“You know as well as I do, they’ll want something else next.”
“Even if that’s true. I‘m capable of flying missions on my own.”
“With seven crawler dragons around?” Victor’s gaze pinned me in place.
“Six. I killed one last night.”
Victor swore, approaching the window.
I could safely say that I have never seen him so agitated.
“You’re not going.” His eyes returned to my face.
“And who’s going to stop me?”
I knew very well that I was entering into the land of no return. Victor’s eyes narrowed. His features hardened, every line more defined, more unsettling.
“I am.”
Our eyes locked. He was not going to back down, but I was not willing to lose this battle either.
What choice did I have?
The sisters were helping us to get back to Darragh. It was a small price to pay for their hospitality.
I was a warrior, after all. I could handle this.
Someone rapped lightly on the frame of the privacy partition, but both of us remained where we were, unwilling to break eye contact. Then the screen moved.
“Greetings, sister. Mahin wants to see you.” A voice sounded from the doorway.
“I’ll be right out,” I said, not taking my eyes off Victor.
The servant girl hesitated for a brief moment, then pulled the screen closed behind her.
I got to my feet and marched to the bathing chamber, flinging the curtain out of my way.
Still fuming, I peeled off my flying suit and lowered myself into the pool.
Mahin was enjoying her afternoon meal in her secluded chamber. Her thick, almost black hair was swept up and pinned high, exposing her long, beautiful neck. Amira was standing by the wall, her hands clasped in front of her. Both of them turned their heads as I walked in.
“Well?” Mahin was the first to break the silence.
“I found them,” I said.
Mahin took a deep breath, she clenched the silverware in her hand. That was the first time I witnessed a real, unguarded reaction from the high priestess. Even Amira’s usually cold face betrayed some resemblance of a feeling. But, there was something about their reactions that troubled me.
Why couldn’t they find the storage house on their own? How is it possible that they never encountered any of the people from the other settlement? Why would the girl wearing the compound’s clothes go straight to the Scars if she had been, as they said, abducted?
“Are you sure?” Mahin asked.
Her face resumed its usual, serene expression so quickly, that it almost seemed like her first reaction happened only in my head.
“I can’t be absolutely sure, unless I see inside the place,” I said, and a long pause followed.
Mahin played with her fork, and at times, it looked like she completely forgot about my presence. I glanced at Amira, whose face hardened as if it was carved in stone.
What was she thinking? What were they hiding from me?
