Forbidden Honor (Dragon Royals #1)(121)

“My brother and I are worse,” I promised.

I lunged for the door, threw it open, leapt from the carriage.





Jaik



That night, the fire blazed in the fireplace, flames leaping and crackling, forming the only sounds in the room. Even Talisyn was quiet for once, sipping his amber liquid and staring into the flames.

Honor was gone.

We’d gathered in the twins’ room. I didn’t want to be in my own room, where I could’ve sworn her burnt-sugar scent still lingered on my pillow, where I remembered throwing her against the wall. Even now, there was a constant quick pulse in my throat.

If my father had hurt her, I’d tear his castle apart to destroy him.

“I think I should point out the obvious. They’re both missing at the same time.” Branok’s voice broke the silence. “Doesn’t that seem suspicious to anybody else?”

“I think I’d like you to connect the dots for us, Branok.”

Talisyn winced at my tone, and Branok’s head snapped toward mine, his eyes widening.

“What exactly are you trying to say?” My voice was ice.

Branok’s eyes met mine in challenge. “I think it’s obvious that Lucien and Honor have run off together. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The only reason why they would both disappear at the same time.”

Fury washed over me at the thought. I jerked my head in a nod, reminding myself that it was probably the best option, the one I should be hoping for. Honor, alive and unharmed and happy with Lucien.

But the thought still made me want to snarl, and I pressed my lips together to keep from taking it out on Branok. Honor had revealed to me just how selfish I could be. I wanted her, and damn the costs.

“Maybe not,” Talisyn said.

Imagining that she’d chosen Lucien over me once and for all grated my last nerve, and my nerves were already exposed every time I had to interact with my father.

“Regardless,” I said, my voice cool. “We’ll find them, make sure they’re alive, and we’ll deal with that then.”

“Oh really? And how will you deal with it?” Branok demanded.

He was one of my oldest and dearest friends, but it was still very tempting to hurt him.

“I know this is going to sound strange coming from me, but not with bloodshed,” I said. “If Lucien has been able to pry Honor out of here, then good. She has no sense of self preservation. It’s better than having her underfoot, trying to get herself killed.”

A guilty look crossed over Talisyn’s face. I’d known he was going to the wedding with Honor. Tough as she was, she’d needed someone there to support her, and Tal was a safer choice than I was. But when he’d confessed to me about their time together, I’d been very tempted to punch him into next week. Tal generally made things more interesting, instead of in any way improving them, but that was a low, even for him.

We’d canvassed the area, recruited other students. Tal had turned his considerable charms on the servants as well. Now we had a small army out searching for the two of them, but it seemed as if they’d disappeared entirely from the city. Maybe they had fled through the tunnels…or been dragged through the tunnels.

As soon as I imagined Honor being carried off by someone—she’d probably be fighting then and mocking them and generally making them miserable, if she weren’t knocked unconscious—a spurt of fresh, raw energy flowed through my body.

I stood to my feet. I couldn’t stay here in the warmth, in front of the fire, when she might be in danger.

“Jaik,” Lynx said quietly. “Rest. You need to be some good when you find her. You haven’t stopped moving since…”

“There’s plenty of time to rest later,” I snapped.

The door flew open. I spun to face the threat, my heart rising in my chest with the hope it was Honor. No one dared come into the dragons’ wing without permission.

Caldren staggered, clutching the doorway. Rage spiked through me at the sight of him. He didn’t belong here. His deep brown eyes locked on mine. His face was swollen and bruised, his mouth bleeding, and the rage vanished as quickly as it had come. He tried to say something right before he started to fall.

I vaulted the empty chair between us and caught Caldren. His weight slammed into mine. He was going down, so I guided him to the floor, my arm under his head to protect him from the hardwood.

“What are you doing here?” I asked icily.

He probably deserved this beating. Caldren kept miserable company, between his pub and his rebel sympathies.

At the same time, I wanted to kill whoever hurt him—if nothing else, for thinking they could hurt my family.

“She’s in trouble.” His voice came out a broken rasp. “I didn’t want to come to you, but… I had nowhere else to go.”

Arren stood over me, a big hand falling on my shoulder. “Where?”

“Fetch the healer,” I snapped at Lynx.

“There’s no time.” Caldren looked up at me. “Henrick is torturing her.”

Branok sighed. “We are never getting rid of that girl, are we?”

“It’s not the fucking time,” Tal answered, smacking Branok upside the head, which prevented me from doing worse.

I was just about done with my friends’ hatred of Honor, and with their hatred of Lucien as well, for that matter, if it turned out that he was missing for reasons that were beyond his control.