Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chloe

Seth and his men laughed and joked, slapping each other's backs as they hauled me into their house, congratulating one another. Hands rose and fell with the vivid retelling of the raid on the sovereign's palace as one after another detailed their part in the escapade and how they'd attacked this guard or helped with another.

I stayed quiet throughout. Listening. Absorbing. My eyes were covered by a hood, preventing me from seeing where we were going. I had to wonder why they bothered though, because none of them had filters. Within minutes of being bodily yanked from my cell in the middle of sleep, I'd ascertained who'd taken me, what they'd done, and where they were taking me.

It was child's play. All I had to do was listen because the overconfident idiots had no idea what they'd done.

Assuming any sort of royalty works the same here as it does in my world, they're in for a world of hurt.

The sovereign did not strike me as someone to stand by and do nothing. I wasn't so na?ve to think she would come after them just to save me, but she would send men to teach Seth and his friends a lesson. Of that much, I was reasonably certain. The key would be to survive the crossfire and hope they brought me back to the palace in one piece.

Escaping in the confusion was another option. I started my mind down that path as I was tossed unceremoniously into a chair. My hands were yanked roughly behind my back and tied firmly with confident, expert motions.

That would make slipping away when the inevitable attack came more difficult. I could slip from most bonds, given enough time, but whoever did them knew what he was doing. I wasn't going anywhere without help. Perhaps in the middle of things I could find something sharp and cut them.

Then I could duck out and make my way to the marina. That was my only hope for escaping the Dragon Isles. I offered up silent thanks to Silas for showing me the boats.

"What the hell is this?" the one tying my hands asked as his hands brushed my back while finishing up.

The glani was roughly pulled to the side, and he pawed at me while pulling the dragon-scale knife from where it had been strapped to my back. Apparently, my captors were more thorough than the palace guards.

"Seth, look at this," he called.

I listened as the leader came over. There was silence, but I could just imagine Seth looking the knife over.

The bag was abruptly yanked from my head, taking a clump of hair with it. I yelped at the unexpected pain, even as I blinked furiously against the sunlight streaming in through the half-dozen skylights high above us on the slanted rooftop.

I received a backhand across my face for my troubles.

"Silence!" Seth barked as he glared down at me, holding the knife in one hand. His long, black hair fell to either side of his face.

His hair was a mess, but the equally dark beady eyes were sharp and focused. The black button-up he wore was stained with blood along the left sleeve and ripped partway up the seam on the other side. Signs of the fight. He also had some patterned bruising along his jaw that might be from a fist.

Unfortunately, his nose was still intact. I longed to see it broken still. Anything to wipe the smug arrogance from his face.

"Where did you get this?" he snarled, holding up the knife.

I gazed back at him. He wouldn't get an easy answer out of me. That was for sure. Then I would have no leverage left to preserve myself.

"Answer me!" he howled.

I let my head fall back slightly, staring down my nose at him. "You've never conducted an interrogation before, have you?"

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "You are a damn spy," he hissed, the knife shaking as he waved it in front of me. "You stole this. You stole information. You were trying to expose everything to your bosses. They were right."

I rolled my eyes. "You're just like the others."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he sneered. "I'm better than them. Look how I stole you out from under their noses. They can't touch me."

Seth was making it far too easy. It was like dealing with amateurs. I tried to not smile.

"It was a bold move, snatching me out from the prison," I said, giving him the encouragement his ego so clearly needed. "I'm impressed you managed it so cleanly."

"They never expected it," he hissed. "Never saw us coming. Just like the rest won't either."

"The rest?"

Seth laughed. "You think we're going to stop here? That this is the end? Of course not. My father is retiring. Stepping aside, really. I'm the head of my house, and I have assembled our people here. All of them. They are waiting."

My brain worked to process all the information Seth was so freely pouring out.

"Waiting for what? Your coronation to begin? I'm flattered, but I don't see how a human like me has any part to play in that."

Seth laughed and tossed the knife onto a nearby table. I didn't let my eyes follow it as much as I longed to. The goal was to distract him from it. Get him going on about himself.

"You won't be around for that," he said, pointing a finger. "But you are part of the gift I'm giving myself. A gift that will ensure my status is cemented as head of the strongest family. None will challenge me. Strange to think it's all possible thanks to a pathetic human such as yourself, but these are strange times we live in."

"How am I going to help? I don't know anything."

He snorted. "You're not here to do anything besides be here," he said. "A beacon."

Then I got it.

"You're luring Silas here," I said slowly. "That's why you brought all your people in from wherever they were. You're laying an ambush for him."

Seth grinned. "The spy would understand. Congratulations. You've uncovered my plot. Of course, there's nothing you can do about it. By the time he fights his way through my guards to reach you here at the center of the house, the rest of my people will be moving into position. He will undoubtedly have Caleb and Shiloh with him. In one fell swoop, I will eliminate the head."

"Aren't you forgetting about his father?" I pointed out, wondering when Seth would catch on and realize just who was questioning who here. So far, he was oblivious.

"My father's final gift to me will be ridding us of that useless old fop," he barked with a laugh. "Then it will be complete, and none will challenge me!"

It was, in some ways, a bold, audacious plan.

But he was forgetting one giant part of it. Not that a "pathetic" human like me would point it out to him. He was a dragon. He was "superior." Let him figure it the fuck out. I would just sit back and enjoy the show.

The sunlight coming in from above faded swiftly. We all looked up to see the sky was turning black. A storm was coming.

"Now," Seth said, picking the knife up once more and coming close. "How about you tell me where you got this?"

I stared at him.

"A spy who can keep her mouth shut. Admirable, I suppose. If useless. Not surprising Silas fell for your act. That idiot doesn't deserve to rule if he can't spot a spy in his own house."

"Everyone's so confident about themselves here," I remarked, tired of him insulting Silas.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're a fucking idiot," I spat.

Seth was in my face in a heartbeat, the tip of the knife pricking the soft skin under my jaw. A warm trickle of blood flowed down my throat as it pierced my skin. "Who's an idiot now?" he hissed.

I threw my head all the way back and laughed at him. "It's still you. Can't you see it?"

The taunt that he was missing something would be enough to goad him into talking more, I was sure. The man's ego couldn't stand not knowing everything.

"Explain," he snapped, pulling the knife back and standing up.

"What am I?"

"A human spy?"

"Let's assume you're correct," I said.

"I am."

The man's ego never took a break.

"Forget it," I said, looking up at the ceiling and then frowning. "You and all the rest of the dragons here, you're all the same. You assume you're always right. It's going to be your downfall."

"What do you mean? You don't really think your pathetic armies can stop us, do you?"

"Maybe not," I said. "But you won't have to worry about that."

"Why?"

"Because he's going to kill you before that," I said as Silas came crashing through one of the skylights.