The (Not) Satisfied Dragon - Colette Rhodes Page 0,64

where he and Corvus stood facing each other. Corvus was one of Seff's fathers that I hadn't met yet, but I recognized him from the Council meeting. He smiled kindly at me, his green eyes lighting up with genuine affection. He didn't exude Alpha confidence the way Ilia did, but this was a self-assured male who was secure in the power he wielded on the Council.

I stood next to Ezra in front of the fireplace. He was the Alpha, he always would be the Alpha, and I was okay with that, but my place wasn't hiding behind the rest of my mates. I belonged at their side.

“The Council has set your first task,” Corvus announced once we were all assembled. “You are to go there immediately.”

“What can you tell us about it?” Ezra asked, face carefully neutral.

“The fae, Logan Castell,” Corvus spat, making my heart stutter in my chest, hearing the name of one of my former captors. “We thought we'd gotten all the names and locations of their properties, but he was careful not to mention properties in family member's names where they also kept prisoners to drain their magic.” Corvus scrubbed a hand over his face, looking exhausted.

“There are more,” Ezra repeated flatly, the back of his hand lightly brushing against mine in a subtle gesture of support. How long had those prisoners been there? Was anyone keeping them fed? Or were the prisons home to corpses now?

“Two more. The Assembly asked the Council of Dragons to, er, extract anyone from the property who is still there and destroy the properties. To make a statement, I suppose,” Corvus sighed. “That is your first task. I will take you to the property, it's in a rural part of Northgales. It's not dissimilar to what you would have done as an Enforcer, except you are expected to take the lead. We will assess your choices. Your call is final.”

Ezra turned to look down at me, his navy eyes searching my face. He didn’t look at me like he was worried I wouldn't cope. He looked at me like I was an equal. Like this was a decision we were making together. Satisfied with what he found, he turned back to Corvus and gave him a curt nod. “We're ready.”

✽✽✽

We landed on the outskirts of the property, unable to see it or pass through the wards without Logan Castell escorting us. He wasn’t alone, a crowd of Councilors — one from each flight on the Council — and two Enforcers were waiting as well.

I did a double take, startled by Logan’s haggard appearance. I barely recognized him. Clearly, the Assembly was only doing the bare minimum to keep him alive so he could act as a key to pass through the wards. Perhaps he'd fought them once, the deep scars on his face and arms would suggest he put up a struggle, but now he listlessly walked along next to the Enforcer who was escorting him, shackles dragging along the ground, chinking together as he moved.

I couldn't find it in me to feel any pity for him. The Castells had brought this all upon themselves. Even if Glendower had led the charge, the others didn't have to go along with it. Too many had suffered because of their greed.

We fell into step next to Logan as we approached the ward and the illusion in front of us wavered, before dissipating into the air like smoke.

“How is Glendower's magic still holding up from beyond the grave?” Seff muttered, glaring at the air in front of him like he could conjure the answers from it.

“I'm sure he had contingency plans in place,” Ezra replied drily, stepping forward. “Glendower Castell was a cruel, capricious monster, but unfortunately he wasn't stupid.”

We were speaking loud enough for Logan to hear, but he didn't react at all, staring silently at the ground as he waited with the Enforcer at the edge of the property. The nine Council representatives followed closely behind us as we made our way onto the grounds, observing our every move.

This property was no expansive estate. My departure from the cave had been so sudden, I hadn't entirely absorbed what was happening, but I remembered the paved pathway through the forest and the shiny white mansion in the distance.

This place was derelict in comparison. There wasn't a forest per se, but the grass was long enough to reach my shoulders, growing around the walls of the stone home a few feet away. It looked