Beep.
Ian opened his eyes as Geoffrey launched himself over the side of the bed to reach for his pants. At some point, Ian had collected all of their previously discarded clothes and left them in a pile by the foot of the least sex-soiled mountain of treasure. At the time, he’d had a perfectly sensible explanation for having done so, but Matthieu’s heat had robbed him of the memory. Whatever the reason, he was glad to have done it. Now that he was awake, Ian recognized the beep as Geoffrey’s ringtone. Someone was trying to get in touch with him.
After what sounded like a mad scramble through their clothing, Geoffrey plopped back down on the bed and answered the call.
“Hello?” He sounded every bit as tired as he looked.
Silence. Ian hooked an arm over his eyes to drown out some of the light. The sheer curtains did nothing to cut down on the intensity of the afternoon sun, and while his dragon was pleased with the way it warmed his skin, Ian would have traded basking like a common lizard for more sleep in a heartbeat.
Whoever was calling Geoffrey had better hang up soon, or Ian would find them, and he would…
What would he do?
No one knew about him and Geoff. Seeking retribution for a call that had come in through Geoffrey’s phone and woken him would have given them away. After momentary reflection, Ian decided it was of little consequence. Geoffrey didn’t need to be involved. If he wanted to go on a seemingly random rampage, it was well within his right. Compared to the other clans, Topaz dragons were dicks, and while Ian considered himself somewhat of a black sheep as far as dickishness was concerned, it likely would have surprised no one if, out of the blue, he decided to go scorch an unsuspecting dragon without a reason. It was in his nature, the council would decree, just like they had for those lunkhead lackeys his father had sent to destroy the unsanctioned Amethyst clutch. They’d no doubt let Ian off with a tap on the snoot and tell him not to be so naughty next time. Singeing another dragon’s beard hairs might as well have been considered the Topaz equivalent of a handshake.
No longer able to sleep, Ian groaned and lifted his arm from over his eyes. Light turned the darkness behind his eyelids red, and he grimaced and allowed himself a moment to adjust before opening them a sliver. Several seconds had passed, but Geoffrey still hadn’t spoken. Curious, Ian looked his way.
Something was wrong.
Geoffrey lay board-stiff atop the blankets, his gaze affixed to an arbitrary point on the ceiling. The color had drained from his face. There had only been twice when Ian had seen Geoffrey look similarly—the first had been when, while chained to Ian’s headboard after a particularly devious and depraved night together, Ian’s father had shown up unannounced a day in advance of his scheduled arrival; the second had been the night Geoffrey had discovered that Ian had been selected as the Topaz test subject for Everard and Harrison’s experiment.
“…Geoff?” Ian asked hesitantly.
Geoffrey’s dark purple eyes looked Ian’s way, but otherwise, he didn’t move.
Ian scrambled into a seated position, kicking the sheets to the bottom of the bed in his haste. There had to be something going on. Was Geoffrey suffering from a health issue—maybe a seizure? Could it be sleep paralysis? Or maybe something more malicious than that. As unlikely as it seemed, there was a chance the caller had cast a spell on him through the phone. Ian wasn’t aware of magic that worked like that, but there had to be a reason why Geoffrey refused to engage.
“Geoffrey,” Ian tried again, his tone firmer this time. He was seconds away from wrenching the phone from Geoffrey’s hand when Geoffrey cleared his throat and spoke. Ian had heard him use the same flat, emotionally distanced voice while under duress at council meetings.
“I’ll be there momentarily.”
Geoffrey lifted the phone from his ear and violently jabbed the screen to end the call. Once the call screen vanished, he dropped his arm onto the bed. It bounced on impact, then lay still.
“Geoff?” Ian asked. He set his hand on Geoffrey’s arm and squeezed. “What’s going on?”
“It’s my brother.” Geoffrey stared at the ceiling, his voice still rigid with forced professionalism. “He wants me to go meet him.”
“Then we’ll collect Matthieu and Killian and make the drive back to Aurora,” Ian said. “When will he be stopping by? If time is short, I can drop you off a block or so from Drake Commons so you can return home without being seen with me. It’s no hardship to do.”
“No.” Geoffrey wilted. He ran his unoccupied hand through his fluffy hair and pinched his eyes shut. “No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Geoff, what’s going on?”
“Everard has requested my presence in the next fifteen minutes,” Geoffrey said, sounding hopeless, “in the dining room of the Opal consulate. He just sat down for tea with Matthieu.”
25
Everard
When first Geoffrey, then the Topaz counsel he’d last been seen with, went missing, Grimbold summoned Everard to his presence and then asked him to investigate.
The request vexed Everard, who had planned on putting his son to bed early, then teaching his little omega-beta certain new things about dragon anatomy.
“Father,” Everard said with a sigh as he stood before his father’s desk, “I’m a doctor and a scientist, not a private investigator. Surely Reynard, with all the spying he does for you, would be a better choice for this task.”
Grimbold narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Reynard has his hands full with his new omega, Hugh and Sebastian have no talent for this sort of thing, Alistair is a disaster, Geoffrey is the one missing, and you, my whelp, are nosy. Now run along and do as you’re told. See if more of the council’s legal representatives have gone missing. Locate your brother, and along the way, make sure no one finds out that the Amethyst counsel has disappeared.”
“Yes, sir,” was the only response Everard could make, even if it was a sulky one.
