Chapter 116: The Dragon’s Rhyme
"Take not the gold a dragon gives...."
~ Rebel Beast
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"See you guys later!" Variant and Valerie waved from outside the door, and Trisha waved back before shutting it behind them.
For a moment, she simply stood there with her hand on the knob. Then she drew in a deep breath, turned around, and walked toward the middle of the room.
"So..." she began, looking between the three of them. "Are we going to talk about the fact that we just made one crazy decision?"
Brittney looked up from where she had dropped into one of the seats. "What’s crazy about it?"
"We’re going to a beast fighting den," Trisha reminded her. "An underground beast fighting den where anything could go wrong."
"Actually," Alek said thoughtfully, "I didn’t think any of us would have a taste for violence."
Aria shrugged. "We’re in a program where we’ve watched fellow humans get killed in gory ways. I believe we’ve developed a palate for violence at this point."
"Moreover..." Brittney chimed in, and the devious smile spreading across her face immediately made Aria suspicious. "It’s Maverick and Rhydian we’re talking about. I sure hope they’re fighting shirtless."
Aria swore she did not know when her head snapped toward Brittney.
One second, she had been standing there completely unbothered. The next, a hot, irrational spike of anger tore through her so quickly that she was glaring at Brittney before she even realized what she was doing.
The look must have been worse than she thought because Brittney slowly lifted both hands in surrender.
"Joking," she said with a laugh.
Aria looked away immediately.
What the hell was that?
The anger receded almost as quickly as it had come, leaving behind an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. This was Brittney, her friend. She knew Brittney was joking, so there was absolutely no reason for the thought of her looking at Rhydian shirtless to have irritated her that much.
Across the room, Alek and Trisha exchanged a look. Aria caught it.
"What?"
"Nothing," Trisha said far too quickly.
Brittney, however, had never possessed Trisha’s sense of self-preservation.
"Come on, it was just a joke, Aria." She laughed. "If eyes were bullets, I have no doubt I’d be dead by now. But don’t worry. I ain’t stealing your men."
"My what?" Aria stared at her.
Brittney leaned forward, elbows settling on her knees as amusement gave way to open curiosity. "You and Rhydian. What is going on between the two of you?"
"What?!" Aria exclaimed. "That is an absurd declaration. Nothing is going on between the two of us." She looked at Brittney as if she had lost her mind. "How can you even ask such a question?"
"Then what happened in the restroom?" Trisha’s gaze dropped pointedly. "The necklace and the belly chain." Her eyes swept over Aria once before returning to her face. "You weren’t wearing either of those when we left the house."
Silence fell as everyone stared at Aria, waiting for her answer, or more specifically, staring at the ruby around her neck. It was simply breathtaking.
"Fine." Aria released a long breath after realizing there was no getting out of this. "Rhydian gave them to me."
"He did what?!"
All three voices collided so loudly that Aria flinched.
"Would you all calm down?"
"Wait." Trisha held up a hand, looking genuinely bewildered now. "You mean the dragon who sent those murderous ravens after us gave you those?"
"It wasn’t exactly like that."
"And you accepted them?"
"Well, what did you want me to do?!" Aria threw her hands up in exasperation. "I didn’t exactly have a choice."
She turned toward Alek. "You remember that theory you had about his dragon perhaps being in control?"
Alek nodded slowly.
"Well, it turns out you were right. Because he walked into the restroom with his pockets full of some of the finest jewelry I’ve ever seen and asked me to take my pick."
Alek’s expression changed. "Whoa. Wait a minute."
Aria frowned. "What?"
"Did you just say pockets full of jewelry?"
"Um..." Aria hesitated. "Yeah?"
Alek stared at her, speechless.
"What about it?" Aria asked, already getting the uncomfortable feeling that she had somehow missed something important.
"A dragon’s hoard."
The words came out so abruptly that everyone stared at Alek.
"A what?" Brittney asked.
"A dragon’s hoard," Alek repeated, standing now. "It’s one of the oldest recorded draconic instincts. Dragons have always had an innate need to collect wealth. Gold, silver, gemstones, artifacts, anything they consider precious or valuable. The stories weren’t entirely made up."
She was becoming more animated with every word, gesturing as she spoke.
"They gather everything in one place. Traditionally, it was a cave, usually somewhere inside a mountain or another location that was almost impossible for others to reach. That place was called their lair, but the collection itself was their hoard. And it was extremely private. Dragons are notoriously territorial about their hoards, hence most wouldn’t allow anyone near one, much less take something from it."
Aria stared at her as a strange memory surfaced.
Treasure.
Rhydian had used that word. Except he had not been talking about the jewelry when he said it.
Her stomach tightened.
"He did mention treasure," Aria mumbled.
Alek’s attention sharpened. "He did?"
"Yes." Aria immediately regretted speaking. "But forget it."
She certainly was not telling them that Rhydian had called her "Treasure." This conversation was already spiraling into absurdity without adding that particular detail.
"Yes, dragons love treasure," Alek continued. "Or, more accurately, they become possessive of whatever they consider treasure."
"So Rhydian probably has some massive warehouse somewhere filled with jewelry?" Brittney asked. "Cool."
Alek opened her mouth only to stop. Her gaze had fallen back to Aria, or more specifically, to the ruby necklace resting against her skin. Just like that, the excitement slowly disappeared from her face.
"Oh, shit."
Aria’s stomach dropped. "What?"
Alek said nothing.
"What’s wrong, Alek?"
"Nah." Alek shook her head, but she did not look convinced by her own dismissal. "I’m probably overthinking it."
Trisha narrowed her eyes at her. "Alek."
"It could be nothing."
"That is exactly what people say before telling you something is definitely not nothing," Brittney pointed out.
Alek grimaced.
Trisha looked from her to Aria’s jewelry, and realization seemed to dawn on her from an entirely different direction.
"Oh."
Aria turned toward her. "Why did you say it like that?"
Trisha’s eyebrows rose. "Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten."
"Forgotten what?"
"That old children’s rhyme."
Aria stared blankly at her. What was she talking about?
Trisha gave an incredulous laugh. "Come on. Most parents used to sing it to scare children away from beast territories."
She cleared her throat dramatically before singing in the eerie, childish melody Aria had not heard in years.
"Take not the gold a dragon gives,
Nor jewels from where his treasure lives.
For once his treasure leaves his keep,
The dragon knows the heart to reap.
Wear his gold and heed the warning—
His castle gates may close by morning."