Mari Mancusi - Scorched

“You know, that was the first thing you ever said to me,” she reminded Emmy. “Back at the museum. When I thought you were fake.” She twisted the ring on her finger. “It seems a million years ago at this point.”

She sighed. She was so tired. So, so tired. But she squared her shoulders and shook it off best she could. Emmy needed her to be strong after all, to keep the promise she’d made. And so when the dragon gave her a doubtful look, she reached out to pat her wing reassuringly.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I just need a good night’s sleep.”

“You do indeed,” boomed a deep voice. Trinity whirled around, startled. The Dracken Master himself, Darius, stood not two feet away, dressed in a smart black tuxedo, his hair slicked back with a bit too much grease. She hadn’t heard him approach. “Your training begins tomorrow. And I must warn you, it will be nothing if not intense.”

She forced herself to smile back at him. “Intense is my middle name,” she declared, mustering up her bravado. “I can hardly wait.” She turned on her heel, ready to head back to her bedroom.

“Stop,” he commanded suddenly in a voice that caused her heart to leap to her throat. Turning back slowly, she leveled her eyes upon his face. His smile had disappeared.

“Yeah?” she asked, biting her lower lip.

For a moment the Dracken leader said nothing, just regarded her with solemn eyes. Then he sighed deeply. “Before you go, I have some news. About your grandfather.”

Her heart fluttered. “News?” she repeated warily.

“Maybe you should sit down. We could go to my office and—”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently, scarcely able to breathe. “Just tell me.”

Looking regretful, he reached into his jacket’s interior pocket and pulled out a folded newspaper, holding it out to her. “What is this?” she asked, heart pounding madly now as she took the paper and unfolded it with shaky fingers. Her eyes widened as she realized she was holding a copy of the Old Oak Grove Gazette . Today’s Old Oak Grove Gazette . She looked up at Darius, confused. “I don’t understand.”

Without a word, he took the paper from her and flipped it over. She looked back down. “The obituaries?” she asked. “What…?” She trailed off, her eyes falling on the single entry for that day. She nearly dropped the paper.

“No,” she stammered, her world falling out from under her. “There must be some mistake.”

Darius shook his head slowly, then opened his arms. She fell into them, sobbing hard against his chest. He wrapped his hands around her, rubbing her back with long, even strokes. She didn’t have the strength to pull away.

“I’m so sorry, Trinity. I wanted to wait to tell you, so you could have your celebration. After all you’ve been through, I didn’t want you to have to deal with this too. At least not before you regained your strength.”

“What happened?” she asked, pulling away, searching his face. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Emmy, dancing nervously around her, clearly upset at her mistress’s distress. But she needed answers first—before she could reassure her dragon.

He gave her a sorry look. “From what my men could gather, your grandfather was found a few days ago, down by exit 13 off the old, abandoned interstate. He had been beaten within an inch of his life.” He cringed. “They tried to operate but his heart couldn’t take it. He was in a coma for a few days before he finally let go.”

He kept talking but Trinity could no longer focus on his words. Exit 13. That was where she’d told him to meet her. But then she’d sent Connor instead. The Dragon Hunter who she hadn’t realized at the time was trying to kill her.

She broke out into a fresh set of tears. Had Caleb been right about his brother all along?

“I’m so, so sorry,” the Dracken leader murmured, taking her face in his hands and peering down at her with intense brown eyes. “I know how much he meant to you.”

“He was my family,” she sobbed. “My only family.”

“No!” Darius’s eyes flashed fire. His hands tightened against her face until she almost cried out in pain. “We’re your family now. And we’ll always be there for you no matter what. We’ll never let anything happen to you. I promise.”

His words were fierce and passionate, and probably meant to comfort, but instead chilled her to the bone, realization hitting her hard and fast. As nice as they were and as helpful as they’d been…

They were never going to let her go.

Forcing the fear back, she looked down at the paper again, as if she could somehow change what it said by sheer force of will. But, of course, the words were written in indelible ink.

She looked up. “The funeral is on Friday,” she managed to say past the lump in her throat. “I’d like to go.”

Darius regarded her for a moment, then shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s not possible.”

“Please,” she begged, her voice trembling. “I’ll leave Emmy here. You can send guards with me. We’ll leave immediately after the service.” She gave him a pleading look. “I just want to have the chance to say good-bye.”

Darius gave her a pitying look. “I know. But I can’t allow it. It’s too dangerous.” He shook his head. “We’ll hold our own memorial here,” he told her. “We’ll all come together as a family to honor his memory. He was important to us too, Trinity. Without him, Emberlyn might still be trapped in a glacier. It was his dedication to his work that set her free.” He smiled sadly. “Why, we owe him our very existence.”

Trin frowned, unease itching at the corners of her mind. His words were exactly right and yet something still felt wrong—something hazy just around the edges. On impulse, she attempted to push into his brain, as Caleb had done to read her thoughts, but found herself blocked by a solid, black wall. And suddenly doubt seeded in her mind.

Maybe it was just desperation—of not wanting to believe a truth too horrible to swallow. Or maybe she was just going crazy—with all that had happened, it didn’t seem too farfetched. But what if there was something else going on here? What if he was lying? Doctored the paper to say what he wanted it to? What if her grandpa wasn’t dead after all? What if this was just another way of trying to keep her here?

“Look,” she tried. “I just want to—”

“I’m sorry, Trinity,” he interrupted, his tone final. “But it’s too dangerous. You will not be allowed to leave these walls.”

“For how long?” she demanded, the anger and frustration inside of her threatening to boil over. “How long are you going to keep me locked up in this damned place?”

The Dracken didn’t reply, simply bowed his head respectfully, then turned to walk away. Trinity watched him go, furious beyond belief, then found herself reaching out again, trying desperately to break through his wall.

And then, just before the Dracken leader slipped into the shadows, she heard it. Escaping his mind like a tendril of smoke, twining its way back to her and her dragon.

What do you care? it taunted. It’s not like you have anywhere left to go.

“Have you seen this girl?”

Connor watched wearily as Trinity’s grandfather approached two teenage girls walking out of the convenience store, flashing the five-by-seven school photo in their faces. “Her name is Trinity. She might have been traveling with a brown-haired boy who looked something like him.” He pointed over at Connor. The girls studied him with interest, giggled, then shook their heads before walking away. Connor sighed. This was beyond useless.