I roll my eyes. “You’re never going to change.”
“Oh, if only that were true.” He quirks a brow. “Better hurry with those drinks. The hoard is getting restless.”
Before I can answer, Flint calls, “Hey, do you need some help?” Or, in other words, Where’s my drink?
“Nope, I’ve got it,” I tell him, grabbing a Dr Pepper for myself before piling all the drinks up and carrying them back over to the coffee table.
“So the assembly to get the bloodstone is tomorrow afternoon,” Macy says once I’m settled back down between her and Jaxon. “Next item is the dragon bone. We should get that before the assembly starts.”
“If we go tomorrow, Gwen won’t be able to join us,” Mekhi says. “I stopped by the infirmary to check on her before we came up here and she’s doing better, but Marise says she is definitely out of commission for a day or two.”
“Poor Gwen,” I commiserate. “Her arm looked awful.”
“It was awful,” Mekhi agrees.
“She’ll hate missing the Boneyard,” Macy says. “But we need to get this done so we can move on to the next item.”
“Wait a minute, go back.” Eden looks at Flint. “Is this why you were asking about the Boneyard?” When he nods, she asks, “What do you need a dragon bone for?”
I think about blowing off her question, but the truth is all eight of us won the bloodstone. If only a few of us claim it for a prize, we’re going to look like real jerks.
Jaxon must feel the same way, because he answers, “We entered the tournament because we need the bloodstone for a really important spell. But we also need a few other things as well—including a dragon bone.”
“A dragon bone,” Eden muses before she turns to Flint with wide eyes. “From the Boneyard? You’re actually taking them to the Boneyard?”
“They have to go,” he tells her. “What am I supposed to do? Just let them wander around down there and hope they don’t die?”
“Wander down where?” Macy squeaks, and now she’s the one with wide eyes. “What kind of place are you taking us to?”
“The magical kind that doesn’t want non-dragons to visit,” Eden answers. “Or even dragons, for that matter.”
“Yeah, well, unfortunately, we don’t have a choice,” Jaxon tells her grimly, and then he fills the whole group in on the details of my situation.
“So,” Xavier says, leaning forward so our gazes are locked. “He’s in there right now?” He taps the side of my head gently.
“Does he think he can shake me out?” Hudson asks dryly. “Or is he just trying to stare longingly into my eyes?”
A little bit of both, maybe? I answer, because seriously. Who does that?
“Yes,” Jaxon says, sliding forward so he can stop Xavier before he gives me a concussion. “He is. And the only way to get him out is with these five objects.”
“But do we really want him out?” Mekhi asks. “I mean, it didn’t go so well for everyone the last time he was free.”
“And it’s not going so well for my mate now that he isn’t,” Jaxon snaps and Mekhi—along with everyone else—kind of sits back a little at his tone. Now that Jaxon’s more approachable, I think people tend to forget he’s still Jaxon, still the dark prince, and I think he must have reminded them.
“He took her body over more than once,” Jaxon continues. “He knows her every thought, has access to our mating bond. So yeah, he has to go. As soon as possible.”
“Yeah, he does,” Xavier agrees, looking a little horrified at Jaxon’s listing. Plus, he’s not pounding on my temple anymore.
“Well, then, I’m in,” Eden says.
“In what?” I ask, a little baffled.
“In for the Boneyard and whatever else you need to do.”
“Yeah, me too,” says Xavier. “Hijacking a girl’s body like that just isn’t cool. What a douche canoe.”
I glance over at Hudson, who’s now got his head tilted back against the wall, eyes closed. I can feel his exhaustion from here. “Everyone’s a critic,” he mutters.
“Count me in, too,” Mekhi says. “You know I’ve always got your back, Jaxon. And yours, too, now, Grace.”
“My dad is going to flip if he finds out we got three more of his students involved,” Macy says. “I talked to him, and he’s agreed to keep the Circle busy and out of our hair tomorrow morning while we sneak down to the Boneyard, but he’s not happy about us going alone. He’s really not going to be happy about us taking all of you.”