I frowned. “The Lion could have made a deal with our father.”
“The Lion is a bastard but is hethatbad?”
"I’m not sure, but we do have to consider the possibility that the Lion could have left us and went straight to the Fox and made the same offer. We both know our father would have said yes."
Reo crossed his arms. "If that's true, the Lion would have given up the island's location."
"Exactly." My voice grew tight. "My father is patient enough to wait. Patient enough to let us chase this lead. Patient enough to watch us leave the island unguarded so he can come for my Tiger."
"Get a message to the Fangs now. Before we leave this room. I want them in defensive positions within the hour—not when we depart or are en-route. Now. If this is bait, the clock started the moment we heard that recording."
Reo pulled out his phone immediately.
Hiro's face went still. Then his jaw tightened and rage flashed behind his eyes. "Our father will never get a chance to get Nyomi. Never."
The same fury rose within in my chest.
The thought of my father's men setting foot on this island. The thought of them getting anywhere near Nyomi. It made brutal violence stir behind my ribs.
Reo's voice cut through the tension. "The Fangs won’t go with us. They’ll watch Nyomi and stay on the island. We’ll have more Scales provide full perimeter security. No one gets in without going through them first."
Hiro's jaw stayed tight. "We’ll have the Claws remain too."
Reo shook his head. “The Claws come with us. We'll need them in the Depths."
Hiro frowned. “They remain here to protect our Tiger.”
I blinked.
Our Tiger?
Reo rolled his eyes. “Hiro, the Claws will not let you leave this island by yourself. If you leave, they will leave, regardless of who tells them to stay.”
Hiro pursed his lips.
Reo spoke carefully. “The Fangs will keep her safe. They know all the secret exits and tunnels out of here. We made sure this island was prepared for any attack. I have faith in her being fully protected.”
Silence held the room for three seconds.
My eyes drifted to the door she'd walked through. The air still carried her scent and the faintest trace of smoke from last night. I could still feel where her hands had framed my face. Where her teeth had pierced my skin.
And I imagined my father's men coming through that same door.
My vision darkened at the edges. I swore a beast shifted behind my ribs. Perhaps, it was my dragon-shadow. The one that would burn the world to ash if a single finger touched her while I was gone.
I looked back at Hiro and Reo. "Make sure every person on this island knows that, if anything happens to her while we're gone. . .anything. . .there will be another pyre of bodies the next morning.”
Neither of them flinched.
“I’ll make sure that message reaches every inch of this island.” Reo typed into his phone.
“Good.”
“We should leave now.” Reo put up his phone and turned to gather the map. His gaze passed over the stone slab. He stopped for half a second. His eyes tracked the leather restraints stillhanging from the iron ring, the residue of melted wax on the stone surface and faint scorch marks.
His nostrils flared.
One slow breath in.
