The Dracken leader sighed deeply. “She tried to escape, ordering her dragon to slaughter two of our most promising Potentials in the process. Burning them alive simply for doing their jobs.” His face twisted into a self-righteous scowl. “Can you believe it? After all we did for her. Rescuing her from the Hunter, taking her in, clothing her, feeding her. Treating her like an honored guest…”
The indignation in his voice, along with the smooth lies rolling off his tongue, filled Caleb with rage. How many other lies had he willingly swallowed from this man over the last few years? Believing Darius when he told him he was special, that he had a gift? Yet all along, he’d been nothing more than a Dracken lap dragon, following orders without ever questioning them.
It took everything inside of him not to slam his fist into his former mentor’s face. To make him feel even half the pain that Caleb felt. Half the betrayal burning within him. Instead, he swallowed his anger down and forced his face to remain slack. Subservient. This wasn’t the time to act. It would only land him in the same prison Trin was headed for. And then there would be no one left to save her. To save Emmy.
To save the world.
“I’ve failed you,” he said, bowing his head in front of the Master, looking as contrite as possible. “I did everything I could to win her to our side. Obviously it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry. You believed in me and I let you down. I don’t deserve to call myself a Dracken.”
Darius’s face softened. “Don’t blame yourself,” he said, patting him gently on the back. “I know you did all you could. I don’t blame you in the least.”
“Thank you,” Caleb said in his most earnest voice. “I promise, I won’t let you down again.” He looked up at the Master. “So what happens next? Do we just kill her and move on?”
“I am scheduling a de-bonding ceremony for three days from now,” Darius said, “to give Mara enough time to prepare. We’ll do it publicly, with all the Potentials in attendance. After all, it was their brothers the traitor slaughtered so mercilessly. We’ll break the bond between the dragon and the Fire Kissed and then give Emberlyn to the other. Hopefully she will prove more worthy of the privilege.”
Caleb swallowed hard. “And what will happen to the traitor?” he asked, daring to meet his former mentor’s eyes with his own. “Will we keep her in custody? It would seem risky to let her go…”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Darius assured him. “No human has ever survived a de-bonding. Before the ceremony is even over, she will already be dead.”
Chapter Forty
Creak!
Trinity looked up blearily as she heard the turning of a lock outside her makeshift cell. They’d been keeping her in a wildly painted former Hot Topic dressing room, reinforced with steel bars. The room was small—too small to lie down in—and so she’d contented herself to pull her knees to her chest and lay her head on top of them in a desperate attempt to get comfortable. She had no idea how long she’d been there at this point—the blows the guards had delivered to her head had been sending her in and out of consciousness for some time, and she half wondered if she’d suffered a concussion. At least she knew they wouldn’t allow her to die—well, until they’d severed the bond between she and Emmy that was. After that, all bets were off.
Emmy. She reached out again, trying desperately to find her dragon to make sure she was okay. But, try as she might, she couldn’t lock onto the creature’s spark. She wondered if maybe they’d drugged her. Emmy had to be going insane without her mistress nearby, and no one wanted an insane dragon on their hands. At least she knew they wouldn’t hurt her. They needed her now more than ever. But the thought wasn’t as comforting as it should have been.
The door opened and light spilled into the room. Trin looked up to find a dark shadow, standing in the doorway. For a split second, she wildly thought it could be Connor, come back to rescue her somehow. But that was ridiculous. He was long gone. And it was Caleb standing there, flanked by two guards.
“Well, well, there she is,” Caleb said, his voice cutting and cold. “Our little traitor.”
Trin looked up at him in horror. All this time she’d been secretly praying that he’d received her desperate send when he’d grabbed her hand in the hallway. That he’d seen all the atrocities going on below the mall—the mutated dragons, the Dracken’s true plan. But maybe it hadn’t worked. Maybe he had no idea what the Dracken were really up to. Or maybe…Her heart skittered at the thought. Maybe he’d known all along.
“Caleb,” she tried, but her lips were so dry and cracked she found she couldn’t get the words out. Not that she had any idea what she really wanted to say. He shook his head at her, then grabbed her by the hair, yanking her out of the fitting room and dumping her onto the floor of the empty store. She hit the ground hard and cried out in pain as her knee wrenched from under her.
“How could you do this?” he demanded, glaring down at her. “How could you go and betray the Dracken?”
“I—I…” she tried to say, but a sudden voice in her head silenced her.
Trinity, listen to me.
She startled, confused. With her mind still hazy, it took her a moment to realize what he had said—and, more importantly, how he had said it. He flashed her a warning look, then glanced back at the two guards. Don’t let them know.
“Those boys were innocent,” he continued. “And yet you let your dragon murder them.”
I’m so sorry. I would have never brought you here if I had known. I thought it would be safe.
Somehow Trin found her voice. “I didn’t ask Emmy to kill them. She was trying to protect me.”
Caleb, it’s not your fault. They lied to everyone. You, me, the Potentials…
“And what about the wireless laptop we found in your room?” he sneered. “Who were you talking to?”
“I was just playing a video game. Fields of Fantasy. It’s my favorite.”
You have to get us out of here, Caleb. Before they break me and Emmy’s bond.
“A video game? Please. Do you think we’re stupid? You were contacting someone. I want to know who.”
I know—but how? There’s too many of them. We’d need a flecking army to even stand a chance.
She frowned. Well, I’m sorry. I don’t have a spare army in my—
Trinity stopped short. Wait a second. Maybe she did.
What about your friends who broke into the museum? The government guys. They’re probably still out looking for the egg. If they found out it was here, they could raid the place. And in all the confusion we could escape.
Caleb seemed to consider this for a moment. It’s not a bad idea, he relented. But how can we let them know? Darius has the place on lockdown now, thanks to your little escape attempt. And there’s no phone or Internet.
“Um, is everything okay, sir?” asked the guard behind Caleb, looking at the two of them suspiciously. Trinity cringed, realizing they’d gone too long staring at one another without talking out loud. In desperation, she managed to scramble to her knees before Caleb, holding out her hands, as if in prayer.
“Please,” she begged. “Just let me go. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll be good. I won’t try to escape again. Just don’t de-bond me from my dragon. I can’t live without her.”
What about Connor? Can you reach him through the Nether? He could pretend to be you and put in a call.