"I see we are still on the outs?" he asks, keeping pace with me as we weave through the garden.
"Cole," I say as steadily as I can. "You pretended to be my dead twin and confessed to a heinous crime, all in your efforts to hurt your brothers. Then you disappeared. So yeah, we're a bit on the outs."
For the first time, his grin slips and a look of serious contemplation replaces it on his devilishly handsome face. "I didn't think about what my pain would cost you," he says softly, and my heart cracks a little at his vulnerability. "When we are broken, we tend to break others until we mend our own brokenness."
"And are you mending yours?" I ask.
He stops walking to face me, taking my hand in his and running a finger over his ring. "I am trying my very best. When the cracks in your soul run this deep for this long, it is not an easy process to heal. But I will do anything to repair what I have broken between us."
"Swear to me you didn't have anything to do with Lyx's murder," I say.
"I swear it to you," he says. "I want to catch her killer as badly as you do. She was my mentor, and my friend. Her death is a great loss to all."
"Then let's solve this murder and see where things lead between us. And between your brothers."
He squeezes my hand, and he doesn't let go as we continue walking. This time I don't pull away as I tell him about my training, about Callia, and about my confrontation with the Mother of Dragons. "And you should know, the Order of Druids has reformed," I say. "Your brothers swore oaths to me, though I'm not entirely sure what it all means."
He stiffens and glances at me curiously. "That is significant. But if anyone is worthy of that power, it is you."
I wonder what is going through his mind at this news. The Order did not treat him well, to say the least, particularly the Maiden Fate, my past self, who destroyed his life. But that was such a long time ago and so much has changed. I may be the Maiden Fate reincarnated, but I'm also still me. I will not become lost in who she was, which, by all accounts, wasn't always good. I will temper her influence with my own sense of right and wrong. Hopefully that will be enough.
We arrive at the castle a solid hour later, and I'm slightly out of breath from the altitude.
"Use your air magic," Cole says as the door opens of its own accord. "You have no idea yet how powerful you are."
"Yeah, so I'm told," I say as I manipulate the air currents around me to ease my breathing.
A man in a butler's uniform answers the door and without a word ushers us in, though he casts glances at me curiously. "He is expecting you," he tells Cole.
We follow him up a winding stone staircase to the very top of the castle, and as we step out we are greeted by Cole's client.
"Ventus'Arak, the Air Dragon, is your client?" I whisper, as the dragon shifts from his true form to his human form.
"Why have you brought the Fate with you?" he demands of Cole.
"Is there a reason you don't want me to know you've gone to great lengths to acquire the only weapon that can kill a dragon?" I ask, holding up my fingers full of dragon rings to remind him his own damn mother sent me on this mission.
Cole raises an eyebrow and looks amused at the exchange, though he says nothing.
"I will know if it is the weapon that took my sister's life," Ventus says as he stalks over to us, his pale blue eyes narrowed to a slit.
The Air Dragon is tall, at least a head taller than Cole, which is saying something, with broad shoulders that taper to a perfectly toned six pack. I know this because his entire outfit consists of his iridescent blue wings that drape like a cloak, and what can only be described as a loin cloth. There isn't much left to the imagination, and even though the sight is impressive, I need to stay focused on something other than his abs.
"How can you be so sure?" I ask.
He holds his hand out. "The dagger, please?"
"Payment?" Cole asks, pulling the weapon from the leather sheath at his hip.
Ventus huffs as if he's been personally offended, but he grabs a leather coin purse from a wooden table nearby and tosses it to Cole, who catches it with one hand while handing off the unicorn dagger with the other.
Ventus studies it, waving a hand over it until it glows. And like Memory Catchers, the dagger projects holographic-like images of various beings dying at the end of the blade. There aren't many, but watching it feels awful, like some kind of medieval snuff film. When the images fade, I realize what he means.
"It holds the memory of all the lives it has taken," I say. "And Lyx isn't there."
Ventus nods, then turns to Cole. "Where did you find it?" he asks.
Cole glances at me before he answers. "In the private quarters of Dath'Racul."
Ventus looks confused for a moment. "This is the last of its kind that remains in our world. I suspected Racul of killing our sister, but he wouldn't need the dagger to do that."
"Do you really think he's guilty?" I ask. That would make this mystery easy to solve… if I could find proof.
He looks away from us, over the ledge of his castle into the distance. "I reacted impetuously upon her death," he says softly. "She and I were always close, even after she left the Council. I understood her in ways the others didn't, and she was a trusted confidant. I confess I lost a part of myself when I felt her die. But I no longer believe he killed her. Taking the life of another dragon would go against everything we are. Even Racul is not that ruthless."
He studies the dagger in his hand, running the pad of his finger along the razor edge. "Perhaps it is time for the Age of Dragons to come to an end. We began this world with noble intentions, but power and greed have corrupted even the best of us."
A strong wind blows through as he speaks, carrying the scent of snow about to fall as Ventus walks to the edge of the roof, his toes hanging off the ledge.
It's a long fall off the top of a castle this height, but I remind myself he's a dragon. Fear of heights is probably not one of his problems.
"We lost our way long ago," he says. "But we truly paved the path to our descent into darkness when we slaughtered the unicorns in an effort to preserve our own immortality. It's unnatural for any race to be so powerful that none can defeat it. The unicorns were our balance, and we killed them all out of fear."
Cole's eyes widen at that, and I'm surprised he's admitting this when none of them would speak about it earlier. Even with their mother's orders hanging over them, they hadn't wanted to admit that a unicorn horn could kill them. Something about the Air Dragon seems different this time. More melancholy and reflective.
"Do you know who might have killed Lyx?" I ask, hoping against all odds this whole trip hasn't been a dead end.
He turns to look at me, his eyes unreadable. "You should ask my mother," he says. "She carries within her secrets that could destroy worlds."
My ears perk at that, and I make a mental note to find out more.
He studies the dagger again. "It is time to step aside and let the world move on without me," he says, and before I can comprehend what’s happening, Ventus thrusts the blade into his own heart.