“We can still hear you,”they grumble in sync, and I scoff.
“I know, you pair of sassy pants,” I retort, and Baron snickers. “What's so funny?” I blurt defensively, and he shrugs.
“You are just too wholesome and too beautiful to be berating a pair of fierce dragons.”
I relax at his words, my cheeks heating as I flick my hair over my shoulder and smile.
“I can be as fierce as I want to be.”
“And she's a phoenix,”Alaric repeats with a tone of boredom at the fact he's having to repeat that same statement, and I cover my mouth, hiding a smile.
“Are you guys coming in?” Sax hollers, and I frown, searching for the building he’s referring to, only to find him peeking his head out from behind a rock.
That's new.
Clearing my throat, I take a backward step, waving at both of the dragons before I follow after him.
“Seriously, what was she saying?” Baron asks, and I shake my head.
“You don't want to know.”
He pauses, his hand on my arm. “She was calling me names, wasn't she? I knew it. She’s always calling me shit. I can sense it.”
I press my lips into a thin line, but it does nothing to hide the smile lifting the corner of my mouth. “She's definitely holding a grudge,” I offer, and he plants his hands on his hips as he dips his chin, disappointment lurking through him, and it catches me off guard. Twisting my lips, I look at him. “I know how to fix it, though,” I state, and his eyes widen.
“How?”
“If you tell me why you rejected me, I won't assume you're all my hated mates anymore, and then she'll forgive you, because I might even consider it.”
His jaw falls slack as he gapes at me. “Hated mates?”
I shrug. “I’m just calling it as I see it, and I'm going to take that little expression on your face to mean that you're not going to be a happy sharer either.”
He shakes his head, his jaw still slack, and I huff in disappointment, but I’m not overly surprised.
Instead of letting him see the hurt on my face, I spin on the spot and follow after Sax, who hangs quietly down the weird stone walkway.
He leads me into a replica meeting room of the space we were in just a few days ago, only this time we're behind a rock in a random cave area. Uncertainty nestles in my gut as I take in the room, still slightly surprised that Odesa and Bonnie can't lift their heads in my direction. Francesca either. But their mere presence ignites irritation inside of me, which isn't hard when I'm already this overwhelmed.
Sax waves me over to where Teddy and Archer are already seated, and I drop down into the spot beside Teddy, pointing at the free chair to my right for Sax to sit down before Baron gets any ideas that it might be open to him.
He and Archer have both pissed me off today. They don't get to sit near me. The jury is still out on the other two for when I dare to ask again.
“You can talk to Lucky?” Hugo's voice carries across the room, snapping my gaze to the entryway I just came through, and I smile. His eyes are wide and his jaw slack as he stares at me in disbelief. “You just talked to Lucky,” he repeats, and I smile sweetly at him.
“Hi to you too, brother.”
He hurries toward me, shaking his head. “Don't downplay this. That's cool as hell,” he insists, and I roll my eyes as Professor Viola claps her hands, drawing everyone's attention her way.
“So it seems our phoenix can speak to dragons.”
“She's notours,” Sax grunts, and the room goes eerily quiet. “She may be the mate of the four of us, but she is her own entity. Not ours, not the Kingdom's, and not The Fates’.” His words slice through the air, painstakingly clear in a way that catches me completely off guard, leaving me speechless.
Professor Viola clears her throat, straightening her jacket as she stands tall, trying to keep control of the room. “Thank you for that, Sax. That's not how I was referring to the matter, but it's good to know where you stand. Now, on to the meeting at hand.” She gives him a pointed look for a moment before dragging her attention around the room. “Unfortunately, for the phoenix that stands as her own entity, she is a hot topic, since she's now received two notes from Leonardo, the leader of the Second Kingdom. Do we have the notes to hand?” she asks, and Archer waves them in the air.
Hugo snaps them from his grasp, reading them out loud without breathing.“Ivy, watching your father’s certainty flourish before my very eyes is a sight to behold. You are a sight to behold. Don’t worry, my Evergreen, times are changing. You will be the catalyst to my plans and the center of my desires. We shall meet again. L. My dearest Ivy, it pains me to know you have felt the resurrection surge twice. I promise that when the time comes, you will not face such dangers again. I will ensure, with my utmost abilities, to treasure you as you should be treated. All of your wishes, wants, and desires will be met, along with my own. Thinking of you, wanting of you, needing of you. Leonardo.”
I feel like I'm burning from the inside out under the intense scrutiny from everyone in the room.
