The (Not) Satisfied Dragon - Colette Rhodes Page 0,92

culture. There is nothing strong about murdering a sleeping family in their home because you covet what they have.” I glared at the Councilors and Flight Mentrus, running my gaze slowly over each of them, letting them see the rage in my eyes. I could feel my golden scales coating my torso and forearms, and I didn’t bother pushing them back.

“You would show compassion to these murderers, but not the Scribe who lay dying in his bed, needing medicine. You would show compassion to this flight who executed children, but wanted to leave an abused prisoner — a child — in chains simply because he was a fae. You are shameful.”

“The Council are not the ones on trial here,” Nerio barked, poisonous glare trained on me and black scales creeping up his neck.

//Shira,// Levi warned, sounding nervous.

I stared defiantly back at Nerio, determined to show him I wouldn’t be cowed by his disapproval. “Would you have bothered to find out the fate of the female and the children if I hadn’t asked? Would you have tried them as murderers, as you should have if Seff hadn't insisted on it?”

“We care about females and children,” Nerio snapped, avoiding my question.

“Oh, you care about your mate. Your mother. Your sisters. Your children. What about the others? The dragons who aren’t fortunate enough to be connected to the Council? You are representatives of all the dragons, yet you don't speak up for those who have the quietest voice. Flight Fiata would have walked free today if you’d done things your way. Perhaps the Council should have been on trial.”

“Enough,” Nerio barked as rumblings of discontent broke out among the Councilors. There was more than that, though. There were some guilty looks being exchanged. Some hand wringing. A few signs that maybe some of what I'd said today had gotten through. “Suggest their punishment and sit down, gold.”

“Execution,” I snapped, not a trace of compassion in sight. These assholes didn’t deserve it. “Execute them and post a detailed description of their crimes and their fate throughout all dragon settlements in Avalon, so there is no doubt where the Council stands on this,” I added, staring at Nerio hard enough that he fidgeted in discomfort.

There were some keening sounds from the floor where the captives kneeled, but I couldn't find it in myself to feel pity for them. They’d sealed their fate when they attacked Flight Laoch. They were monsters. The monsters could burn.

//Take a breath, rebel,// Oren reminded me, sounding worried.

“Perhaps we should line them up in their beds, execute them the way they executed Flight Laoch,” Nerio said, with a shrewd look on his face. “Wouldn’t you agree, Shira?”

“I don’t much care,” I snapped, breathing hard to clear the haze of red that seemed to have overtaken my brain. Was that it? They were just going to execute Flight Fiata and go on their merry way? That wasn’t acceptable to me. I wanted change. Real, meaningful change. Someone better rip into Jason for his half-assed questioning, too.

“Oh, I think so. An obsidian blade would be a particularly disrespectful way to go. The gold would die first, naturally. Like Odessa.”

“Odessa was last,” I retorted, annoyed that Nerio was focusing on entirely the wrong thing here.

//Shira!//

Fuck.

What had he just said? What had I just said?

What had I just done?

“What was that, young gold?” Nerio asked, a sinister smile slowly spreading across his face.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears, so loud I could barely make out the sound of the yelling Councilors. Were they yelling at me? There wasn’t enough air. My lungs burned and my head spun, black spots dancing across my vision.

This was how it felt when Odessa had held my head underwater. I thought I’d die. The water had filled my lungs, and I’d fought, I’d fought, but the outcome was inevitable as the rising sun. I’d been so convinced that had been the end. Maybe I’d imagined everything.

Maybe I was still in that tub of dirty laundry water, and I’d concocted this elaborate future. Designed the males I’d fallen heart and soul in love with as I took my last breaths to ease the disappointment of my life ending before it had even begun.

//Breathe!// Ezra barked, snapping me out of my panic. I took in a lungful of air, turning on the spot to face my mates. They were real. This was real. I was here. It felt like the world was moving in slow motion as a rush of Enforcers barricaded