Page 64 of Dark Dragon’s Mate

“You’re that wolf that Emon’s been—” He trailed off, maybe realizing that ‘fucking’ or ‘boinking’ or ‘fantasizing about sex dungeons with’ weren’t exactly appropriate to say, in the circumstances.

He took a deep breath, and then said, “Are you two going to mate?”

Trish was shocked—and she didn’t know what to say. “Why do you care?” she asked instead.

Mikah glanced over at Zakerek, as if he wanted to make sure he wasn’t listening. Cazbek was listening, but Mikah didn’t seem to care about that.

He dropped his voice lower. “Look, I don’t care what you two are doing in bed, or wherever dragons do it. But the Darkwing Dragon is fucked up. If he doesn’t find a mate, he’ll implode, and this whole place will go with him.”

He gestured out at the view below the mountain. “He’s a Draken prince, born to rule, and he’s good at it, when he’s not losing his shit. All that down there—it’s a really nice place to live.” He sounded almost wistful.

“Royal Draken don’t just need a hoard,” he said. “They need a purpose. If they don’t have one, it eats away at them. And they need a clan. Other Draken.” He turned to face her again. “If you’re his mate, that’s… whatever. But he still needs other Draken. And if he’s forming a clan, I want in. Me and Cazbek both do.” She heard a snort from over by the water barrel—but no disagreement.

“And Zakerek does too, no matter how he acts,” Mikah added. “So… if you have any influence at all over the Darkwing Dragon, maybe you could put in a good word for us?”

Trish studied him, wishing she did have some of Tristan’s or Brock’s mind powers. Wishing she could see if he was really a good dragon—or just a good actor.

But if Mikah was right—if royal Draken needed more than just a mate, more than a hoard, then…

An idea she’d had while working on the toxin took root in her mind.

“I’ll think about it,” she said slowly. Mikah nodded. “Was it really not any of you lurking around the castle?”

Mikah shrugged. “We’re not together every second,” he said, glancing over at Zakerek. “Who could stand that?” He paused, then added, “But there are other creatures who can cloak themselves. Sorcerers. Ki-rin. And magic artifacts can do it too. It doesn’t have to be us.”

Which was not helpful at all.

Chapter 31

Emon was quiet on the way back, and Trish didn’t disturb him, just spent the short flight watching the view change as they flew.

The closer they got to the castle, though, the more she could feel his emotions churning.

“What is it?” she asked finally.

I’m not sure, he said. Something’s wrong. I feel… I’m not sure.

As soon as his feet touched the rooftop, though, he suddenly got sure. The dragon let out a roar of rage, fire spewing from his jaws.

He let Trish tumble from his hands, barely bothering to see that she was standing upright. Then he Changed and headed for the stairs at a run, Trish right behind him.

Kill the thief, Layla muttered inside her. Kill…

Not now, Trish told her. That was the last thing she or Emon needed—Layla running amok amidst the furor. It was going to be all they could do to contain Emon’s dragon.

By the time she made it to Emon’s rooms, he was already in the study, the door to the atherias room open.

Trish wasn’t familiar with the contents of the room, but even she could see gaps in the shelves. She checked for the little wolf Emon had made for her, and was relieved to see it still on the shelf. She would have been devastated to lose that.

How had this happened? And why now?

At least the red dragons had been telling the truth. None of them could have done this, and since it was unlikely that there was more than one person sneaking around the castle causing trouble, that meant it probably hadn’t been one of them searching Ragnor’s study either.

But if not them, then who? And was this what they’d been after all along? Not the research, but the atherias? Or was it both?

Emon already had Grange on the communicator. His voice was harsh and raspy, his dragon in his eyes. “Everyone is confined to quarters until further notice,” he said. “Research team included—all except Trish. She was with me. Then I want this whole castle searched, top to bottom. Magical recorders on all the searchers, to keep them honest. If anyone from outside has been in any part of the castle today, including delivering food, I want their homes and outbuildings searched as well.”