Cara took us to the treehouse.
My mother hugged me. Tears filled her eyes, but her tightened chin revealed her determination.
Once we were all assembled in the library, Ganit gave us the details he’d brought with him from the Empire
“Taran asked to meet with Tyrez alone.” He shook his head. “Considering the animosity between them since the exile, it was strange, but it wasn’t like Tyrez could refuse. They were together for half an hour when Tyrez shouted for help. Taran had sent the guards away—whatever he wanted to say to Tyrez, it was intended to be private. They burst in to find Taran mortallywounded, and Tyrez bleeding, with his sword drawn, bending over him.”
Dani’s eyes were flashing like mad. “Tyrez says that Taran wanted to talk to him. He claimed that despite the bad blood between the brothers, Taran wasn’t sure who else he could trust.”
The information was like a lightning burst in my brain.
Who,breathed Breana.Who could Taran have been talking about?
Dani went on. “Tyrez says they were attacked by five Dragon shifters. They came through the escape passages behind Taran’s private chambers. They were good fighters—he managed to kill one, and Taran wounded another before going down himself. But the others dragged the body away. And when he called for the guards, it took them a long time to arrive.”
Ganit growled. “Daize was in the main amphitheater at the time, which was set up for the funeral reception.”
“Daize had Tyrez arrested for the murder of the Emperor,” Dani said.
I stared at her. “Without a trial?”
“Daize says his guilt is unquestioned,” Ganit snarled.
My pulse pounded. Daize must be furious about his father’s death, to push so hard for an immediate execution. The laws insisted on a trial. My gaze moved to Ash. “There is no way Tyrez did this. Who is really behind it?”
Ash stiffened. “I cannot tell you. Not yet.”
My teeth clicked as my jaw snapped shut on what I really wanted to say.
Maybe he doesn’t know for sure,Breana stated.He’s said the timelines are difficult to decipher.
I think he knows,I growled back to her.
“How is Tyrez?” the Matriarch asked Dani. I noticed how pale she looked.
She grimaced. “His wounds have gone untreated, but he says they are not serious.”
“He would say that regardless,” Ash stated through clenched teeth.
Dani reached for his hand. “Yes, he would.” Her gaze sought out Cara’s. “They have scheduled the execution for midday tomorrow.”
“We need to get him out of there,” the Matriarch stated.
“We will,” Cara said. “But first, we need a plan…”
37
Bree
I sat through theCryptid Powers and their Usesclass, and by the end, couldn’t have told you anything at all about it.
Because I was living inside Riggs’s head.
The class bell went off, and I jumped as it disrupted the link I had with him. Sid looked over at me. “How is Riggs?”
The only ones who questioned that he’d left me behind were my teammates, as they knew we’d mated. The excuse I’d given was that his family would never have approved of our mating, and that with the flood, it wasn’t the time to reveal it. And they had accepted that.
But I hated lying to them. They had started to feel like the family I’d always longed for.
