“I’ll send a crow back to let her know we’re going to be here for longer than planned,” Cole said.
Lexi didn’t like that, but he was right. The dragon couldn’t remain in the Gloaming.
* * *
Brokk openedthe letter the crow had brought to the kitchen window earlier. As soon as Sahira announced she had everything she required for the spell, he’d been in a rush to return to the tunnels where Orin and Varo had already retreated.
He’d returned with Sahira and Del and hadn’t taken the time to read it beforehand. He wanted this spell over and the stoneoutof their possession.
In the dim glow of the flashlight Sahira held, he scanned the note. His eyebrows rose when he saw the word dragon, and an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. Had the Lord sent the dragon or had it just flown into the realm as they sometimes did?
The arrival of a dragon in the Gloaming was a lot less common than it used to be; they had the human realm to explore and torment now.
Was it seeking revenge against Cole for killing one of its brethren? But it had been a while since then, and they hadn’t eaten him yet; the Lord ensured that. He didn’t see one of those beasts breaking the Lord’s control to go after Cole now when they could have easily killed him in Dragonia.
What if Lexi somehow drew it there?
He hoped not, because the longer they kept what she was a secret, the better they would all be. And having a dragon following her around wasnotgoing to help them keep that cat in the bag.
And for all he knew, the dragon might eat her first. He had no idea how the creatures were going to react to her. Some of them had probably never met an arach.
It had been a thousand years since they last ruled, and while dragons weren’t known to be prolific breeders—they would have invaded all the realms by now if they were—they’d certainly produced new dragons over those thousand years.
And the ones whodidremember the arachs might prefer to have nothing to do with another one. The arachs destroyed each other and nearly their realm with their greed and petty infighting. The dragons might have grown sick of their shit before the arachs all killed each other.
He could only hope not. Lexi’s true heritage might be their only chance of surviving this whole mess. He had no doubt the Lord meant to destroy them all and anyone else who possessed any amount of power.
Now that the Lord had won his battle against the rebels, he would turn his attention to better prizes than the human realm. And the Gloaming, being one of the stronger realms, would make a fantastic prize.
“What does it say?” Sahira asked.
Brokk crumpled the paper and shoved it in his pocket. “There’s a dragon in the Gloaming. They’re going to be gone longer than they anticipated and want us to start without them.”
“Is Lexi okay?” Del demanded.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Orin replied. “We should do what Cole said and get this started. What do Varo and I have to do?”
“My daughter—”
“Your daughter is in the Gloaming with its king and a dragon her people once ruled. She’s perfectly fine.”
Del’s hands fisted, and while Orin deserved a beatdown, Brokk wasn’t in the mood for this.
“Enough,” Brokk interjected. “Orin, stop being an asshole.”
“I think you forget your place, little brother,” Orin said.
“No,” Brokk retorted. “I think you forgetyours. Sahira doesn’t have to help you.”
Orin glanced at Sahira, who smirked in return. “I’d prefer not to,” she said.
“Perhaps we should do this at another time, when Cole is here, and we are all more relaxed,” Varo said in his cool, soothing voice.
Brokk had forgotten how much Varo could calm a room with his gentle presence and levelheaded approach to everything. Of course, his pacifying nature hadn’t stopped their family from splitting apart, but he wasn’t a miracle worker, and they were all stubborn asses.
“We can’t,” Brokk said. “We only have the stone for three days—”
“Less than that now,” Sahira said. “And the spell takes hours to complete.”
