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.
