On either side of him were two guards; they each held a spear and had swords strapped to their backs. More guards moved amongst the dead plants and the endless acres of land.
Overhead, a dragon roared as it swooped across the sky, but none of them were on the ground in the garden. Cole ignored the circling beasts overhead as he strode toward the Lord. Rocks clattered beneath Varo’s clone as Cole dragged it along the pathway.
Most of the guards watched as he approached the Lord, but some kept their attention focused away from the fountain to search the land. These men and women were better trained than the ones by the portal.
Cole didn’t know if the Lord always had this many guards to protect him when he didn’t have dragons near or if he’d called them to him when he heard of Cole’s arrival. Either way, the Lord was making it clearnoone was going to get at him.
Which meant the Lord had a verybigfalse sense of security. He had no idea what was coming for him, but Cole did. Even if he’d never learned about Lexi’s true heritage, he would have found a way to kill this man.
He looked forward to the day it happened.
However, the Lord was also making it clear Cole would not escape here. As if to reinforce this, the shadows of two dragons swept across him as they circled overhead.
“Cole!” the Lord greeted with false cheerfulness. “How good it is to see you, and I hear it’s under thebestof circumstances!”
Cole kept his ire over that statement hidden as he gave the Lord a tightlipped smile. This asshole didn’t know the two bodies he carried weren’t really his brothers, but if they were, then this would have beenfarfrom good circumstances.
But he was insane. That insanity shone from his red eyes, eyes that were once hazel and twinkled with merriment.
Before becoming the Lord, Andreas was a good man. That man died centuries ago.
“Your Highness,” Cole greeted.
He didn’t say how good it was to see the Lord again; it would have been a lie, and the Lord would have known it. Cole planned to spin a giant lie to him right now, but he wouldn’t lie if he didn’t have to. It would only get him caught if he did.
“Aren’t these gardens magnificent?” the Lord asked as he waved a hand at all the rotten things surrounding them.
At one time, it was probably one of the most beautiful places in Dragonia; it was far from that now.
“They are something, my Lord,” Cole replied.
The Lord chuckled and turned his attention to the fountain. In the center of it was a dragon carved out of gray stone. Its wings were open, its two feet remained on the ground, and its tail curled over its back. Its neck rose high as its chin rested against its chest. Red water spilled from its mouth and into the basin beneath.
“I suppose most wouldn’t find them beautiful,” the Lord said as he studied the fountain. “But that’s only because they don’t know what to look for.”
“And what should one look for?” Cole inquired.
“What’s not to love about the blood of your enemies?”
Cole’s attention shifted back to the fountain and the red liquid spewing from the dragon’s mouth. He’d only glanced at it before, but now he couldn’t deny what the thick, red liquid was. When he scented the air, he caught the coppery tang of blood on it.
He composed his expression into one of indifference, but he knew something passed across it when the Lord smirked at him. Cole had no idea where the blood was coming from, and he had no intention of following the pipes to discover the answer.
Is it fresh blood or recirculated?
He’d prefer to believe it was at least partially recirculated, but he wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t put it past the Lord to have someone slaughtered as often as it would take to keep fresh blood spilling from the dragon’s mouth.
“And it seems you have brought me more enemies,” the Lord said.
A tendril of unease crept up Cole’s spine as he stared at the Lord. He wasn’t sure how much blood was in these bodies. But then, no dead body that had been decapitated or stabbed through the heart would retain enough blood to fill this fountain.
He’d wager those whose blood fueled this fountain were alive when it was taken from them. Their screams and suffering would be part of what the Lord relished about this fountain.
“I have,” Cole said.
“You know I’m aware of what Orin and Varo look like,” the Lord said.
“Of course, Your Highness.”
