Page 173 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Laurince ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on the ends, threatening to rip chunks out. "It’s because of me. Sebastian knows we wouldn’t have gone far because of the transformation, that we would have needed to lie low until it was done."
Bax pursed his lips, his silence confirmation enough.
Heart pounding, Myra asked, "If we were to see soldiers marching down the streets, wouldn’t they anticipate us running?"
"Most likely," Laurince said, rubbing his jaw.
Rian nodded in agreement. "Sebastian would probably rather risk that chance to get us to come out. We would be easy to spot in a crowd. It’s not like we can hide a man with wings."
"Rian," Myra chastised.
"What? It’s true. Do you know how many times those things have hit me?" Rian asked, pointing to Laurince. "His wings are massive."
"Rian’s right," Laurince said.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Rian stomped and spun around, his hands flying to either side of his head. He froze when he faced them again. "How the fuck are we going to get you out of here without being spotted?"
Silence fell across the room as they all stared at Laurince’s wings. They were too large to hide behind a cloak.
"There’s no use," Laurince said. "If we stay here, they’ll find us unless there’s some hiding spot in the house we don’t know about."
They all turned to Phaia, a seed of hope hanging between them. But a single shake of her head obliterated that hope in an instant.
Laurince took a deep breath. "If we leave, they’ll see me. There’s only one option."
"Which is?" Myra asked.
A sick feeling twisted in her gut when Laurince didn’t look at her.
"No," she said, backing away and shaking her head. "No. There has to be another way."
Laurince frowned. Defeat curled his shoulders inward. He caressed her cheek and gave her a sad smile. "I wish there was, Haze."
Myra grabbed him by the shirt, wrinkling the fabric. "We’renotleaving you. You have already sacrificed enough."
"Leaving you?" Rian spat. "That’s your grand plan? Over my dead body, Laurince. You came and saved me! I’m not letting you get caught."
"It’s better than all of us getting caught! At least if I provided a distraction, you two would have a chance to flee." Laurince’s gaze flicked between them, pleading. Begging them to let him do this.
Rian snatched the captain by the shirt, his fingers curling into the fabric. "Listen here. We willnotabandon you."
"What other choice do we have?" Laurince asked. The pain and sorrow glossing over his brown eyes nearly shattered Myra’s heart.
Rian’s lips parted, but no words came out.
Myra chewed on her nails. Was there another option? One that would end with all of them getting out of here alive?
"Oh, I have an idea!" Phaia said. She looked at Laurince, assessing him. "How do you feel about small spaces?"
Chapter 68
GRAESON
Graeson shook out his hands,then his legs, expelling the nervousness from his limbs.
Peering at Graeson wearily, Moris leaned over to Kallie. "Maybe we should back up? Give him some room?"
"Wouldn’t be a bad idea," Graeson said, stretching his arms above his head. He didn’t know if stretching would help the transformation, but he could at least hope. Dusk had come and gone in the blink of an eye. He hoped the darkness would help shield his form. He didn’t want the entire world to know dragons were back. Not yet anyway.
