Violet’s face felt hot, and she could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. She wasn’t sure if her heart was beating so fast because of anger, or fear—or perhaps a mixture of both—but Nick’s news had left her more convinced than ever that they needed to attack Saul, and quickly.
Weston, however, remained maddeningly unconvinced. “We don’t have any solid information,” he said. “We still need to use caution.”
Violet gaped at him. “No solid information?” she asked. “Did you not hear anything Nick just said? We need to move, now!”
Nick, for his part, shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another as he looked back and forth between Violet and Weston. The boy was a dragon shifter, and was damn good at sneaking around thanks to the ability to completely mask his scent. But he was still a boy, and he didn’t seem to know how to handle the fact that the two adults standing in front of him were on the verge of a full blown argument.
“I…I think the information is pretty solid, actually,” Nick said timidly. Weston glared at him and he shrank back, but Violet looked around the room with a victorious expression on her face.
“You see?” she said. “Nick is sure of what he saw, and I can’t imagine anyone denying that we’re running out of time after hearing his report.”
Unfortunately, Peter and Knox seemed less convinced than Violet that Nick’s report necessitated an immediate offensive against Saul.
“Weston, Violet, sit down in your damn chairs!” Knox said. “I can’t think over your noisy squabbling.”
The tone in Knox’s voice left no room for argument. Reluctantly, Violet sat down, but she made sure to shoot daggers at Weston with her eyes as she did. He glared right back, and she realized with a start how handsome he looked right now. His mouth was set in a firm line, accentuating his chiseled face and the hint of stubble that was visible on his cheek. Usually, he kept up a clean shaven look, but with last night’s adventure and today’s early wake up call, he’d let shaving slide for the day. Violet rather liked the stubble. It made him look even more masculine than he already did, which was saying something because he always looked like a man’s man. It was hard not to, with a body as tall and muscular as his. Violet looked away quickly, frustrated with herself for thinking such vain thoughts. She was supposed to be angry with him right now, not pondering what a sexy body he had. Thankfully, Knox was speaking again, giving her something else to think about.
“Nick, slow down and start over. I had a hard time understanding you over your panting and Weston and Violet’s interruptions.”
Violet winced internally. Knox was pissed off at her and Weston, but what was she supposed to do? Sit there and let Weston make light of everything Nick had just said? The situation was anything but trivial.
Nick, still looking uncertain, took a long shuddering breath before starting to speak again. “I was doing some more surveillance this morning. Just very basic stuff, mind you. My mom doesn’t want me to get too close to any of Saul’s guards, and lately the guards seem to be multiplying like rabbits. I was actually pretty far away from the main area of headquarters, and didn’t expect to see much of anything. Which is why I was so surprised when two shifters suddenly came around the corner. I had to scramble like mad to get out of the way. In fact, I’m lucky they were so deep in conversation. If they hadn’t been so distracted, they probably would have seen me.”
“Nick, you need to pay better attention,” Holden said, interrupting. “You’re mom will kill me if someone from Saul’s army catches you running around out there.”
Violet saw Nick’s face turn even paler. He nodded at Holden, looking remorseful. Holden had started dating Nick’s mother not long after Nick first discovered that he was a dragon shifter. Nick’s mother was a full human, and had been relatively calm at the sudden discovery that shifters and wizards existed. The woman was still, however, quite overprotective of her son. Not that Violet blamed her. It was a dangerous world out there right now, with Saul’s army growing by the day. If Violet had a son she probably would have wanted to keep him locked up safe at home, too.
“Anyway,” Nick said, turning his gaze back toward Peter and Knox. “I hid out of sight and eavesdropped on what they were saying, and it doesn’t sound like it’s good for us. They were talking about how two wizard spies have gone missing, and Saul is really angry about it. Saul is suspicious that there might be Falcon Cross wizards around, and, of course, he’s right. The guards I was listening to didn’t seem to know exactly what Saul was planning, but it sounded like he was going to try to launch some sort of attack on Blackstone. Maybe he’s going to try to send more spies and find us or something. I don’t know. But it sounds like we aren’t going to be able to keep ourselves secret from him for very much longer.”
Violet was tempted to stand up again and start ranting about how the situation was urgent, but she forced herself to stay in her seat. She could tell by the expressions on Peter’s and Knox’s faces that the two men were not in the mood for any more dramatic arguments right now. Peter was stroking his long beard thoughtfully, as he always did when he wasn’t quite sure what course of action to take. Knox was staring up at the map on the projector screen, as though the answer might suddenly appear there. And Weston was glaring at both of them with his arms crossed over his chest, looking admittedly quite handsome. Violet couldn’t decide whether she wanted to yell at him or kiss him right now. Quickly, she looked away and stared at the map on the screen, just as Knox had been doing.
“I think Knox and I need to discuss things in private,” Peter finally said. “Why don’t you all take a break? Grab some food and stretch your legs, and meet back in this room in an hour.”
Violet let out a small sigh, and started to stand. She wanted to scream at Peter and Knox that there was nothing to discuss. Saul was probably already putting a plan of attack in place, and the longer everyone sat around discussing things the more likely it was that he was going to strike first. But Violet had already said her piece, and she knew better than to try to push Peter and Knox too far. Acting hysterical would only make them more likely to listen to Weston instead of to her.
Violet did her best to avoid eye contact with Weston as she left the room. She rushed quickly through the main area of the house and toward the front door, intending to go as far away from here as she dared during their hour break. But she’d barely made it outside before she felt a strong hand on her upper arm.
“Violet, wait.”
She tried to wriggle free from Weston’s grip, but he held her firmly. Finally, she gave up and turned to face him.
“Let me go,” she demanded, her eyes flashing.
“I will in a second, but first, listen to me,” he said.
Violet narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t have to listen to you,” she said. “You’re wrong. I know you think you’re protecting everyone by moving slowly, but you’re wrong.”
“Violet, we can’t rush into things. These are people’s lives we’re talking about.”
“I know!” Violet hissed. “You think I don’t realize that we’re talking about people’s lives? That’s exactly why we have to move quickly. If we don’t, people are going to die because of it.”
“Violet,” Weston said again. But he stopped before saying anything else. His eyes widened, and then he was grabbing her even firmer than before, pushing her back toward the house.
“Weston, what in the world? Let go of me!”
“Get in the house, V! Get in there and tell Peter and Knox that we’ve got trouble!”
Confused, Violet turned to look behind her, following Weston’s gaze. Her heart sank all the way to her toes when she saw what had troubled him. A giant black cloud was heading rapidly toward Blackstone. But the cloud wasn’t your normal cloud. It was alive, and full of hundreds of flapping wings.
“Bats!” Violet yelped.
“Stop staring and go warn Peter and Knox!” Weston yelled. His voice snapped Violet into action. She turned back toward the front door of the house and started running. But before she could reach the front door, she was stopped by Weston’s grip once more. She turned, eyes wide and questioning to see what he could possibly want now.
As she turned, he pulled her close against him into a strong, warm embrace. He kissed the top of her head, and then, with a voice muffled by her thick hair, he spoke words that sent a rush of heat through her whole being.
“No matter what happens, V, I love you. Don’t ever forget that, okay?”
And then, he released her and started running across the front yard of the house. His clothes were already tearing to shreds as he ran, thanks to the fact that he was shifting into dragon form. Violet knew she needed to run inside to alert the others, but it took her a few seconds to tear her eyes away from Weston. She hoped with everything in her that this would not be the last time she ever saw him alive, but the dark cloud in the sky was growing ever closer, and things did not look promising.
Why did you wait until death was imminent to finally tell me you love me? she thought, tears pricking at her eyelids. She didn’t have the luxury of indulging in a good cry right now, though. The attack she’d feared was now coming even sooner than she herself had predicted. She took one last, longing look at Weston’s dragon, and then ran into the house.