What Fire Dragons Treasure - Cristina Rayne Page 0,15
a powerful family. I still don’t know the details, but apparently, the bastard not only threatened to kill her if she tried to leave him but also recently hurt the boy.”
The king’s eyes narrowed. “A very real threat considering what occurred at the shield. To deliberately hurt something as precious as a child… The rotten depths some beings will fall to truly astounds me sometimes.”
For the second time, Raphek nearly bared his teeth and growled at the memory of Matty’s frightened sobs as his mother lay bleeding on the ground begging for help. However, no matter how angry the memory made him, the king was definitely not the audience for it.
“Captain Cabris has assigned another to my patrol for the remainder of the day,” he said, a hint of growl still in his tone.
Dammit. He was before the king! He really needed to settle down. Didn’t Airon always quip that he was the only levelheaded one of their closest friends?
Yet, I think no Draknos could be calm after witnessing a child in danger…
“I thought it best I start determining whether or not the human media has started reporting on the incident rather than return to my patrol,” Raphek continued, his tone much steadier this time, to his relief. “I don’t regret saving them, but I do regret that it may have come at the cost of inadvertently allowing the Terran military to learn a bit about the nature of our shields.”
“Indeed. I imagine seeing you breech it so easily without affecting the integrity of the whole even the slightest will raise a few eyebrows in Washington,” Dagon said dryly, “but what’s done is done. For the time being, I will grant our unexpected guests temporary asylum as they are both obviously in mortal danger while on Terran soil, but Amber Davis will need to make a formal request for asylum, to plead her case, before me and another witness of the Court, tomorrow at the latest.
“Raphek, you will be their advocate in all things from this moment forward. I think it best to suspend your patrol duties for the next few days to both attend to the young family’s basic needs as well as to monitor the ramifications of what occurred at the shield through the Terrans’ media.”
Raphek bowed his head. “That was my intention. I rather unceremoniously showed up with them on Emma and Sevek’s balcony. I don’t wish to inconvenience them any more than I already have, so Amber and Matthew will of course stay with me in my home for as long as you decree.”
The king waved his hand dismissively. “I doubt Emma sees it that way. That our new guests are of her people will undoubtably see her at your door between her own duties wishing to help anyway she can. Briana, too, for that matter… Perhaps my brother’s mate would be a better interrogator than I for Amber’s petition—and in a more casual setting than this council room.”
He paused, his eyes going distant for a long moment. He then gestured for Raphek to rise.
“Bring Amber and Matthew to my personal residence for the midday meal tomorrow. After such a trying experience today, it’s best to make them feel as secure as possible if we hope to receive all the answers we need, because Raphek, though it pains me to say it, we cannot afford to allow this terrible affair to undermine all the goodwill we have managed to build up with the Terrans.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Emma answered the door mere seconds after he knocked. Raphek was immediately on high alert. Was something wrong?
His friend brought a finger to her lips in the Terran gesture for silence before he could open his mouth to speak. He nodded, and she ushered him inside. Emma then pointed at a section of her seating, and the tension instantly drained out of his body.
Both Amber and Matty were cuddled up together asleep, stretched out on the large cushions.
“Balcony,” Emma whispered.
Once they were outside with the doors firmly closed, Raphek spoke for the first time, “The healing went well?”
Emma grinned. “Yes. Amber was sufficiently awed by Lady Serie’s methods.”
“Understandable given that the Terrans—present company excluded—have no idea we can perform magic. They still believe that our shield is something technological rather than magical.”
“Well, a few Terrans a lot smarter than me have posited that the technology of advanced civilizations would likely be indistinguishable from what we would think of now as magic, so I don’t think it would really matter in the