A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania #2)(54)

“The barest amounts,” Randall repeated.

“It’s a work in progress,” Morgan said to Vadoma. “And if you have as much experience as you claim, then you’ll know that’s how it goes. My own still isn’t completed, and I doubt it ever will be. It’s a living document, something that grows with every life experience.”

“Not the same,” Vadoma said, pointing a finger at Morgan. “You know this. The both of you do. He is not like you. He is not like the others. He is different. And your complacency will either end in his death or all of ours.”

“That certainly sucked the fun out of the room,” I muttered. “We can’t possibly be related.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I assure you we are. Even if I couldn’t see the gypsy in your skin, I would know it from the magic that leaks from you with every step you take. The dook you have in your blood is not mine. I have sight. I see the shapes of things to come. Yours is zor. Strength. In the earth. In the heart. But you lack these things. The focus. You are careless. A budjo. A showman, not a shaman. But we are the same, regardless. You have come from Dika. And Dika comes from me. Which means you come from me. And I have known you for a long, long time.”

“I still don’t see what that has to do with—”

“What will you do?” Vadoma asked me. “When your cornerstone dies and you still walk amongst your people? Will you still believe the path you took was of the righteous?”

And that—

That was not okay.

That was never okay.

I took a step forward. “Are you threatening me or Ryan? Because if it was me, I could stand for that. I could deal… with that. But if you’re threatening him, then we’re about to have a fucking problem.”

Her dark eyes flashed with something I didn’t recognize. “You care for him,” she said.

“More than anything.”

“Because he’s yours.”

“And I’m his.”

“For how long?”

I blinked. Because I didn’t— “What do you mean?”

“Yes, Vadoma,” Morgan said, sounding bitchier than I’d ever heard him before. It was really rather remarkable for a man of his age and stature to sound like he was ready to scratch a motherfucker’s eyes out. “What exactly do you mean?”

She didn’t even flinch. Steel balls, that one. I gave her a little more credit than I had at first. If Morgan had used that tone on me, I probably would have been running in the opposite direction.

“I have seen the stars,” she said. “I have followed the bones where they’ve fallen. Unless Sam of Wilds gathers the dragons of Verania, the world will fall into darkness and all will be lost.”

I laughed. “Get the fuck outta here.”

She wasn’t laughing.

Neither was anyone else. Even Ryan looked a little spooked.

“Guys,” I tried. “Look. She’s a fortune-teller. I don’t care what she’s known for. I don’t care where she came from. I don’t care who she is to me. She’s an old kook, and this is bullshit. All of this is bullshit.”

“What did he say to you?” she asked, cocking her head. “When you appeared before him?”

“Who?” I was so done with this shit. Maybe I could get the King to banish her from the City of Lockes and I could go back to living my life the way I wanted it to be. The way I wanted—

“The Great White,” she said softly. “The Father of Dragons. The oldest in all of creation. He who created the world on his back. What did he say to you when you stood before him?”

I have awoken, O human child. In this forest deep, in the dark of the wild. And I have seen what is in your heart. Take heed of my warning: you are not ready.

“Nothing,” I said. “He didn’t say anything because it wasn’t real. None of it was real. You tricked me. Somehow. Poisoned me. Made me hallucinate. I don’t know what you’re planning. I don’t know why you’re here. But it’s not going to work. The dragon said nothing. He said nothing because it wasn’t real. No one has seen the Great White in centuries. He’s long dead. His bones are somewhere that will never be found.”

“Not a word?”

I didn’t look away. “Not a word.”

“Morgan,” she said.

“I’ve told you, Sam,” Morgan said. “About the rumors. About a dark man rising.”

“Have they been substantiated? By anything?”

“No,” he said. “Nothing that can be considered concrete. But if there is a threat against the Crown, if there’s the smallest chance that she’s right, we owe it to Verania to investigate. Sam, we are the hands of the King, and sometimes the hand must make a fist even if the threat is hidden in shadow.”

“So we’re supposed to take her word on it?” I asked angrily. “This woman who banished my mother as if she was nothing? She took away everything because who she fell in love with didn’t have the same skin color.”

“Dika made her choice—”

“Only because you didn’t give her anything else to choose!”

“Your ire comes quickly,” Vadoma said. “Is this because you are frightened, or is this how you are? Does your fury flow through you at the slightest of provocations?”