Damn supernaturally hot dragons. It’s a distractingly unfair advantage in arguments at times. In love or not, I’m sure not blind or dead.
“Agtos said your former location was unsafe, impossible to properly secure.” He brushes his golden-blond hair off his forehead, not particularly looking at me with those garnet-red eyes.
“It wasn’t, but it was my home, and I didn’t want to leave until now.” I don’t want to discuss the reason, though I have a feeling he already knows.
I don’t miss the ‘humph’ of disapproval from him, and Dante stiffens, holding my hand tighter, almost painfully. “You didn’t want to leave. I see. Is that how Theo protects his wards? He allows you to inform him what you will and won’t do.”
“I’m not just his ward. Soon I’ll be his wife by High Realm law. Theo isn’t going to command me to do anything I don’t want to do.”
He laughs humorlessly; I’d even say disdainfully. “In the matter of protection, your personal relationship is meaningless. You are his ward. You are the North Star of the Goddess Houses. Failing in your protection fails all Dracopraesi. The existence of the North Star affects every dragon. Pandering to your wants and desires is weakness.”
“You dare to call Theo weak?” I scream, yanking my hand away from Dante, who doesn’t even try to hold me back as I lunge at this new ‘challenge’ of a dragon, slapping him hard across the face. “Don’t you ever say such a thing, or I will do far worse things than that.” Plenty of ideas pop into my head immediately.
“Have you any idea who I am?” he asks, glaring at me with those intense red eyes.
“Falcon Kielgard.” There isn’t a trace of doubt in my mind. “Have you any idea who I am?”
The corner of his mouth twitches into what I can only guess is a smile, although it looks rather snarly to me, and he laughs, sharp-edged and cold. “Indeed. You are the North Star … and a dangerously feisty woman.”
“Oh yes, I am. And don’t you ever forget it.”
Yet something in his humorless laugh and icy gaze leaves me wondering if his ‘dangerously’ is meant as a compliment or a warning.
Chapter 4
*Theo*
“That did not go quite as planned,” Claaron remarks, gliding alongside my right wing.
“No. It most certainly did not. We can only hope Jai and Clifford encountered no difficulties reaching Cait.” I continue scanning the ground as we head toward Wenham, watching for signs of additional elves scouting our movements. “I fear they have an Oracle of Herroz aligned with their cause.” Alliances between Dark Oracles and the undesirable faction of vampires is common knowledge among many in the supernatural world. To believe they would side with elves surprises me none. “How are you feeling, Oliver?” I ask as a distraction.
“I will be fine. The injury was quite minimal, but perhaps Claaron should learn to aim better.”
Claaron gives a throaty growl. “Perhaps you should keep your tail out of my way when I’m blasting those little bastards with fireballs.”
“Oliver’s spent centuries sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong, why not his tail,” comments Liam, not usually one to harass our brother in the past; however, changes in ranking from guarding Corrin to guarding Cait has affected us all.
Seeing the Gilroy Estate, I swoop down, spotting Clifford, still in dragon form, poised on the lawn in case of attack. “Liam, Oliver, perform a low perimeter sweep of both the fenced inner seventeen acres and the surrounding three hundred.” They break off formation, leaving Claaron and me to land near Clifford, the three of us shifting simultaneously. “Any problems?”
Clifford shakes his head hesitantly. “Not with our arrival … but Cait—”
I give him no time to finish his sentence before dashing straight for the house in search of her, dreading whatever I may find. “Theo, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” She bombards me with questions the moment I enter the kitchen.
In front of her in an instant, my hands are in her hair, on her face, inspecting her for any signs of something amiss. “I am fine. Are you alright?” My heart pounds in my chest, never have I held such fear as that of harm befalling my Cait.
She laughs, the sound soothing my soul, as she playfully pushes me away. “Yes. Why are you acting crazy again? Did Clifford tell you I hit Falcon?” Cait shoots a glare out the window toward my brother, still standing guard, returned to his natural state.
“Oh, this is a story I must hear.” Claaron walks in, coming over to give Cait a quick kiss on the forehead, my brothers, her Guard, gaining an unusual yet incredible comfort with affection between them and Cait as familial attachments have developed and deepened. Lowering his voice, he asks, “He didn’t lay a finger on you, did he? I’ll kill him.”
I doubt I would give Claaron a chance to do so first.
“Falcon not nice.” Jai’s tone is full of annoyance, almost to my amusement, such an odd behavior for him. He comes out from behind a corner. “Yet Falcon not foolish.”
“No. He didn’t touch me, lucky for him. I think Dante would have blasted him into dragon dust if he had.” Cait slides her hands up my chest and around my neck, and I lean down to kiss her, nearly desperate in my need for her. She bites my lower lip as I pull away, earning a guttural growl from me and a teasing growl from Claaron. Cait pushes him back playfully. “Get over it, Snowflake. You’re not welcome in this.”
He pretends to pout for a moment before his usual smirk returns. “Then at least tell us why you hit Falcon.”
Slipping in to stand as close beside her as possible, Jai’s expression remains a dour frown. “Falcon no respect.”
“Jai is right. Falcon made rude comments disrespecting your decisions regarding my security then pushed me over the edge with one remark that just went too far.”
“And I stand by my statement. Pandering to a ward’s wants and desires is weakness.” Falcon stands in the doorway, clarifying his side of the matter before I can question her further.
Arguing with Falcon is ever a futile waste of time, yet Cait has not yet learned this and makes to act against him once more, forcing me to hold her back, giving a harsh look of disapproval. Falcon is not part of our ‘family’ dynamic, and Cait will defer to appropriate high-society-learned, supernatural customs, not disrespecting me in his presence. “We are in an unusual situation, Falcon. Cait is not your typical ward with a singular dragon. She holds the loyalty of a contingent of six to protect her. Allowances are made given who she is, what she means to all Dracopraesi.”
His expression remains stony, unflinching, the icy cold demeanor every dragon knows to be his way. “Exactly why I deem such frivolous behavior from her Guard unacceptable and irresponsible—she is the North Star. I most certainly did not come to placate some infantile human girl.” Moving his eyes from my face to Claaron’s and Jai’s, back to mine, wearing a mild sneer, he snorts haughtily. “You fawn over her like children drawn to a shiny object.” His eyes fall on Cait, assessing her, head to toe, then looking at me again. “The North Star is a fierce, brave woman.” One brow raises, the rest of his face remaining as if a statue. “Of her, I approve. As for the rest of you, I do not.”
With that, he turns on his heel and marches out of the room. I sigh, turning to Cait again. “I did forewarn you. Personality is not his strong suit.”
She nods thoughtfully. “True, and I may still yet kill him for being a general ass, but he’s not all bad.” I cannot imagine what she likes about Falcon when she grins, batting her eyelashes exaggeratedly. “He approves of me. … And we do see eye-to-eye about some things.”
Stroking her arm as he often does, Jai nearly purrs. “Even mean Falcon love Cait.”
Claaron almost howls laughing. “Jai, I don’t think he loves anyone. I’m not sure he could if his existence depended on it.”
Jai shrugs, making Cait giggle. “Falcon no hate her. Falcon so mean, same thing.”
“Well, he does seem to find me interesting at least. He stood in that doorwa
y staring at me without saying a word until you arrived,” Cait explains. “Jai wouldn’t come out from behind that corner. Dante wanted to stay with me, but I told him Falcon doesn’t scare me, just to go upstairs and get Corrin settled. I was eating strawberries Runa brought in from their hothouse before we got here. Then she went out to the guesthouse to finish preparing rooms. She said Evan isn’t back from The Aire yet. Falcon just watched, didn’t move, didn’t speak. The second I felt you near, I told him. He said, ‘Fascinating,’ with about as much emotion as a weather report then walked away.”
“Perimeter’s clear,” Liam announces as he and Oliver join us. “I’d like to think it will stay that way, but optimism has never been my thing. What have we missed?” His eyes land on Cait, waiting.
“Nothing much. I arrived. Falcon called Theo weak. I slapped him. He stared at me like a stalker. He thinks you’re all irresponsible and suffocating me. Oh, and he apparently likes me about as much, or maybe more than he likes anyone else who exists on this planet.”
Liam shakes his head, blinking rapidly. “What? Theo’s weak, and we’re irresponsible?”
I sigh, contemplating how to handle this situation as Claaron laughs at Liam’s reaction. “Cait slapped Falcon, and that was what you got from everything she said?”
“Hey, Cait hauling off and letting loose on somebody doesn’t surprise me in the least.” Liam smirks with his admittance, and I silently agree. “But just because Falcon’s a fucking dick… Sorry, Cait. Excuse me.” Cait waves off Liam’s slip, grown used to his frequent use of foul language and the increasing comfort with informalities around her, lending to far more instances of such usage in her presence, though she continues to find him surprised by her own use of such language at times. “Anyway, whatever you may think of Falcon, he’s still bound by the same honor code of every Dracopraesi. He’d never hurt an innocent, or commit a blasphemous act against women, and absolutely not bring harm to the North Star.”
“Regardless, I must speak with him. This cannot go on, Liam.” Allowing it now will serve only to encourage its continuance.
“Then if you will allow it, I will accompany you.”
Nodding, I agree and lean down to kiss Cait. “Keep Claaron out of trouble.” I hope she will concern herself little with the task at hand. My dear Cait has grown comfortable with the sense of family her dragons give her and needs nothing disturbing that when she must adjust to many difficult changes.
“Ha ha. Leave me with the tough job.” She runs her fingers through my hair, twisting it around her fingers, grinning. “Fine. You go be the badass alpha dragon, and I’ll keep Snowflake in line.”
We find Falcon standing in the elegantly appointed formal living room the Gilroys rarely use. Motionless, he watches out the front window, acutely aware of every detail within his sight, on guard for any potential danger to Cait. No one could accuse him of being remiss in his duties.
“Falcon.” I address him with a tone of respect due his house position, not wanting to degrade the situation further.
“All remains quiet here. For now.” He does not turn away from the window.
“Excellent. I do appreciate you coming on such short notice, joining our efforts against the elves, even arriving early.”
“I did not arrive early. I arrived at an appropriate time in accordance to the needs of the North Star. Agtos informed me of your plans, the intended timeframe, though all too late by honest assessment. Your plan wrongly placed responsibility for her safety in the hands of Dante rather than a dragon. Such negligent decisions left me no choice than to arrive when I did, waiting to suitably fulfill the role of her protector until others joined her.” He moves his arms from behind his back to cross them over his chest. “Yet I found those dragons to be the dwarf trickster and his companion, neither an adequate warrior to guard the North Star.”
A deep growl reverberates through my chest as I step toward him. “Agtos sent you to assist, to fall in line under my command, Falcon, not to cause dissension among the ranks of Cait’s Guard, questioning my decisions, judging those she trusts, the dragons closest to her.”
“See things as you wish, Theo; however, Agtos sent me, the First Brother of the House of Kielgard, the House of War, when the North Star most clearly needs an efficient leader skilled in the methods of waging war and all that entails, including providing proper protection to a ward whilst in the midst of bloodthirsty enemy battalions.” His eyes flit in my direction, resuming his watch, paying little mind of my growing anger, my own infuriated growling now joined by Liam’s. “Do not take this as a statement you are incapable, simply that this matter does not best suit your strengths. Undoubtedly, once the North Star reaches full transformation, becoming eternal, you shall manage her Guard quite fine on your own. For now, she needs someone qualified for the situation she finds herself, and despite himself, Agtos has reasons behind every move he chooses to make.”
“If Agtos questioned my ability to lead, he would have told me directly, Falcon. You may be the First Brother of your house and I only the Second Brother of mine, but yours is the Sixth House of the Dracopraesi and mine the First. It is I who have never felt the touch of death, not you. It is I who the Goddess chose as mate to our North Star, not you,” I growl out between clenched teeth, daringly grasping him by the shoulder, forcing him to turn and face me, glowering down into his darkened red eyes. “Take heed of such considerations before you speak to me such. I outrank you in every way possible, Falcon. Even the First Brother of my own house falls under my command in this Guard. Do. Not. Question. Me.”
Falcon drops his eyes to my hand on his shoulder and sneers. “You think numbers on houses mean pittance to me? Pendragon. The great House of Morality. Are they arguing lesser values and lack of nobility with you?” Releasing his own threatening growl, Falcon dares to step closer, baring his teeth in my face. “I come from the House of War, and I daresay they wield swords at your neck, launch spears at your chest, and shoot arrows through your side.” He reaches around, shoving his finger into my ribs, exactly where the arrow hit me weeks ago. “Right there, if I’m not mistaken.” His mouth curls into a disturbing and ugly smile. “Or so I heard.”
“You may not wish to follow my orders, but do not forget who the North Star is, what she is to us. We fall to her regardless of rifts among the brotherhood.”
“The Goddess Houses may fall at the feet of the North Star, but as greatly as we respect everything she exists to be, the Catalyst Houses still answer to the Mother Goddess.” His tone is as cold as his expression, and he pushes my hand away, turning back to the window, glaring out to the expansive landscaped lawn and tree-lined road frontage off in the distance.
“You remember not the prophecy, Falcon? Do you so naively believe there will truly be such a great difference between the two of them when her transformation completes?”
My Kielgard brother says nothing for quite some time, and I believe he might refuse to answer as a matter of pride. Glancing to Liam, I am prepared to leave the room, finished dealing with this mule-headed dragon, when he finally speaks.
“No. I know little if any exists.” Unmoving, he answers in clipped monotone words. “That gives me reason enough to remain.”
***
Cait enjoys the freedom of the outdoors and the warmth of the sun on her face after too long caged within her apartment. She knows that once the elves find us, such freedom will be limited once again. Yet for now, I cannot resist the desire to indulge her, even as Falcon stands like a statue less than twenty feet away, expression stony, only his eyes moving, alert for any threat, and adamantly disagreeing with my decision.
“Then do you believe I am correct in this assessment?” I ask Agtos, holding the GoSky to my ear, trying to listen over the chaotic noise of Cait laughing as she dances around the yard, coercing Jai and Claaron into joining her, though it takes little convincing to get Jai to do anything, and Claaron would never allow himself to be outdone.
“Yes and no.” I
pinch the bridge of my nose, trying not to sigh at his cryptic response, knowing he would hear that.
“They somehow knew of our intent but do not have an Oracle?” At times, his responses are more puzzling than helpful, taking a great deal of patience and thought to decipher. And raise far too many additional questions than often he adequately answers.
“An Oracle but not an Oracle. They have Valoin.”
“Valoin. Z’s brother?” I now know absolutely no more than when I called him.
“Yes,” he states as if this answers all the questions in the known universe.
Oh, my Goddess, I do believe I am developing a dragon-sized migraine. “How do you suggest I handle this particular problem?” I can only hope this might draw out a better explanation.
“You’ll find everything you need once you lose what you found.”
I blink, still perplexed, and then squeeze my eyes shut, a dreadful sense of fear shuddering through me. “I’m quite sure I will.” But I do not know if I wish to bear what loss may find me.
“Yes.” Agtos is most definitively sure of this, if his tone is any indicator, which is not necessarily always true. He often sounds quite serious when he is not, making him nearly impossible to read.
“Then what—”
“You know what they say about never appreciating what you had until yada yada. Just trust me. The prophecy is what it is, and you just play your part. Jai knows what to do about Valoin.” The line goes silent as he disconnects it, and I pull the phone away from my ear, staring for a moment, shaking my head, sighing, and pocketing it. I hold little more in way of answers and greater worries than I care for.
“Where did Spiffy go?” I hear Cait ask. “He’s the only one of you who can do a proper waltz with me.” She’s trying to get Claaron to waltz while he attempts to lead her into an impromptu tango.