CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dylan woke up to the sound of silence. He glanced at the space beside him—Isabella’s bed—and found nothing but messy, empty sheets. The spot was cold, which meant she’d left a while ago.
Which meant he got his answer.
Although it was hard, he decided not to give her grief about it. They had shared too much last night for something so petty, and they both needed time. Hell, he needed time to figure out what this was that was going on with her. On top of that, there were still so many responsibilities he needed to get back to.
He went to Isaac first, who looked better this morning than he did last night—though that wasn’t saying much, since it was obvious the panther clan leader didn’t get any sleep. Dylan asked for a meeting with him, and when it was granted immediately, he began to explain everything again in detail—this time, leaving out nothing, not even what Isabella told him last night about how Jason found out of their kiss in the island. Isaac’s face hardened but gave nothing away, and when Dylan was done, he waited for the other to speak.
“You are welcome in this area whenever you feel the need to visit. And you may ask for my assistance in whatever help you need. But I think an official alliance is not needed at the moment.”
That was better than he expected, and Dylan held out his hand in agreement. They shook on it. Then Dylan declared it was time for them to leave and for him to take care of matters in New York.
The trip out of the area was quiet, with a guard escorting them so they wouldn’t get lost and another carrying a sleep-induced Lance with them. A private plane was provided, courtesy of Isaac, and they all climbed in and fastened their seatbelts. Robin looked a little green as she clutched her bandaged arm to her side and muttered about how she really, really disliked tiny planes.
It was safe to predict that by the end of this flight, whatever was in the witch’s stomach was going to end up right back out.
*****
New York kept him busy enough that he had no time to think of much, most especially Isabella. There were matters that Henrik wasn’t able to handle personally due to some prejudice and general distrust, so Dylan stepped up to the position right away and handled all the items in his checklist. He gave Simon and Robin their due for a mission well done, and ordered them to take lots of rest indefinitely until he called for them again.
When he wasn’t busy dealing with internal conflicts and general decision making aspects, he busied himself with training—something he hadn’t really done in quite a while. There weren’t many shifters who matched his strength in human form, but Henrik was one of them, and so they sparred whenever the dragon shifter was in town without the other asking any unwelcome questions. When Simon was well enough a day later, he requested to join in and was immediately pummeled to the ground. But he got up, again and again, accepting all criticism that was thrown his way more determined than ever.
When Dylan finally excused him and told him to get his limp checked by their resident nurse Annie, Henrik watched his back quietly until he disappeared from sight. They both rested on their feet, not quite yet done with their spar.
“What happened back there?” Henrik finally asked, his tone casual and careful.
Dylan shook his head. “Tonight. I’m calling a meeting for all the clan leaders. I want you all to know.”
Henrik nodded, not probing. He went into position, and Dylan followed.
Then they continued sparring.
*****
Lance woke up two days later as predicted, since Robin didn’t want to take any chances and placed the heaviest sleep potion on him. He’d been placed in a dungeon the whole time, and Dylan visited him once to check up on his condition. Now, he stood again outside the cell bars and watched his half-brother spew bitterness at him about how he should have been leader but wasn’t, hence he needed to make himself powerful in another place and time.
It reminded Dylan so much of Jason’s own bitterness towards Isaac’s leadership, though he’d been less vocal about that. It also made him question himself, if there was something he could have done to prevent his brother from turning to the dark side.
Thirty minutes later, Lance’s spewing turned to pleading. Then, more hate and curses aimed in Dylan’s direction. He realized that his brother was beyond help in this state, and so he decided not to say anything. He turned back around, prepared to leave as silently as he came.
Until Lance stopped him with a few words.
“There are other islands.”
Slowly, Dylan turned back around, his expression and tone deadly calm. “Other islands?”
A gleam entered Lance’s eyes, as if he knew Dylan had already taken the bait. He shrugged, voice turning sly.
“I will tell you all about it—all you need to know. Of course, you’re going to have to release me first and promise you wouldn’t—”
Dylan was on him in an instant. Before he could even consider it or think about it as he usually did, his hand shot out and grabbed the other by the throat. He did not hold back, choking his brother until the man was gray in the face and clawing at the cell bars desperately.
“You will tell me everything,” Dylan said. It wasn’t a request. “And you will hold nothing back.”
Silence, except for the choking noises. Dylan squeezed harder until Lance’s eyes bulged out and his body thrashed. He nodded his head, and Dylan lifted him up and away from the ground.
Then Dylan threw him to the corner of the cell, where he hit the stone with a loud bang.
Lance wheezed for breath, noisily gulping in air. He looked at Dylan with fear in his eyes and began to spill out everything until Dylan’s own throat was coated in horror, though he didn’t show it.
When Lance was done, Dylan turned back around and walked away from the cell and up towards the stairs leading to the dungeon’s exit. A clanging sound followed him, along with Lance’s voice.
“You’re going to leave me here? I’m your brother!”
Dylan ignored him.
Lance kept screaming. “I’m your brother!”
No, he wasn’t.
From this point forward, Dylan no longer had a brother.
*****
The leaders were opposed to Dylan going back to Brazil to take care of matters himself, saying that they had men for that and his role was here. Mostly, they were concerned about his safety, because his death would cause an uproar not just in the shifter community, but in their fragile alliances with other supernatural beings as well.
But he wasn’t having it. He discussed the terms and countered every argument, using ruthless logic until everyone was basically shocked speechless at his tenacity in the matter.
When he asked a final time if there were any protests to his decision, no one contradicted. Satisfied with the results, he adjourned the meeting and walked off towards his office, where he had two people waiting.
Simon and Robin trailed off from their soft conversation when he opened the door and stood up. He indicated for them to sit back down and stood in front of his desk, placing his palms on the wood and leaning forward.
“I need to go back to Brazil and meet with the panther clan leader again. Are you guys up for it?”
“What are we doing there?” Simon asked.
They both listened in silence—then, outrage—as he told them what he knew. Simon’s eyes flared and Robin’s expression closed off, though there were too many emotions swimming under it.
“I’m going,” Simon replied the moment Dylan finished.
“Me, too,” Robin piped up firmly.
“Are we the only ones going?” Simon asked.
Dylan shook his head. “Henrik is checking with Charlie to see if he’s available. We might need a dragon scout in the sky for this mission.”
If Isaac allowed it. But Isaac owed him a favor at this point, so he was going to cash in on it.
They prepared. Three hours later, they met up at the portal point with Charlie Takeshi, who was briefed of the situation.
Then they were off. They had no means to communicate with the panther clan technology, because that place had none—Isaac liked keeping things natural. Dylan hoped Isabella would be there, and would be the first face he saw. Just a glimpse would be enough—for now.
And he hoped to hell they weren’t too late for those children.