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The doors open behind us even as Azar storms away, no doubt looking for more things to break. A few new faces enter the room, and I'm surprised to see Rachel slip in, quickly followed by a naked, deep-gold-skinned man. That's her dragon, I realize. I've only seen him a few times, and while he's handsome, there's a wild, almost feral look to his expression. Rachel doesn't approach Azar, just moves to a quiet end of the room and leans against the wall. She glances at her dragon-man, and then back at Azar. Joining them is a tall, thin black woman with thick waves of dark hair and a rounded, pregnant belly. She's followed by another dragon-man, this one slightly less deep-gold and wearing pants.
I'm both excited to see them and a little alarmed. Why are we all being called out to the cafeteria in the middle of the night? Is someone about to be executed?
Azar storms towards us, his clothing flowing about him. "I am going to smell all of you, and you're going to tell me which one of you is behind this."
"Behind what?" Rachel calls out in a flat, almost bored voice.
Everyone in the room freezes. A chill goes down my spine and I look over at Rachel, terrified. To my surprise, she doesn't have the defiant look on her scarred face like she does when she's afraid and trying desperately to hide it. She looks…irritated. Like she's annoyed that Azar has dragged everyone out of bed.
She's not afraid. That's incredible to me. I've spent the last seven or eight years—ever since the Rift—terrified out of my mind, wondering what the next day will bring. That fear isn't in Rachel's face any longer, and I'm fascinated.
And envious.
My friend nods at Lord Azar, who stands amidst a sea of broken glass shards. "Why don't you just ask them instead of pitching a fit?"
At my side, Manda gasps. Several others do, too. I don't, because I'm still too fascinated by the fact that Rachel has zero fear of this man that holds our lives in the palm of his hand. Something has happened in the last month or so since Rachel was bonded to a dragon and left the women's quarters.
Is it her dragon that makes her unafraid?
Lord Azar turns to us. His eyes are narrowed. "All right, then. I will ask plainly and using small words so your feeble minds can understand. Which one of you is stealing my dragon?"
Silence.
I glance at the others, worried. The dragons that “guard” Fort Dallas are a newer addition to things. They came in with Lord Azar, who has the ability to control the vicious monsters somehow. He has five of them that sit on the barricade, watching us with dead eyes. They're like statues, and in all the months that he's been in charge, I don't think I've seen them flicker an eyelash once.
Well, actually I thought one looked at me once, but I'm pretty sure it was my imagination.
I didn't realize they were real creatures in there. I thought of them like…well, like the buildings. Just that they were present, but not more than that. I was grateful they were in Fort Dallas, along with Azar. Ever since he's arrived with the dragons, we've stopped getting random attacks. We don't wake up in the middle of the night to the blaring alarms warning us to take shelter, or watch another building get flamed to the ground.
The attacks stopped when Azar moved in. That's good enough for most people, myself included.
It's not a good answer for Rachel, though. She steps forward, waving the shortened stump of her arm in his direction. "You're going to have to be clearer than that. The girls don't know dragons like you or I do. You have to actually explain yourself."
He bares his teeth at her in a silent snarl, but Rachel only smirks back.
Azar's gaze swings over us again, and I can feel the woman standing next to me quail in terror. I manage to stand straight and tall, but only just. I want to hide just as much as the others do. I just don't think it'll do any good, and I learned from my father that showing fear just encourages bullies. Lord Azar definitely qualifies as a bully.
"I am losing control of one of my dragons," Lord Azar says. "He is fighting me for control of his mind. The only thing that can free him from my grip is a mate, so I want to know which one of you is trying to sabotage this fort."
I suck in a breath. Sabotage the fort?
He is fighting me for control of his mind.
Surely…not? My imaginary friend isn't a dragon, is he? If that's the case, what's he doing in my dreams? But he disappeared the moment I mentioned Azar.
