Page 62 of Awaken the Dragon
“If you’re not going to work with us,” Theo interjected, “then I will assume you are working against us. And I will act accordingly.”
Hikeen raised his brows, but still didn’t look at Theo. He continued to stare at Shola. Theo’s arm tightened around her waist. His gaze moved around the room until he met each one of his team, silently telling them all to be alert. One move, one tilt of his head, hell, one more out of the way word, and the vampires were going to need a new chief lord in Burgess.
“The Royal Blood works only in accordance with the wishes of the Royal Capitol. That’s how we knew what Warrick was doing. It’s how we know more about this ironic situation than it appears you do.”
Again, he was speaking directly to Shola.
“I know that I will never marry him,” she said defiantly. “There will never be a union that will grant him the power over the River Tribe. So he will have to come up with another plan to rule all vampires.”
Hikeen laughed, a silky sound that filled the room.
“There was always another plan,bellissimo. Do you think I would have ever let someone like Warrick get the upper hand over me? He’s always been power hungry, doing whatever he could to gain more, to be more than he was meant to be. It didn’t matter if he married you or you killed him, he was never in line to rule all the vampires. Ever!”
The last word was the first time Hikeen raised his voice.
“This meeting is over,” Theo announced. He looked over to Magnum and waited until he came to stand on the other side of Shola. “Mark this as the first and last time you walk in and out of this building alive,” Theo told the vampire.
Hikeen waved a hand and one of his guards brought his coat. He stood slowly, still smiling at Shola.
“He can’t protect you forever,” Hikeen said to her. “If you come with me now, I can keep you safe from their kind.”
Theo’s communicator vibrated and before he could react every other dragon’s communicator went off too. When he looked down at his wrist it was flashing red.
“Staying with him, you will surely die as Hoan does not like humans or even goddesses. The demonic isn’t big on women at all. Theo can tell you more about that. Don’t you remember, Theo? Hoan was the one who killed your mother.”
His jaw clenched and Shola’s gaze instantly went to his.
The red flashing continued on the communicator, but there was no message, nothing beyond their symbol for heat.
“Bleu, show Hikeen and his creatures out,” Theo said and reached for Shola’s hand.
She didn’t take it.
Hikeen chuckled. “That’s right, he didn’t tell you that. I’m not surprised. He doesn’t like to talk about his past much, do you, Theo? In all these years you’ve been in Burgess, I’ve never heard a peep about you and your Drakon or the fact that you all defected from the Far Realm. I guess that might not be the real truth. Hoan ran you all away, didn’t he? Oh no, Torrance the great Drakon emperor did that when he fell under Hoan’s spell just like your mother.”
Now, Hikeen’s gold eyes turned to Theo, holding his gaze while Theo struggled to hold on to his beast.
“You can’t protect her from Hoan since Hoan is actually the ruler of the Drakon, isn’t that right, Theo? It’s no wonder you want to find Warrick. By planning to betray Hoan, Warrick was ultimately betraying you and all the dragons. And you simply cannot have that.”
Shola gasped. “What is he saying, Theo?”
“This meeting is over!” Theo roared.
Bleu and Aiken moved in, ready to physically empty the office. But Hikeen held up an arm, long narrow fingers, with a gold ring on each, wiggling in the air.
“I don’t want any trouble,” Hikeen said. “Just restoring the balance of good and evil in Burgess.” His head snapped to Shola. “He’s not who you think he is,bellissimo. Warrick is an evil vampire, but Theo and his crew are dragon mercenaries. They’ve been here on this realm for two hundred years doing Hoan’s bidding. Killing preternaturals and strengthening Hoan’s hold on this realm. When the convergence comes, it will be the Drakons who helped put Hoan in power. Not Warrick, and certainly not the vampires!”
Theo was already lifting his hand, knowing that by killing Hikeen he’d be setting off a chain of events that he couldn’t take back, but when the fire soared from his palms, the chief lord disappeared into the air and the bat flew straight toward the window, breaking through the Drakonproof glass and soaring into the night.
The other vampires immediately turned with teeth bared, ready to pounce. Theo reached for Shola, pushing her behind him while the other Drakon dispatched the vampires without much trouble.
“Was he telling the truth?”
Theo didn’t immediately turn at her question. His communicator was buzzing again. He looked down to see a message now. “BREACH!” blinked on and off the screen, white letters against the red background.
“We can talk about this later! Right now we have to figure out what else the vampires have been cooking up all this time,” Theo told her.
“You said whatever I asked you that I could expect your answer was the truth. Tell me why you are here, Theo. Why are you on the Human Realm and not on the Far Realm with the rest of the Drakon?”
