by Zoe Chant
Mathis’ heart constricted at the thought of what might have happened if he’d hesitated a moment longer.
“Did you get it?”
Mathis was lying with his back to the rest of the room. He sat up, turning to show Chloe the safe egg. Her whole body sagged with relief and she stepped forward into the light, the other two dragon’s eggs safe in her own arms.
“Oh, thank God. Now we just need to—”
A low growl interrupted her. The sound was so deep it seemed to travel into Mathis’ body through his bones, not his ears.
“Chloe, look out!” he shouted as the dragon’s massive head filled the hole in the wall.
The light that had surrounded her was blotted out. Hidden by the wall, she might have been safe, but not there out in the open. She was too close, and the dragon had seen her.
CHAPTER 24
CHLOE
Julian’s breath was like a desert wind buffeting her back.
Chloe turned slowly. The look in Mathis’ eye as the light was blotted out already told her what she would see.
When Julian had grabbed her that night she and Mathis had tried to steal the boat, she hadn’t seen him. She’d felt his scales and the tight ropes of muscles beneath them, and the long, dark curve of his claws as he fastened them around her waist, but she hadn’t seen anything. Whatever magic his scales held, it had kept his dragon out of sight, even when he was holding on to her.
He wasn’t bothering to hide himself now.
Julian’s scales were a smoky blue-black, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. His teeth glowed white in the darkness and his eyes gleamed like jade discs.
Chloe gulped. What if Harper had gone too far? What if the hold he’d kept over Julian had finally made the dragon shifter’s mind snap?
Then we’re all dead.
At least Thandie had made it out. She’d seen the fluorescent hummingbird dart down the stairwell after Harper.
“Julian?” she began, and then coughed as her throat closed up. Her mind was darting around like a fly trapped behind glass, but there was no way out of this but straight ahead. No distracting or dodging her way out of this encounter.
She took a deep breath. No tricks. Just the truth.
“Hey, Julian. Are you still in there?” She looked deep into the dragon’s eyes. Was there anything human left behind those gleaming jade discs? How would she know?
She remembered Mathis’ lion, and all the other shifters she’d seen in the ring. They’d been violent, intent on the fight—but always more than just animal. There had always been a spark of intelligence in their eyes. Some more-than-animal cunning in their tactics.
The dragon’s eyes narrowed, its cat-like pupils slits of pure black in the gleaming green depths. Chloe’s heartbeat thudded in her ears. Behind her, she heard Mathis grunt as he got to his feet. She didn’t dare look back. She just hoped he wasn’t going to do anything rash.
Of course he isn’t. He already saved the egg instead of going after Harper. He’s smart, and kind, and…
She groaned. I can’t think about this right now. I can’t.
Chloe stared in Julian’s eyes. “Ok, so, you haven’t eaten me yet, so I’m going to assume you are still in there.”
The dragon blinked. She felt a strange pressure in her mind, and then Julian looked past her.
She heard Mathis catch his breath. “He’s in there. Enough of him, at least. And his dragon won’t let the eggs come to harm, anyway.”
Chloe’s first instinct was to grab the eggs and run. She pushed the thought away. Using the eggs—Julian’s children, for all she knew—using them as collateral would make her as bad as Harper.
She shifted her grip on the eggs and held them out, one in each arm. Mathis came up beside her, his presence a welcome warmth at her side. He held out the third egg.
“Look, Julian, they’re safe. And you can take them back, now. No one’s going to keep them from you. Harper’s gone off… wherever he’s gone, so if you just wait for us to come down—”
The gravelly crack of stone grating on stone drowned out the rest of her sentence. Mathis’ arms were around her in an instant, protecting her and the eggs. The floor tipped beneath them.
Chloe just had time to calculate exactly how screwed they would be when the tower collapsed under them, before Julian swept her and Mathis up in one massive claw.
Chloe was crushed against Mathis’ chest as Julian pulled them out of the collapsing tower. The sunlight was so bright it hurt her eyes but she couldn’t tear her gaze away as the tower crumbled.
A blast of heat surged from the other end of the building, followed by another echoing crash. Chloe twisted in Julian’s claw, careful to keep the eggs safely cushioned, and saw flames licking at the roof tiles.
“What the hell is going on?” she breathed.
Mathis nuzzled the side of her head. “The kitchen wing exploded. I think Thandie had something to do with it. Shit—Thandie—”
“She ran after Harper,” Chloe said quickly. “I mean, flew after him. While you went after the egg.”
“That’s something, at least,” Mathis murmured into her hair. He saw something on the ground and his eyes flickered away, too fast. Chloe glanced where he’d been looking. The polar bear, Cane, was lying unconscious on the steps up to Harper’s tower, a pile of rubble around his head.
Chloe’s stomach lurched. He’d been so close. If he’d managed to make it to the tower—
But he didn’t, she told herself before her imagination got any further. He didn’t. You’re safe. We’re all safe…
“Look,” Mathis murmured into her ear, and Chloe followed his gaze again—this time, down to the landing beach.
“Thandie’s plan…”
The beach was crowded with Chloe’s old colleagues. She saw Nora, and the girls she’d gone through training with clustered around her; the kitchen and grounds staff were there as well. Even some of the fighters.
Everyone was gathered in small groups but as Chloe watched they pulled together into a single group.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out why.
The helicopter she’d heard earlier had landed on the path that led from the dock to the resort. It stood like a shining black bird of prey. In front of the crumbling sandstone building and windswept shrubberies, it looked like something from another world.
Mathis stiffened beside her. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Chloe had been focused on the crowd on the beach, but now she saw a man stepping down from the helicopter. He had dark skin and was wearing black fatigues. A moment later, an older woman followed him out of the chopper. He turned back, arm raised to urge her back, and Chloe didn’t need to hear her response to know what it was. Whoever this guy was, the older woman was in charge.
“Do you know them?”
“Yeah…” Mathis still sounded confused. He glanced at Chloe. “But they’re not exactly the people I would have expected my sister to send.”
“Uhh,” said Chloe, grimacing. “About that…”
Julian’s growl reverberated through them both, making the eggs in Chloe’s arms click together. She adjusted her grip on them hurriedly. “What—Harper!”
Her lips peeled back automatically. Harper was running down the path towards the helicopter, jerking from side to side as though he was trying to dodge something. As he got closer, Chloe saw what it was: a tiny, shining, fluttering hummingbird.
“Let us down, Julian,” she said, her own voice almost a growl. “I don’t want that asshole to put his charm offensive on those soldiers before we can explain what he’s been doing.”
Beside her, Mathis snorted. “Lance, taken in by anyone’s charms? I’d like to see that.”
Chloe felt that strange pressure against her mind again as Julian landed on the beach. Pebbles shifted under his massive weight, but no one else seemed to notice their arrival. Chloe exchanged a glance with Mathis, who shrugged.
“Beach full of frightened shi
fters, and a dragon turns up out of nowhere? That’s a recipe for a bad day.”
Chloe looked up into Julian’s face. “So, you’re just going to… hang out here, all invisible-like?”
The dragon stared back, impassive, and then the air around him shimmered. Julian, human-shaped, stared past Chloe’s shoulder up the beach to where Harper was approaching their rescuers.
“Harper needs to be held accountable for his crimes.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “As do I.” He hesitated. “Would you please…”
“Oh, of course.” Chloe carefully handed the eggs she was holding to Julian, and watched carefully as Mathis did the same. She half expected him to fumble the three eggs, but instead he gathered them all safely into his arms. For a moment he leaned over them, and then his shoulders sagged as tension flowed out of his body.
Further up the beach, Thandie had given up dive-bombing Harper and had shifted back into human form to slap him down. By the hoots from the crowd, no one was likely to step in to stop her.
Chloe’s heart thudded in her chest. Maybe she and Mathis would have a few moments to talk, before—
“Mathis? Mathis Delacourt?”
Or maybe not.
Mathis stared into her eyes. “Julian’s right. It’s time for Harper’s house of cards to come down.”
His eyes caught hers, and she couldn’t look away. Pale, warm gold that she would be happy to lose herself forever in.
But that isn’t going to happen, is it?
Chloe gulped. “Yeah,” she said. “I guess this is it.”
She was distantly aware of the male soldier hurrying towards them. They’d done it. The guy with the chopper clearly knew Mathis, so there weren’t going to be any problems with Harper pulling the wool over their eyes.
Which meant they were done here.
Mathis’ words echoed in her mind: We’ll beat Harper. And when we do—when we’re done here—I promise, you’ll never need to think about any of this again. You can pretend you never met me.
Her throat went tight, and Mathis’ eyebrows drew together. He stepped closer, one hand tentatively outstretched. “Chloe, are you all right?”
I’m fine. Everything’s fine. She managed to hoist a smile onto her face, and couldn’t remember when it had slipped off. “I—”
She hesitated. What was she going to say? What could she say? They’d had an agreement, and now it was over. Mathis had spent the last month being tortured. It wouldn’t be fair of her to change the rules on him now.
“Delacourt!”
Mathis’ hand was less than six inches from her face, but as the other man called to him he turned away.
“Lance MacInnis. Two questions: first, what the hell are you doing here? And second, what the hell took you so long?”
Chloe breathed out hard. She knew he didn’t mean anything by it—the adrenaline from the fight must still be rushing through his veins, making him forget about their agreement—but if he had touched her, she didn’t think she would have been able to hold firm. She would have told him how she really thought about him, despite all her promises.
She crossed her arms in front of herself. The soldier—Lance?—had stopped a few paces away, and was staring hard at Mathis.
“Christ, Delacourt. What the hell happened to you?”
Mathis glanced at Chloe with a frown on his face. “What do you mean? Didn’t Frankie tell you?”
“Frankie?” Lance looked from Mathis to Chloe and back. “Frankie isn’t telling anyone anything right now. I’m following up on a prank video that’s had the shifter community all across the globe up in arms.”
Oh, shit.
“Uhh…” Chloe hesitated as both men stared at her. Shit.
“What video?” Mathis frowned at Lance. “What the hell are you talking about? Didn’t you get our SOS?”
“Is that what you call it? Because I call it a hell of a lot of paperwork I don’t have time for. This isn’t like that shit you used to pull when we were kids, Delacourt, these days you can’t take a video of you shifting and expect it to stay under wraps.”
“What video?”
“Um—I can explain about that.” Chloe gulped. No need to worry about breaking the agreement after this. He’s going to hate me.
“Please do.” Lance’s eyebrows drew together and Mathis stirred, placing himself between Chloe and the other man.
She stared at the sand between her feet as she explained. She could feel Mathis’ golden eyes boring into her, but she couldn’t look at him.
“I did it, all right? I took a video of you fighting Sven that first night. And last night, I tried to contact your sister when I broke into Harper’s tower, but it bounced back. So I did the only thing I could think of.” She took a deep breath. “I put the video online, geotagged for the island, and tagged in some people I knew would share it. I made it look like it was leaked footage for a new movie, so more people would see it. I know it’s dangerous, but it was the only thing I could think of to do.”
“You put our whole society at risk,” Lance snapped, and Chloe threw up her arms.
“Well, we were already at risk. I’m sorry if I cared more about Mathis dying than some kids on the internet thinking there’s a new Harry Potter Fight Club film out.”
Lance’s eyes flicked back to Mathis. She saw him take on the marks on his face: the cuts that hadn’t healed, the mottled bruises lurking under his skin. His mouth worked.
“This isn’t another prank, is it?” he said in an undertone.
“Wow, figured it out, have you?” Chloe snarled. He glared at her.
“It’s not a prank.” Mathis’ voice was heavy, and Chloe’s heart ached for him. “Gerald Harper has been keeping shifters captive on this island.”
“Gerald Harper?” Lance looked over his shoulder. Chloe’s stomach twisted. Harper had almost reached them; if he got there before they got MacInnis on-side, if he convinced their rescuers that it was all a mistake…
“You have to believe us,” she burst out. “I know it sounds crazy, but everyone here will back us up. At least—”
She bit her lip and exchanged a look with Mathis. She hoped everyone else would tell the truth—but what if Harper still had some secret hold on the other fighters and employees?
Harper darted up behind Lance while her mind was still whirring. For a split second, she saw him as he was: sweating, panting, eyes wide and blood-shot with panic. Then he straightened up, swept his hair back, and became the suave, friendly Gerald Harper she knew and hated.
“Ah. Thank you for coming, Mr.…?”
Lance looked down at Harper’s outstretched hand, one eyebrow raised. “Mr. Harper, I presume?”
“The very same. And I’m so glad you were able to follow up on our call so quickly.”
“Your call?” Chloe’s cheeks flushed with anger. “You—”
“Nobody called, Mr. Harper,” Lance cut in smoothly. “Try again.”
Harper’s smile became brittle. “The alarm from our little mishap in the kitchen wing…”
“Strike two.”
Chloe stepped closer to Mathis. Not to touch, not to break their agreement. Just to feel his heat against her skin as Harper’s empire crumbled around him.
Lance leaned toward Harper, a thin smile on his face. “We did receive an alert from a nearby cruise liner, though. You could try to work that into your story, if you like.”
Harper’s jaw worked. “I—you—you—”
His eyes landed on Chloe, and the force of his glare made her step back. He darted forward and then screeched as Thandie dive-bombed him. Somewhere between Chloe’s arrival on the beach and Harper approaching them, she’d turned back into a bird.
Harper windmilled his arms, screaming, and then his body twisted and shimmered—and shrank.
Chloe blinked. For a moment, it looked like Harper had disappeared. His clothes were an empty pile on the sand.
Then something fluttered on the collar of his shirt.
“He’
s a bug?” she burst out.
Harper had shifted—into a moth, one of the ones with eye-shaped splodges on its wings. Chloe stifled a laugh.
“Look at his wings. I guess he was just playing by his animal’s rules all along—pretending to be something he wasn’t.”
Thandie flew down and landed a few inches from the moth, puffing her feathers out as the world’s smallest guard.
Julian stepped forward, the eggs cradled safely in his arms.
“If there is still any doubt about Gerald Harper’s actions, I will swear under oath as to his activities for the last ten years,” he said, his jaw set in determination.
Lance’s eyebrow almost flew off his forehead. “Nothing’s ever simple when it comes to you, is it Mathis?” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
Mathis laughed. “Like you’re complaining.”
Lance flashed a grin that included Chloe in the joke. For some reason, a lump formed in her throat.
She swallowed as Lance clapped his hands together. “Right!” he shouted, turning back to the gathered employees. “We need to get that fire under control. Who’s in charge here?”
“Uh… you?” someone called out. Soft laughter rippled through the crowd.
Chloe meant to keep listening to what Lance was saying, but then Mathis leaned against her, his hand pressed against her lower back. She caught her breath.
“Good thinking with the video,” he murmured, and she could feel his breath in her hair.
“You’re not mad?”
Mathis laughed. “Mad? You’re a genius. And don’t worry about Lance. Scrubbing rumors about shifters from the internet is his idea of a fun weekend.”
Chloe relaxed back into his hand. “So I’m not going to disappear into some mysterious government facility as soon as we’re off this island?”
“I wouldn’t let that happen. I told you. My job is to protect you.”
Tears filled Chloe’s eyes and she sniffed, blinking madly to keep them from spilling out. “Oh, God, I just want to go home,” she cried, her voice cracking.
Mathis practically snatched his hand away and Chloe swayed, gulping back breaths that threatened to turn into sobs. You idiot. You couldn’t keep it together long enough to—