I spent the next few days relaxing and trying not to think about anything too hard. I spent my time doing things that made me happy, things that were a far cry from everything that had just happened.

I played games with Omari. He'd quickly become addicted to the game console, so I had to be careful to limit his time, but he didn't seem to mind. He had plenty of friends here to occupy his time.

I ate. A lot. Food better than any I could find in the city dome. Including chocolate cake that I could have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let myself. I think I gained five pounds in just a few days’ time. And I didn't regret it one bit.

I also spent time with Ashur. Learned the small corners and edges of him that I would only learn by spending enough time around him. I slept in the same bed with him every night, which was nice. More than nice. It felt so . . . normal. We'd been so stressed for so much of our relationship so far, it was good to be able to spend time around him while things were calm.

We also made trips out to the oasis of nature that Ashur had shown me when I first changed. The sight of it still took my breath away. The blue of the water. The lush green of the forest. And just the sheer freedom of the wind beneath my wings, of the endless blue sky all around me as we soared over the trees and the sparkling river . . .  It was amazing. I missed it. I missed a lot about being with Ashur here.

I'd just been suppressing it because I'd been worried that things wouldn't work out, that I'd reach for something I couldn't have and be hurt again.

But this time here with him and Omari . . . I was starting to think maybe . . . just maybe that might have been a mistake.

Even as I spent time with Ashur, with Omari, lazed around, ate like a pig . . . I couldn't stop thinking about the looming threat, no matter how hard I tried to shut it off. Underneath all of it, I couldn't shake thoughts of Emberich.

What was I going to do about him? What was the proper course of action when one's own power-hungry, sociopathic father decided to come after you?

This was exactly what my grandmother had warned me about, that Emberich was jealous of his power. That he didn't like to have anyone around who might one day take it from him. I'm certain that was the reason why it was so easy for him to hurt Omari, sicken him deliberately to lure me out to his territory.

He viewed Omari and me, his own children, as expendable. No, that wasn't right. He viewed us as threats. As potential enemies he had to neutralize before we became menaces.

What could I do when my attacker was the king of an entire race of powerful beings like the phoenixes? A manual would be helpful. With color-coded diagrams. Daddy issues didn't even begin to cover this convoluted mess.

Suffice it to say, I still hadn't come up with any answers by the time Ashur and I returned from our latest flight out.

"What do you want for dinner?" Ashur asked as he pulled on some pants.

I took a moment to admire the flex of his six-pack. I mean, it was right there! It would be rude of me not to.

"I don't know," I said musingly as I put on a t-shirt. "So long as it isn't too spicy, I can—"

I was interrupted by the bell ringing.

"Were you expecting someone?"

He shook his head, frowning. "No."

Pulling a shirt on over those delicious muscles, he walked out of the bedroom to the front door of his suite. I slipped my shoes on and followed him out, curious.

When he opened the door, it was Hathai.

"What is it, Hathai?" Ashur asked. "Is something wrong?"

"We have a trespasser," she explained, nodding at me. "We've taken him into custody."

It was odd to think that not too long ago, I was a trespasser on Ashur's territory. Sometimes my head spun with how much had changed in such a short amount of time.

Ashur's face hardened. "Who is it?" he demanded, his naturally territorial nature exerting itself. It was why dragons didn't really do well under a uniting monarch, one that would be in charge of all the skeins. They viewed their territory as their own and nobody else's. It would have gone completely against their nature.

"He won't say. All he'll tell us is that he wants to speak with Mia." She looked over at me. "Says he won't talk to anyone else."

I looked at Ashur, but he looked just as confused as I did. Then she let another bombshell drop.

"He's a phoenix."

A short silence. Now, didn't that just put a different spin on things?

"Take us to him," Ashur said grimly, reaching into the coat closet and pulling on some shoes. We didn't waste time. We followed Hathai into the elevator. Down in the lobby, she led us out into the street and then down a block to a building that looked like any other here, but inside, there were rows of cells beyond the initial security desk and two guards. I guess a jail was necessary with a population this big. I just never thought of it.

But Hathai didn't lead us to the cells. She went down another hall that had a row of doors on either side, the feel of the place very institutional. Maybe they had the same decorator as the hospital. This was the first place I'd been in this city that wasn't pretty.

Enzi was standing in front of the first door on the right, along with another woman I didn't recognize, her lavender hair something I would have remembered.

"Open the door," Ashur said in a low voice.

They stepped back and Enzi opened the door. Ashur stepped in first, blocking my view. I stepped in after him as he shut the door, closing us in the room.

That was when my eyes first fell on who was inside and I froze.

Blond hair fell around a narrow, intelligent face. His lean and long build was in one of those loose white cotton tunic and pants combos the phoenixes seemed to favor.

"Sven," I said. Ashur gave me a sharp look when he realized I knew who the man was. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Ashur asked, giving Sven a hard look.

"I met him when I took Omari back to phoenix territory," I explained. "But I have no idea what he's doing here now."

Sven was watching the both of us silently.

"Why are you here, Sven?" I repeated, completely at a loss.

Was he sent by Emberich? But what kind of attack plan was being captured? Maybe the point was to have someone inside dragon territory? But none of that quite made any sense.

"I need to speak with you, Mia Hill," he finally said in a low voice, glancing over at Ashur.

Ashur made no move to leave.

"He stays," I said firmly. "Talk."

He hesitated, but then nodded when he realized that it was the best he was going to get.

"I tried to warn you as best I could about the attacks," he said. "Unfortunately, I didn't always have the most detailed information to work off of."

I stared at him. "You're my anonymous tipper?" I asked incredulously.

He nodded, his eyes watchful. "Yes."

I didn't even know how to react to that. From what I could glean, he was pretty high up in the food chain over in Emberich's territory. Why would he try to warn me of his king's plans?

"Why?" I asked, taking a step closer. "Why would you try to warn me?"

"Because we need someone with a clear claim to the throne to keep things stable when we overthrow Emberich." He leaned forward, the chains on his hands and feet clanging. I hadn't even noticed them before. "And you're our only feasible option that’s still alive."

I stared at him blankly.

Damn.

Was not expecting this.

* * *