154
“We’ll fight this,” Lucas said as he stood in my bedroom where I was busy packing my clothes.
“No we won’t. Their decision is final,” I said.
“Then we’ll all go into exile with you,” he said.
“No. Chase just became a father, that’s why I gave up the lair in the first place, so everyone wouldn’t be punished with me. The best thing you all can do is go home, rule your lairs and be the best,” I said.
“And you go into exile,” Lucas spat out.
“Dad, it’s not as bad as you think. There are other ways to make a life,” I said.
“It’s still bullshit,” he said.
“I’m still not sorry. This is going to be an adventure,” I said.
“Trust you to see the adventure in it,” he said.
“Dad, I’m free from the bonds of dragonkin, I can follow my own rules, I can start over, the way I want to,” I said.
“Fine. Let me know when you settle somewhere, we’ll come visit,” he said.
“I love you Dad, stop worrying,” I said.
Lucas left after another hour of goodbyes and tears and hugs. He even hugged Felix and told him to look after us, as if I couldn’t do that. We had packed our clothes, laptops, passports and I had taken Megan’s ring from the safe and stacks of cash I had hidden away.
“Ready?” I asked Megan.
“My ring? Where’s my ring?” she asked.
“Right here,” I said and patted my jacket pocket.
“I don’t need anything else,” she said as I took the bigger suitcase and smiled at her.
We headed downstairs where Link stood to one side looking pissed off. The Elders didn’t look any better, although Anthony stood there as well looking smug as he spoke to the Council Members. Emily appeared with tears in her eyes.
“It’s not like we’ll never speak or see each other again,” I said as Link hugged me.
“They’re all idiots, you in exile … it’s not right,” he said.
“I’ll call you and I know you’ll do great things here,” I said.
“Take care of him Megan, sometimes he’s an idiot,” Emily said.
“Love you too Ems,” I said as we hugged as well.
Felix appeared with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, he glanced at Ava and then looked at me. “I see the vultures are really waiting to see us off.”
“Let’s see how well you do without any dragonkin assistance,” Anthony said as he glared at me.
“You should’ve asked for money Anthony, I have plenty of it and now you don’t,” I said.
“Remind me again Ryder, what business interests does Anthony have? I’ve been thinking of investing in Los Angeles,” Felix said as I chuckled.
“I’m sure we can have a list of every business Anthony has a share in by the end of the day and since we can’t outright do business with any dragonkin we should just buy the whole thing,” I said.
“I’ve always fancied myself a businessman,” Felix said as he opened the front door.
We followed Felix outside and loaded our luggage into the SUV, that technically still belonged to Lucas. He had never asked me to return it and I just never did either. I opened the back door and Megan turned around and pulled me closer to her.
“I’ll take my ring back now,” she whispered.
I took her ring from my pocket and slid it back onto her finger. The diamond caught the sunlight and I kissed her right there in front of everyone. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at end, the voices sounding too far away, the click of the gun.
“Felix!” Ava shouted as I turned around and Felix went down to the ground.
Link had tackled Anthony to the ground, the gun next to their feet. Blood was gushing from Felix’s neck and I clamped my hand over it as Ava came running towards us. I had my knife in my hand and I quickly cut across his neck and pulled the bullet out. More blood seeped through my fingers and Felix gulped for air.
Ava grabbed the knife from my hand and made a cut across her wrist. “Drink,” she said to Felix as she held her wrist against his mouth. I could feel the gash in his throat starting to close as he drank her blood.
“Elders,” I said as I stood up. Felix had Ava in his arms as he continued to drink from her.
“No harm no foul Mr. Grey,” Elder Malcolm said as he looked me in the eye.
“No harm no foul? Sire Anthony tried to kill me,” I said.
“You no longer have the protection of our powers, I suggest you take your leave,” he said.
There were so many things I would’ve liked to say to that asshole, but Megan gripped my hand and I could feel her calming me. She climbed into the SUV and I closed the door behind her. Felix stood by the driver’s side, looking at me.
“Let’s go,” I said as he nodded.
Felix started the SUV and slowly crept forward. “Wait!” Ava yelled and Felix stopped the car. She opened the back door and climbed into the SUV as Anthony yelled at her.
“Go,” Ava said as Felix laughed and sped down the driveway.
“Where are we going?” Felix asked as he stopped just outside of Princeton and we cleaned the blood from ourselves as best as we could with a bottle of water and some wipes.
“Florida,” Megan said.
“Why Florida?” Felix asked.
“Who cares?” Ava said and placed her hand on Felix’s shoulder where he gripped it tightly.
“Let’s go to Florida then,” I said.
When the sky turned dark, Felix pulled over at a roadside diner and we all stretched before heading inside. It was weird seeing Felix with Ava, how in love they looked and how relaxed Felix seemed.
“We need to find a motel or something,” I said after we had ordered food and drinks.
“You can sleep in the car,” Felix said.
“Who said anything about sleeping?” I asked him.
“Oh … right,” Felix said as Megan laughed.
“It’s not that far to Florida, we should keep driving, book into a hotel there and sort out whatever we need and then decide on a plan,” Megan said.
“We need to find a store, I didn’t bring anything with me,” Ava said.
“I’m sure Florida has everything you might need,” Felix said.
An hour later we were back on the road with eleven hours of driving ahead of us. Ava nodded off first followed by Megan as Felix and I spoke in low voices. “Are you really okay?”
“Actually yes,” I answered him.
“Exile brother, it’s got to hurt,” Felix said.
“It’s not ideal but nothing I can do about it,” I said.
“You’re only banned from doing business with dragonkin, nobody else,” Felix said.
“I know,” I said with a smile.
“Your heir won’t be a Sire,” he said and glanced at me.
“He can,” I said.
“If you change his name,” Felix said.
“The Council exiled me, only me, not any heirs or Megan,” I said.
“Ah, I see, your son can claim a lair with due cause,” he said and chuckled.
“See, I’m not just a pretty face,” I said and he laughed.
“You’re not that pretty brother,” he said.
“Neither are you,” I said.
“I’ll have you know that I’m very pretty,” Felix said.
“And all this time I thought it was your personality that got you the girls,” I said.
“Oh no, that’s my very talented oral skills,” Felix said as I laughed.
“Let’s talk about something else,” I said.
“Let’s because there really is no competition,” he said.
“I do have the piercing,” I said.
“I was talking about my charm, is that thing all you have that’s working for you?” he asked me.
“Piss off,” I said as we both laughed.
I slept for a few hours and woke up as the sun rose over the horizon. My neck felt stiff and my back hurt from sleeping sitting up. Felix glanced over at me as I stretched my arms and slapped him behind his head.
“Asshole,” he said.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“About an hour from some place called Bushnell,” he said.
“We can stop there for breakfast and Ava can get what she needs,” Megan said from the backseat.
“Why do I get the idea that you know exactly where we’re going?” I asked her.
“That’s because I do,” she said and smiled at me.
“Where are we going exactly and why?” I asked her.
“We’re going to a bed and breakfast close to Belle Island. Tomorrow we’ll meet with the realtor and if you like what you see then we’ll buy it,” Megan said.
“Buy what?” I asked her.
“Belle Island,” she said.
“Now that sounds like a plan,” Felix said.
“When did you have time for all this?” I asked her.
“When you told me that you were giving the lair to Link, I knew we’d have to leave eventually and I’ve already found out that there are no active lairs within forty miles from Belle Island so we won’t be encroaching on anyone’s territory,” she said.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
