Firedrake - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,37

for Roland, who was only a little older than himself.

“I will sing and play for you, my queen, any time you wish.”

“But first,” Roland spoke quietly from behind Lana, “I want you to activate your network of Jinn spies, Drake. I want my brother back with all possible speed.”

“I’ve already given my vow to Nico, my liege. We’ll find Prince Wil. This I promise you. I’ll go after him myself as soon as I have word of his direction.”

“See to your family now, Drake. Nico’s already sent word to the leaders of his network in Castleton. Just be ready when they start to report back.”

“I’m ready now, my liege.” Drake glanced to Arlis and then to Dec. “If Arlis lives, so will my blood-father. He’s too stubborn to allow it to be otherwise.”

Tight smiles greeted his observation and Nico joined them. “Riki says it’s not as bad as it looks. Sir Declan will recover.”

Drake winked at Lana. “What did I tell you?”

This time the smiles were a bit freer.

“I’m just going to check on my mother, then I’ll be heading out to beat the streets and knock a few heads if I must.” Drake’s eyes narrowed as he contemplated his next steps. “There’s got to be someone on this end who saw them leave, so there must be someone—perhaps several—to question right here in the city or even the castle. There are some Jinn I’d like to bring into this. Their loyalty is beyond question and they walk the city streets. If there’s anything to know here, they either already know it or they’ll learn it.”

Roland nodded. “Do it. Stop at the treasury on your way out of the castle if you need coin for bribes or payment. No price is too high to get Wil back.”

“Most Jinn will help out of love for Riki and your family, and loyalty to dragonkind, but some other palms might need to be greased before they squeal.” Drake’s eyes took on a menacing cast as he thought through the possibilities and the steps he would take as soon as he got down to Castleton.

He stayed with his mother only until he was sure she would be all right. He even checked on Declan, surprised by the light of anger in his blood-father’s tired eyes. The knight was mad as hell, but for once, it wasn’t directed at Drake. Declan grabbed Drake’s sleeve with more strength than he would have credited and told him the sequence of events in full detail as Nico and several other knights listened in with great interest.

The party made up of Declan, Arlis, Ren, Lil and Prince William had stopped for the final rest period near the last clear lake before the Border Lair. It was a predictable but necessary stop, and the dragons and knights had checked the area carefully before setting down. What they hadn’t spotted from the sky were the well-camouflaged, dugout pits where a company of mercenaries lay in wait. They were a disciplined group, waiting for the perfect moment to spring their trap. They caught both dragons on the ground and separated the knights, threatening Wil, who was in human form at that moment, with Ren’s and Dec’s deaths if he didn’t surrender. They’d brought reinforced iron shackles sufficient to challenge even a full-grown, royal, black dragon shapeshifter. Wil was still a teen, barely out of his childhood years and still relatively new to flying and shifting from human to dragon and back.

“Drake—” Declan’s grip tightened with urgency, “—you’ve got to get him back. He’s just a boy. Only a little younger than you were when you left. I can’t go through that again.” Drake was shocked by the emotion on his blood-father’s face. “Promise me, boy. Save him. I know you can do it. You’re the only one I trust.”

Drake took Declan’s hand in his. This was a breakthrough moment in their relationship, and he would treat it with all the reverence and seriousness it deserved.

“I’ve already promised Roland and Nico, and now I’ll give you the same and more, Father.” Drake fought past the lump in his throat. Declan was looking at him with such hope, such approval, such respect, he found it hard not to just stop and stare. “I’ll find Wil and bring him home.”

“And when you’ve done that,” Declan pushed one step further, “I want you to come home to stay. I’ve missed you, boy. We all have.”

Drake didn’t want to think that far ahead. Events were spinning fast