Dragon's Storm (Legion Of Angels #4)(26)

“Yes, you were repeating those tired lines to us when I was initiated. It’s interesting how little the non-legacy soldiers really understand of duty and honor.”

Translation: your parent isn’t an angel, so what you’re saying doesn’t matter.

“Duty and his brother honor, the perfect shields for sanctioned atrocities,” I quoted to Kendra.

Kendra looked at me like mushrooms were growing out of my head. It seemed she didn’t appreciate Salas, the philosopher from the last century who’d questioned the acts committed by the world’s military bodies, all the way up to the Legion of Angels.

Captain Somerset’s hand locked around my arm, and she pulled me away from Kendra. “You should have better sense than to quote Salas to a Legion brat.”

“They don’t know who he was?” I asked, forming my face into an expression of perfect innocence.

“Of course they know. They grew up hearing his passages derided as heresy and treason.”

I’d figured as much.

“You’re poking a nest of hornets, Pandora,” Captain Somerset told me. “No one talks to angels or their kin the way you do.”

“It wouldn’t be fun if everyone did it,” I laughed. “The look on Kendra’s face is too good.”

Captain Somerset looked at the outrage burning in Kendra’s eyes. “It is pretty good.” She sighed. “Now look at me, encouraging you. You’re a terrible influence. How can you make perfectly sensible people willingly take leave of their senses?”

I grinned at her. “By nature, people want to have fun. Well, most people.” I glanced at Kendra. “She really is her father’s daughter, isn’t she? She looks just like Jace, minus the crisis of conscious.”

“That is an accurate description of her. Her methods are cruel, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective. Colonel Fireswift is pulling out all the stops to get his son up the ranks.”

“Don’t associate with the competition,” Kendra scolded Jace.

He dropped the hand he’d waved at me.

“That woman clearly doesn’t understand the true meaning of duty or honor,” I said. “All she knows are the twisted versions of them tattooed into her consciousness from the time she could speak.”

“In Kendra’s eyes, it is her duty to beat anyone and everyone from a non-angel family—at everything she does,” Captain Somerset replied. “To not be the best at absolutely everything is a grave dishonor.”

The castle’s great gate swung open. The movement was soundless, without even a hint of a creak. The pleasant aroma of herbs spilled out of the gate. We all entered the castle.

A grand chamber awaited us. Or perhaps ‘throne room’ would have been a more accurate description. Four thrones made of stone stood tall at the far edge of the hardwood floor. An elemental symbol was etched into the peak of each throne: a flame, a lightning bolt, a tree, and a water drop.

We stopped before the empty thrones and waited. Besides Jace, I recognized Sergeant Alec Morrows, a raunchy fellow who also worked at the New York office. The woman standing beside him, his mentor, was a pretty lieutenant. I’d seen her around but didn’t know her name. She was short and slender, almost waifish. She didn’t look strong enough to pick up a sword, let alone wield one in battle, but appearances could be deceiving. No soldier at the Legion was weak.

Even so, she looked so tiny next to Alec’s massive figure. Bulky, muscular, and tall, he was built like a battering ram. And he liked shooting things with cannons. Despite his unrepentant desire to talk every woman he met into his bed, he was actually a really nice guy.

I felt someone brush against my back, and I turned around to find Nerissa standing with Soren. Ivy had pulled through.

“You’re here,” I said, giving Nerissa’s hand a supportive squeeze.

“I’m here,” she replied.

“Better late than never.” Morrows swept in and put his arms around both of us. “Doc, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.”

“Are you injured?” she asked.

“If I said yes, would it get me some quality alone time with you?”

“No.”

He grinned at her. “It worked last time.”

Kendra looked at us like we’d completely lost our minds, like we were freakish beasts in a circus.

The tall, white double doors at the back of the chamber opened, and three soldiers entered. Their clothes were unlike any Legion uniform I’d ever seen, but they wore the standard metallic rank pins, accompanied by a second pin depicting an element. When they took their seats on their thrones, the symbols at the top lit up with a magical glow.

The dark-haired Sea Dragon, who controlled the powers of water and ice, looked stunning in her blue dress accented with white ribbons. The robe flowed around her as though she were underwater. The water drop etched into her throne glowed sapphire blue.

The Sky Dragon, master of wind and lightning, wore a purple and yellow robe. Magic rolled across the fabric like a river of lightning. That same spark of magic lit up his throne’s lightning bolt emblem. It shone like liquid gold.

The Earth Dragon was the mistress of trees, quakes, sand, and metal. Her dress was an earthy green, accented by metal jewelry. A dagger hung from her belt. The tree etched into her throne glowed a vibrant green.