The choice was never in question.

Tomas lunged for the edge of the wall, ignoring Parker’s mocking laughter.

“You made a mistake, Tomas.”

No, Parker had. And Parker would pay. Just not today.

Tomas dove hard and fast, reached out his arms, and plucked Chandra from the air.

“You caught me,” she said as she snuggled against him.

Of courssse I did. Oops, he lisped the thought at her.

“I can’t believe you chose to save me over decapitating Parker.”

He couldn’t either. This act deserved its own pedestal for outstanding awesomeness.

“What are we going to do now, though?”

Find some pants. Because not many places would let him in wearing nothing at all. But he did know of one place in San Francisco that wouldn’t bat an eye. The hotel was owned by the Silvergrace family but served any dragon with money to burn.

“I wonder what possessed Parker to come hardcore at you like that.”

Not just me. Parker had moved against both of them. Of more concern, the mangy mutt seemed to be vacillating between kill and capture. Why did Parker want Chandra?

“I wonder how many cameras have caught you.”

Too many. Way too many people would see his epically public performance, done not just in the name of survival but of her survival.

Unbelievably, Tomas had outed himself for a woman and created a media disaster of epic proportions. Being a loner didn’t mean that Tomas didn’t understand the ramifications of everything that had transpired.

No amount of money in the world could hide this or sweep it out of sight. Too many witnesses to everything.

Yet what choice did he have? Chandra was in danger, and he cared about that.

He cared.

Cared, dammit.

Cared so much about the woman in his arms, who held his heart in her hands and didn’t even realize it.

They landed on the rooftop of the Draego Spire Hotel. A man, dressed in full livery—dark pants, matching jacket, white shirt and tie—stood just off to the side of the large landing circle. He held a robe folded over one arm, slippers in the other.

Tomas alighted and set Chandra on her feet. She took a few wobbly steps before catching her balance. Under her watchful eyes, he tightly pulled in his essence, wound it, and condensed it until he was in his man shape and making those cheeks of hers turn pink.

Someone forgot to look away.

When she did think of it, she turned her whole body, and he chuckled as he padded barefoot out of the landing circle.

He took the offered robe and slippers. “Thank you.”

“If Mr. Obsidian would follow.”

“Seriously?” She snickered.

“Don’t laugh. Those of us with the dark scales have to choose a name from those already inscribed, or we can marry and take our wife’s name.”

“You didn’t marry?”

“Never plan to.”

“Must be nice.” The strange words had him frowning as he followed her into the stairwell that would take him to a lower floor. Only Silvergrace family members were allowed rooms on the top floors.

They were soon ushered into a lavish suite.

“Bring us dinner for four,” Tomas instructed their butler before shutting the door.

“Four? Expecting company?” Chandra asked from the spot she’d claimed on the couch. She looked tired and yet stunning. Her cheeks still sporting color, her eyes bright, and her hair a wild mess.

I wonder if she’d let me brush it. He’d bet it was finer than any silk he’d ever collected.

“I hope four is enough servings. I’m hungry.”

“I would have shared some of mine. I’m not all that hungry.”

“Oh, I planned to eat anything you didn’t, don’t you worry.” He grinned. “While we’re waiting, want to get naked and hit the shower?”

“Are you seriously flirting at a time like this? We were just attacked. In broad daylight.”

“Yes, that was a bold and unexpected move. I must give credit to Parker for taking me by surprise. It won’t happen again.” Tomas would be vigilant at all times now.

“What about everyone who saw what happened, though?”

“It is unfortunate. But then again, the Reds have already paved the way.”

“For you maybe. You don’t understand.” She wrung her hands. “My family will see.”

“Speaking of family. Your husband”—he made a moue of disgust—“seems to be connected with whoever is working with Parker.”

“Did you believe his story about watching over me to use me? I mean, you’d be talking about years. That’s crazy, right?”

Not for those who knew how to plan and lived longer lives than mere humans.

“World domination doesn’t happen in a day.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that what he’s after?”

Tomas shrugged. “Perhaps. But it won’t happen. And we’ll kill two birds with one stone because, by eliminating Parker, we’ll remove the threat to you.”

“By eliminate, you mean kill Parker.”

Tomas saw how it pained her to contemplate the demise of another. How did she have such a soft heart, or would a better question be, when had his gotten so hard? “I don’t have a choice. You know Parker won’t stop. He’s in too deep now.”

“I know you’re right.” She sighed and leaned her head back on the couch. “It just seems too crazy to even talk about killing people. As a doctor, I’m supposed to be in the business of saving them.”

“And you’ll go back to doing that once Parker is gone.”

She just didn’t know that she’d be working as a doctor while living with him. He’d reveal that part to her gently later. Tomas figured he’d soften the blow by letting her choose the city. He owned properties in several major ones. Being a professor and archeologist didn’t pay much, but the trust fund he’d inherited from his parents had multiplied quite well.

“How do you propose we find Parker?”

“We don’t have to. It’s pretty obvious he wants us.”

“I’ll say he wants us, but what if he no longer wants us alive and comes after us guns blazing?”

“Then, I might get a touch angry.” Hurt Chandra, and he’d truly unleash the beast.

“I saw you fighting,” she said, ducking her head. “You’re quite ferocious.”

“Why, thank you.” He liked to think he was pretty badass.

“Very scary.” She shivered.

“You have nothing to be frightened of. I would never hurt you.”

“Maybe not on purpose. But you saw what happened today. Are we even safe here? I mean, that butler didn’t even bat an eye when you landed. I thought dragons were a secret.”

“We are. Were. Even before our secret came out, though, we’ve always had safe houses in cities. Places where we can go and request aid.”

“How could we—humans—not know all this? How could the world be so blind?”

“It wasn’t. But our kind has deep pockets, and for those that could not be silenced, there were other ways.”

He saw her shiver again, and he couldn’t help but realize she’d spoken the truth when she said he frightened her. How to make her understand that he would never hurt her?

Perhaps I should start by being there for her when she’s scared.

He placed himself on the couch beside her, drawing a startled glance from Chandra.

“What are you doing?”

“Given the number of songs that mention a man being a rock of some kind, I thought perhaps I’d give it a try.”

“You want to be my rock?” She repeated it and gave him the oddest look. Then smiled. Smiled so brightly, and then tucked into him.

His arms wrapped around her, her protection against the world. Did she now begin to understand what he’d do for her? He was still coming to grips with it himself.

I’d do anything.

She sighed, the warmth of it tickling the skin under his chin. She’d anchored her head into him with a trust that needed its own place of pride in the collection.

“Are we really safe here?”

“For now.” Which really wouldn’t do them any good long-term.

Tomas wanted Parker to come to him, but the Draego Spire carried top-of-the-line defense systems. Its patrons were too rich and too important to fuck around.

“How is it, since I’ve known of your existence, and that of the other cryptozoids, that everything has gotten so violent? I mean, how did your kind ever manage to hide if this is how dragons and stuff act?”

He could understand her confusion. “This isn’t how it is supposed to be. We usually live by a strict set of rules. The primary one being, draw no attention. We have cleanup crews for minor incidences, but ultimately strive for complete anonymity.”

“You are failing at the whole anonymity part. It’s as if no one is even trying to hide anymore. Why is that? And why is Parker so determined to push it in people’s faces?”

“He’s obviously got some kind of agenda.” Tomas just couldn’t grasp what having humanity see what they were capable of, seeing their predator side, would achieve.

Shedding blood was all well and good when it was for fun and food, but Tomas wasn’t interested in starting a war with humans. Dragons might have grown in number, but humanity’s population had exploded.

“What’s our next step?” she asked.

“Get naked and shower.”

“Separately,” she added.

“Take care of some bodily needs.”

“Most definitely separately.”

The challenge practically begged for him to do something about it. But first, business. “We have to visit a lawyer.”

“For what?”

“Divorce proceedings.” Chances were she’d be a widow before long, but just in case…

“I can handle my own divorce, thank you.”

“I’m sure you can, but my lawyer will ensure you get to keep the shirt off his back and everything else.”

“Whatever. But you’re paying for it. And I get first dibs on the shower.”

Tomas allowed it, mostly because he wanted a chance to use the phone without her listening in.

He waited to hear the water running behind the closed door before accessing a secure line, although how secure it was could be debated, given that the Silvergraces ran the place.

He felt no need to temper his words to his grandmother, though. “I was attacked by a Red and some of its minions today.”

“I already saw.” His grandmother might sound calm, but he would wager she simmered. This kind of public display by her grandson wouldn’t reflect well on her.

“It was unavoidable.”

“We both know that is untrue. Had you chosen to leave the girl behind, you would not have wreaked so much havoc. Do you have any idea just how many videos of you there are?”

“How about, instead of focusing on me, we try to focus on the fact that those damned Reds had their pets attack me.”

“We have been sending in polite requests for information, asking why some of their wyvern offspring were spotted attacking my grandson. The nerve,” his grandmother muttered.

“I take it the Mauve Sept is not in agreement with the Crimson actions.”

“No one in their right mind would be okay with this. We are going to have to act.”

“You can deal with them if you like. I’m going after Parker. He’s the one who started this.”

“And what of after? We must still do something about the Crimson Sept. They must answer for their temerity.”

They needed to answer for laying a claw on Chandra. “If I align myself with the Mauve, will you wage war on my behalf?”

“Return to the family, and I will unleash our ranks with glee. About time those upstarts were taught to respect their betters.”

The shower shut off, and Tomas heard the creak of a wheeled cart in the hall—his senses were hyper-tuned since the attack. “I have to go. I’ll be in touch.”

He hung up and had their dinner arranged on the table by the time Chandra emerged from the bathroom with a cloud of steam, her hair upswept in a towel, and her body hidden by a voluminous, white, fluffy robe.

“Did you leave me any hot water?” he asked.

“No. Besides, I’d say you could use a cold shower.” She smirked as she sat down.

“A cold shower won’t solve what ails me. Only you can do that.”

The blush on her cheeks was worth the cheesy line.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Be sure to leave me some food.” Given he knew things could move quickly—especially from Chandra’s cool don’t-touch-me demeanor to kiss-me-somewhere-lower—he chose to shower now rather than regret it later.

Contrary to her claim, the water was plenty hot, and Tomas returned quick enough that she’d barely taken more than a few bites.

Chandra insisted on mealtime conversation. “That shape you changed into today, the one in between your dragon and human. What was that?”

“A glimpse of almost perfection.” It was a hybrid form that wasn’t easy to hold. It required focused intent to maintain for any period of time.

“Your idea of perfection looks just like those things you called wyverns.”

How to make a dragon indignant? “I am most certainly nothing like them.”

“You’re both lizard men with wings. Looks the same to me.”

Perhaps on the outside. “Nothing the same since wyverns cannot ascend.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, they cannot go past that shape. At all. Which is odd, given they have the same chromosome strand as a dragon. But something is missing. Modern science can’t explain what it is, and my research into the past says our ancestors also didn’t know why there was a price to pay for a mating between humans and dragons.” According to ancient texts, this wasn’t always the case.

“In other words, there is a naturally formed barrier to keep our species apart,” she mused aloud.

“Not all species, just humans and other lower creatures on the scale.”

“So dragons can procreate with other kinds of cryptozoids?”

“Yes, but it’s not encouraged, and in most cases, we are too different for it to work. But it does happen. Dragons have especially been known to have progeny with the fae, but they can become quite volatile.”

“What about shapeshifters? Werewolves and stuff?”

“Those births are rare and, when they happen, can go either way, shifter or dragon, but those who become dragon tend to be weak in power. In a few cases of a mixed mating, the children end up able to shift into griffins or manticores.”

“Those are real, too?”

“Just about everything you’ve ever heard of is. Or was. Many of the less fertile species have become extinct. It is why the Septs employ breeding protocols.”

“Breeding as in making women have babies?”

“Some Septs do. Females are expected to provide at least one heir for their family name. The more dragonlings they produce, the more they are rewarded.”

Chandra kept eating as she talked, absently putting food into her mouth, more than he’d wager she meant to. But her body needed it. He could see the gaunt hollows in her cheeks, the frailness of her wrists. She’d lost weight, too, since she’d left the aerie.

“If your family is really into baby making, how do you ensure you don’t end up with a weak line? Do you intermarry at all?”

“My grandmother could better explain the various charts kept that allow us to see who can safely mate. And there is a lot of mating that goes on outside the Sept. Alliances are made via marriage all the time. I will add, though, that certain colors mix better than others.”

“It sounds so barbaric. But, then again, as you heard, it happens even with humans. My father didn’t give me a choice when it came to marrying.”

“My family tried, so I walked away.”

“How did that go?”

A smile ghosted his lips. “Not well, as you can imagine. A dragon of the Obsidian scale is not a common thing, so my seed is in high demand.”

“So how many little Tomases are running around?”

“None.” He caught her gaze. “I don’t believe in family.” At least, he hadn’t. Then he met Chandra and was now having to start rethinking some of his positions.

“Why the breeding regime? Are you not reproducing in high enough numbers? I would have thought, as an apex predator, you wouldn’t be in danger of extinction.”

He smiled at her use of apex predator. “We are superior, and yet, our kind has adhered to strict breeding schedules for centuries now since the humans decimated our numbers. We got complacent and paid the price.” Dragons died by the hundreds, and the humans also killed the last Gold.

Or had they? His grandmother seemed pretty convinced that a Gold was about to return. A Gold who would liberate the dragons and give them the world.

Chandra held a forkful of food midair. “Are you seriously telling me itty bitty humans went against dragons and won?”

“I should note that we were much less populous in those days. Septs consisted of dozens, not hundreds of subjects. We also played many political games.” Most resulted in death. “We were low in numbers when the humans decided to come after us.”

“But they didn’t get you all, obviously.”

“Obviously, humanity did not manage to exterminate us. However, afterwards, we were few, and we hid. We had to become accustomed to living a more secluded life.” Which meant, according to his great-great-grandfather—who barely tottered down from his tower anymore—who was told by his great-times-something-grandfather that, after that dark age, there was no more braising cattle in the field and then eating them. No more raiding villages for virgins.

“Parker ruined your seclusion with his announcement.” Her next words emerged slowly, as if she thought it through as it passed her lips. “But what is the advantage of outing everyone? It makes no sense. He must be gaining something.”

“A copious amount of death threats.”

“I’m sure he had lots of those beforehand. The man is a menace to himself and society. But he’s not stupid, so why does he need you? From the looks of it, he could get all the dragon samples he wants from his red buddies.”

He didn’t explain that the color of the dragon made a difference in the power of the dragon. Instead, he had to make her realize something else. “Did it ever occur to you that it wasn’t me they were after?” Because, if there was one thing he was sure of, Ishaan hadn’t expected Tomas to show up at the apartment. Ishaan didn’t even know of Tomas, not at first. But when Ishaan later exited the bedroom with the gun, he’d known too much.

Add in the fact of the many men who ended up on that first rooftop. They didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. They were already en route, which meant they were after Chandra.

“Do you mind not squeezing me so tightly?” she squeaked.

Since he’d not realized he’d rounded the table to hug her, it took him a moment to think of a reply. “Toughen up.” He eased his grip but tightened his jaw.

Parker wanted Chandra.

He’ll have to get through me first.