CHAPTERTEN
“I needthe key to set him free,” Lexi said to Orin and held out her hand.
He gawked at her before closing his jaw. “No. They could both eat us—”
“We have no right to imprison them, and if we’re going to form an alliance with the dragons, then we have to give them a show of good faith.”
Cole didnotlike her going anywhere near the pissed-off creature at the end of the cave, but he had to admit she was right. “I will set it free,” he said.
“It’s more likely to eatyouthanme,” Lexi protested.
“The shadows will protect me.”
When she leveled him with her most withering stare, even Orin stepped back.
“That dragon is here because of me. Orin brought it here to test my connection to them. Alina is here… wait.” Lexi turned toward the dragon waiting behind them. “How did you knowwherewe were?”
“I felt a break in your shield,” Alina said. “Not long before I arrived. It was enough for me to latch on and follow you.”
“But you didn’t know where we were or what this place looked like?”
“But I feltyou. That is enough for a dragon. Instead of imagining a place, I pictured the mark of the dragon, and it brought me to you. It is not the first time I’ve felt it recently.”
“Then why only come now?” Brokk demanded. “Why didn’t you come the other times?”
“She did,” Lexi whispered. “That’s why you went to the Gloaming.”
“I sensed something from you in there,” Alina confirmed.
“But that was before I ever started to glow.”
“It was a weak spark I sensed, but it was something,” Alina said. “No other dragon would have felt it, but I am the speaker. Arach magic also imbues me, and therefore we have a closer bond than you do with my brethren. But once I arrived in the Gloaming, I felt nothing from you.”
“But the dragon mark came out for the first time after you left.”
“I sensed it then too, but I didn’t return.”
“Why not?” Niall asked.
“Because after I failed to find her in the Gloaming, I believed it was a foolish longing I was chasing and not an arach. They were all supposed to be dead, so every time I’ve experienced the pull of the mark since then, I ignored it. I refused to chase silly things that couldn’t possibly be real. It is not good for us under the Lord; we yearn for freedom, and I believed I was falsely seeking an impossible end to his oppression… until Lexi revealed herself at the ball.”
Cole ignored the twinge of pity and understanding he felt toward the dragon and her friends. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like for them to be chained to someone like the Lord, but he could vividly picture one of them swallowing his father. His sympathy was short-lived.
“Why didn’t the other dragons feel the pull of her mark?” Varo asked.
“I cannot speak for all of them, but I imagine most never felt it. Even today, what brought me here wasn’t strong. And if they did, they probably assumed, like me, it was simply a longing for the impossible. The call has grown stronger from her, but it isnotwhat we are used to from the arach. I don’t know if that’s because she is unsure of her abilities.Whyhave I felt nothing from you until recently?” Alina asked Lexi.
“I had her powers bound to keep her safe and hidden from the Lord,” her dad said.
“Imade the potion to do so,” Sahira said.
“You bound anarach?” Alina sounded truly horrified by this revelation.
“I’d be dead if they didn’t,” Lexi said.
“Most likely. Now I understand why we did not know about you until recently and why your call is weak. You are new to your powers and learning, but they will grow. And now that we know of your existence and to acknowledge the call, we can find you.”
“Amazing,” her dad breathed as Kaylia rested a hand over her heart.
