“How did my father get the name from him? I can’t imagine Burkhardt just gave it to him willingly.”
Xenia raised her palms. “There were no specifics within the journal, just the date when it occurred.”
Cael perked up a bit. “Was the name in there?”
Xenia shot him a glare, likeDuh. He nearly chuckled at the sight of it. Xenia was the rare human who was wholly unafraid of him. He loved it. “I wonder if Leonard knows it.”
“Who?”
“Leonard. He’s the dragon’s main caretaker. Has been since the war.”
Xenia cocked her head. “I doubt Arran would have been that careless.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Once Arran used the flute and uttered the dragon’s name, a powerful bond was created between them. One that’s kept the dragon within his thrall for centuries. Do you think…” Xenia hesitated. “Could you ask your father for it?”
Cael snorted an incredulous laugh. “And what do you think his first question would be? He’d want to know how I even knew to ask in the first place. Then he’d want to knowwhyI want to know. Can you come up with any possible reason—other than me trying to steal the dragon from right under his nose—why I would be asking?”
“Professional curiosity? Youhavebeen visiting the mountain a lot. You could say you want to know for when you eventually take over the business?”
“No way,” Cael said, shaking his head. “It’s too big of a risk. We’ll need to find the name some other way.”
Xenia scoffed. “What, like break into Tartarus to ask Aedelmar Burkhardt?”
Cael smiled slyly. “Well,I’mcertainly not going to. But I know someone who might be desperate enough to try.”
“Tristan?” Xenia blurted. “How would he even get in? And even if he could, how would he get backoutto tell us the name?”
Cael rested his chin on his knuckles. “I don’t know. I’ll talk to him about it when I see him tomorrow. In the meantime, keep searching my father’s journals. Maybe there’s some kind of hint about the dragon’s name. I’ll ask Leonard as well.”
Xenia nodded slowly, her thoughtful gaze glued to the fire.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She grazed her fingers along the scar on her neck. “Nothing, I…” She sucked in a breath. “This just all seems so…hopeless.”
He couldn’t stomach the despair in Xenia’s voice, a tone he hadn’t heard there in…well,ever.She was supposed to be the effortlessly positive one. The one who always saw the silver lining, no matter how bleak the situation.
And before she’d barreled back into his life, he might have even let her despair drag him down as well.
But his bucket of positivity was well and truly full, thanks to her sunny presence. And he was determined to do for her what she’d done for him.
Drag her back toward the light.
By any means necessary.
Xenia hadn’t feltthis despondent in…well,ever. Every piece of information she uncovered just led to more mysteries. And they only had a little over two weeks until Cael would be taken away from her forever.
And she would be stuck here. In this lodge. With Arran.
And Tomas.
Her breathing went shallow, but before she could give in to the impending panic, Cael strode over to the bed and pulled a thin volume from underneath his rumpled jacket.
She recognized the gold-embossed title instantly.
Odes on the Seasons of Love. By Laetitius.
