AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He whimpered but obeyed me. Like a black arrow, he shot out of my chamber, most likely to go hunt some smaller beasts.
In my jungle, it was always either kill or being eaten.
I could no more change the rules and the nature of the beasts than Akem.
Sybil stayed, her one wing fluttering. Of all the beasts and monsters, she and Henry were the only two who were allowed to enter my chamber. Sometimes I might close my eyes and letLamashtus wander in for a little while.
Rai left the wounded to the care of the medics and came to me, joining his brothers on the fringe of the pool. He pressed his forehead against mine, regardless of my scales, inhaling my scent for comfort. Even in my Fury forms, I scented like a dragon, according to the princes. Maybe that was why they could all see me beyond my freakish beastly forms.
Blaze gave his brother the center spot, knowing Rai needed it.
Iokul stayed close to us, but he didn’t touch me. The ice dragon had only lost his control when we’d made out.
“The demons destroyed our ship,” Rai said, his usually beautiful voice hoarse and devastating. “The pilot and the captain were both killed.”
“I saw it,” I said, sorrow filling my eyes.
“We took downFalling Star,” Blaze said, eyes burning with hatred. “We’ll kill all the demons.”
“The captain of theFalling Starremained neutral,” Rai said. “He didn’t join the hunt. He only piloted the ship.Quintrellsaid the captain slipped a warning to us before the attack. They had him at gunpoint. The demon captain Fomorian promised the hunters Daisy’s heads. The demons have no interest in the Dragon Realm. Their sole purpose is to kill Daisy. The hunters decided to eliminate us—their biggest threat.”
“That’s what I suspected all along. The demons didn’t answer King Daghda’s bounty poster,” Iokul said. “They were sent by someone else.”
“Someone who cursed you doesn’t want you to return,” Blaze said as a realization hit him, his jaw tightening in rage. “They want to make sure our Daisy is dead.”
I hesitated before I ground out, “Elvey seems to know something about my curse.”
Blaze pulled his lips back in a snarl. “He may be the one who hexed you, and he led the demons to attack us. I’ll cut him to pieces when I catch him.”
“I don’t think he’s one who cursed me,” I said. For some reason, I didn’t want them to hurt Elvey. I felt kin toward him. But if he was the one who had issued that attack and caused the many deaths of the dragon men—
No, I didn’t believe Elvey was the villain. His hands must have been tied when the attack had happened.
“But I have a hunch he might know who,” I added.
“Do you have feelings for him, Daisy?” Iokul asked coolly, yet ice coated his eyes. “You’re defending him.”
I hissed out a stream of black fire, and the princes leaped back half a foot in alarm. “How could I have feelings for him when I’ve only known him less than an hour?”
You can’t dictate feelings, a voice said in my head.One can fall in love at first sight, and not love another even after spending a lifetime with him.
I didn’t fall in love with Elvey!I snarled at the voice.
“I wasn’t defending him,” I said, my voice stiff. “I was trying to tell you if you kill him before I know the truth about my curse, I might never find out who did it.”
“Shush,” Rai said and touched my nose to calm me. “Iokul is always the most suspicious one among us. He doesn’t trust anyone. He’s been that way since he was a child. He didn’t mean to upset you, but today we suffered a great loss.”
Iokul looked away from me, the ice in his silver eyes not melting.
“I don’t blame him.” I sighed as I scanned the wounded warriors in the room.
We were down to eighteen men.
The much grimmer thing was that even if our curses were lifted, we were still stuck here. We didn’t have a ship to leavePandemonium.
CHAPTER 14
“Absolutely not!” Rai, Blaze, and Iokul almost objected at the same time.
