Chapter Thirty-Eight

Silas

Seeing Seth with the knife to Chloe's throat had been the last straw. I'd intended to wait for the rest of the sovereign's guard to catch up, but there was no way I would let this asshole toy around with my mate for a second longer. Spy or no spy, she was mine, and I would teach him a very permanent lesson about that fact.

Then and only then could Vicek have him.

The glass fell around us as the rest of my family dropped to the ground with me, our dragon wings ensuring we hit the floor and bounced up onto both feet. Seth shouted orders, and the other men in the room hit us almost the instant we landed. Almost.

My wing flicked out as I spun, slamming into my nearest attacker and flinging him away. I grunted as pain erupted from where Caine had stabbed me. The muscles were still healing, and the flight over from the palace hadn't done me any favors.

But pain was nothing at the moment. I could ignore it. My only focus was Seth.

"Seth!" I roared just in time to see the cowardly prick duck out of the room.

I stormed after him, but a familiar leering face slid between us, blocking my path.

"Hello, Silas," Mattias spat. "Going somewhere?"

"Yes." I started forward. "Through you."

Mattias laughed and came at me. I'd anticipated that. Like so many others, he was a brash, arrogant fighter who thought he could overpower his foes. There was little training in his actions. He'd never needed it, not when he traveled with Seth and his pack of goons, who always had numbers.

That wasn't how I fought.

I waited until he'd committed to his blow, then I lunged forward, bending low at the waist. Mattias' fist sailed harmlessly over my head. A second later, my shoulder, now thrusting up, caught him in the stomach. I drove through with my legs, and he bent in half over me with a mighty whoof as all the air in his lungs was driven out.

My feet left the floor, and as gravity took hold, I added my own force to it, slamming Mattias down. Tile cracked and chipped as he hit hard, slamming his head back hard enough to stun him.

"I have looked forward to this for a long time," I growled just as he blinked his eyes back into focus.

I started to shift in mid-air. My legs grew rapidly in size, long claws sprouting from my feet. Mattias' eyes went wide as he realized what was about to happen. My wings stopped flapping, and I dropped like a stone.

He rolled, trying to get out of the way, but my dragon-sized paw landed on his spine with a bone-crunching crack.

The other dragon shifter didn't move.

"Clear!" Vicek shouted as he and the trio of guards who'd come with us from the start finished the rest of the room.

Looking around, I saw Caleb nursing his shoulder with Shi at his side. She was splattered in blood, but I didn't see any wound. It must not be hers, I decided. My father was coming behind us, leading the rest of Vicek's men.

After confirming everyone was okay, I hurried to Chloe's side.

"Hi," I said as casually as I could. "Sorry I'm late."

"I'm surprised you came at all," she said a bit coldly as I freed her arms. She pulled her arms in front of her and massaged her wrists.

"I deserved that," I said, not letting the biting tone get to me.

Her expression changed instantly. "Why do you say that? Wait, no, we need to get out of here."

"Not until I say something," I said.

"No, Silas, we—"

"Shh," I said, pressing a finger to her lips. She looked ready to explode, but I had to say it now before it was too late. "Chloe, I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened. "For what?"

"For not giving you a chance," I said. "To explain yourself. To give your side of the actions. I just jumped to conclusions about you without thinking. And you deserve better than that. Even if you're just as guilty as they say you are, I should have asked you. Which I think you were trying to tell me. So, here it goes. Chloe, what happened? What did you do?"

She smiled. "I'm so happy to hear that. And I'll tell you everything. I promise. But we have to go. Now!"

"Why?" I asked, looking around. "His men are dead. Seth is on the run. Vicek can hunt him down. We're fine."

"No, we're not," Chloe said, just as I picked up a faint tremor running through the floor. "Seth set a trap for you. The rest of his family is hiding in the house. Waiting. They're going to kill you."

I spun, looking at Vicek. "How far out are your men?"

"Five minutes. Maybe ten," he said, the tightness of his mouth showing he'd overheard Chloe. "Too long."

I nodded. "We're leaving. Come on, everyone."

Before we could go, the doors on both sides of the large room burst open, and dragon shifters poured into the room, spreading out to both sides. Our little group backed into the center of the room, with Chloe in our midst. Seven shifters against well over two dozen of Seth's forces.

It wasn't good. My father was right. We were vastly outnumbered after all.

"Well, well, well, if this isn't pathetic," Seth crowed as he emerged. "The little shit has come for his human lover."

"She's my mate," I snarled defensively, unsure why the distinction mattered. But it did.

"She's a spy!" he shouted. "Look what I found on her."

He reached over and held up the dragon scale knife as he addressed his people, not me. "She was trying to take this back to her people."

Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place with me even as the members of his house buzzed with shocked conversation. Dragon scale knives were not commonplace. They were quite rare for a reason.

I laughed.

Seth whirled, leveling the blade at me. "What's so funny?"

"You," I said. "You're an idiot. So was I, but at least now I can see the truth starting to emerge."

Chloe stirred behind my back.

"What truth?" he spat.

"You're a moron." I sighed. "Look, I'll explain it for the simpletons here. You had her followed, right?"

"Yes!" Seth crowed again, waving the knife wildly. "Where she went to the CIA. To tell them all about us and give them a weapon they could use."

"Except she didn't."

"We have the pictures," he said. "You can't expect me to believe it wasn't her, can you?"

"Not that. What are you holding in your hand, Seth? A knife. The same knife you say she went to give them. Except she still has it after visiting. What the hell does that tell you?"

He was silent.

"That she didn't give it to them!" I exploded angrily, furious I hadn't somehow made that connection earlier.

"That doesn't mean she's not a spy."

"Maybe she is," I said. "But a true spy would have handed this over without blinking. So, she's not telling them everything. And none of us, myself included, thought to ask her why. Something I'm very sorry I didn't do. I judged her just like you, and I shouldn't have."

"She's a spy. You're just blinded by pussy," Seth spat caustically.

I sighed.

"I'm going to kill you both, you know."

"You can try," I said warningly as several of his more eager people shifted on their feet, their expressions indicating their desire to carry out that exact order. "But my father is on his way here right now at the head of a full detachment of the palace guard. They're under orders to bring your head to the sovereign. She's pissed. So, even if you kill us, there's no scenario in which you walk away from this. Except, perhaps, if you surrender willingly. Then, maybe Vicek will allow you to go before her alive."

Vicek grunted.

"No, I think I'll just kill you all and them, too," Seth said. "We have the forces to stop them. They'll just be expecting me."

More than a handful of his house members shifted uncomfortably at that boast. The palace guard was not a force to be trifled with, and Seth had already attacked them. He was coming unhinged, and they were starting to see it.

"And how many of you are willing to die for that cause?" I asked the room as a whole. "The guards outnumber you. They'll come back with more if you kill them. Many more. You can't honestly expect to kill Vicek and just be left in peace, can you? She will hunt you down. All of you. She will revisit her pain on you thousandfold. For what? For this maniac? It's not worth it, and you know it."

"Shut up!" Seth screamed. "Just shut up! This house is mine. They follow my orders. Not yours. Now kill him!"

Nobody moved.

"I said kill him!" Seth shrieked, pushing some of his nearest supporters toward our little group.

When one of them hesitated, Seth reached up from behind him and slit his throat.

The room watched in silence as the murdered shifter grasped at his throat, the wound too much even for dragon healing. Blood poured forth, spilling across the tiles, coating them in red.

"This is what happens when you disobey me!" Seth howled as the dead man collapsed. "Now, kill them all!"

Slowly, the mass of shifters came at us. We might kill them. If they didn't try, Seth would.

"Coward!" I shouted as Seth watched. "Sending them to do your dirty work. Are you too afraid to face me on your own? Your father had the guts to do that, at least. Now, there was a proper leader of a house."

The advance stopped. Everyone looked nervously at each other and then Seth and me.

Seth saw my ploy was working, and he finally snapped and began screaming nonsense about how he was the true house leader, none could stand up to him, and more.

"Listen," I said, turning halfway to look at Chloe. "Whatever happens, and whatever you did or didn't do, know I care about you. A lot. It might be stupid of me, you might be a really, really good spy. But that doesn't matter to me. When this is over, we're going to talk about everything. And you're going to tell me it all. And I'm going to listen. Okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, licking her lips nervously.

I turned to go deal with Seth, but a tug on my arm stopped me. It was Chloe again, but now she had tears in her eyes.

"I didn't betray you," she sobbed. "I didn't tell them anything. They told me to not bother coming back again until I had something, or they would toss me in jail. I'm so sorry, Silas. I should have told you. I—"

For once, I beat my dragon to the punch and kissed her before it even could growl at me. She inhaled in surprise but flung her arms around me wildly.

I pulled back at a cough from Caleb just as Seth's screaming took on a fever pitch.

"I love you," I said. "I should have told you that, too."

"I love you, too," she said, swiping at some tears. "It's crazy. I should know better. But I do. Oh, I do, Silas. I love you so much."

"You're going to be mine until the end. No matter what my father or anyone else says. Nobody will stop me or take you away from me ever again," I snarled.

"He's coming," Caleb said calmly.

I turned away from the only woman who mattered to me and watched warily as Seth launched himself at me, knife still in hand.

Walking confidently, I closed the distance as he swung the knife wildly. I slipped to the side, punching him in the ribs, then the kidney as I stood straight, facing back the way I'd come. Seth hunched over slightly, favoring his side but still holding onto the knife.

"Come on, show your house how good you are," I taunted, beckoning him with a finger.

Seth stormed after me, but that time, he was a little more cautious. A little wiser. His sanity was reasserting itself. For the moment.

The next two knife blows were much faster and more precise. I leaped back from the first and then twisted aside from the second, grunting as the tip sliced my shirt and the top layer of skin just under my armpit.

Grinning as he saw droplets of blood fly off the blade, Seth continued to advance. I retreated, watching his attacks. Waiting for an opening.

Impatiently, he swung hard at me. Too had. His arm ended up too far out of position, and I chopped down at it as hard as I could.

The blow hit him perfectly in the elbow. His arm dropped, numbed, and the knife hit the floor. Panic flared in his eyes a second before my follow-up punch crunched into his throat, a flat-bladed attack that had him gasping for air.

I hit him with two more rights, then a vicious elbow to the jaw that rocked him backward. He was reeling, and the mass of shifters seemed to inhale as one as they realized the fight was in its end stage.

Grabbing Seth's other arm, I wrenched, snapping the bones in his forearm. He shrieked. My foot kicked out and through his knee. The signal didn't reach his brain in time, and as he tried to set it back down, the joint crumpled, and he went down.

"You were never fit enough to lead your house," I growled.

Then I marched over to where he'd dropped the knife and picked it up.

"No," Seth pleaded, his eyes wide. "No, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. Just let me live. Please. Please! I don't want to—flechh"

The knife bit deep as I sawed through his neck in two swift motions before parting the head from the body. Casually, I rolled it across the floor like a bowling ball until it landed at Vicek's feet.

"Mission complete," I said, turning to face the crowd. "Leave."

There was a hesitation.

Which ended when my father plunged down through an open skylight, followed by many more palace guard, all of them spoiling for a fight.

The crowd wavered and then started to retreat out the doors they'd entered.

It was over.

Chloe ran to my side, and I embraced her heartily.

"What now?" she asked softly.

"Now, we go back to the palace," I said. "And you tell the sovereign and me everything we didn't ask you before. Then we see what happens. Will you do that?"

There was no pause. "Yes."

"Good." I crouched, my wings spreading wide, ready to launch me up through the skylight, even as the guard spread out to retrieve the bodies.

"Silas?" she whispered, snuggling in close to my side. Where she belonged.

"Yes?" I rumbled.

"I was serious, back there. I love you."

I looked down at her as I leaped into the air, my wings propelling us up through the shattered window and into the afternoon sky, replete with oncoming storm. "And I was serious when I said you're mine, Chloe. I want you. Until the end of my days, I only want you."