Page 51 of The Teacup Dragon Sanctuary

He shook his head, aware that all his plans were shattering around him. As a patron she could give him everything he had ever wanted and more. As an enemy she would keep all his dreams from ever coming true.

But he couldn’t do this. Never.

‘Absolutely not,’ he told her.

Virginia growled in frustration and then shook her head as if profoundly disappointed. ‘Very well. I had hoped this would not be necessary but needs must, I suppose. I can change your mind.’ She pulled another slip of paper from her bag and unfurled it. It was filled with more sparkling dust, purple this time. She blew it in his face before he realised that it was all happening again. ‘This, I’m told, is far more potent than a truth spell. And if you won’t see reason⁠—’

The thing that clamped down all around him was indeed more powerful than the truth spell. He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t have any defences. Like he’d told Portia, he had the magical abilities of a stone.

‘Lift your hand,’ said Virginia, as if testing out a new toy.

His hand jerked up all by itself, his muscles screaming as he tried to stop it.

She smiled broadly and Noah felt his body try to recoil in alarm. But he couldn’t move. ‘Oh, that’s wonderful. Excellent. Take the poison, and do as I have instructed.’

He grabbed the bottle. It felt like ice in his hand.

‘And Noah,’ she added, almost as an afterthought, but still carrying all that smug triumphalism, ‘forget all about this, there’s a good man. About meeting me here, about my instructions, about all of it. Just poison the dragons, and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. All you have ever wanted.’

She paused as she swept by him, rising on her toes to press an icy cold kiss on his cheek.

‘How delightful,’ she purred, the sound sending ice through his veins. ‘Maybe I’ll find other uses for this as well in the future. I must get more from my supplier. Wonderful.’

And then she was gone, leaving him standing there, holding poison, with instructions that went against everything he believed in, and unable to do anything but obey her.

20

Portia’s mind had lurched between rage and despair the whole way back from the Academy. Milo had betrayed her. He had stolen her work and used it for himself. How could he? She stalked back into the auditorium, not even sure how she was going to get through the rest of this stupid competition, let alone talk civilly to anyone. She used one of the rear entrances rather than the main doors and make her way back to the tent before running into anyone she had to be polite to. Perhaps she could explain what had happened to Iris and then leave them to it. Her great-aunt would understand. She’d probably promise to help with an unholy retribution, but only after the show. The dragons would always come first.

As Portia reached the exhibition area a trill of recognition made her look up, startled to find Jade looping through the air, much to the delight of the people watching her. How had she got away from Iris and Noah?

‘Jade! Get down here,’ she called and the dragon dutifully landed on her outstretched arm. ‘What are you doing all the way over here?’

It was the other side of the hall. Anything could have happened to her. But Jade looked so agitated that Portia didn’t have the heart to scold her.

People followed, drawn in by the dragon, wanting to ask Portia questions and pet her and she backed up hurriedly, rapidly excusing herself. She’d been here often enough in her time in Tesh, and knew the layout. If she ducked through the administrative offices, she could come out further down towards the arena and slip back into their tent.

The ground floor of that area was taken up with people processing late registrations, but if she went up the stairs to the first floor and cut through the corridor there, the offices would all be empty. Everyone who worked here had other tasks to attend to down on the main floor itself. Stairs at the far end led back down. She didn’t expect to hear a raised voice halfway along the hallway, coming from an office at the far end.

A voice she recognised, one which sent a shock of alarm through her.

Virginia Moorland.

Jade shrank back, cooing in alarm, shuddering. Someone else replied and it was suddenly so much worse. Noah. It was Noah.

Portia listened in horror to their conversation, cradling the teacup dragon against her. He had been intent on selling them out to Virginia right from the beginning. He had only been there to spy on Iris, all this time.

Portia had always known that his plan was to leave on his expedition to explore the remains of Elanholm, that he was only there until he secured the funding he needed. He had admitted as much.

But she had no idea what the source of that funding might be, or what he planned to do to secure it.

Sickened, Portia sank back against the wall, tears blinding her, one hand covering her mouth to stop the sob that that was threatening to give her away, the other curled around Jade. She’d made love to him, even if that had ended up being a disaster. She had trusted him. She had even started to care about him.

And it had all been a lie.

But the next moment, everything in that room lurched from simple conspiracy to something much darker by far. Portia listened in outright horror as it unfolded. Virginia was using magic to manipulate him. Worse, she was using magic to force him to poison the dragons.

Before she could do anything, the door swung open. Panicked, Portia darted back into the next office along, hiding, and Virginia Moorland strode off in the opposite direction without seeing her. She took a few long deep breaths, trying to calm herself, and then rushed back to the room where Noah stood, as still as a statue, almost as if he was frozen to the spot.