"Monsieur Greatdrakes, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please sit," she said and gestured at the chair on the table opposite her.
Apollo slid into the chair and crossed his legs so they wouldn't bounce. "I don't appreciate being kidnapped, even for the sake of tradition."
"Our society has remained secret since 1560 only because of such traditions," the woman said, completely calm. "I am Dr. Marianne Bellerose, the head of the Sanguis Vitae."
"AndChrysopoeia Labs?" Apollo asked sweetly.
Dr. Bellerose smiled. "They are the public-facing arm of the order. We have many areas of interest besides cosmetics, as you will soon learn. Allow me to introduce Dr. Antoine Mercurie, a geneticist specializing in cellular regeneration and manipulation." She gestured to a fox-faced man with tortoise-shell glasses. He inclined his head and said nothing. "And this Dr. Lucien Delavie, our neurochemist. He also is responsible for translating ancient alchemical concepts into more scientific processes, including using AI to de-mystify some of the more obscure texts."
"There is no taking the mystic out of the mystical. Especially when it comes to alchemists," Dr. Delavie said cheerily. He had to be in his seventies but was beaming with life and good humor. He gave Apollo a big smile. "It's an honor to meet one of the famous Greatdrakes clan. I come from an old family that has been practicing alchemy since the eleventh century. I have grown up listening to stories about the magicians in your family."
Apollo raised a brow. "And yet this is the first time you have reached out?"
"This is the first time an alchemist of your caliber has come through the bloodline," Dr. Delavie replied.
"And youareobsessed with blood, aren't you?" Apollo said.
Dr. Mercurie cleared his throat. "The Sanguis Vitae have always known that blood is the key to life and the greatest of magics."
"Yes, I have seen some of your work. Alas, Jean won't be coming back to the fold any time soon."
Dr. Mercurie's smile was as cold as his blue eyes. "He panicked under pressure. And that spell was not one of mine. Too crude."
"Gentleman, we have not brought Apollonius here to spar," Dr. Bellerose chided softly. "Or to argue the merits and efficacy of blood magic. Not yet, anyway."
"And your family? I imagine the head of the order has to be a part of the oldest, yes?" Apollo prompted.
Dr. Bellerose made an elegant gesture with a long, pale hand. A ruby the size of a grape set in gold filigree shone on one of her fingers.
"But of course. I was the first of my ancient family to properly decipher the family grimoire, which had recipes for some of our most successful products and experiments. I brought us into the modern age," she said, her voice tinged with pride.
Apollo smiled politely. "And what kind of experiments would those be?"
"Nothing slips past this one, Marianne," Lucien chuckled.
"We wouldn't be trying to recruit him if he wasn't bright," Dr. Mecrurie said. His cold eyes never left Apollo, and he wondered if 'recruit' was the right word Apollo would use for this situation.
He was also bright enough to know if they were revealing their identities to him, there was no way in hell they were going to let him go without a fight.
"Is that what this is? A recruitment?" Apollo asked, trying not to panic.
"It can be. You see, we have been watching the Greatdrakes family for a long time. You are famous in Europe. The magic in your bloodline has always been strong," Dr. Bellerose said, steepling her hands on the table in front of her. "And now theGreatdrakes have produced the perfect specimen. A powerful alchemist that can turn into a dragon."
Apollo laughed. "You don't believe that old legend, do you? I'm no shifter." It wasn't a lie. He hadn't shifted once.
"Really? Then how do you explain this?" Dr. Mercurie asked and pointed a small remote at the screen on the other side of the room. "We got reports recently of a dragon roar shaking the very foundations of Dublin. We knew of only one family that could have dragon lineage in Ireland, and our drones captured this."
Apollo's skin crawled as the screen lit up with footage. Bas, Apollo, Valentine, and Bridget were all in the back garden. Bas was shifting back and forth between human and dragon. It had been a part of their own tests.
"You were spying on us? That is incredibly gauche of you," Apollo said, his horror slowly being replaced by anger.
"Feel about it as you must. You can't lie about the dragons in your family."
Apollo crossed his legs. "I never lied. I can't shift. You grabbed the wrong brother."
"I wanted Valentine, but Marianne thought he would be…too much trouble," Dr. Mercurie replied.
"He would be. He would have demolished this place by now," Apollo said, and he couldn't help the flicker of annoyance that his magic had chosen to specialize in alchemy. He was dangerous, but he needed his elixirs to really create chaos. Valentine only needed to be in the wrong mood.
