That's not the main door we came through. That's the back entrance," he pointed to an ornate wooden door before pulling it open, "This is the main door that you will enter and exit through." He waved a hand to a soldier who sat there reading a worn paperback.
"Everything all right, Colonel?" the soldier asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Just showing my niece the main entrance."
He waved at me, saying, "Welcome."
"Thanks," I replied awkwardly as Durand closed the door.
I bit my bottom lip, gazing around.
Durand's tone was tinged with exasperation, "Stop being afraid. I can practically feel the fear dripping off you. No one is going to hurt you here."
I let my bottom lip slide through my teeth. "I thought my mom hated it here."
He sighed, staring at me for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. I was born when she was about your age. But, personally, I think you will like it here. So, how about before you believe everything you hear, you take the time to figure it out for yourself? Okay?"
I uncrossed my arms and sighed. "I plan to, I will." I forced a tired smile up at him, "As long as I get trained and not just by Taya."
Taya shifted her weight, her eyes red from the long day.
"Fine. You're right, you should be trained. I'll line someone up for the job, but if you want to start tomorrow, it'll have to be her."
"Now I'm suspicious. Why are you giving in so easily?" I asked.
Durand just shrugged. "Believe it or not, I'm happy you're here. Mom's been sick with worry over you, and if I can help you feel more comfortable with us—your real family, then I'll do it. Mom was devastated when they lost the custody case and even more so when they returned here without you." He shook his head. "I still can't believe you helped freaking Evgeni Garin of all people."
I narrowed my eyes. "I wasn't helping him. I wanted to know the truth."
"The truth?" He shook his head. "No. That man is full of more secrets than the CIA."
I chewed my lip, pondering his comment. Then I spat out, "Do you think he's not my real dad?"
The Prime gave me a tired frown. "I don't know. But if he cared that much, you'd think he would have looked for you… or even helped look for you. I'm the one who found you. Me." I watched him turn and walk away down the dark hall. "I'm going to sleep, and I suggest you do the same. I've no doubt Mom will expect to show you off tomorrow."
His words about Evgeni hung heavy in my mind. I'd wanted to trust my bio dad, and we'd been on our way to creating some kind of relationship. It wasn't what George and I had, but it was something good, or so I thought.
"What was that about Evgeni?" I asked, my smile gone.
Taya squeezed my shoulder. "Just let it go. There's way too much history there to unpack tonight—maybe ever. If you like Evgeni, he's a good ally to have. But yeah, he's not really loved by a lot of Dragonborn, especially the Orthodox." Her brown eyes met mine. "Come on, let me show you the room Elise set up for you."
Taya held a glowing basket to light our way as she led me down the hallway Durand had taken, past several closed doors. She turned the knob on a carved wood and iron door to the left, and I followed her into a bedroom. A four-poster bed carved of glossy redwood dominated the room. Across from it were French doors surrounded by windows cranked wide.
The mountain breeze blew in, making the curtains flutter the way the ones in the hall had. In the corner sat a wood-burning stove, empty and closed up for the summer.
I ran my fingers along one of the smooth wood posts that made up the bed, then down to the pale blue bedding, but it was hard to tell what color things really were in the orange glow.
Taya pointed to a door tucked inside the entryway. "This is my room, so if you need me, just yell out… And don't go onto the dragon ledge until you can see it for yourself in the daylight—like Durand said."
I nodded, setting my suitcase down as the late hour weighed on me.
My guard added, "Get some sleep!"
I watched her disappear before closing the main door to the hall. I swayed on my feet and checked my phone. It was nearly two in the morning.
Instead of brushing my teeth or washing my face, I stripped down to my t-shirt and climbed into the silky blankets. The bed was so soft, it felt as if it might swallow me whole, but after throwing off several of the decorative pillows, I fell asleep in the orange glow.
5
Ashe
The evening gather ended, and almost everyone had left except for a few soldiers from my unit. We sat outside the dining hall near the fire pit, chatting and playing cards.
I stared into the fire, my mind, not on the game, but stuck on Sydney. It seemed I could distract myself for a while, but any time my mind could wander, it went to her. Thoughts of my Syd lured me in like a siren to a sailor… luring me in with those ever-changing blue-green eyes and sarcastic smirk… willing me to give up everything for her.
But it wasn’t just physical—it couldn’t be. There was more than this mind-blowing, overwhelming attraction… because if that was all this was, then the whispers and rumors that called me a pervert, a predator…. Then those were all true.
No, we had more. Behind those beautiful eyes was a sharp mind and
a woman much more mature than her years. Syd had this worldly intelligence that most Dragonborn adults would never have. She was my equal in every way…
Corbin’s words broke me out of my head, “Ashe? Did you drop your things off at my place? My parents won’t be there, but they’re fine with you staying over,” he poked a stick into the blaze to break apart the large log my meditative gaze had been on. “My mom said it reminded her of when we were boys.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “You didn’t tell them about the nightmares, did you?”
“No way. Dude, you’re welcome to sleep in my bed if you want, if it’ll help,” he offered.
I shook my head, “No, I’ll sleep in the hall on the bench. I’d keep you up.”
“The bench? The floor would be more comfortable.”
He stood, and I realized that we were the last two left outside. All the doors into Briony had been closed except for one. Standing, I followed him up the stairs and through the dining hall. We walked through the main cavern and over to the residential wing that wound up through the mountain like a giant spiral. The hallway was quiet and dark. The electric lights were off for the night, leaving only the glows to cast their orange light.
I declined Corbin’s offer to use his bed and slept in the entry hall. Unlike Mundane homes, the Dragonborn didn’t have common rooms like a living room, etc. Instead, everything was communal. If you wanted to hang out or watch movies or television, you did it with a group. If you wanted to eat, you went to the dining hall. The only public room in most Dragonborn homes was the entry or main entrance. The Bryant house was no exception. It was made up of a wide hallway with doors leading out to a dragon ledge. Behind that were windowless bedrooms inside the rock.
In the hall, I spread out on my sleeping pad and blanket, gazing up at the painted surface of the ceiling.
The doors to the dragon ledge stood open, and moonlight filled the space.
I lay awake late into the night, counting stars until finally, sleep took me.
Hard Boiled Page 5