“What do you mean?” Lord Loratyk said, with honey dripping from his words.

“When we came back from the citadel, House of the Serpent soldiers attacked us.”

He tilted his head. “I had not heard about this. This was just recently? None of you were hurt, were you?”

Kaden hated that he was trying to feign his care for them. “Sayori’s dragon, Taldor, had been hit hard. If I hadn’t been there to seal their wound, she probably would have lost her dragon.”

“We are blessed that you have been in the right place at the right time so often lately.”

Kaden couldn’t help but feel that was a dig at him, intervening in all the serpent plans. “We were able to signal for help and get to the temple, but Cronley didn’t seem too surprised. It was as if he knew they had been waiting for us. If Xada is such a force to be reckoned with, and he knew about their presence in his region, why didn’t they take care of them already? It feels like they left them there for a reason.”

“You think he intentionally left them out there to attack people?”

“I had a suspicion, but I wasn’t sure until something I overheard while here.”

Lord Loratyk was feeding on all this drama. Kaden could tell he was excited about this train of thought. “It wasn’t until after the attack, after everything happened here. I overheard him speaking with Vixenta.”

“His dragon riding daughter?”

“Yes,” he said as he looked away. “He asked if she would take him to the forest outside of the city to meet up with someone in secret. He said he didn’t want to take Xada, as that would be too obvious that he was leaving. They discussed how they didn’t want anyone knowing they were meeting with a traitor.”

“A traitor!”

Kaden nodded quickly. “Yeah! The only type of traitor right now would be a serpent agent. The words of that agent saying the water is tainted just won’t get out of my head. There has to be someone higher up involved, I know it!”

“So him and his daughter are involved,” he said with his hand on his chin. “I’m glad you brought this to me. We can’t have one of the lords involved with the Serpents. I will deal with him personally.”

“No,” Kaden said abruptly. “I have seen him fight. He is dangerous. I want to catch him in the act. He might be following a lead or something. I might just be going crazy from everything that is happening. We can’t just go and attack him. I won’t let you put yourself in danger alone if my suspicions are right.”

“What do you propose, then?”

Kaden looked back at Lord Loratyk with pleading eyes. “I want to catch him in the act. I want you to be there. You’re the only other lord here. The king won’t be able to be there, but you can! If we can catch him in the act, then we can both verify his guilt.”

The lord squinted his eyes as he contemplated the plan. It wasn’t their best idea, but it was all they could come up with in such a short time. They agreed that they didn’t want to directly involve Lord Cronley until they actually had to. What they could do was lure Loratyk out where he’d confess his own connections. They had the bait. They just needed him to talk.

“When is it?”

Kaden motioned toward Zuma and said, “soon. Would you fly with me? I want to get there early enough that we can land and Zuma can hide before he arrives. If we’re going to catch the Cronley’s we can’t let them know we are coming.”

The lord shifted his weight as he looked at Zuma. The rush of time was the only way they’d be able to get him to go along with it without him planning something. Kaden learned that the hard way with their initial meeting. If they gave the lord time to prepare, he’d be able to weasel his way out of things.

Finally, he agreed and Kaden led him to Zuma. They gave a huff of mist, clearly annoyed by the situation. Kaden already knew he had a connection with Zuma. It was likely that they could feel his tension and unease at the situation. They just needed to get to the forest outside of the capital.

He held onto the armored saddle behind Kaden as they leaped into the air. They all had agreed it was best to keep the dragons armored until they could be sure there was no more House of the Serpent threat. It slowed Zuma down, but the safety it would provide if there was an attack was too valuable.

He heard the lord in his ear. “What about your companions? Do they know?”

“No. I couldn’t trust them.” He took a breath, trying to seem thoughtful and deep. “I can rely on them in battle, but this is a matter of our country, not theirs. I don’t know where their loyalties lie. We have shown them enough already. We have relied on them enough already. I don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we are indebted to another country.”

Silence is all he received in response. The wind through the sky whipped away any noise the Lord may have made several minutes past before he said anything.

“I think you’re more wise than you realize, young Kaden.”

“Thank you, sir. I hope so, for everyone’s sake.”

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It didn’t take them long to get out of the city. Where the others had agreed to meet him was deep within the forest. Kayden had only seen fields on their way in, but he had been informed that the other direction was heavily wooded.

The green canopy below was getting closer as they made their descent. There was only one chance for them to get the confession. He was going to have to send Zuma away. It would come down to his wits and luck.

Sliding off the dragon, hit the ground hard. Leaves flew up around them, a whirlwind arise from their arrival. He patted Zuma before verbally telling them to leave. He had hoped that the Lord would believe that since he was such a new rider; he needed to verbally communicate with his dragon. They let out a fog that overtook the two men before pushing back off the ground and into the sky.

“Well, we’re alone now,” He said, as he turned to the Lord.

Loratyk to him with a raised eyebrow. The whole situation was mad. The story they had spun seemed ridiculous, but with everything that had happened, it could be true, just as anything else. Lord had been involved with the house of serpents. Kaden just needed him to admit it.

“Do you know where we’re going?” the Lord asked.

“I believe it is not far from here.” Kaden tried to look as if he was readying his pack. “Hopefully, they didn’t see Zuma if they’re already here waiting.”

“I know you’re a dragon rider,” he said, as he tightened his own boots. “But you can only use one magic. I can use two. I hope you let me take point on this. Lord Cronley can also only use one magic. I know he has one of the largest dragons that is in a matriarch, but he can still only use water. For your safety, it might be best if I lead the way.”

It did not surprise Kaden that he took this position. In a few months, Kayden might be able to say the same. As of right now, he only could use water. While his companions were blessed with their second magic, he still only had one. The wild magic the matriarch’s released had infected him though. He could still feel the electric magic flowing through his veins. He didn’t know if they had made him even stronger as a water mage. Not in his stomach told him that he would find out today.

There was no reason to disagree with the Lord. If the situation was accurate, he wouldn’t be wrong. Lord Loratyk Use both water and wind. That means at one point he showed compassion, but at another he had shown ambition. What his son had said was true, and what Kayden knew about the ambassador. It was no wonder he was using the serpents the way he was.

They traveled for some distance before speaking again, in low, hushed voices to not give away the position to anyone lurking in the trees. The Lord turned around toward Kaden abruptly, causing him to stumble over his own feet.

“He lies to you and tries to convince you that this is all a misunderstanding. You do know that, right?”

Kaden scoffed. “It would be weird if he didn’t. Depending on what we see is what will determine my judgment. I might be wrong about all of this. He may be trying to do his own investigation. It could be that he doesn’t even trust in the castle, so he felt he had to do it himself.”

The lord let out a long sigh. “I hope you’re right, young sir.”

Light was having a hard time getting through the canopy above. The forest was very similar to the one they had been trapped under only a few days prior. If there were house of serpent agents out there, they have taken refuge and such a place. He wondered if the Lord knew this. Vixenta had suggested it for that reason. He owed all of the Cronleys A stiff drink when this was all over with.

They both heard wrestling, not too far from them. Diving down behind a bush, they sought out cover as best as they could. Ahead of them was an open clearing with a man standing in the middle of it. Kaden hoped this was part of the plan. If the person in front of him was someone else, he didn’t know how to handle it.

They stood there, awkwardly, not knowing what to do with their hands as the two men watched them. With a jerking motion, the Lord stood up and marched his way toward the figure. Kaden’s jaw dropped at the act.

“What are you doing here?” he shouted at the figure.

His son Anders stood awkwardly as his father neared him. Kaden didn’t know if he should follow or let it play out. The Lord turned and motion to where he was sitting. Kaden huffed and walk slowly to join them.

“I’m meeting someone,” said Anders with a shaky voice.

If he gave away their plot, Kaden was going to smack him himself.

“Lord Cronley? And what exactly do you plan on telling this, Lord?”

“The truth, father.”

“What truth that you got yourself involved with terrorists?”

“That we got ourselves involved with them.”

He squinched his face, and Kayden could see anger taking over. “You did this. All I did was try to clean up your mess.”

Kaden was holding his breath, hoping that the Lord would forget he was there.

The lord looked back toward Kaden as if he could somehow hear his thoughts. “Now you have the young rider involved as well.”

Kaden threw his hands up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect it to be your son. What is he talking about?”

“Father helped—”

“Nothing. It is nothing.”

It was Kaden’s turn to point at the finger. “It’s clearly not nothing. He’s here to meet with more Cronley, who said he was meeting a traitor.”

The Lord cursed under his breath. “Why are you here? What are you going to tell the Lord?”

“They need to know how they got the rune book, father.”

“No, they don’t.”

Kaden cross his arms and leaned back on his right leg as he gave a speculative look. “How did they get the rune book, Anders?”

“Father gave it to them.”

Kayden had to look bewildered. He tossed his arm aside, as if he was trying to dismiss the accusation. ”No, you wouldn’t.”

“Of course I didn’t!” He turned back toward his son. “Why are you spreading lies like this?”

Anders’ voice got higher and louder. “They need to know, father. They killed people today so many people because of you.”

The Lord hiss and response, anger flowing out of him. “I didn’t do anything. You gave them that book. I just tried to fix your mistake.”

Kaden put his hands between them, trying to push them away from one another as they yelled. “You need to explain, and you need to explain now.”

“My son got taken advantage of. I thought I had taught him better to know when a woman was using her wiles to gain access to our power. He let her into our home, into our lives, and then showed her how to wield magic. Then was surprised when she used it for nefarious means.”

Kaden had to act surprised. “Wait, so you know about the house of serpent agents and who was using the runes? And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“I was protecting my son.”

“At the cost of how many lives?”

Lord huffed and turned away. “I didn’t give her the rune book, Kaden. He did.”

“Lies. You’re just trying to cover up your mistake once again.”

“How are they still using the runes, father? You had them killed, remember? You told me that your men eradicated them. Our runes should not have gone any further than that town, than that sect.”

“They must’ve already copied them, and sent them onto their cohorts.” he was pacing, up-and-down, rubbing his hands through his hair. Kaden couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that he had caught the Lord off guard once more.

“You knew when the mages brought to you that the runes were being used in traps. You knew and said nothing. People died in the White city. People died here.”

The Lord turned to Kaden and let out the depressed sigh. “Mr. Bertoff, my son is trying to sacrifice me to save himself. They were his friends, his lover. I ordered you to seize him. We will charge him as the terrorist that he is.”