Dragon's Storm (Legion Of Angels #4)(41)

“Our connection is not as strong as it once was,” Captain Somerset replied. “I feel…something. It’s so weak. I’m not even sure if it’s her.”

“I trust your feeling,” said Nero. “You point us in the general direction, and we’ll track her from there.”

“The Fire Mountains. I think she’s there. Or at least she was there.”

“We’ll check it out,” Nero told her.

“Now?” I asked.

“No. A storm is raging tonight on the Elemental Expanse. I barely made it here. I couldn’t see three feet in front of me.”

That explained his disheveled hair.

“We’ll set out tomorrow morning. The cleansing storm will have run its course by then.”

Every month, the Dragons got together for the Elemental Rites. They combined their magic with the castle’s to cast a great storm over the Elemental Expanse, a storm that cleansed the whole area. It kept the magic here in balance.

“Are you really taking her along?” Captain Somerset asked Nero, but she was looking at me. “She is in the middle of a very important training.”

“I am personally taking over Leda’s training for the duration of this mission. I’ll make sure she’s ready. There will be plenty of opportunities for training during the mission. She needs an extra push anyway.”

I knew Nero’s training would be rougher than the Dragons’ obstacle courses. He’d never taken it easy on me. I couldn’t really complain. He was exactly what I needed—someone who pushed me to be better, to become stronger.

“We’ll leave at first light,” Nero told me. Then he patted Captain Somerset on the back and left the room.

I wondered which tower he was staying in.

The Sea Tower, just like you, he spoke in my head. But if you try to prank my hot water, Pandora, I will retaliate.

The delightfully vicious way that his words hissed through my mind shot shivers up my spine. Nero would have made an excellent ghost story teller.

“Are you all right?” Captain Somerset asked me.

“Are you?”

“It’s all water under the bridge,” she said unconvincingly. “You need to worry about your mission and your training.”

“Actually, I’m more worried about the angel who will be taking me on the mission—and training me.”

“Nero will be good for you. Maybe he can get some of that nonsense out of your head. What were you thinking, swooping in and saving Nerissa like that? This isn’t a storybook, Leda, and you aren’t a knight.”

“I was just trying to help.”

“You can’t save everyone.”

“Nerissa is your friend too,” I reminded her.

“This isn’t about today. It isn’t even about her. It’s about you. The mortality rate in the Legion isn’t all that great. You have to learn that you can’t save everyone. There’s a time to be a hero—and a time when trying to be a hero will just get everyone killed. Do you know the difference?”

“Yes.”

“Do you? Because I’m pretty sure that you’re telling yourself right now that there is no such thing as a no-win situation.”

“I don’t give up on friends.”

“You have to learn to let go. If you can’t, you’ll lose more people than you’ll save.”

I had a feeling this wasn’t about me and my training. “What happened between you and Colonel Starborn?” I asked her. “Was it the reason you pushed back and reclaimed your humanity?”

“You ask too many questions.”

I smiled at her. She did not return the gesture. For a moment, I was sure she was going to tell me where I could shove my questions. But then her expression softened, and she let out a heavy sigh.

“I couldn’t take the angels’ power games,” she said. “The blind faith in everything the Legion said. The need to mark your lovers and family as property.”

“I’m with you on that one.”

“And the jealousy over every single person who looked at your lover,” she added.

“So she didn’t approve of your admirers.”

“Of course not, but that wasn’t the problem. I could handle her jealousy. It was my own that I couldn’t take. She made me mad with jealousy. That’s what being with an angel means. You become like them. You lose your mind. You want to attack anyone who might take her from you, even your own friends.” Her eyes burned with regret. “I had to let her go. It was the only way to save myself.”

“How long ago was this?”

“It’s been nearly a hundred years.”

If letting go had really been the right thing to do, then why did her heart still ache a century later? Why did regret mar her face when she spoke of her former angel lover? If I let Nero go, would I end up like Captain Somerset, regretting that decision for the rest of my immortal life? I cared about Nero. His angel ways were a lot to take, but then again, so was I.

“You should get to bed,” Captain Somerset said, interrupting my thoughts. “You have an early morning tomorrow, and you’ll need your strength. Who knows how many things will try to kill you along your journey.”

“You have got to work on your pep talks,” I told her.