I slid the harness on and attached the knife sheath over my ribs. “Of course.”
“We might not get anywhere near her,” he warned as he joined me at the door.
I whipped it open and stalked through. Trix was probably still fast asleep with Mari, so I didn’t disturb them. Matt strode up beside me, yanking on his tee shirt. “So—if they say no, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.” And I didn’t.
We bumped into a Dire student in the hall. He stood aside to let us stalk past.
I was different. The other students knew it. And it colored their opinions of not only me, but those that hung out with me.
You are special.Matt’s mindvoice was filled with emotion.I knew it right away.
But I have kept you from forming friendships with the other recruits,I protested.
If you think that matters to me, you don’t know me very well,he growled.From the moment I first saw you, I knew Fate had called me.
My pounding heart swelled. Through thick and thin, his loyalty had never wavered. But it gave me pause. He had already paid a high price for my tendency to run headlong into trouble. We’d been lucky that he’d survived Xumi.
He must have caught at least a hint of what passed through my mind, but he didn’t comment. Which was, in itself, something to think about. Because he would follow me no matter what I did.
Sebastian’s words echoed through my head.Rushing in without a plan is what landed you in such trouble.
I needed to lead us wisely. Or I could lose Matt too.
We descended to the third floor and ran straight into the brigade.
Or a version of it, anyway. The coliseum side was roped off, with a crowd of what looked like Dires and Sabres milling around in the hall.
The two hulking guys standing guard weren’t Dires or Sabres—I didn’t need to see the scales to know they were Dragons.
I stopped before them. “I need to speak with the Watcher, Cara.”
The Dragon’s scales were a brighter blue than Talakai’s. And his eyes gleamed at me before he answered. “The Watchers are otherwise occupied.”
Huh. Okay, then. I moved to the railing overlooking the foyer, gathered myself, and sent my energy looking for hers.
She was in there, all right. I sensed the mental equivalent of a stroke across my consciousness, and smiled up at Matt.
Moments later, Cara appeared in the hall behind the Dragons. The blue one’s brows rose as he raised the rope for her to pass underneath, and then they shot skyward as Cara approached me.
“Talakai said that he’s found Galeran,” I said, as she stopped before me.
Her brows rose, and her intense blue gaze scanned Matt. “I take it you inherited more than wings from your Dragon.”
Matt stiffened, but he said, “Yeah. Seems so.”
“Well, he hasn’t found Galeran, he’s found his next target,” she corrected. “Come with me.”
She led us not toward the coliseum, but through the door to the staff quarters. It was much quieter here. She directed us down the hall to her own suite.
Jacques, Cody, and Tyrez were inside, hunched over maps and bits of paper on the table.
“Mademoiselle!” Jacques appeared delighted to see me. Matt, as usual, growled, but it seemed a token effort at best.
“Matt heard it from Talakai,” Cara told Tyrez, when he regarded us with raised brows.
“You can talk to him?” Cody’s mouth dropped.
