Before any of us could offer up anything in response, she tossed the stardust over her head and disappeared.
We’d snuck out here an hour ago to meet her, the moment she’d figured out our latest search destination but now that guests were starting to arrive for my birthday party, it would be a lot harder to sneak back in. Especially with Father’s extra guards patrolling the grounds. He’d supposedly hired them to guard against Nymphs, but they were either just a front to keep up appearances, or they were to make sure no one got close to the house without him knowing in case anyone figured out what he was doing here.
I slipped the axe and holster from my back, pulled my ripped shirt off and glanced at my brothers. There was a simple way to get them back into the building, but doing it meant breaking the code my father had always insisted I stick to.
Why do I even give a shit about his codes?
“You’re going to need to construct a decent cloaking spell,” I said to them as I tossed my shirt and axe to Max.
“Why?” Cal asked, eyeing me like he couldn’t figure out what I was up to even though I had to guess it was clear I was going to shift. Strip shows really weren’t my thing.
“Because I’m going to fly us all back in.”
“No fucking way,” Seth breathed, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as Max grinned excitedly.
“You mean it?” Cal asked, his eyes widening.
“Yeah, I mean it. I’m sick of you assholes always being stuck on the ground. It’s time you realised how much better it is to be a Dragon than any of your shitty Orders.”
Max snorted a laugh and Seth began to howl half a second before Cal slapped a hand over his mouth to silence him.
“Very subtle, asshole,” Caleb chastised.
Seth peeled his hand back off of his mouth then leapt forward and ran the pad of his tongue right up the side of my cheek. “Holy shit, I’m so fucking excited I could pee myself. This is as good as the time when I was on the moon and I jumped clean over that crater when everyone said I wouldn’t be able to.”
“If you piss on me, I’ll toss you into the lake,” I warned, dropping my sweatpants and handing them and my sneakers to Max to put in his bag too before turning away from them so I had room to shift.
My body split apart and reformed and I fought to contain a roar as fire washed beneath my scales and I flexed my claws so that they dug into the sun-baked dirt beneath me.
I’d only ever let Lance and Roxy ride me before now and I’d been breaking the rules to do it, but that suddenly seemed so pointless. Father was obsessed with the idea of Dragon supremacy, but who gave a shit if I wanted to let some of my friends ride me through the clouds? It didn’t make me a fucking pack mule. It just showcased what my Order could do.
I turned my head to look at the other Heirs as they hesitated. I mean, yeah, it was a pretty fucking huge deal, but I needed them to move their asses before Father came looking for me. If he realised we’d left the manor, he might figure out that we’d had something to do with the deaths of a bunch of his Nymphs.
Seth stepped forward first but Caleb shot into action a moment later, leaping up onto my back and settling himself between the spines on my shoulder blades with a breath of excited laughter.
Max and Seth climbed up right behind him and I walked forward several steps as I adjusted to the feeling of them all riding me at once before risking my wings.
“Are you sure about this, Darius?” Max asked, but the edge of laughter to his tone said he absolutely didn’t want me to change my mind.
I twisted my head to look at them, blowing a puff of smoke into their faces in answer before snapping my golden wings out either side of me and launching myself into the clouds at speed.
Seth whooped in excitement a heartbeat before a silencing bubble washed over my scales to contain the noise alongside a concealment spell to make sure no one spotted them and then they were all yelling and cheering as I beat my wings hard and shot into the sky.
I flew as hard and as fast as I could, my heart pounding as I broke through the clouds and soared beneath the stars, showing them the world the way I loved it the most for a few endless moments before diving back to earth again at breakneck speed.
The other Heirs all yelled and whooped as we plummeted through the clouds and I twisted through the air to give them a real ride. I could feel them clinging to my spines with all their strength as they almost fell and I released a burst of Dragon fire from my mouth which whipped around us as I dove through it.
I snapped my wings out and swooped over the roof of the manor at the last second before coming to land on the flat roof of the tower which held my rooms.
The Heirs slid from my back, laughing excitedly before I shifted back into my Fae form and I offered them half a smile. It was good to see them enjoying themselves, but I hadn’t been able to take real joy in anything since Roxy had been taken from us. My heart felt like it was locked in a cage of ice and if we didn’t manage to find her soon then I wasn’t sure what would become of me.
I looked towards the other Heirs just as Max disbanded the concealment spell around them and my eyes managed to focus on their smiling faces instead of only seeing darkness where they’d been.
We headed down into my rooms and I used water magic to clean the dirt from my flesh as Seth took to my bathroom and set the shower running.
I changed into the charcoal suit Mom had left out for me and styled my hair like a diligent little Heir as I prepared to face the charade which was my birthday party. I didn’t know many twenty-year-olds who chose to celebrate with a sit-down banquet and a formal dance, but I didn’t give enough of a shit to complain about it. If I had my way, we wouldn’t be celebrating at all. Hell, if I had my way, I’d have spent the day alone with Roxy doing literally anything and it would have been perfect.
Seth lingered in the shower until Caleb cursed him and shot in there to toss him out. Max had cleaned himself off with water magic too and he chuckled as he tightened his tie, a little knowing smile on his face as he glanced towards the bathroom where the sound of them arguing spilled from the doorway.
Seth fell out of the room a moment later, soaking wet and butt naked with his ass leaving a print on my carpet as he cursed Cal out.
Caleb’s laughter came from the bathroom and Seth stomped away, drying himself with air magic before dressing in his grey suit. Before he’d even managed to pull his jacket on, Cal shot back into the room and dressed himself in a flash of Vampire speed before coming to a rest leaning against the door and inspecting his fingernails as if he’d been waiting for us for ages.
A knock sounded at the door and I called out for Jenkins to enter a moment before the wizened old butler stepped into the room.
“Your guests are waiting for you, Master Darius,” he simpered, bowing low like he wasn’t a conniving asshole and I dismissed him with a flick of my hand.
I looked around to make sure the others were ready and Seth used air magic to style his long hair into perfect waves as he hurried to catch up with us.
The closer we got to the banquet hall, the heavier the weight in my chest felt. I didn’t want to put on this show. I didn’t want to play this part. I ached to make a public challenge against my father and expose his lies and treason to everyone in the kingdom. And instead I was being trotted out like a fucking show pony. It made me sick to my stomach to think of sitting through his bullshit all night, but we had a plan which might just make it worth it.