Midnight's Captive(82)

“It’s the only way.”

Galen stepped between them. “Nay. I’ll stay behind and create a diversion. I’m no’ the one with a child, Quinn. Take your son and Britt, and get the hell out of here.”

“Stop it!” Britt yelled. “We can all leave if we quit arguing about it.”

Aiden raised a brow in question at both his father and Galen. When they nodded, Aiden grabbed Britt’s hand and pulled her out the door with him.

He could hear Wallace getting closer. The maze of corridors in the building kept them a ways ahead of Jason and his gang. But would it be enough?



“Dragons,” Charon whispered, hardly able to believe his eyes as he tracked the green dragon meandering lazily in the clouds.

“Dragon Kings, to be exact,” Constantine said. “We ruled this realm long before man ever appeared. Imagine dragons of every shape, size, and color in the skies, on land, and in the water.”

Charon watched the green dragon spread its wings and catch a current that took it back into the clouds. He turned to Con and Guy then. “And when man came?”

“We Kings were able to shift from dragon to human and back again to help keep the peace between dragons and humans,” Guy explained.

“As with all things, it didna last,” Con said softly.

Charon knew there was more to the story, but he wasn’t going to find out that day. “So all of you are Dragon Kings?”

Guy nodded. “I’m King of the Reds. Hal, who you saw out there, is King of the Greens. Con is the King of Kings.”

“And here I thought you were just some CEO,” Charon said with a grin. “Did you rule all dragons?”

Con leaned a hip against his desk. “I was King of the Golds, as well as being leader to all Kings.”

“How does no one know what you are?”

“That’s a long story,” Con said, and set down his whisky. “Suffice it to say, we’ve been verra careful. We’ve never interfered in the world before, but I’ve been watching your war with the droughs. You and the other Warriors, along with their Druids, have made a good stand against evil. However, Jason Wallace is proving to be a more dangerous enemy than I ever expected.”

“Can you help? Will you help?” Charon asked.

Con smiled. “I wouldna have allowed you to know what we are, or told you I knew you to be a Warrior if I didna plan to offer our aid.”

Guy rubbed his hands together. “It’s been so many millennia since I’ve had a good fight. I’m eager for this.”

“Your secret will be revealed. You do understand that, right?” Charon asked.

Con straightened and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “How long have you Warriors thought you were the only ones left to battle evil?”

“Hundreds of years.”

“It was my decision to keep my Kings from helping any of you. Our dragons are gone, Charon, and with it, a part of our souls. We’ve lived a certain way for eons, but as it’s recently been pointed out to me, times have changed. It’s time we Dragon Kings changed with it.”

Charon wanted their help, and he knew he needed their help. Still, the idea of the world discovering the Dragon Kings made him wonder how it would all turn out.

The sound of a dragon’s roar was louder than the thunder. So much about Dreagan made sense now, and he was loath to shatter what the Kings had built there.

“I’m no’ sure it’s worth it,” he said. “Any of you daring to be seen as a dragon will turn attention here.”

“It’s already happened,” Guy said. “In London, actually. We … well, let’s just say there was an incident that couldna be avoided. Two Kings had no choice but to shift to beat our enemy. No one has heard about that.”

Charon raked a hand through his hair and paced the office. He knew all about risk. He had risked his village discovering what he was for four hundred years.

Even now that they knew he wasn’t just a man, the illusion he had created was his armor. What the Dragon Kings had built was so much more.

He stopped and blew out a harsh breath. “If you help, I want to make sure the only people who might see any of you will be Druids and Warriors. The Dragon Kings need to be kept from the world.”

“I like him,” Guy said with a broad smile to Con.

Con laughed. “As do I. I agree with you, Charon. Battles, though, have their own way of happening without any help from the players.”

The door to Con’s office was thrown open as a man with dark hair and aqua eyes stood in the doorway. “The selmyr have struck again, Con.”

Charon’s blood turned to ice as he recalled Arran’s run-in with the ancient creatures who fed off magic. His first thought was of Laura, until he realized her magic was gone again.