Page 84 of Dragon’s Rebel

“It didn’t go away. It was a doll. You lost it, is all. In the woods.”

Tempest paid no attention. “I kept the story because it was all I had. I read it so many times the paper fell apart, but it didn’t matter. By then I knew it by heart, so when I got my first book I wrote it down again.”

Why had she never heard about this before? Was it something to do with the Seal?

“I’m sorry, Tempe. We didn’t find it. There was nothing left.”

“It’s okay,” Tempest said. “We’ll find it later.”

No way. Rebel was never going back there. But all she said was, “We’ll try. I have to go now. Love you.”

“Me too,” Tempest said. “Be safe.”

“Always.”

She went back to Thorne, who was just hanging up the phone, a strange expression on his face.

“How’d it go?” she asked. “Did the vampire lawyers tell you anything?” She tried to push down the excitement and dread buzzing inside her. This might be the clue to unlocking her past—and she suddenly didn’t know if she wanted it.

“I’m not sure,” he said slowly.

Disappointment warred with relief inside her. As usual, she deflected to cover it. “What? Did they sound dark and cryptic and mysterious? Did they offer us an appointment in the dead of night, and warn us not to eat any garlic for dinner?”

“No,” Thorne said, still with that odd look on his face. “They told me that your mother’s real name was Evelyn Wilder, and if you’re her eldest daughter, then your name is Rebecca Wilder. They also said that your great-grandmother left a multimillion-dollar trust fund to the oldest living female in direct descent from her, along with an estate of twenty-five acres and a mansion. Which is currently unoccupied, just waiting for the lucky heir to come along and claim it. So if I bring you to their offices as soon as possible, they’ll hand over the keys and all this can be yours.”

“Whoa,” Zane said. “Is it just me, or does that sound like a Nigerian email scam come to life?”

“Right?” Blaze said. “It has to be a trap. What are you going to do?”

“Go there,” Rebel said. “But not for their appointment. Tonight. Break in, hack in—whatever we can do. If any of what they said is true, then we have to find out where this estate is. The Seal is part of my family legacy. It could be hidden there.”

“You think?” Zane said. “It seems like a long shot.”

“Why?” Rebel asked. “I think it makes sense. What if my mother never had the Seal? What if it hadn’t been passed down to her yet, when she died? What if my grandmother—or my great-grandmother, still had it? And died before they could find me?”

Thorne said, “We have to check it out. We’ll stick to the plan—we’ll do the law office while you two go back to Portland and talk to Jean-Claude, and see if you can get a line on Corwyn. In light of the hellhounds, it’s even more important now that we find out what he’s up to. Bribe Jean-Claude with something really nice. A priceless statue or something.”

“Cool,” Zane said. “Can I take it from your hoard?”

“Fuck that,” Thorne said. “Take it from Tyr’s hoard.” Zane grinned.

Blaze smacked him on the shoulder. “We’ll take it from the vault. No raiding people’s hoards.”

“You never let me have any fun,” Zane grumbled.

Blaze squeezed is ass. “Bullshit,” she said. “You never had so much fun.”

They drove a little ways out of town so Zane could Change, and he and Blaze flew off.

It was just Rebel and Thorne. And a very, very suspicious offer they couldn’t refuse.