Chapter 15

15

“ W hy the fuck are you naked?!” were the first words out of Mikhail’s mouth when he spotted Dendey. He jumped in front of Jinx, blocking her view.

“I flew here,” came the bored reply. “No clothes.”

“Don’t move,” Sabre warned. She raised her bow, a steel-tipped arrow already knocked. “If you so much as twitch, I’ll give you a new pee-pee hole.”

“You really are delightful company, aren’t you?” Dendey said, sarcasm thick in his voice.

Sabre pulled the string back. “You bet.”

“I have infor—” Dendey began, only to be cut off by Mikhail.

“Cover yourself. Then we’ll talk.” There was no way he would allow Jinx to be in the presence of a naked, virile predator.

Dendey rolled his eyes, no easy feat when your eyes were reptilian, before covering his crotch with his hands. “This is pointless, given the lovely tiger and I were both naked here less than an hour ago.”

“What did you just say?” Mikhail asked quietly. Too quietly.

“Uh oh,” Sabre murmured. “You’ve done it now,” she told Dendey.

Mikhail felt his claws and lower canines extend as a low, rumbling growl grew in his chest. Possessiveness raged through him, urging him to protect what was his. “Mine!” he roared.

Dendey, the schmuck, didn’t even twitch. “This is news.”

“Death,” Mikhail snarled, his fangs distorting the word. “Death is coming.”

Dendey whistled low. “Ferocious. I didn’t know you had it in you. I’m impressed. But then, anyone with the balls to have himself assassinated is bound to have hidden depths.”

Before Mikhail could pounce, he registered the small, warm hand on his lower back, practically burning a hole in his shirt. “As sexy as this is, I think we should hear what he has to say,” Jinx whispered in his ear.

He spun around, staring down at Jinx’s much shorter form. “You think I’m sexy?”

“We’ve already established that,” Jinx replied with a leer. She reached up, tapping a sharp tooth. “These lower fangs are something else.”

Mikhail felt himself calming, lulled by Jinx’s easy-going nature. “Did he really see you naked?”

“I was in my tiger form when he dropped in. I had to shift to talk with him,” was Jinx’s answer.

“Death time,” Mikhail decided, turning around.

But Jinx laughed, grabbing his biceps. “I’m a shifter. It’s no biggie.”

Mikhail knew that in theory, but his body was having a tough time with the reality. He stayed there, staring at his would-be future queen until his claws and teeth retracted. When his senses returned, he realised he’d freaked out and acted like a barbarian. Again. He opened his mouth to apologise, but Jinx placed two fingers across his lips.

“Stop apologising for who you are.”

The sincere words floored him. He wanted to drop to his knees and worship the remarkable young woman in front of him. But nothing had changed. Their reasoning for not being together was still valid. Instead, he brought one of her hands to his lips, kissing the back of it reverently. He said nothing but noted the flash of moisture in her eyes before facing Dendey again. “You knew it was me.”

Dendey didn’t pretend to misunderstand. He pointed to his left eye, blinking slowly. The vertical iris elongated briefly before his eyelids moved in from the sides. “Dragon’s eye.”

“Since when?” Sabre demanded, looking pissed. She had yet to lower her bow and arrow.

“That’s irrelevant,” Dendey replied briskly.

Mikhail held up a staying hand towards Sabre. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Dendey scoffed. “Are you kidding? I’m a dragon, a treasure hunter. And there’s no greater treasure than information. The King of Purgatory in hiding after faking his death? That’s some grade-A treasure right there.”

It made sense, but Mikhail wasn’t buying it. At least not completely. A big part of being King was the ability to be discerning. Dendey was more than he appeared. He was sure of it. “And now? Why are you here now?”

“There are whispers in the shadows of civil unrest. Some citizens are sick of King Abraxis. Things have gone to shit a little since you died ,” Dendey revealed gleefully. “Some folks are recruiting.”

“Recruiting for what?” Jinx asked, moving to stand beside Mikhail.

The dragon shrugged. Thankfully, his crotch remained covered. “A rebellion. And not the ragtag rebels you oversaw,” he said to Mikhail. “Think overthrowers. My advice? You need to reveal yourself sooner rather than later. Or you may not have a kingdom left to rule. Civil war is a real bitch.”

Sabre took a step forward. “Maybe you want him to reveal himself so that bastard X can kill him for real.”

Dendey gasped, his hand flying to his mouth. “Damn. You got me.”

Sabre released the arrow. It whizzed past Dendey’s ear with a millimetre to spare. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Mikhail blocked her with his body before she could launch herself at the dragon. “Sabre, calm down.”

“Yes, Sabre. Calm down,” Dendey echoed with a grin.

When Sabre growled again and threw a shuriken, Mikhail simply sighed. A giggle drew his attention, and he locked his eyes with an amused Jinx. She’s breathtaking, he thought silently. He offered her a smile and returned his attention to the battling mercenaries.

Dendey was holding up the throwing star, its razor-sharp edges glinting in the filtered sunlight. “This is from Heath’s forge,” he noted. “He does good work.”

“The best,” Sabre agreed.

Dendey turned the shuriken over in his hand a few times before sighing. “It’s not a trap, okay? X is killing dragons. I want him dead just as much as you.”

“So you only care because he’s killing your kind,” Sabre said scathingly.

Dendey looked at Sabre like she was stupid. “Of course.”

Sabre pointed at him. “You’re such a fucking prick.”

Dendey shrugged. “That’s really not the insult you think it is.” He pinned Mikhail with his gaze. “Look. There’s unrest. The people are losing faith in the line of Cerberus. What you do with the information is up to you. Look for the satyr Azim. He agreed to attend the top-secret meeting of minds.”

Dendey’s skin immediately began to ripple. His bones creaked and elongated, stretching his form into impossible new dimensions. His face contorted, jaw extending into a reptilian snout filled with razor-sharp teeth. Horns spiralled up from his brow, twisting into ivory spires. Massive leathery wings unfurled from his back, the membrane thin enough to see the delicate network of veins within. They stretched wider and wider, spanning twenty feet from tip to tip. His hands and feet morphed into powerful talons that looked wickedly sharp. Then Dendey flapped his wings and took to the sky, effortlessly soaring above the treetops.

Sabre took a few steps forward, bending to collect her throwing star from the forest floor. “Do we believe him?” she asked.

Though he loathed to do it, Mikhail nodded. “Yes. We believe him.”