It didn’t take the bond between them for Aimi to notice the conversation between Brand and his sister went poorly. Brand went from overjoyed at seeing her to shocked and then angry.

Time to save him before he did something he would regret. But at least he’d seen for himself what Adi had discovered.

“The girl’s not a prisoner,” her twin had stated during her phone call while he’d showered at the hotel.

“Not an obvious one, of course. Brand says the uncle is holding her hostage for good behavior. She’s probably too terrified to leave.”

“So terrified she’s been out shopping all over Beverly Hills.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

But the more Adi revealed—Sue-Ellen’s car, a zippy red convertible that she liked to race according to speeding tickets, and the clubs she went partying at until the wee hours—it didn’t surprise Aimi when Sue-Ellen pulled away from her brother and gave him her back.

Through their bond, she felt the betrayal, and she wanted to soothe him. She knew he’d have to learn about his sister’s defection to Parker’s side himself. He would have never believed it otherwise.

Mission accomplished. Time to leave, and fuck the possible gold egg or dragon Parker might have. Right now, Brand was more important. Let the others scout out the possible gold. She already had hers.

She weaved through the crowd, looking to make her way to his side, only to find her arm caught in an iron grasp.

She turned her head to see a man with silver temples held her. “If it isn’t Uncle Theo.”

“And you must be Zahra’s daughter, Aimi. I was told you were attending, and with my nephew. Such a pleasure to meet you, especially since you found the missing boy.”

“No thanks to you. I know what you did.”

“What I did? You make it sound like I did something wrong, and yet, all I’ve ever done is try to better my family’s lot in life, and what does my ungrateful nephew do? He turns against me and shacks up with a dragon.”

“Shhh.” His blatant words brought on a panic instilled by years of hiding. “What do you think you’re doing?” Did he not know how the game was played in public?

“We are having a conversation. Would you prefer we conduct it somewhere more private?”

Yes. Because then she could do what she’d warned Brand not to; punch Parker in the face. She allowed Parker to lead her away from the busy ballroom area down a hall into a quiet section of the house. The room they entered had to be his office, or so the giant desk seemed to indicate.

Out of the sight of curious eyes, she wrenched free from Parker and put a few feet between them. “I don’t know what you think you are doing, but it is going to stop. We know you are holding a gold prisoner.”

“Not just a gold,” Parker advised with a smirk.

“You’ve got more dragons?” The very idea flustered her. What to reply; especially since he didn’t seem the least bit repentant or worried about telling her?

“I’ve got many things in my labs.” Said with a hint of smugness.

“Release them at once. We won’t stand for you playing games with our kind.”

“Demands? You’re not in a position to make demands of me, little girl. I hold all the cards. You seem to forget that I know your secret.”

“A secret you’d better not divulge. Or else.” She narrowed her eyes in clear threat.

“Or else what? You seem to think you can threaten me, and yet, I find myself very ambivalent about it. One of the things I’ve learned is, while many threaten, few have the balls to follow through. You can say whatever you like. I really don’t care.” Parker trailed his fingers over the desktop as he circled it. He dropped into the leather chair behind it and tucked his hands over his belly.

If her mother had taught her one thing growing up, it was to never concede that someone had influence over you. The moment a person did that, they lost their bargaining power. “You should care, because once I tell Mother you’re holding our kind prisoner, chances are there won’t be any remains left.” Actually, Aimi should change shapes right now and incinerate him herself. Two problems with that scenario; one: possible discovery by roaming guests or staff, not to mention recording devices. And second, she wasn’t sure if her gift had regenerated enough to work.

“There will be no retaliation or attacks on me or any of my establishments because if you do, then your secret comes out.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“You. Your family. All the dragon Septs, actually. Anyone who isn’t human should heed me. The rights I am fighting for will benefit us all. Therefore, it’s only fair you support the cause, willingly or not.”

“You made the choice to out the shifters.”

“Dragons are shifters, too.”

“We want no part in your rebellion.” The right thing to say but a small part of her couldn’t help but admire the Cryptozoids’ ability to escape the shadows. I covet their freedom. Even if it came with a price in blood. It should be noted there were few moments in history where major change happened that didn’t involve a little war and mayhem.

Was Parker’s vision truly that bad? For the first time since their ignoble defeat, the dragons could think of reentering the world scene, and all because Parker had paved the way.

But her opinion was hers alone. The Septs should be the one to make the choice, not Aimi, and most definitely not Parker.

A sneer twisted his lips. “You think your kind is so high and mighty with your power and money. But you’re cowards. A dying breed. Undeserving of what you have. Just because you don’t know how to make full use of your might doesn’t mean others can’t. You’ve seen what I can do.”

“You mean what science can do.”

At this, his expression turned sly. “You’re speaking of my nephew. I am sure my scientists will be quite interested in learning how Brandon managed to change his shape. He’s the first, you know. A shining example some would say of the Mercers’ solid genes.”

“You experimented on him. Your own family. Spliced him with a dragon.”

“And if I did? Science must sometimes sacrifice a few for the greater good. But in this case, shouldn’t you thank me? I hear you came to the party together. A dragoness about to hit her prime and a male, unclaimed. Have you not seen the possibilities yet? I am aware of how few males you spawn each generation. It’s a struggle to maintain the family lines, and I know you’ve had to rely on science these past few decades to ensure you don’t completely die out. What if a fresh stash of males suddenly came onto the scene?”

Artificial insemination and fertility treatments were a boon to the dragons. But it had also introduced the twenty-eight rule. “Are you trying to tell me you’re going to sell male dragons to us?”

“If the price is right, but I think more profit can be made simply by using the males my labs create as breeding stock.”

“We are not cattle.”

“And yet your own rules have turned you into brood mares. How long before you carry some random fetus, a baby or two to continue your line?” Because even the women who couldn’t find a mate needed to produce an heir. It was the rule of the Septs.

“I have a mate.”

“For now. Did Brandon tell you what happened to the other patients who received the same DNA splice?” The wide smile much resembled that of the wolf before he ate the little girl in the red cape. “The others all went a little loco. It wasn’t pretty. So many bodies to hide.”

“You’re sick. You sit here bragging about your exploits, are proud you experimented on people against their will. Your own family even. It’s wrong. You can’t use Cryptozoids as test subjects, and you most certainly won’t get away with keeping dragons captive for your experiments.”

“But I already have.” His brow arched. “And I’m not done collecting them yet. It’s like a game of Pokémon Go. Can I collect them all? How many color Septs are there? There’s silver like you, then the reds, of which there are many shades, the blues, and greens. Mustn’t forget the blacks and the whites with the shades of gray, too. Oh, and gold.”

“So you do admit you have a gold dragon.”

“I never denied it. Would you like to meet him?”

The jaws of the trap loomed all around her, and Aimi realized just how badly she’d miscalculated. For some reason, she’d expected Parker to abide by a set of rules, civilized guidelines, but there was nothing civilized about the creature in front of her. He was evil, through and through. His ends did not justify the means.

He has to die.

She flung herself at him, knowing she couldn’t fully transform but having strength enough to pull forth the opal claws with their razor-sharp tips.

Parker proved fast, much faster than expected. The gun rose from where he’d kept it hidden under his desk, and he shot her at point-blank range.

She had only time for a mental yell, “It’s a trap. Run!” before everything went dark.