35. Bree

35

Bree

As we ate breakfast, I marveled at just how busy Riggs's mind really was.

With every moment that went by, our connection grew. And his thoughts were jumping around like dust in a windstorm.

That he now remembered his son filled me with joy, as it did him. He kept sending me images from Mykal's early childhood. The little Dragon's shrieks of delight as his foretalons clung to his father's tail were nothing short of wonderful and filled my heart to overflowing.

I didn't know that's how Dragons taught their children to fly.

It's the only safe way to do it, Riggs stated. Mykal was a natural. He picked it up right away. His tone sobered. Why can't I remember the rest?

It will come, I said. Give it time.

His thoughts flickered, and then refocused on the sword.

It is yours, not mine, I stated .

Damaged as I am, I cannot wield it. The Empire needs a Champion who is whole.

Frustration surged through me. The sword might help me to shift, but when you picked it up on the plateau—it is so clearly meant for you.

Fate, and that blasted sword, are confused. I am not destined to do anything more than eat. And, apparently, mate you. Those things I can do. I intended to push the issue, but then he looked up from his breakfast tray to offer a lop-sided smile. And my entire world lit right up, wiping the questions clear.

Sid sat beside him. He looked from me to Riggs, and back again. Then he exhaled, and said, "Perhaps rearranging room assignments would be an idea?"

Adilyn raised a brow, and her fork paused on the way to her mouth.

"I think there has been a slight alteration in world order," the Anisau continued.

The Faerie's brow wrinkled as she looked from him, to me, and then to Riggs. Then her eyes widened. "Ooh-la-la," she said.

Nar glanced between us, but he looked a bit confused. "If there's a problem, they can room with us. We only ever use one bed."

Leah's eyes lit right up. "What a great idea."

"I don't think that will be happening," Riggs stated easily. "I think a simple exchange of my pack for Adilyn's log will suffice."

The Selkie's face fell. "You guys are no fun."

"We are all kinds of fun. Just not the type you prefer," Riggs responded.

They never give up, I sent to him.

His eyes twinkled at me. They find you as irresistible as I do.

It's not my ass Leah stares at.

He choked on his mouthful of eggs, and Sid rather unhelpfully pounded him on the back.

I stifled a giggle. Good thing you're Dragon sized, or that would pulverize a rib.

Riggs gasped for breath and waved the big guy off. Think it might have done that anyway.

Cara came over to us. She looked between Riggs and me. Her eyes lit right up, and she smiled.

"Come with me, you two," she said.

I glanced over at the Hippogryph table, but there was no sign of Tez. When he didn't appear by the time we got to the back field, I made inquiries.

Her brows dropped. "Tez has been accepted back into his family."

"He's gone?" Riggs sounded as shocked as me.

Cara nodded. "For now, anyway. There is much more to that young man than there seems. And I fear it is going to surface, sooner or later." She shot me a grim look. "I expect he'll find himself back here when that happens."

I wondered about that, and also debated my acute sense of disappointment at his absence. I barely knew him, yet there had been something between us. First Caliel. Then Riggs. And now Tez? What in the hell was going on with me?

Riggs moved into me, bumping me with his shoulder. There was something about that dude. Something almost dangerous. The emotions running beneath the words were difficult to identify. Uncertainty was prevalent. I'm leaning toward him being a Slash.

What's a Slash?

He frowned. Think he was both friend and foe to the superheroes in those turtle movies.

Turtle movies? My mind filled with images of tiny snappy turtles in starring roles.

Yeah. Apparently, I was a big fan. They were turtles, but also warriors. Called everyone by unusual nicknames.

My mind struggled with the pictures of those turtle things nibbling on toes and actually accomplishing more than just gnawed tootsies.

He grabbed the images from my mind. They were mutated to be as big as me . They wore bandanas and had weapons.

Giant mutant turtles?

Yes.

It obviously made sense to Riggs . Is that why everyone calls you Michelangelo?

His lips twitched. Apparently.

I rubbed my temple and refocused. If Tez had stayed, he could have figured out his talent, I said. Why would he leave?

He must have had his reasons. Riggs took my arm, but I sensed a surge of relief that Tez was gone. Along with something less definable. Was he jealous?

You were meant for me, he said firmly.

Umm, I think, actually, you were meant for me, I corrected.

He snorted a laugh as Cara took us through to the beach. He folded his arms around me, and I unsheathed the sword. It blazed brightly as he pushed the tip down into the sand in front of my body.

"Very good," Cara approved. "The trick is to keep her from transforming while she taps into her talent." She touched my arm, and her brows drew down. "I can barely feel Caliel. When did you last speak with him?"

I experienced a twisting tingle of guilt. "Yesterday evening," I said.

"Let's see if the sword can boost him," she urged. "Concentrate on absorbing its energy. I don't want to call Bree's Ice Drake without connecting to him."

Cara kept her hand on my arm as the sword's light washed over, and through us.

Caliel, are you there? I asked. And then almost panicked when there was no response.

Does he usually answer you? Riggs asked.

Not as much lately, I admitted. He's been getting weaker, and we don't know why.

Cara infused us with her energy, too. And finally, there was a faint response.

You do not need me. Stated deadpan, without emotion.

I hadn't been sure that Riggs would hear Caliel, but his answer was immediate. If she didn't need you, we wouldn't be calling for you.

You have her. You have the sword. Leave me alone. A hint of anger now.

My heart ached, and I didn't know what to say. He clearly didn't want to be part of this. Yet he'd encouraged me to go to Riggs…

Did he truly want to be left alone? I'd never wanted to force him, not even in the early days. Didn't he have the right to lie quietly within me?

He sounds difficult, Riggs noted. Do we need him if we have the sword?

My answer was immediate. I need him. I wasn't sure if I only meant I required him to help me with the monster, or—what?

Riggs picked up on my uncertainty. Let's try with the sword. Maybe we can encourage Caliel to join us.

I swallowed my disappointment, but it made sense. Riggs took one hand off the sword hilt, and I placed mine there. Then he extended the other to the water, and I sensed the ground beneath us vibrate. Grains of sand lifted, even as the water rose.

I was hooked into what he was doing, and it seemed effortless. With a sense of wonder, I saw the waves rise skyward instead of rolling toward us.

Cara still had her hand on my arm, and I heard her inhale. "Now freeze it," she said.

I took a deep breath, and called upon the Ice Drake. The wall holding it back crumbled, and it came in a rush, eager to be set free. Buoyed by the combined effort of the sword's power and the Watcher, I extended my free hand, and sent the ice to do my bidding.

It spread from beneath our feet out toward the suspended water, and then chased along the waves into the very air itself. When the Drake tried to push its way to the surface, and change my form along with it, Riggs used the sword's energy to push it back.

It screeched in rage, a sound that echoed through my soul and emerged from my lips as the merest shadow of that cry. But Riggs would not yield. And then, from deep inside, Caliel spoke.

You serve her. Not the other way around.

My gut twisted at the anger in his mindvoice, but the Drake hissed, before it caved. I pulled back on the power, and the ice glistened as it began to melt. Faster and faster as the Drake coiled deep within me, retreating from the combined power that had defeated it.

For now.

I took a deep breath as Caliel rebuilt the wall.

Thanks, Caliel, I said. But there was no reply.

In a single, smooth motion, Riggs sheathed the sword in the scabbard over my shoulder. Well done, Breana. His admiration warmed my troubled soul.

"Well done," Cara unconsciously echoed him.

"Yeah, so long as we have a convenient lake or stream," I said, "I'll be useful. Otherwise, I'm just another body. At least Riggs can throw dirt."

Cara actually laughed. I stared at her and raised a brow.

"You are forgetting something important," she pointed out. "Nettie told me about the thugs you killed in Drosfi."

I thought back to the frozen bodies. "I still don't know how I did that."

Cara shook her head. "Honestly? We are all made up of flesh and blood," she said. "They all contain water , Bree."

Riggs's eyes widened. "If she can freeze the water in a lake?—"

"Exactly," Cara glanced up at him. "Victor commands fire. Marcus calls wind and lightning out of the sky. But Bree is perhaps the most powerful of them all."

She patted me on the arm. "You have the ability to literally freeze the blood within our veins, and much more." Then she glanced at the hilt of the sword. "And that sword can feed you the power of the lodestones to do it. You, my dear, are one very dangerous young lady."

We were walking across the back field toward the academy building when the Dragons arrived.

Riggs's stride hitched.

"They're early," Cara noted.

"The funeral isn't until this afternoon." Riggs eyed the huge forms landing on the building's roof. His voice, like what radiated from within him, was filled with dread. "He shouldn't go."

"He has no choice," Cara said.

Frustration surged through me from him. "We need proof of what Taran is up to," he growled.

Cara shook her head. "You are right. We do need proof. Or the Empire will fall."

"Are you going to the funeral?" I asked her.

"Unless you are an Empire Dragon, attendance is by invitation only. And I wasn't invited."

I gaped at her. "Who was?"

"Not many." The Watcher's lips pulled straight. "A few Elders of my people. Some council members. It was a pretty exclusive list."

Riggs frowned. "Were you invited to my funeral?"

Cara snorted a laugh. "As they lacked a body, Taran didn't even have a proper funeral for you. Just a formal announcement of your death. Your mother was very upset."

Riggs's gaze hadn't left the roof, although the Dragons had now hunched down. Waiting. "Makes it even stranger that Taran would want Tyrez at this one."

"They were his family." Cara's voice reflected her own doubt.

"Ash told him to go," Riggs growled. It was as much a question as a statement.

Cara sighed. "Ash wouldn't tell me why, but he is tortured by that decision. Determining which timelines he sees are the correct ones is difficult at best. What if his interference caused a calamity? He has to be so careful."

I hadn't thought of that. My visions were so simple—they showed one future, not the multiples that the Oracle foresaw. How did he cope with all that? It sounded like a recipe for madness.

We were too close to the building to see the Dragons now. Riggs hurried inside.

Cara left us at the stairs. "Try not to worry, Riggs," she advised. "Whatever Ash saw, he believes this is the right way forward. Everything happens for a reason."

"That's what I'm worried about." Riggs stomped through the foyer toward the front entrance.

I followed him, reaching for our fledgling link. All I got from him was static—he was that wound up.

The Oracle would know if his mate was going to be in danger, I sent.

Wordless grumbling, then he replied. You didn't see Ash's eyes. I did. There is something very wrong with all this.

He wouldn't send Tyrez to be hurt or killed, I protested.

I don't know the Oracle well enough to say what he would or wouldn't do. Only that he was tortured by sending Tyrez. And that scares me.

We emerged through the main entrance to where the students were gathering in the meadow, ready for the run. As we moved further from the building, I could see that the Dragons were still there. Tyrez was keeping them waiting.

Your brother kicks ass, I said in admiration .

Riggs's lip twitched. No one pushes him. Not even the Emperor.

An uneasy tremor ran through me. Maybe the Emperor is right to fear him.

Yes. He is.

We were halfway through our run before the Dragons took off from the roof with Tyrez's distinctive turquoise form in the midst of them. Five Dragons. Taran might have invited Tyrez, but he'd sent enough escorts to keep him under wraps.

Riggs had matched his much longer stride to my own, but his hitched as they took off, his eyes chasing them across the sky.

I only wished to distract him from his worry. Do you remember flying? I asked.

The faintest impression of wind on wing, there, and then gone. Not really, he said.

I'd experienced flight often enough now that I would miss it. What if I'd been born a Dragon, and then lost it?

I'm sure I'd miss it, he said, if I could remember. I recall that I flew with Mykal, but I don't remember actually flying.

My heart twisted as we watched them soar to the gate and land. All the Dragons shifted to human before they stepped through.

And then they were gone.

A pulse of pure angst swept through me from Riggs, along with the fierce desire to follow. To have his brother's back.

But Taran thought that Razir was dead. And for now, he had to stay that way.

We will find a way to get proof that they are colluding with the underworld, I said.

Striding along beside me, he turned his head to meet my eyes. They glimmered at me.

Yes, he said. We will.

Only this time, neither of us will get shot in the head, I continued.

Once was definitely enough, he agreed.

Cody's other mate, Ryan, led our fascinating weapons class.

The first half of it featured crossbows.

We practiced with straw targets in the back field, and I tried out several different models. I'd fired them before, and was reasonably proficient with them. Enough to hit the middle rings of the targets.

Riggs picked up the crossbow and examined it as if he'd never seen one before. It was a compact version, with a magazine capable of rapid-firing multiple bolts.

Don't overthink it, I suggested. Razir undoubtedly knew how to use one. Just point and shoot.

He glanced at me, lined it up, and shot.

The first bolt flew wide of the target. I moved closer to him. Imagine that is an Underworld Dragon coming for us .

What?

He's coming for me. Stop him!

Distracted by my proposed scenario, he barely looked at the target. But the next three bolts hit dead center.

He stared at them in amazement.

Your doubt got in the way, I stated.

We traded our crossbows for wooden swords. Ryan came up to Riggs.

"Cody says you'd make a good assistant," he said.

Riggs stiffened. "I don't know how much help I'll be," he hedged.

"Give it a try," Ryan suggested. "Just step in when you see something you can help with."

Riggs shot me a haunted look and followed Ryan away from us.

Sid had already paired up with Adilyn. Nar sidled up to me, but his eyes rose to the hilt above my shoulder. "I'll agree to a rendezvous, so long as it isn't against that."

I pulled the scabbard off my shoulder and laid it aside. "Much as you might deserve it, a one-legged teammate might be a disadvantage on a mission." I picked up a wooden sword.

You might need the real thing against that dude. Riggs didn't even look at me while he hovered near one of the other teams.

I can handle him, I stated.

Not sure about assisting this crew, he said. I can't remember my own training. How can I help anyone else?

Your training is there. Just follow your instincts.

I sensed his doubt, but then one of the students messed up their footwork and almost tripped over their own weapon. He moved in to show them how to balance properly, and within moments, he was completely engaged.

I relaxed, too, and met Nar's eye as we circled each other.

"This isn't the interaction I'd dreamed of for us." The Sea Krayt waggled his eyebrows.

I snorted a laugh. "I'm afraid dreams are all you will have."

"Count yourself lucky she isn't using the real effing sword," Adilyn stated as she poked at Sid with her practice weapon.

Leah stood to one side, waiting her turn. Her eyes seldom strayed from Nar's lean form. "I like the number of holes he has. He doesn't need new ones."

Nar glanced at her and raised a brow. I took advantage of his momentary distraction, and attacked. Landed three resounding "thunks" on various parts of his anatomy before I danced away again.

"Ouch," he complained. "I ought to give you a nibble. That would slow you down."

I grinned at him. "Just try it." I came at him again, but was less successful without the distraction. He wasn't good at offense, but his lean body slithered away from my strikes, much like the sea snake he actually was.

It was a good workout for both of us, and at first, I didn't notice the other students slowing, and halting. Then within minutes, everyone had stopped fighting and were gathering in groups, whispering.

What's going on? I asked.

Riggs didn't answer at first, and with a tingle of unease, I realized he'd walled himself off. I dropped my practice sword in the pile nearby, shouldered the real one, and looked for his distinctive tall form among the milling students.

I spotted Cara before I saw him. She emerged from the back entrance, and her eyes scanned the group.

I pushed through them, to her. Her expression had my gut clenching with dread.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Where is Riggs?" was all she said.

Then he was there. Breathless, standing next to me. Our link vibrated with a silent, deadly calm.

"Is it true?" he asked her.

"Is what true?" I looked from him, to her.

I'd never seen such a grim look on her face. It terrified me.

"The Emperor is dead," she said. "And Tyrez has been accused of killing him."