Dragon Blood 3: Surety (8 page)

Standing at the bathroom sink in Kade’s house, Amber filled another bracelet with her power. She’d filled three before school and now she’d filled another two. It wasn’t enough. There were still eight that were empty, but she didn’t want to exhaust herself. Especially not before she saw her grandmother. Who knew what she’d face.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. “Gary sent me a text to say your mother has finished packing a bag for your grandmother and they’re on their way back. If you still want to leave before she returns and realises you’re not taking her to see her parents, we better go now.”

Sliding the bracelet on, Amber opened the bathroom door and stared at Kade. She really didn’t want to take him anywhere near her grandparents. That just didn’t seem like a good idea. But she doubted he’d be willing to stay away. “Okay, let’s get out of here before I get my second lecture for the day.” She’d been greeted with one over breakfast since she’d slept through the opportunity last night. Pulling out her phone, she turned it off so she didn’t get any irate calls from her mother while she was with her grandparents, then slid it into her pocket. Her mother would ring the moment she found out the bag she’d packed would be collected by one of Ronan’s Golds and she wouldn’t get to see her parents, particularly her father.

Chuckling, Kade wrapped an arm around her, taking her to Ronan’s place through the Void. He was there to meet them.

Amber stepped away from Kade. “How are they?”

“Alive.”

She rolled her eyes at Ronan’s answer. “You haven’t messed with their heads, have you?”

“Not yet.”

“Then don’t. I wouldn’t want them broken.” She walked beside Ronan, Kade following.

“Then maybe you should see what information you can get out of them,” Ronan said.

“Don’t mess with them. I was the one who gave up Topaz for him and Grandma is mine.”

“Until she attacks you with a blade.”

Amber had no reply so she fell silent, thankful when they reached the room her grandparents were kept in.

Ronan swung the door open, stepping in first, his gaze taking in the room before he stepped to the side and let Amber enter. “As I said.” He gestured towards the elderly couple sitting on the edge of the large timber bed. “Both alive.”

They rose to their feet, Helen coming forward as far as her chain allowed her. “Have you told Donna what you’ve done?”

“I told her you’re staying with your husband.”

“Did you tell her you had me imprisoned? That her father is still imprisoned. Traitor!”

“Stop calling me a traitor,” Amber yelled.

“You’ve sided with the dragons against us. You’re a traitor,” Helen spoke equally as loud.

“I didn’t even know the Knights existed.”

“That’s their fault.” Helen pointed at Ronan. “Murderer.” She spared a glare for him before she continued to glare at Amber. “How could you side with someone who’s killed your own relatives?”

Amber felt Kade move to stand behind her and she felt safer. She didn’t have to do this alone. She lowered her voice, trying to remain calm, but the panther let her know she was nowhere near calm. “The pair of you would run straight to your Knights if I set you free.”

Helen shook her head. “No, we’d take the time to kill your dragons first.”

Amber’s voice rose again. “So what am I meant to do? Let you kill the person I love?”

“He’s a dragon, not a person.”

Kade stepped to the side of Amber so he could look at her.
“The first time you tell me you love me you yell it at someone else? Not much of a romantic, are you?”

Amber sent him a glare.
“Better than not telling anyone at all.”

Kade slowly smiled, closing the gap between them.
“It won’t be here, in the middle of an argument with your grandparents.”

Amber ignored her grandmother’s demands to know what Kade was saying to her. “Can we deal with this later?”

Kade reached out to rest his hands on her hips. “No.” He pulled her tight against him, his lips meeting hers as he took her through the Void.

Amber pulled away from him to look around, unable to recognise where he’d brought them. “I was in the middle of talking to my grandparents.” She mentally searched the area, finding both Rian and Maira in the building. “We’re at Temolae Keep?”

“Yeah. Our room.”

Amber looked around. There were two closed doors, an oversized bed in the centre, a tall chest of drawers on the wall opposite the foot of the bed and smaller drawers on either side of the bed. She returned her attention to Kade. “You can’t just drag me off like that. What was wrong with asking?”

“You would have said no. Now how about you try that earlier statement and you don’t yell it at someone else.”

She struggled to hold onto her annoyance at him dragging her away from her argument. The smile that wanted to escape let her know it was a losing battle. “I’m not sure which statement you want me to repeat. There were so many things I was yelling.”

Kade reached for her, sliding his hand behind her neck, gazing down at her as he stepped close. “I love you, Amber.”

The smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Yeah, me too.”

“Really? That’s as good as it gets?”

She grinned. “Yep. Now hurry up and kiss me then take me to Ronan’s so I can go back to yelling at my grandparents.” He obeyed the first part of her demands and when he finally drew away from her, she stared up at him. “I do love you, Kade. And I’m not going to let them kill you.”

“You want to tell me why you won’t let them kill me? And I know it isn’t just because you love me.”

She laughed, knowing exactly what he was asking. “You’re mine.” Her laughter was cut off by another kiss and this time when he drew away slightly, he took her back to Ronan’s, through the Void, arriving just outside the room. She stepped inside.

The room was in chaos. Her grandparents were yelling at each other and Ronan was leaning against the wall near the door, asking if they wanted a knife each so they could sort their argument out quicker.

Amber came further into the room. “Enough.”

Both her grandparents turned to face her. It was Charles who spoke first. “She sounds exactly like you, Hel.”

“Nothing like me,” Helen argued.

At the same time, Amber said, “I do not.”

Ronan laughed. “And here I was thinking she took after both of you. Most possessive, bloodthirsty, argumentative, contrary human I’ve come across in ages. A pity she has moments of remorse and wanting to save everyone.”

“I’m not bloodthirsty,” Amber muttered.

“I’m sure I could think of at least one dragon who’d agree with me.” Ronan strode forward to stop at her side, smiling his predatory smile. “Oh, that’s right, she can’t anymore, can she?”

“You’ve killed a dragon?” Helen asked.

Amber nodded.

“How?” Charles demanded.

“What does it matter? She’s dead.”

“How?” Charles persisted.

“With a sword.”

Charles and Helen both beamed at her, sharing a congratulatory look before they turned their smiles back on her.

Amber fought the urge to take a step backwards. “Right. Now we’re all talking, what am I going to do with you?”

“Have you still got the sword?” Charles asked.

“Yeah. Now about-”

“Where is it?” Charles asked.

Amber’s annoyance increased. “My ahh… bodyguard has it.” She’d nearly called him her first warrior, but guessed that would set them off again.

“Your what?” Helen asked.

“Her first warrior,” Ronan said.

Amber wanted to hit him. Did he enjoying making trouble?

“Traitor,” Helen snarled.

At the same time, Charles growled, “Dragon.”

“She’s neither Knight nor dragon,” Ronan said. “Stop trying to bring her around to your way of thinking. I’m afraid she’s far too stubborn to give up her own beliefs.”

“What are they?” Charles demanded.

“You don’t touch hers. She’ll protect them to the death. She doesn’t believe in running, but facing all threats head on. And she never gives up,” Ronan said.

Amber shook her head. Surely he was exaggerating. She was nothing like that. She only did what she had to.

“She would make a perfect Knight,” Charles said.

“She’d make a perfect dragon,” Ronan pointed out.

“She is standing right here and is perfectly happy being exactly who she is.” Amber glared at each of them, ignoring Kade’s chuckle. “All we’re figuring out right now is what to do with you.” She pointed at her grandparents. “We’re wasting time with all this rubbish.” Not to mention making her feel highly uncomfortable.

“Set us free and we’ll give your dragon time to leave town before we tell the Knights about him,” Helen said. “And I won’t tell Donna you had me chained up along with your own grandfather.”

“If I have to leave town, I fail my test,”
Kade told Amber.

“When does your test finish?”

“Last day of the year.”

“I can’t keep them imprisoned that long,” Amber burst out.

“What is he telling you?” Charles and Helen demanded at the same time.

She ignored their question. “Your suggestion isn’t acceptable.”

“See,” Ronan said. “You should have listened to me. You don’t threaten one of hers.”

“He’s a dragon,” Helen said. “How can you even think of siding with him over your own kind?”

Amber was fed up with them constantly complaining about Kade. “Maybe it runs in the blood. I hear Uncle Roger likes dragons too.” At her grandmother’s expression, she cursed Ronan for pointing out her tendency for remorse. Raising her chin, she refused to take back her words. They never took theirs back. She forced herself to continue. “I wonder what my cousins are like.” She sent a quick look towards Kade. “We should meet them some day.”

Kade stepped up beside her, sliding an arm around her waist. “Maybe next time we’re at our castle.” He momentarily tightened his arm around her.

Amber nodded. “Yeah, next time we’re at Temolae Keep.”

Charles stilled. “Who did you kill?”

“What is it?” Helen asked her husband.

“Well?” Charles demanded when Amber didn’t speak.

Amber was about to answer when she felt two dragons appear in the hallway. She turned to see Alsandair wink at her, before he disappeared into the Void, leaving Rian standing there, her sword in his hand. Kade tensed. She needed to have a talk to Alsandair before Kade decided to kill him after all.

Rian strode forward, bowing and holding out her sword, resting it on both hands. “My lady.”

“Don’t you dare screw this up, kitten.”

Amber sent a quick look towards Ronan, but his face was expressionless. Whatever plan he was hatching he wasn’t about to share it with her. If he was going to keep the plan himself, it’d be his own fault if it got screwed up. She took the sword from Rian and holding it at her side, the point resting on the floor, faced her grandparents again.

“Is that the sword?” Charles asked.

Amber nodded.

“Who did you kill,” Charles asked again.

“Paili.”

Helen gasped and Charles repeated the name.

“Impossible,” Charles said.

“Hold it up and set it alight,”
Ronan ordered Amber.

She had no idea how that would help, but so far she’d only made progress when Ronan was helping. Although he’d also caused her some setbacks too. Holding the sword up, she widened her stance, pulling away from Kade as her sword blade burst into flame. “I cut her heart nearly in two.” She shied away from the thought that Ronan had cut the heart into twenty even pieces, eating a section after having first offered it to her.

“She was in the book,” Helen said. “One of the few dragons in there we had a name for.”

“My captors spoke of her in tones of fear.” Charles’ eyes were fixed on the blade.

“What is the point of this?”
Amber asked Ronan, her arms starting to ache from holding the sword up for so long.

“They help you till the end of the year. We have Dragon Mages to kill and dragons to hunt. They get to kill as long as they stay away from the Knights,”
Ronan said.

Amber extinguished the blade, handing it to Rian. “You don’t care what dragons you kill, do you? You just want to kill them.”

“No dragon deserves to live.” Charles looked at each of the three dragons in the room.

“Then what if I give you the opportunity to hunt dragons. You remain our allies until the last day of the year and then we let you go back to your Knights,” Amber said.

“We’ll be free to hunt who we wish after that,” Charles said.

Amber nodded.

“What is the catch?” Charles asked.

“There’s no catch,” Ronan said. “Maybe we think you’ll enjoy working with us so much you won’t stop.”

“Not likely, dragon,” Charles said.

“What else would it involve?” Helen asked.

“You stay in my home, I’ll give you access to an area that will be locked off from the main part of the house and you’ll help sort through all the information gathered, looking for anything to help us track down the dragons we’re trying to find.”

“That all seems very one sided. We would be helping remove some of your enemies,” Charles said.

“They’re dragons. What more do you want?” Ronan asked.

“We’ll think on it,” Charles said.

“What is there to think about,” Amber demanded. “Do you want to kill dragons or not?”

“We want to kill dragons, but we don’t want to be told which ones we can and can’t kill,” Charles said.

“The offer isn’t going to last forever.” Amber felt like shaking them. Was there nothing they wouldn’t argue? “Think of it as earning your freedom. Your ransom wasn’t cheap.” She couldn’t help wondering if Topaz was safe. Were the mages somehow connected to Blair and Irvin? They better not be.

“There must be something else you want. I know I’m not worth a Gold female,” Charles said.

“I didn’t want your death on my conscience. When they found out you were my grandfather, they’d try and hold me hostage with you.”

“I would have killed you before I let that happen,” Ronan said to Charles.

“What are you to our granddaughter?” Helen asked.