Chapter 29

Dwayne Stone's Office, Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

A low, brutish voice replied, telling Gen to enter when she knocked on the door. Gen stepped into the office, a chamber that seemed to swallow light whole, much like the rumors suggested Dwayne swallowed those who crossed him. The air was thick, laced with a scent of ink and something metallic, not entirely unpleasant but certainly unnerving.

Shelves lined the walls, crammed with objects that made Gen's skin prickle. There were skulls that might have been more at home on a battlefield than a bookshelf. Alongside them were strange, angular artifacts that caught the dim light, twisting it into shadows that danced too lively for comfort.

Dwayne sat behind a desk that could have served as a barricade, its surface a clutter of parchments and odd, gleaming devices. His hulking appearance was striking. The man was bald as a polished shield and his skin was adorned with inked patterns that could have told stories of battles or dark oaths. He was dressed not in armor, but in attire that hugged his frame, emphasizing the strength within, much like the chieftains of old might have worn their status for all to see.

For a long moment, he studied Gen as she took the spot in front of his desk, rigid and standing tall. His narrowed gaze on her, she knew, was meant to disarm her. To make her squirm. He was begging her to talk, but she knew how to play this power game and would not be unnerved into speaking first.

Sophia was correct about not putting a target on our back with Dwayne Stone,Emperor said in Gen's head.

But you said?—

I said to exert power with the others,Emperor cut in, interrupting Gen. You have to be strategic in all situations and that means you play different people differently. Not all are created equally. Each person is in a unique position. For Dwayne, you are to simply observe for now.

Very well,Gen said as Dwayne leaned forward, making the first move—the first sound.

"You're not that impressive," were the first words the leader of the Rogue Riders spoke.

Gen pinned her hands behind her back and kept her face neutral. "So I'm not."

"I've heard a lot about you from Hiker Wallace," Dwayne went on, seeming not to hear her reply. "He might think highly of you, saying that Mother Nature seems to have big plans for you, but I don't share the same fan favor as the Dragon Elite."

"Understandable," Gen said simply, unaffected by this subtle act of intimidation.

A vein throbbed on his forehead, a silent testament to the simmering temper beneath his calm exterior. The office, with its dim corners and the low, heavy air, felt like a cave of secrets, each shadow a whisper of things best left undiscovered. Dwayne's presence, commanding yet contained, hinted at depths and dangers that went far beyond mere bullying or leadership. Gen sensed that he was a man who knew power and how to wield it, his every possession a piece of a larger, darker puzzle.

"You must think that because you magnetized to the first dragon egg to ever spawn that you're a big deal," Dwayne seethed.

"I don't," Gen replied evenly.

Dwayne sneered, looking disgusted by her clipped response. "You undoubtedly believe that you're something special because your dragon is the ruler of all dragons."

"I do not," Gen said, through a measured breath, trying to keep her cool, but wanting to launch herself at the man. That's what he wanted though and she wouldn't give into him. Emperor and Sophia were right to advise her not to force her dominance on him. That's what he wanted… He was trying to rile her up.

"I bet you think that you're deserving of more privileges and a higher position because you were a Founder of the House of Fourteen," Dwayne said through clenched, crooked teeth, seeming to make himself angrier.

"Not at all," Gen said at once.

"Are you mocking me?" Dwayne yelled, the vein on his forehead seeming to pulse. "Do you think that your clipped answers are funny?"

"No," she said, and almost laughed at the way she just antagonized him.

When he stood, she realized how massive he was, towering over her. "You are and will remain at the bottom of the totem pole here. You are nobody and have come into this world with nothing but a dragon's egg. I will not have you thinking that you deserve more because of your name or your dragon's rule."

"Of course." As Gen's gaze swept the room, from the menacing glint of artifacts to the man who seemed as much a relic of a brutal past as the items he surrounded himself with, she realized this office was not just a workspace. It was a fortress, a hoard of secrets guarded by a dragon in human form, his tattoos the scales that armored him against the world. And like any dragon's lair, it promised both treasure and peril, hidden among the shadows that crept too freely in the presence of the light.

"From now on, you will train and only when I deem, will you be given a mission," he said, moving his jaw back and forth. "Is that a problem for you?"

Dwayne was testing her. Trying to get Gen to argue with him. She restrained herself and managed a nod.

"And you will not try to exert your rule and only speak to me when spoken to," he stated. "How does that sound?"

"Fine," she said, sucking in a breath, feeling like she was dying inside by allowing all this.

"You will bow to my will as your leader and not create trouble, do I make myself clear?"

Gen thought she might be sick for a moment but she pushed it down and nodded. "Yes."

"Do I make myself clear?" Dwayne asked again, like he hadn't heard her reply.

"Yes," Gen repeated.

He squared off to her, looking her dead in the eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"

Sir,Emperor said clearly in her head. Yes, sir.

Gen gulped. Nodded. Pulled in a breath. "Yes, sir."

"Good, now get out of my sight and get ready for the meeting."

"Meeting?" Gen questioned, not sure what he meant.

"The council at the House of Fourteen," he replied, making his way to his desk. "They want to meet this fandangle dragonrider from the 15th century. They want to talk to this supposed Founder. But remember, that you work for me. Remember your place."

Gen simply nodded and then made her way out the door, away from the man whose nose she couldn't wait to break.