I shook my head. “What do you mean by?-“
Before the words were even out of my throat, he shifted and took off into the air, the thwap-thwap of his wings drowning out my question. Heart pounding, I watched him disappear behind the clouds.
Delphine tugged on my arm. “We have to hurry, dear.”
She took the seat behind Kaskawan on Rasp’s back, and I climbed onto Octavius behind Freddy.
My little brother looked back at me with anxiety-ridden eyes.
“This is fucking terrifying,” he cried even as Octavius took off into the sky. “I don’t know how you act this calm.”
I put my arms around his waist as the dragon beneath us bobbed and swooped higher and higher into the sky.
“You get used to it,” I said, resting my head on his shoulder.
The last few miles of our trip went by in less than five minutes. Beneath us, the clearing became visible, as well as the people in attendance. My jaw dropped as I saw what awaited us. My family’s contingent was there, along with the wolf families allied to them, as well as dozens of others: fae tribes who weren’t part of the Hikshil; moose shifters, panthers, bears, and elk-all the native shifters from the new world. Bastien hadn’t informed us how many people would be in attendance. A sudden sick feeling twisted my stomach. Most of the people here were either ambivalent toward Cassius or actively hated him for the mistakes and poor choices he’d made in the past. We were descending into a very dangerous situation.
Swallowing hard, I did my best to put on a regal and confident face as Octavius landed. The way the warrior twitched and turned his massive dragon head told me the sight of so many possible enemies made him nervous.
Before we’d even had time to get settled on the ground, a female voice rang out. “If you’d be kind enough to have your pretty little flying lizards shift to their human form?”
As I slid off Octavius’s back, I turned toward the voice. Sasha. She stood with her shoulders back, basically preening as she strode forward. It still astounded me that she was so loyal to Bastien. He’d twisted her in some way, mentally brainwashing her over the years, creating a perfect right-hand woman to help run the family home. I’d tried to help her the night of the battle in the conservatory, but she’d nearly gotten me killed. She looked at me like I was vermin fouling up the place.
I grinned at her. “Surely, the powerful Laurent family isn’t scared of a few dragons?”
Her simpering smile faded, and she scowled. “You will do as requested, or this meeting is over.”
As badly as I wanted to ignore her request, the others had planned on shifting back when we arrived anyway. Octavius hovered near me and Freddy, while Vince and Rasp stood near the Hikshil tribesmen and Delphine. All three men eyed the assembly with wariness. Even Rasp, who usually acted so immature and carefree, had his jaw set in a hard line as Bastien emerged from a small tent in the center of the clearing.
My brother sauntered forward, looking as calm and collected as he would attending a ball.
“Greetings to the Hikshil tribe,” he said, bowing to Sahalie and the others. “I trust your trip was uneventful?”
Sahalie frowned. “We flew in the sky. Is that not eventful?”
Bastien frowned, obviously caught off guard by the seer’s response.
“We are fine, Lord Bastien,” Achakos said. “Are you prepared to answer our questions regarding this prisoner of yours? You claim to have Prince Aurelius Decimus in your custody. Is that true?”
“It is,” he said, nodding his head once, his smile widening. “The terrorist Aurelius Decimus.”
“Interesting,” Kaskawan said, stepping forward. “When we left the dragon castle, Aurelius was there. I wonder how you could possibly claim to have him if he is safe within his family’s walls?”
Bastien somehow looked even more pleased by the question. “Oh, I’m sure the dragons would love for everyone to believe the good prince was safe and sound and innocent of the charges against him. If what you say is true, then the Decimus household has employed a skinwalker or shapeshifter to mimic the prince.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped. A ripple ran through the crowd of onlookers. “You said the same thing about me at the gala, and Jolon proved I was who I said I was.”
Bastien glanced at me with visible disgust. “Perhaps he did, but the dragons murdered him before he could reveal his findings. Isn’t that true?”
Clenching my fists, I stiffened as if to move forward. I wanted to tear out my brother’s eyes. He knew well enough it wasn’t Aurelius who’d had Jolon killed. Octavius nudged me with his elbow before I could act.
“Stay calm, my lady,” he whispered.
Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself. This was part of the plan. Iknew that, but it didn’t make things any better. I had to allow Sahalie to play her part, and I would play mine.
“Anyway,” Bastien said after a few moments of my silence. “I would like to address the crowd, if I might?” He gave the Hikshil a questioning look.
Kaskawan scowled and glanced around. “This was not part of the agreement. I wonder why we have an audience. This”-he reached up and touched a shimmering purple stone at his throat-“will be sending images of this meeting to any with a viewing crystal.”
“Be that as it may,” Bastien said, “a live audience is always better. Then no one can say any images were, shall we say, altered.”
A dark look crossed over Kaskawan’s face, and he clenched his fists at his sides. “Are you indicating that we might do something like that?” the man asked in a low, threatening voice.
Bastien put a hand to his chest, his smile never faltering. “My dear man, this meeting is simply a gesture of good faith toward the respected Hikshil tribe. All of us here”-he swept a hand toward the crowd-“understand and revere your history and power, as well as your status as the protectors of one of the largest remaining wellsprings. That being said,” he added with a more predatory grin, “you have aligned yourselves with the dragon king. It shows that you are more than likely fooled by their words. I’m sure, once you see the prisoner and hear the questioning, you’ll change your allegiance quite quickly.”
Bastien turned his gaze up at me once more, then his eyes skipped over Rasp, Vince, Delphine, and finally, Freddy. The smile never left his face, but the look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. He was enraged that we were all here.
Most of his fury was reserved for Freddy. The two stared at each other before Bastien broke the connection and turned to the crowd, raising his hands to the sky.
“Bring forth the prisoner! Let’s get this done, as I’m sure we all have better things to do.” He threw a glance over his shoulder at me. “Like preparing for war.”
A cold shiver ran up my spine. We all knew that was what Bastien wanted. He was completely insane. In fact, as I glanced around the crowd of shifters and fae in attendance, I wondered if they were all here to see the truth, or if they’d come simply to make sure Bastien remained happy with them. The power of the Laurent family wasn’t something you trifled with.
Hissed conversations broke out in the crowd as something happened near the tent at the center of the clearing. The Hikshil and the others gathered close to me-Freddy and Delphine at my sides, Vince and Rasp standing at the front of our group, Octavius at the rear, watching for anything that might signal betrayal or attack. I risked a single glance toward the sky.
There, almost impossible to see if you weren’t looking for it, a tiny speck circled the clearing. Aurelius. Before I’d even had time to register his presence, he slipped back up into the clouds, vanishing from sight. Knowing he was right there gave me the confidence to face what was coming. But it didn’t ease the shock at what I saw coming out of the tent.
My jaw fell open as two of Bastien’s henchmen pushed a man locked in heavy steel chains forward. Even from here, I could smell the silver in the bindings. The other shifters in attendance backed away in disgust at the smell of the metal. Whatever was bound in the chains looked so much like Aurelius that it made my brain hurt. For a single moment, my heart lurched, thinking that somehow Bastien was right. That he did still have Aurelius in his custody and the man I’d been with since his escape was a fake. That wasn’t true, of course. I’d seen Aurelius shift, had ridden on his back, and I’d shared intimate moments with him. There was no way that man wasn’t who he said he was. Even shapeshifting creatures and skinwalkers couldn’t change into dragons.
The fake Aurelius stepped forward, his head hung low, a look of defeat on his blood-smeared face. Once he was standing between the crowd and our group, the security team pushed him down roughly, forcing him to his knees. The imposter gasped in pain and winced as he stumbled forward. He glanced up and locked his eyes on me, a faint smile forming on his lips.
“Elle? Oh God, Elle. I thought I’d never see you again.”
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