Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

EMBER

E very fiber of my being screams at me to close myself off. To hide. How many times did this asshole watch idly by as his girlfriend and her catty minions tormented me? How many times did he help?

But as I fall into his gaze, I force myself to try to open my heart and my mind and my very soul, and I feel it--I feel...

Nothing .

Overwhelming relief crashes into me.

Shaking my head, my vision blurring, I back away. "It's not him."

I'm not tied to this jerk for the rest of my life. He won't seep poison into the carefully balanced group of males I've assembled. I don't have to listen to his stupid voice or look at his stupid face ever again. I don't have to be reminded of every mean, spiteful thing he's said and done.

"What?" Fury snarls, still ripping at the ropes. "I'm not who? What are you doing here? You were banished, you worthless piece of--"

"Can I brain this guy again already?" Rafe asks, his mouth twisted in disgust. He picks up a wrench from Storm's tool bench.

"Please," Malik says.

"My father will find me." Fury laughs. "And when he does, he'll--"

I roll my eyes. "Kill me, or sell me off into servitude, I know, I know."

"You wish," Fury sneers. "You're wanted by the Shadow King himself. Once we capture you and turn you over to him, you'll wish we'd executed you the first time."

My skin prickles with gooseflesh, shivers racing up and down my spine.

"Seriously," Rafe says, louder this time, mimicking smacking our prisoner upside the head.

Fury's eyes glow with malice, and there's a chill breeze to the air.

That's when I smell the scent of ash and ruin. Fury's dragon rises to the surface, his eyes narrowing to reptilian slits, shadows of wings spreading out across the wall.

"Rafe," I whisper, taking a halting step back.

Rafe doesn't need any further invitation. He swings the wrench into Fury's skull, and Fury goes crashing to the ground, his chair toppling over with him. Jianyu nudges his face with his foot and nods.

"Out cold," Jianyu pronounces.

Malik lets out a deep breath. "Thank the Gods."

"To think we might have been stuck with that guy forever," Rafe mutters.

And I am. How can I think about anything else?

Except...

A sudden, nervous shaking takes up in my bones. The hole in my heart that I thought I had given time to heal opens itself up, and I feel like I'm choking on blood.

"No," I breathe. No, no, no, no, no.

"Ember?" Jianyu says carefully.

Malik lifts his gaze. "Beloved?"

"It's not him," I whisper again.

And maybe there's another answer. Maybe it's a coincidence that my mates from the other three kingdoms have all been princes. Maybe there's some commoner, somewhere here in the Air Kingdom, who's destined for me--or maybe, like Rafe suggested earlier, Zephyr has some unknown, hidden bastard of his blood.

Anything is possible right?

But deep in my heart of hearts, I know it. Grief tears me open as efficiently as dragon talons rending flesh.

"If it isn't Fury..." My voice breaks, and my eyes sting. Blinking back angry, frustrated, miserable tears, I look to each of my mates in turn. "Then my last mate has to be Storm."

STORM

It's ten o'clock at night when the knock sounds on my door. I blank the screen of my tablet and shove it in a drawer. Unconsciously, I flick my gaze at the corners of my room. I scan the place daily for cameras and bugs, but there's always a chance that I missed something.

No one can know what I've been doing here.

Or who I've been doing it with.

Once I'm sure everything is secure, I move to the door. I tug it open a crack to find three guards standing outside. One Air Dragon and two Shadow. My stomach turns over, and I glance in both directions down the hall. For better or worse, the three of them have come alone.

"Sorry to disturb you, Prince Storm," the Air Dragon says. "But there's a situation."

The urgency in the guard's voice gets my attention. Stepping out into the hall, I close the door behind me and gesture for him to continue.

He leans in. "His highness, Prince Fury, has gone missing."

Alarm bells ring in my mind. "What do you mean, missing?"

The guard clears his throat. "The prince left the mansion as usual earlier this evening. Half an hour later, we received word from Ms. Jasmine that he had not arrived at his anticipated destination."

So he was heading off to his girlfriend's house and never showed up. That's weird, but not unexplainable. I raise my brows. "I assume attempts have been made to contact him?"

The guard nods. "The prince's phone has been turned off."

My heart jumps inside my chest. Domineering asshole that he is, Fury is my brother, and I'm worried about him.

But familial concern isn't the only thing raising my pulse rate.

Swallowing hard, I flex my hands at my sides, trying to keep my cool. "Do we have any additional information? Security footage?"

One of the Shadow Dragon guards steps forward, brandishing a security pad. "This image was captured by one of our cameras positioned outside the gate of the mansion."

He taps at the screen a few times before turning it so I can see.

The image on the screen is blurry and pixelated, clearly zoomed in to the maximum. My brother is striding away from the camera.

And behind him are two figures. Tall. Male.

My breath catches, and it's all I can do to maintain my composure. I point at the two men. "Is there video of them actually attacking the prince?"

"No," the Air Dragon says, "but we're unable to identify them." He shakes his head. "They're not citizens of the kingdom."

"Or of ours," one of the Shadow Dragons agrees, a sharp darkness glinting in his gaze. Like he's a predator who's just found his prey.

A buzzing starts up in my abdomen, a jolt of adrenaline hitting my system.

"Why are you bringing this to me?" I ask.

The guards glance among themselves. "Your father is...indisposed," the Air Dragon tells me.

So he's either got some young dragon in his bedchamber or he's communing with the Shadow King.

The one who showed me the security pad in the first place huffs out a breath, brimming over with impatience. "We need royal sign-off to activate the troops."

That he does. My father made some shitty decisions when he decided to team up with Erembour, but he wasn't a fool. Shadow Dragons can't use force within our borders without the approval of someone in our family.

"Just give us the go-ahead," the other Shadow Dragon tells me, his voice sharp.

So I make mine cold. "I will give you approval once I've examined the facts."

The first Shadow Dragon reaches over to take back his security tablet, but I grasp it by its edge, stopping him.

The Shadow Dragon growls. Under his breath, he mutters, "I told you we should have just gone to the whelp's father."

"Prince Storm," the Air Dragon says, glaring at both of his partners. "Time is of the essence."

He's right about that.

My pulse pounding in my ears, I examine the grainy image for a moment more. There's no changing what I see in the blurry pixels, though.

Those two figures... They're unmistakable.

Two men. One tall and lean with short, dark hair. The other burlier, with pale skin and a reddish-golden mane.

The two men who were with Ember outside the Fire King's Castle. I barely got a glimpse of them as I spilled out of the portal, leading a battalion of Air and Shadow Kingdom soldiers, but I'd know them anywhere.

Whatever the hell Ember did to escape, she took those two men with her.

And now they're here.

A roaring static fills my ears. My vision blurs, and my knuckles go white around the screen.

All this time. All the preparations. All the subversion, all the attempts to exert what influence I have. All the frustrations and the insults and the despair.

For months now, I've been sitting here, watching the empire I was never supposed to inherit be stolen away and sold for parts. Invaders have taken over the mansion. My sister has been sent off to marry some decrepit monster. My brother--who had never been on my side--has set himself against me. My father has proven, time and time again, that he has no intention of listening to me.

There's nothing left for me here. No one.

My stomach turns to lead, and an iron fist closes around my heart.

Because the biggest, most painful betrayal I've suffered has been my own.

Guilt like acid leaks into my throat.

Ember was torn from my arms, and I watched it happen. I let her go.

And for what?

Some bullshit idea that I could save everyone? I could sacrifice my happiness and hers in the name of duty, and somehow, I could use my position to keep evil in check.

It all seems so pointless now.

Ever since I got back from the Fire Kingdom--ever since I saw a horde of Shadow Dragons bearing down on her... Ever since I was commanded to help lead a regiment of our own Air Dragon soldiers against the woman I loved...

I've been biding my time. Looking for the right opportunity.

All at once, my vision snaps back into focus. The roar drops away, leaving only silence.

Clarity.

"How many other people know about this?" I ask.

"No one," the Air Dragon assures me. He darts pointed glances at his compatriots. "We didn't want anyone to panic about the prince's wellbeing until we had our orders."

One of the Shadow Dragons scoffs under his breath.

"Good," I say, ignoring him. I pass the security pad back to him.

And then I fling my arms out to my sides.

I don't use it often, but as a soldier of the Air Dragon Kingdom, I keep my magic honed.

The windows at both ends of the hall shatter, and a gust of wind rushes in. I shape it as it flies through the empty hall, creating blades. Before anyone can react, I slash through the two Shadow Dragons' necks. They drop to the floor in twin pools of blood.

The remaining Air Dragon guard opens his eyes wide, taking a step back.

"Your highness--" He lifts his hand to defend himself--but not to attack.

And maybe that's why I take mercy.

In a single, swift motion, I direct another gust of air, but instead of slicing him open, I wrap it around his head, sucking all of the oxygen out of his lungs. His eyes bulge out, and he grabs at his throat. I wait, counting carefully. His eyes flutter, and he sags.

The instant he hits the floor, I pull my magic back. His chest expands, but his body is limp. He'll recover, but for the moment, he's been neutralized.

I don't have time to hide the bodies.

I've been biding my time for so long, simmering in regret and useless anger. Now I'm a spring, unleashed, and I launch into action.

In my rooms, I refuse to waste a second. I throw my tablet and a sheaf full of paperwork into a bag with a handful of weapons and a single change of clothes. I glance around the quarters that have been my home for my entire life, and my breath goes tight. If everything goes well--or even if it goes to absolute shit--chances are, I'll never be back here again. At the last moment, I tug open my nightstand drawer and grab the box inside.

Zipping up the bag and slinging it over my shoulder, I nod to myself. The fire I've been banking in my chest for so long roars to an inferno.

As I stride toward the balcony, my dragon rises in a cloud of smoke and rage, ready to finally take flight. But I keep him at bay for a moment more.

I pull out my phone and dial a number I've never dialed before.

When the other end of the line picks up, I say simply, "She's here. It's time."