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Chapter 22
Loric
“Did you tell her?” Jesper asks, falling into step with me as we head toward the table where the others are gathered.
“No. She’s got her own demons she’s dealing with. The last thing she needs is to find out her father’s one, too. I’ll tell her tomorrow.”
“You don’t think it would help for her to know what she is? Even if you wait to tell her about Meg and Asmo, havingananswer is better than none.”
Halting in my tracks, I turn to face him, the urgency in his gaze giving me pause. “You didn’t see her, Jesper. The fear in her eyes... She’s terrified of dragons.”
“She’s scared of us because of what the king did, but the king isn’t her daddy anymore. Asmodeus is. The dragons have nothing to hold against her. If anything, they’ll relate to her more because she was in that dungeon.” I don’t respond, choosing to chew the inside of my cheek instead, but apparently no answer was enough for Jesper to draw some conclusionbecause he huffs, and shoots me a knowing look. “It’s because you’re worried she’ll be scared of you, isn’t it?”
The air hitches in my throat, but I don’t show it. I keep my face blank and my voice indifferent. “I thought it was Brenn that had the brain.”
“Just because his gift helps him read people, doesn’t mean I’m blind.”
I take a seat at the wooden table, Jesper scooching in beside me. “But even Brenn can be wrong. Isn’t that right Brenn?”
All I can see are the white tips of his hair, his face buried in his hands. Faelor filled them in while I checked on Calamity, and by the looks of it, Brenn isn’t taking the news well.
“I tried to kill the queen’s daughter,” he says, the words nearly smothered by his hands.
“Oh just apologize, for fate’s sake. You didn’t know,” Jesper says.
And he’s right. Brenn didn’t know, but it doesn’t excuse him trying to kill her either. Nor does it stop my teeth from grinding at the thought of him doing something so careless.
“She’s never going to forgive me. I know I wouldn’t.” Brenn lifts his head, his weary eyes turning to Mira, who’s next to him, gently stroking her hand over his spine.
I snort, shaking my head. “You don’t know her.”
Brenn sits back, his face red as if the blood has pooled in his cheeks. “Well, for all of our sakes, I hope you’re right.”
Looking over the table, a crease forms between my brow. Mira and Brenn sit across from us, but Faelor and Vik are nowhere in sight. I quickly glance around the open cavern. They're not loitering either. “Where’s Faelor and Vik?”
Mira’s brows raise. “Where do you think? Apparently, their agreement goes both ways and with Calamity…” Her lips form a flatline, letting us derive the rest.
Jesper leans against the table, head propped up on an elbow, eyes narrowed at me. “I’m surprised you can’t hear it…. Interesting. I wonder why that is.” The sarcasm practically drips from his tone.
I shrug. “Maybe they’re just being quiet for a change.”
Mira’s laugh draws my eyes. “Yeah, no.” Her lips form a closed lip smile, her cheeks reddening. “What do you hear, Lor?”
My face falls as they go deathly silent watching me. There’s an echo, a beat but it’s uneven. Footsteps, bare feet against the stone floor. Calamity talking to herself. She’s trying to get her dragon to answer her–to speak at all.The bed creaks as if she’s sat on it, then that echoing beat slows to a steady rhythm, becoming a bit quieter in the process.
“I don’t hear anything besides the cave,” I lie, incapable of meeting any of their eyes. Instead, I lace my fingers together and fidget with my thumbs.
“In that case,” Jesper starts, gripping my shoulder to give it a quick squeeze. “Your ears are broken.”
No… Not broken, just preoccupied.
“I still can’t believe she’s Asmodeus’s daughter… Do you think her gift has to do with his bloodline? Furies don’t usually have death magic. It’s like she can both give and take life,” Mira says, still comforting Brenn.
I dare to meet her eyes, but there’s no judgment in them, just curiosity. “Asmodeus can control the dead, soI’d assume so. I probably should’ve put that together sooner.”
Brenn scoffs, propping his head up on his hand, slouching against the table. “That girl has more power than she’s even aware of. A hell of a lot more than what she toyed with in the woods. Asmodeus was strong before he put on the king’s cuff and furies are already powerhouses.”
There’s no arguing with that. This place started as a prison world meant to contain any creature that couldn’t be controlled.The dragons are immune to most magic, and therefore we can come and go, but Asmodeus was shoved into this realm because his own parents feared him. Add that with Megara’s fury bloodline, and I doubt we’ve witnessed an inkling of what Calamity can do.
