Chapter 186: Charlotte Gone

While House Ophidian was busy making its own plans, House Aetheris certainly wasn’t being left behind when it came to its own antics. Or at least, a certain someone wasn’t.

Zainab, Indigo and Meredith had been dragged into a dark room against their will. They had been in their room when someone rang the doorbell, and thinking it was Charlotte, who still hadn’t returned since the incident yesterday, Zainab had hurried to open the door. Instead, she’d found three female dragons standing on the other side.

And that was how they ended up in what appeared to be some basement beneath the dorm. Apparently, it was yet another room the dragons had turned into storage, which was absolutely insane. Just how much did these beasts hoard? At this point, it wasn’t an instinct but an addiction that needed professional help.

Except none of them could dwell on that right now, not when they were scared out of their minds. The room itself wasn’t helping either. It was cold and windowless, with stone walls that carried the faint smell of damp and a single naked bulb hanging from the ceiling. Crates, covered furniture and other abandoned objects crowded the edges, leaving the middle strangely bare. And standing directly beneath that lonely bulb was Tamara Ironwing.

The female dragons forced them forward until they stood in the middle of the room, close enough that none of them could avoid looking Tamara in the face.

"Thank you, girls," Tamara said to the dragons who had brought them down here without so much as giving them a choice.

One of the females, obviously the leader of the three, smiled. "Anything you want, Tamara."

With a proud expression and a slight lift of her chin, she turned and headed for the door, the other two following behind her.

The moment the door slammed shut, Zainab, Indigo and Meredith jumped at the sound. Then came the unmistakable click of the lock, and whatever little hope they’d been holding onto disappeared with it. They were trapped underground with Tamara Ironwing, with no one knowing where they were. At this point, all three of them were convinced they were going to die.

Tamara didn’t need to see their faces to know they were terrified. The scent of fear pouring from the humans had already saturated the air, thick enough to make her nose wrinkle in distaste.

Such fragile, miserable things. And yet, Rhydian’s beast had chosen one of them for a mate. The thought alone made her stomach churn with disgust and anger.

"I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you here," Tamara finally said.

The three girls lifted their heads almost at once, only to quickly lower them again. None of them knew what might be considered disrespectful to a dragon, and after everything they’d witnessed since coming to Bestiaris, they weren’t particularly interested in finding out the hard way. Especially when the dragon standing before them could burn them alive before they had the chance to scream.

The gesture only seemed to irritate Tamara. "You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to kill you, so you might as well look at me while I’m talking."

That got all three girls to raise their heads. There was still some hesitation, but none of them dared disobey now that she’d given a direct order.

"You have good reason to be afraid, though," Tamara continued. "Deep down, you know humans don’t belong here. But your government didn’t give you much of a choice, did they? They threw you into this academy because of whatever..."

She paused, searching for the appropriate word before settling on one.

"Deluded dream of unity they’re trying to achieve. I understand that too." She even pressed a hand to her chest as if she genuinely sympathized with their situation.

Zainab, Indigo and Meredith exchanged confused looks, none of them having the slightest idea where this conversation was going. They’d come down here convinced they were about to be punished for Charlotte’s actions, yet somehow the dragoness was sympathizing with them?

Or so they thought.

"However..." Tamara’s expression hardened. "It’s one thing to know your place and stick to it. Unfortunately, one of you clearly doesn’t."

The girls gulped almost in unison. They knew it!

Charlotte had finally landed them in trouble. After everything she’d done yesterday, it had only been a matter of time before someone came looking for the rest of them.

Indigo was the first to drop to her knees. "I swear to God, we had no idea Charlotte would pull that stunt!"

Zainab and Meredith immediately followed, sinking beside her.

"It’s the truth," Zainab quickly supported. "We would never have supported what Charlotte did. She acted on her own."

"Whatever you want us to do to make up for it, we will," Meredith pleaded, pressing her palms together. "Just please spare us."

It was as though Meredith had just given Tamara exactly the opening she’d been waiting for, because the slow, satisfied smile that spread across her lips was enough to make goosebumps rise across their skin.

"Now, you’ve finally said something worth my attention."

Meredith gulped before glancing toward the other two, only to find the same uneasiness written across their faces. Somehow, all three of them had the sinking feeling that they’d just walked willingly into a trap, and whatever Tamara was about to ask of them, it was already too late to take back their offer.

Tamara didn’t bother beating around the bush. "I want Charlotte gone."

The girls stared at her in shock. It was Indigo who finally managed to speak. "You mean gone, as in out of the academy and sent back home, right?" she asked with a nervous laugh, desperately trying to make the situation sound less sinister.

Tamara didn’t seem amused. "I want Charlotte dead tonight."

The air seemed to leave their lungs all at once. Charlotte dead? Surely she couldn’t mean that. There was no way Tamara had dragged them all the way down here because she expected them to kill Charlotte themselves... right?