15. Tez

15

Tez

I watched Nemi flit among the swamp flowers as the sun sank below the horizon.

At least, I assumed it was sinking. The unending clouds had darkened substantially in the half hour that I'd been out here, and the fucking nature sounds increased, warning me that wandering the swamp at night was not the wisest thing I could be doing.

The densest foliage had been hacked back from the stronghold for a few hundred feet in each direction, but the ground still squished beneath my feet, and I didn't dare step off the beaten path. It wouldn't be there at all if it weren't for the staff collecting smokebush for the mercs, which grew thick along each side.

But apparently, the plants that liked constant dampness also bloomed with abundance, and Nemi was in her glory. She never seemed to get wet, even when it poured, dodging the drops with ease. I worried that the sweet solutions I fed her wouldn't give her everything she needed, so I had dragged myself out into the rain to give her access to other sources.

When yet another rivulet of water crept beneath my hood, I turned and headed back. Nemi immediately flitted along with me.

Slade stood beneath the entrance overhang, arms crossed, watching me.

He had escorted me away from Victor's suite without uttering a single word, and left me where he'd found me—at the mess hall. So I was surprised to see him now. His gaze tracked past me, and upward.

I turned to see the four Wyverns winging their way below the cloud level, but only one Dragon was with them—the one carrying the white-haired woman.

As Nemi returned to my shoulder and twittered nervously, they landed. Victor must have been watching—he stalked out onto his ledge.

The woman dismounted and approached the underlord. They exchanged words—and I could swear the air around the underlord glowed orange. The woman strode into the suite, and the Wyverns became four men.

Wyverns were shapeshifters? Fascinante . I filed that fact away, but the tension in the little scene had me on edge. As I moved to stand with Slade beneath the overhang, I tucked my hood around Nemi. She twittered again, annoyed this time, and pushed her head out so she could see.

"Watch," Slade breathed, "and learn."

His voice was filled with more tension than I'd ever heard, and it lit up every instinct I had. I stared as the Dragon took off, its wings beating frantically.

And the ledge lit up with flame.

The fireball hit the fleeing Dragon with a zapping kind of sizzle, and it screamed as it was engulfed. A stomach-churning waft of scorched meat permeated the air.

I'd seen a lot in my life, but nothing like that. Sickened, I watched as the thrashing, shrieking, burning form fell to the swamp below.

Slade exhaled. "Never piss off the boss." Surprisingly, he had more to say. "I was spawned by Underlord Xumi's fuckin' breeding program. She was one twisted bitch, and she left her Empire to a son she trained well—Brock was a perverted, ruthless bastard. But he was still just a Dragon."

Picking a leaf off a plant growing near his head, the shifter tore it into tiny bits. "Victor claims Brock is living inside him, and from what I've seen, I believe it. But that isn't all he has lurking in there."

He turned away. "As you haven't pissed off Underlord Victor—yet, anyway, Cricker can have his bunk back. You get new quarters."

With a thundering heart, I followed him back into the building. I'd always been able to defend myself from those that might do me harm.

He was still just a Dragon. Just a Dragon. Fuck.

For all his strength, power, and ability, Slade clearly believed there was no defending against what Victor could do.

As career choices went, mine could have been better.