The (Not) Satisfied Dragon - Colette Rhodes Page 0,73

for us.

“You know,” he said conversationally, his gaze sliding to Shira. “You're quite the record setter, young Shira. First gold to run for the Council, and first dead dragon to run for Council…”

Excuse the fuck out of me? What was that supposed to mean?

“Is that a threat?” Ezra rumbled, seeming to grow in size as he glowered at Nerio, black scales snapping into place over his forearms. Shira stared at Nerio mutely, nails digging into her palms, the faintest hint of shimmering gold visible through the sleeves of her dress.

“Of course not,” Nerio scoffed. “Merely a statement of fact. I paid a brief visit to the Records Keep, as I simply had to know more about this mysterious gold who arrived out of nowhere, held captive by the fae... Ilia has been tight-lipped about your experience. He claims it's a matter for the Assembly.”

How much trouble would I get in for ripping this guy's throat out right here, right now? Because I did not like the way he was looking at my girl like he thought he'd trapped her in his net. And I did not like the way she'd gone as white as a sheet, her muscles unnaturally tense and her jaw tight. Levi shot me a warning look like he knew what I was thinking. He was always better at staying calm than the rest of us.

“It's all rather fascinating that you died on Glasdon Mountain, as reported by Flight Milain, then upon your reemergence into dragon society, Flight Milain is found dead in their beds.”

“What are you implying, Councilor?” Oren cut in, leaning against the wall behind Nerio, his voice an ominous rumble.

“It would only make sense that you would want to avenge your mate's honor.”

Ohhhhh. Nerio thought we killed them, that made sense. All five of us would run with that story happily if it meant keeping the attention off Shira, but there was no way she'd go for it. She already looked like she was about to commit some kind of noble sacrifice and tell Nerio everything.

“I'm shocked at you, Councilor,” Ezra said smoothly. “Evidently, the mysterious flight responsible for killing my mate's family came back to finish the job. Flight Milain was always so clear on how dangerous they were. If anything, we should petition the Council for added protection for Shira, in case those mysterious dragons make another reappearance. Fortunately, we are confident in our abilities as a flight to protect our own.”

Nerio flushed right up to his hairline. The old bastard.

“As for the death records, I’m sure that is an unfortunate clerical error,” Seff added. “We'll be sure to raise it with the Scribe.”

“We'll see about that,” Nerio hissed, glaring at Shira. “You may find the Scribe doesn't wish to answer to upstarts like yourselves who don't know your place.” With that, he turned on his heel, disrespectfully giving our Alpha his back on our turf.

“See you tomorrow, Councilor,” Ezra said pleasantly, not letting any of the anger that was clear in his expression bleed into his voice. The front door slammed shut, and we stood in silence for a few moments, listening to Nerio shift and take flight.

“That cocksucking motherfucker.”

“Hiram,” Levi scolded.

“Do you disagree?”

“No.”

“Cocksucking motherfucker or not, he’s the most prominent member of the Council and he’s not on our side,” Ezra fumed, calming slightly when Shira leaned against his side, looking weary. Our girl was a ruthless little assassin when she wanted to be, but she wasn’t a liar. The coverup was getting to her.

While there wasn’t much we could do about that, we could make her a more difficult target for Nerio’s scheming.

“I have an idea.” All five of them turned to look at me with matching disbelief on their faces. It was incredibly offensive.

“Is it a sex thing?” Shira asked warily, making Levi snort.

“No. Well, we should do that too, but that’s not my idea.”

“What is your idea, Hiram?” Ezra asked patiently, crossing his arms and giving off pissed-off-daddy vibes.

“We should have a party.”

“For fuck’s sake, can you take this seriously for once?” Seff snapped, glaring at me.

“I am,” I gritted, glaring at him. “Maybe stop assuming that I’m just a pretty face without a good idea in my head, asshole.”

“I’ve yet to see evidence to the contrary,” Seff muttered. “Why should we have a party then, oh wise one?” Shira rubbed her temples like we both exhausted her.

“To tell everyone that we’re running for Council, all six of us.”

Seff opened his mouth to argue, before snapping it