Page 88 of A Dose of Agony
“Who?” he demands.
“Why? What does it matter that I know—”
He jerks forward, hands on either side of my head, leaning over me. “It matters because whoever is giving you this information is going behind my back to do it. Who? Laithe has not told you any of that. You’re smart, Candice, but there is no way you’d know that specific element without someone slipping you bits of truth to manipulate you. Is this why—” He jerks back, some realization hitting him. A rumble begins in his chest, but this time, it’s not the sweet purr I’m used to.
It’s devastating anger.
I’m frozen in place as the roar rips from his body. He’s no longer human in an instant.
The winged beast storms away from me down the hall.
I don’t even know what just happened. What did he figure out? What does he think he knows? Will he charge straight into Bea’s room and into the portal? Will he tear her apart before I get the chance to explain?
Will he hate me for meeting with her?
The crevice in my heart widens, threatening to shatter.
“Jarron,” I call after him. I rush to follow the winged demon storming through Elite Hall. “Jarron!” I call again, but he doesn’t answer. He doesn’t care that I’m terrified or that there are tears streaming down my face.
He’s too fast for me to keep up with, but I try anyway.
There’s a crash and scream and then a terrifying, monstrous roar up ahead, and I skid to a stop in the sunroom, where the grey-skinned demon is seething before a very annoyed and tense Dryad witch. Magic shimmers between them. A shield? Did Jarron attempt to attack Manuela?
“Tell me what you’ve done,” he says. “Tell me where to find the traitor.”
Manuela’s lip curls. “Use your words, Jarron baby. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?”
He roars, shaking the walls. “Tell me now, or I’ll tear this shield down and rip you apart, ally or not.”
Manuela crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “I’m sure you can figure it out on your own. You girlfriend did.” She nods to me.
Then, there’s a shimmer in the middle of the room and Manuela is gone. I suck in a breath. She can just summon a portal out of nowhere like that? How powerful is she, exactly?
Jarron’s roar sends bits of the ceiling crumbling down. When he turns back, his black eyes don’t even land on me.
“Jarron, please,” I beg. But he doesn’t heed my voice. The crack in my heart widens when he storms right past me, his massive wings scraping against the walls of the narrow hall.
Toward Prince Bea’s long-abandoned bedroom.
38
Trust Must Be Given, Not Taken
Helplessness suffocates me. As much as I try, air will not enter my tight lungs.
“Breathe, princess.”
I cough but finally suck in those breaths as Manuela steps back into the room through a shimmering portal. “How?” I pant.
“What, this?” She wiggles her fingers, making the magic shimmer again. “It doesn’t take me far, but no, I won’t tell you where to.”
So, she just summons portals? Sure, yeah. I don’t have the brain capacity to even question it right now.
“Jarron,” I mutter, brain still filled with panic. “I don’t know how he—I was going to try to warn her to run.”
She waves me off like it’s of no consequence, except we both know she and Bea are at risk now. She might have the power to hold him off but not enough to survive an outright attack. “It is a bit late for that now.”
“What now?” I ask. “Is he going to—”
