7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dusek

I had a bad feeling about this whole trip from the start. Sure, we planned and prepped, and did all the things we usually did before sneaking off to cause mayhem in the syndicate. But this time felt different. It was all too rushed. Robin seemed… distracted. I was afraid her desperation and our need to please her was going to get us all killed. Or, maimed. Possibly just imprisoned, if we were lucky.

"What do you sense?" Our alpha asked, her golden eyes more dragon than human. She held up a hand tipped with claws to halt our progress as we paused on the front steps of the emperor's gaudy mansion.

I shook my head. "Not much. There are a few people inside. Mostly human or minor magic users." I frowned, sending my awareness out further, searching for souls I could feed from if I released my terror—it was a good way to canvass an area. "There's something odd deeper inside… someone with stronger magic. It seems familiar, but… I have no idea what kind of paranorm it is."

Sanka tilted his head, probably feeling out the weird magic signature as well. I sent a glance Cicely's way. The faun was essentially useless in a fight. He was strong, but largely untrained, and more inclined toward loving than fighting. I had convinced Robin that he needed to be here so he could learn. So he could feel like he had a place in our court. But really, it was so we could work together to calm the dragon down when she inevitably lost control. The fawn met my eyes and winked when the others weren't looking.

I felt some of the tension leaving me. His magic was so subtle, barely detectible as it nudged us all toward calm. But very effective. I had a feeling the pretty golden boy could be dangerous if he ever turned those wiles to evil.

Robin huffed. "He's not here," she growled. "That's why we got in so easily. That's why there's no guards in attendance, and no one is out here attacking us. He's not fucking here! The coward!" She swiped her hand outward in frustration, raking deep furrows in the wooden door before us. Then her aura heated. "I'll make sure he has no fucking home to return to."

And here we go . I thought to myself. Robin contained herself most of the time. But when she let her anger seep through, it was generally just a bit destructive. There was nothing quite like what was the equivalent of a teenage dragon on the cusp of their full power throwing a tantrum.

Robin inhaled deeply and her chest expanded further than her human body should allow. Her eyes glowed and her reddish hair lifted on a hot breeze that only existed around her aura. Then she exhaled, spewing fire at the offending door.

Sucking in a panting breath, she patted her hair back down and pretended to be in control. "Sanka? Make us an entry."

Sanka chuckled. He loved any excuse to destroy things with his magic. Forming a fireball of his own, he drew back and blasted a hole in the front of the mansion, taking out not only the door, but a good portion of the stone wall as well.

"Come," Robin said, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. "We need to at least search the place. I doubt he's left my birthright behind, but there might be something we can use. Tread carefully. No doubt the pestilent old hemorrhoid has left traps for his visitors."

Martina slipped through the door, silently taking point, while I fell in behind the others to protect our rear.

The sweep was largely anticlimactic. The place was huge, but most of the rooms were empty. There were a few magical traps waiting for us, as predicted, but Sanka easily located and disarmed them as we went. Taking a spiral staircase upward, we started on the upper floor of the sprawling two-story ode to gaudiness and worked our way down.

Robin was quiet, and she seemed contained. But I could sense the emotions swirling inside her. I unobtrusively sucked in any of the darker emotions that I could, feeding not only on my alpha, but on the aura of faint fear and unease that hung in the air, lingering leftovers from the inhabitants who were currently hiding from us.

We searched an empty office, a library, and several guest rooms. But there was nothing lingering about that provided any information we didn't already have. The emperor had known we were coming, and he had cleaned out the house.

When we reached what must be the emperor's suite of rooms, Robin lost some of her calm. She pressed a hand to her head and growled, then surged into the room and started tearing things out of a massive walk-in closet. "It was here," she bit out. "Damn it, it was right here !" Flames and smoke flickered from her mouth as she spoke, and the things she touched turned to blackened ash from the heat coming off her skin. Shiny red and gold scales rippled across her body, appearing then disappearing in waves as she struggled with control over her dragon. "IT WAS RIGHT FUCKING HERE!"

I looked at Sanka. He shook his head. His eyes were sad, but he didn't get too close to our raging Alpha. "Robin, I sense it too. But it's gone, sweetheart. It's gone."

Her birthright. It must be. I wasn't sure of all the implications, but I knew she was desperate to get back the portion of her power that had been locked away when she was a child. The dragon ritual was supposed to help kids grow up and learn control before they were burdened with the massive magical power that their species was capable of. But no one thought about what would happen if someone were to steal that power and use it for themselves.

Once upon a time, dragons had rightfully believed that no one would be stupid enough to even try to steal from their kind. Then the emperor who was supposed to be looking after paranorms and protecting their rights committed genocide.

Cicely upped the flow of feel-good energy in the room. He stepped closer to the raging alpha, his bright green eyes full of compassion, as if he was about to hug her. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him backward. "She'll burn you to ash, goat."

Robin turned at the sound of my voice, and her eyes narrowed, fangs flashing as she spoke. "I don't need you protecting me or calming me," she said, clearly sensing our magical interference. "I'm not weak . And I'm not a fucking child. "

Technically, she was correct. But also… so wrong. She was strong, yes. One of the strongest people I knew. But having part of herself stolen from her was wearing on her. And fully grown though she might be, in dragon years she was still a few weeks away from adulthood. She needed us. But the alpha in her was on the defensive right now, sensitive to anyone thinking she might be vulnerable.

Martina silently slipped from the room, her head bowed, and her posture meant to draw as little attention as possible, removing the other alpha from the room just in case Robin saw that as a threat. Sanka crept closer to his lover, one hand held out beseechingly. "Robin? Hey. Alpha, I need you. Your beta needs you, but he can't even get close to you because you're a threat to him."

From anyone else, that might have been interpreted as an insult. But coming from a beta under her care, it was the dose of ice water that was needed to put out the raging fire. Robin blinked. She shuddered. Then she tucked away all traces of her raging dragon self. "Apologies," she said stiffly.

Sanka sighed and dropped his hand. "Fuck, Robin."

She started to growl, but cut it short and cleared her throat instead. "It's… I'm sorry. I lost control for a moment there. It won't happen again. Let's go."

She led the way out of the room, and I shared a wary glance with Sanka and Cicely before following. Something was up with our alpha. Something beyond the normal irritations of the day. She might be a moody, mercurial thing sometimes, but this sort of lack of control wasn't normal. And… I had a feeling it was about to become more frequent.

None of us really knew what would happen if the dragon shifter reached maturity without being reunited with her birthright. It was entirely possible she'd go feral, for all we knew.

When we reached the back of the ground floor, we found a group of people huddled together in the kitchen. Most were human, with a couple of weak shifters and fae thrown in the mix. Robin slunk into the room with all her usual lithe grace, full of command and haughty indifference. The wave of fear that came from the huddled mass of people at the sight of our group was heartbreaking—delicious, but heartbreaking all the same. I had a feeling they weren't just afraid of us. This was something else entirely.

These people lived in fear. And their master had left them here when he fled. Like the unimportant possessions they were. No more thought given to them than to a piece of furniture.

"Where is he?" Robin said without preamble. She examined her nails as if she was bored. But there was an air of danger around her that no one could miss.

"P-please," a woman with a touch of fae blood whispered. "We don't know anything."

Robin sighed. "Really? You all work here. You serve the emperor of the paranormal syndicate, and you want me to believe that you know nothing ?"

"Leave them alone." A human man spoke up, shuffling forward and standing, using his thick body to block the others the best he could. "I'll talk to you. But there really isn't much to tell. Bully me if you must. But leave the others out of it." His defiant expression and bitter tone were brave. But it wasn't smart to goad an alpha by ordering her around, especially in front of others.

Robin had him pinned against the wall in seconds, her hand around his throat as he struggled for air. She held him effortlessly with her shifter strength, her entire posture still calm and collected. "I'm sorry. I thought I heard you telling me what to do. I must have been mistaken."

He huffed and gasped, and shook his head.

"Right," Robin said evenly. "Now then. Tell me everything you know about the walking disease who employs you and I'll make your deaths quick."

Cicely sidled up next to me, but I didn't look at him. This was where we came in. If it came down to it, it was going to be up to me and one soft, easy-going fawn to stop a raging alpha dragon from slaughtering innocents. Sanka would be no help. He'd gladly let Robin burn the whole world if it made her happy. And Martina… I gave her a fifty-fifty chance of siding with us or the woman who had saved her from life as a vampire slave.

"Fuck. You." The man choked out between choking gasps.

Cicely made a noise in his throat, something that probably would have been a protest, if he had any way to speak. Please. He said in my head. I wasn't sure if the word was aimed at me, or at Robin.

But I knew Ruya was right about this. We couldn't let Robin rampage her way into darkness. I didn't believe in good or evil. But I had tasted my fair share of black souls, turned bitter and rotten by years of tormenting others. I cared for Robin too much to let her start down that slippery slope. Killing thugs and villains was one thing. We did that all the time, and I felt no remorse over that. But these people…. If she gave into her rage, she'd be no better than the emperor.

"I'm pretty sure they don't know anything," I said softly. "Robin, if you squeeze him any harder, he's going to pop. Then he definitely won't be able to tell you anything."

Cicely's calming magic seeped into my being even as I fed on the terror and fear of the people before us and the rage of my alpha. Robin had to notice what we were doing at this point. Neither one of us was attempting to be subtle anymore.

"What would you have me do with them?" she asked, her voice soft and even. As silent and deadly as a stalking predator. "They've seen our faces. They know who we are. If the emperor didn't know who was coming for him, he certainly will now. Any leader with an ounce of common sense would kill them all."

The man she held in her grip started to turn purple. I wasn't even sure she knew she was squeezing harder. She was just that conflicted.

"Alpha," Sanka said, surprising me with his protest. "I can wipe their memories. Or you can have our other friend outside use his fae mind tricks. You don't have to do this."

Robin growled, and for a moment, the fate of all the people before her hung suspended in time. Then she growled and tossed the man aside—not hard enough to cause mortal wounds, but enough to make him regret mouthing off to an alpha.

"Someone in this place has to know where the asshole fucked off to and what he took with him. And how he knew we were coming," she bit out.

"Downstairs," a timid voice piped up from the back of the group. A petite human woman stepped out and pointed out the door. "Down the hall, in the office. There's a hidden door. He keeps her down there."

Robin narrowed her eyes at the woman, causing the human to shake with nerves. "You'd better not be lying," she informed her.

"N-no," she stuttered. "But… can you please let us out of here, ma'am? I just want to go home. To the real world. Please."

Robin stared at her.

Cicely started signing, pulling our attention to him. Employees? Or captives?

"I don't think they're here willingly," I murmured. "Robin, they reek of fear and hopelessness. And it seems chronic."

Robin closed her eyes in a long blink and sucked in a long, tired breath. Then she looked at the people again, really seeing them this time. "Gods damn it," she muttered. Then she snapped back into alpha mode. "Speak," she bit out. "Tell me what the hell is going on here."

The man she had tossed around earlier got to his feet again, clearly ready to go another round. But he wisely kept his distance this time. "I told you we don't know anything. We're just fucking slaves. You might as well kill us all, if that's what you're plannin'. Cause if you don't, he probably will."

Robin scowled. Then she turned away and headed back out into the hallway. "Wait at the front door," she said flatly. She wasn't talking to her court. " Don't go wandering off or I'll leave you here."

Cicely touched my arm, and I glanced down at him to find him grinning. I shook my head at him. "Don't go getting too excited," I muttered to the handsome blond. There's still plenty of opportunity to commit murder."

Then we headed through the secret door in the library and down to the dungeons to speak with whatever the source of that eerie magic was.