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“No, we can’t, Dad,” I looked at him with incredulity. “And I can’t believe that you’re willing to stand there and let all this happen. This isn’t what I expected from the man who raised me. You always told me to stand up for people in need, but now Ilvar is planning to kill everything. He’s being selfish, and don’t think for one moment that he wouldn’t sacrifice you as well if it meant he could get what he wants. The only thing that matters to him is his own ego. The rest of us can burn in hell.”
“That’s not true. He wants to be like the great kings of old.”
“Oh yeah, like the ones who made us leave Drakon in the first place,” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Dad, if you’re really this far gone, then I have nothing to say to you.”
“It doesn’t matter, Kadie. You’re back now and, if you like, we can have this argument when we’re on the way back to Drakon.”
I stared at him. He really didn’t get it. “I’m not going back with you, Dad.”
“What? But you have to.”
“No, I don’t. If this is the kind of thing you’re going to champion, then I know it’s not where I belong. I don’t have a place here. I’d rather die with everyone else on Earth before I throw my lot in with Ilvar, and the rest of you should be thinking the same thing as well. This isn’t right. It’s not fair. People don’t deserve this.”
“Nobody deserves anything,” he sighed heavily. “It just happens. Life happens and we don’t get any say in the matter. Ilvar is just trying to take back a little bit of control. You know that, if we stay on Earth, eventually, we’re going to have to scatter. They’re spreading out all the time. It’s only a matter of time before they discover us, and there are only so many places on this planet that have been untouched by them. We need to do this for our own safety.”
“Our own safety isn’t worth anything if people are killed for it,” I said, trying to make him understand. “And I’m sorry if you can’t see that, Dad, but I’m not about to condone this kind of behavior. Look, I didn’t come back here to stay. I came back to try and find out where Ilvar is, so that I can try and stop him. Do you have any idea where he might be going?” I saw a flash in his eyes, and I knew that he did.
“It doesn’t matter. You won’t be able to stop him.”
“I need to try Dad. I can’t just let it all end this way.”
“It doesn’t have to. Come with us.”
I shook my head again. “I can’t. If you’re going to leave, then you need to remember that the path you forge through the stars is paved in blood, and not just the blood of humans, but dragon’s blood as well. That might not mean much to Ilvar, but I think it will to you, and I hope it does to others as well. You need to bear the weight of this, Dad, and if you won’t tell me, then I’ll figure something else out. I’ll find some other way to track him. I just can’t stand by and do nothing while he breaks the world.”
Dad hung his head. He remained silent for a few moments. I walked up to him and took him in my arms. I whispered in his ear. “If this is goodbye, Dad, then I want to say thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. I know this hasn’t turned out quite like we planned. I’m sorry that I couldn’t make things easy for you, but you helped me become the person I am today. You taught me to stand up for the things I believe in, and that’s what I’m doing now. If I don’t stop Ilvar, then I hope that you make a good life for yourself on Drakon, and try and think of me fondly. I love you. Goodbye,” I said, emotion seeping into my voice. I walked towards the door, holding back tears.
“Kadie, wait,” he said, his words heavy. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked as though he had aged about a decade. I stood in the doorway, my hand on the handle, ready to disappear in the darkness. The inner struggle was evident on his face. “He’s gone to the Needle,” he said.
A look of realization came upon my face. I should have known. “Thank you, Dad,” I said, knowing how hard it had been for him to betray Ilvar like that.
“Just try and be safe Kadie. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you,” he added.
I took a lingering look at him and then nodded. I had turned him into a traitor as well, and I hoped that he would find it in his heart to forgive me. I found myself wondering whether this was how Buck’s father felt when Buck had chosen to leave.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brett
The more I thought about the three of us becoming a harem for Kadie, the more it made sense. With women, I had often been unsure and uneasy. I had been in a whirl around Tammy, and there had always been a sense that I wasn’t good enough for her, or just plain wasn’t enough. If there were three of us, it might be different. Kadie and I shared the ability to receive visions. That was how we could bond. I had had a long time to think about what had gone wrong with Tammy, and with the benefit of hindsight, I could see how anger and jealously towards Buck had played their part. I had been more concerned with him than with Tammy. Instead of looking at her and realizing that things weren’t as good between us as they should have been, I blamed Buck. I didn’t even think there was anything wrong with the way I conducted myself.
It was time that I accepted responsibility. I couldn’t spend my entire life blaming Buck for something that wasn’t entirely within his control. I had honored Tammy’s memory too much, turning it into something precious, something sacred instead of looking at the truth of it. She wasn’t perfect.
That may not seem like a particularly revolutionary thought, but for me it was. I had spent years canonizing her and mythologizing her until the image of Tammy I had in my head bore little resemblance to the person she actually was. It was time for me to grow up and accept my own shortcomings. Kadie had already pulled away from me once. I didn’t want the same thing to happen again. If that meant I had to share her with Buck and Mason, then so be it. I glanced across at them, wondering whether the same thoughts were going through their minds.Thinking about it was one thing, but putting it into practice was quite another. We had been through enough in life that sharing a romantic relationship was just one more thing to share, but if there were any three people who could endure it, surely it was us?
That was if we had a chance, anyway. The world could end before that. I tried not to think about it too much. It made everything else seem meaningless.
We heard a rustling sound and looked up. A figure emerged through the trees. We braced ourselves in case it was the enemy, but it was Kadie. She had a strained look on her face, the look of someone who had just been through emotional turmoil. All three of us stepped towards her before we hesitated, wondering if there should be some kind of pattern to our movements. Did we have to take it in turn to comfort her? There were so many unspoken things, unspoken rules, how were we supposed to figure it all out?
“Are you okay?” Buck asked.
Kadie nodded mutely and wrapped her arms around herself. Pale, slender fingers pressed against her upper arms. Strands of hair brushed her shoulders, forming a silky sheen. She somehow became more beautiful every time I saw her.
“Did you find out anything?” Mason asked.
“He’s at the Needle,” she said, as though it should have meant something to us. When she realized we weren’t reacting, she explained more. “It’s an old mountain, a dormant volcano on an island not too far off the coast. It goes down into the depths of the earth, threading through the mantle like a Needle. There have been stories about that place. It’s always been important to us. I should have known he was going there.”
“What kind of stories?” I asked.
