by Zoe Chant
"Dai," Virginia said, when they'd both taken some of the edge off their hunger. She kept her eyes on her plate. "I have to tell you something. I haven't been entirely honest with you."
Dai, who'd finally worked up his nerve and opened his mouth to say the exact same thing, found himself totally nonplussed. He blinked at her across the table. "Oh?" he managed to say.
Virginia toyed with her fork. "You know last night, when I told you I hadn't taken anything from Bertram?"
It took Dai a moment to cast his mind back to their earlier conversation, what with the much more significant events that had occurred later. "The dragon? Yes. Though he thinks that you did." Virginia looked at him quizzically, and Dai clarified, "I talked to him last night, at the scene. He was, ah, angry." He reached over the table to put his hand on hers in reassurance. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out with him. I'm sure he'll be back in control of his dragon by now, and able to realize he made a terrible mistake."
Virginia bit her lip. "The problem is, I kind of did take something."
Dai sucked in his breath. "Something valuable?"
She nodded. "Not directly from his hoard, mind. But...I found a valuable historic artifact on land that his family owns. Under British law, they'd be entitled to half the value of the find." She paused, then added, reluctantly, "Actually, in this case, probably the total value. I didn't have their permission to be metal-detecting there. Anyway, I was thinking about what you said, that if I'd taken something it would cause 'complications with draconic law.'" She made air quotes with her fingers. "Is this a complication?"
Dai leaned his chair back on two legs, frowning as he thought. The situation wasn't clear-cut. If Virginia had directly stolen from Bertram's hoard, technically Dai would have had to return the treasure or risk being declared a rogue and hunted down by other dragons.
But since the treasure had just been on Bertram's land...it could be argued that the other dragon hadn't actually claimed the treasure itself, leaving it fair game for anyone else, human or dragon. Of course, it could also be argued that the land included any artifacts hidden within it.
Dai had a nasty feeling he knew which way Bertram would argue.
He sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. Possibly." Catching sight of Virginia's frightened eyes, he thumped the chair back down again, leaning across the table to catch her hand. "No. No, it's not a complication, in that I am not going to let any dragon lay so much as a single claw on you. I am going to keep you safe, Virginia. I swear to you, I will keep you safe."
Virginia squeezed his fingers. "I know you want to. But safety isn't everything." Her jaw set in determination, though her eyes still betrayed her apprehension. "I'm not giving Bertram my find, even if it means he's going to come after me. But I don't want to put you in danger too."
"Danger is just a standard day at the office, as far as I'm concerned," Dai said with a wry smile. "Don't worry about me. You take care of your job, and I'll take care of mine." Letting go of her hand, he picked up his fork again. "Which is to protect you from dragons."
Virginia pushed bacon around on her plate, frowning a little in thought. "About that. Is Bertram going to keep trying to steal the artifact back, even after I've handed it in to the proper authorities? A find like this is legally classed as Treasure, so it belongs to the nation. Would he try to break into a museum collection?"
"No, I doubt he'd be that foolish. This Bertram might be willing to risk snatching something from you in a deserted field at midnight, but he'd be in serious trouble if he tried to steal from a museum."
Virginia looked relieved. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that. I was starting to wonder how good the British Museum's anti-dragon defenses are."
"Oh, anything in there belongs to the Queen," Dai said around a mouthful of breakfast. "No one is going to interfere with her hoard."
Virginia's fork froze halfway to her mouth. "The Queen is a dragon?"
"Um. Probably best if you forget I said that," Dai said. He waved a hand. "Anyway, the point is, dragons aren't allowed to go around smashing their way into museums—or banks or shops, for that matter. The Parliament of Shifters—a sort of government—comes down very hard on that sort of thing. Dragons are too powerful and dangerous to be allowed to run riot."
"So once I've reported my find and had the site properly declared an area of historic interest, Bertram will have to give up?" Virginia asked.
"Unless he wants to find himself branded a rogue. And trust me, he won't want that. My team would have free license to hunt him down, as would all the other dragon-hunters nationwide. He'd have to flee the British Isles entirely."
Virginia beamed. "Then all I have to do is make a few phone calls, and—oh, damn." Her face fell. "It's Sunday. I won't be able to get hold of anyone until tomorrow morning." For some reason, she cast a worried glance in the direction of the bedroom. "That gives Bertram a whole day."
"Then I won't leave your side for a single moment," Dai said firmly. "If Bertram wants your find, he'll have to get through me."
Abruptly, Dai's dragon reared up in his mind, roaring a challenge. At the same instant, the front door flew back on its hinges with an ear-splitting crash, revealing a tall, slender figure in a pale grey suit.
"That could be arranged," said the other dragon shifter.
Chapter Seven
"Bertram," Virginia spat. Dai was already on his feet, interposing his body between her and the dragon shifter. "What are you doing here?"
"Mainly, being appalled." Bertram came through the doorway as though forced to step into a swamp, glancing around her small apartment with a look of disdain. His nose wrinkled as his gaze fell on Dai. "Really, Virginia? I had such low expectations of your taste, and yet you still manage to disappoint me."
"You are trespassing," Dai said. His voice had dropped into a deep growl, with a distinct feral edge. He stalked toward Bertram, every muscle in his shoulders and arms tense and ready. "I think you should leave now."
Even though Bertram was at least four inches shorter and a good deal lighter than Dai, he didn't back down. Then again, he could turn into a fifty-foot dragon, after all, so Virginia supposed he had no particular reason to be intimidated by the firefighter's greater size. He met Dai's eyes coolly, lifting his chin a little.
"I possess a flawless four carat princess-cut diamond," Bertram said, his own voice holding a hint of contained snarl.
Virginia blinked, but Dai halted as abruptly as if he'd just run into an invisible wall. His back straightened. "I possess an unworked nugget of Gwynfynydd gold, exceedingly fine."
Bertram's lip curled. "Hah. I possess four ingots of pure gold, each one a kilogram in weight."
"What's going on?" Virginia asked, looking back and forth between them.
The two men ignored her. They circled each other like cats preparing to fight, eyes fixed on each other.
"I possess a choker containing a dozen matched rubies of exceptional quality, set in platinum," Bertram declared.
"I possess a flawless five carat cushion-cut emerald, surrounded by twenty diamonds, set in gold," Dai countered.
Okay, Virginia thought in bemusement. Either firefighters in Britain are paid much better than they are back home in the States, or there's a lot Dai hasn't told me yet about his family.
She didn't dare interrupt again. The mounting menace between the two men was almost visible, like a heat haze in the air between them.
Bertram sniffed. "I possess a flawless eight carat emerald, mounted in platinum. Are we going to continue to trade mere baubles, or do you have even a single item of real worth?"
Dai set his shoulders like a boxer entering the ring. "I possess a silver chalice, set with cabochon rubies and worked with gold, over six hundred years old."
Bertram waved dismissively. "I possess a complete set of ten nested golden bowls, exquisitely chased, which I took myself from the burial chamber of King Cynewulf of Wessex."
"You do?" Virginia exclaimed.
Dai's jaw tightene
d. "I possess...the torc of Dafydd ap Llewelyn, first Prince of Wales."
"You do?" Virginia said again.
"I see." Bertram's eyes narrowed. "And that is your greatest treasure?" His lean form angled forward, poised for Dai's answer.
Dai's own shoulders relaxed slightly, as though he felt he had the upper hand at last. "It is."
"Oh, well then." All the tension went out of Bertram's body. He threw back his head, letting out a disdainful laugh. "I've barely even got started. I have nineteen gold torcs, some worn by kings so old their names are barely remembered. I have so many gold and silver coins from barrows, I can sleep on the pile full-length without even having to curl the tip of my tail. Little red, you could not even begin to imagine the scale of my hoard. Do you concede?"
Dai's face was rigid. "I concede."
"What on earth is going on here?" Virginia tugged at Dai's arm. He felt like an iron statue. "Dai?"
Dai breathed out, looking down at her. Though his expression was still tightly controlled, some sixth sense told Virginia that he was mentally cursing himself. "You know the way that a lot of animals don't usually straight-up fight each other, because there's too much risk of getting seriously hurt? Like, say, sheep."
"Sheep," Bertram said. "Really?"
"In mating season, rams show off their horns to each other," Dai said to Virginia, ignoring the interruption. "The ram with the biggest, most impressive horns gains dominance over all the others. Rams are big, strong animals who could seriously hurt each other in a real fight. Comparing horns lets them avoid that." He gestured from himself to Bertram. "Dragons do something similar, except instead of comparing horns, they compare hoards."
"Thankfully," Bertram murmured, idly turning a hand so that the light flashed from his heavy gold signet ring.
"So the dragon with the biggest, most valuable hoard is the boss?" Virginia said, looking from Dai's unhappy expression to Bertram's smug one and back again. "But...you just have dragon blood, because of your ancestor. Surely this doesn't apply to you?"
"Oh?" Bertram looked sharply at Dai, who glowered back. Virginia had an odd impression of some unspoken communication flashing between them. Abruptly, Bertram laughed again. "Indeed. Dragon...ancestry." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "My. Well, I suppose that is true. And you certainly aren't a proper dragon."
"Dragons have very strong instincts about dominance and submission rituals," Dai said tightly. "They have to, otherwise they'd all have killed each other off long ago. I can't help having those instincts too."
Virginia's heart sank. "Which means?"
"Which means that I am dominant over him, and he is thus bound to obey me," Bertram said. His smile widened. "For example, I could order him to leave the city, right now."
"Go ahead and try it," Dai growled. He took a step closer to Virginia. "You'll find that there are some instincts even stronger."
"Mm." Bertram's gaze flicked from Dai to Virginia and back again. His lips pursed as if he'd bitten into a lemon. "How tiresome. But it is an inconvenience rather than an obstruction." He tapped his forefinger thoughtfully against his chin. "Ah, I have it." He pointed at Dai, his tone turning formal. "Daifydd Drake, by right of dominance I lay this restriction on you—while you are in my territory, you must appear as you do now."
"What? Wearing jeans and a T-shirt?" For a moment, Virginia was perplexed—then she realized that Dai probably didn't usually fight dragons with his bare hands. "Bertram, you can't do that!"
"I can, and indeed, I have." Bertram cocked his head at Dai. "Haven't I?"
Dai's face was expressionless, but his green eyes blazed with fury. "You are dominant over me. Don't think that means I won't punch you in the face."
Bertram raised an eyebrow at him. "A threat, from someone who isn't a dragon shifter? I suggest it would be wise to keep silent, little red, and let me talk." He cast a sideways glance at Virginia. "Unless you want me to...talk."
Virginia had the nagging feeling that she was missing about half of the conversation. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Dai folded his arms across his chest, fists clenched as though he was having to physically restrain himself from taking a swing at Bertram. "It means we have to hear him out."
"Good boy. I'm so glad we had this little chat." Bertram dismissed Dai entirely with a flip of his hand, turning instead to Virginia. "It may surprise you to hear that I have come to make you a very gracious and generous offer."
"You can shove it up your English arse," Virginia said hotly. "No matter what you've done to Dai, you've lost, Bertram. Soon the whole world will know that I discovered Brithelm's burial mound, and that you tried to hide it. Your professional reputation will be ruined."
"That is, of course, assuming that the burial mound is still there," Bertram said.
Virginia sucked in her breath. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, believe me, I would." Diamonds glittered as Bertram ostentatiously checked his watch. "It is now...11:23 on Sunday morning, which by my reckoning gives me at least twenty hours before you could possibly hope to report your find to the relevant authorities. Meanwhile, I have an entire construction team who is just delighted at the prospect of triple pay for working on a Sunday." He gazed contemplatively at the ceiling. "My. How much concrete could they could lay in twenty hours, I wonder?"
"And if Virginia gives you the artifact she found?" Dai said. "That's what this is about, isn't it?"
"Of course." Bertram smiled condescendingly at Virginia. "I am prepared to be magnanimous. I shall trade you the artifact for the rest of the site."
"What?" Virginia stared at him. "You mean, you'd give me permission to investigate it properly?"
"I would immediately halt construction work, and as the landowner give you full access to the land." Bertram spread his hands. "I'll even help you secure the site. We'd announce the discovery of the site together. My reputation will give you at least some degree of credibility, enough to make sure that you secure funding for a full dig."
"In other words, you want to steal the credit," Virginia said. "And no doubt any other valuable artifacts too. Dai's told me how greedy you dragons are."
"Has he now," said Bertram. "How amusing. No doubt that's true when one only has a pitiful excuse for a hoard." He cast a withering glance at Dai. "I, on the other hand, possess so many treasures already, I would be hard-pressed to even notice the addition of one more paltry pile of golden grave goods. I merely have a personal interest in the particular piece you removed. It belonged to an ancestor of mine, and has great sentimental value to my family."
"Sentimental value." Virginia snorted. "Right. Nothing to do with the fact that it's a big chunk of—"
"Ah!" Bertram raised a finger. "If I may offer some advice. It would be wise not to discuss the piece in detail in front of your little...friend here."
"Why are you so sure I haven't already shown it to him?" Virginia asked.
Bertram smiled. "Because he did not list it in his hoard when we dueled. And believe me, if he'd seen the artifact, it would be in his possession right now. He's dragon enough for that." He straightened, turning to the door. "You have two hours to accept my offer," he said over his shoulder as he left. "I shall look forward to hearing from you."
Virginia looked at Dai, expecting him to indignantly deny Bertram's parting accusation, but he avoided meeting her eyes. A tiny worm of doubt squirmed in the pit of her stomach. Bertram was a liar and a thief, and she knew she should ignore every word he said...but Dai did seem to have a lot of dragon instincts. She was starting to suspect that he was trying to hide the full extent of his dragon heritage from her.
She knew with bone-deep certainty that she could trust him with her life...but could she trust him with her gold?
Chapter Eight
"I don't know, Dai. Maybe I should just accept Bertram's deal," Virginia said. Even though Dai was careful to check his pace to match her shorter stride, she still kept dropping behind, as though having second thoughts ab
out following him at all. "One artifact isn't worth the destruction of an entire site. And it shouldn't matter who gets the credit for the discovery, as long as the site is preserved for study."
Dai wished with all his soul that he could smooth the worry from her beautiful face, but he didn't know how to close the distance that had opened up between them since Bertram's visit. She'd been quiet and reserved since the other dragon shifter had left. The new doubt in her eyes when she looked at him tore his heart in half.
"It does matter," he said firmly. With a light touch on her elbow, he guided her down an alleyway so narrow that the eaves of the houses on each side almost met overhead.
They were in the heart of the Brighton Lanes, a warren of ancient, cobbled back streets. The narrow alleys were packed with an eclectic range of tiny shops catering to a range of specialist interests. Everything from antiquarian maps to fetish wear could be found in the Lanes.
And there were a few very private, very discreet businesses for a very select group of customers—shifters.
"It's your discovery," he said to Virginia as he guided her through the maze of streets. It was a route so familiar, he could have found his way in pitch darkness. "I'm not going to let Bertram steal either the artifact or your credit."
Virginia shook her head doubtfully, her face shadowed. "But Bertram's made it clear he's top dog. Top dragon." She blew out her breath. "No offense, but your dragon ancestry seems to be more problematic than helpful at the moment."
"Can't disagree with you there," Dai muttered, making his inner dragon lash an indignant tail.
The beast was as agitated as Virginia was subdued. Bertram's command not to shift weighed on the dragon like iron shackles. It writhed against the restraints, but couldn't overcome its own instinctive respect for a more dominant male. The dragon's helpless rage felt like scales scratching the underside of Dai's skin.
"I know you want to help, and I appreciate everything you've already done," Virginia continued. "But I don't see what you can do now. Bertram's got your hands tied."