Page 50 of Claimed By the Dragon
Her half-sister smiled at her, unaware that her life would change in the next few minutes.
Not that Trina knew how Nikki would take it.
The dragonwoman said, “Sorry to keep you waiting. We’re grateful for your help, and Rafe had only good things to say about you.” She put out her hand to shake. “I’m Nikki Hartley-Gray, second-in-command of Stonefire’s security.”
Trina shook and replied, “I’m Trina Lau. As I’m sure your mate told you, I work for Antony Holbrook.”
“Yes, I’m quite jealous of Rafe, honestly. I had a long recovery after the birth of our second daughter, and he got to work with Holbrook instead of me.”
The grumbly tone nearly made Trina smile.
Although the mention of the nieces she’d never met reminded her of how she needed to be honest with Nikki. And quickly.
“Yes, well, Antony is exacting but fair. And with a dragon Protector as his mate now, he’s more determined than ever to help the dragon-shifters as much as possible.”
“I’m glad he and Iris found each other. By all accounts, they could run the UK if they put their minds to it.”
Trina snorted. “Don’t tell him that, or it’ll go to his head. Antony needs a big ego to do what he does, but that doesn’t mean we should encourage him.”
Nikki gestured for her to sit. Although once Trina sat, she resisted jostling her legs under the table.
The dragonwoman studied her a second, her pupils flashing to slits and back before asking, “Why are you nervous? From what Rafe told me, you have nerves of steel.”
Trina had rehearsed what to say a million times during her drive to Stonefire. And yet, all she blurted was, “My mother was Li-Na Wu.”
Nikki blinked. “Pardon?”
“Your mother is my mother. We’re half-sisters.”
Silence stretched before Nikki replied, “She was never my mother.” She stood. “I think it's better if you work with Rafe or Kai. I’ll fetch one of them.”
Before Trina could say another word, Nikki fled the room, the door clicking quietly behind her.
Only in a handful of her imagined scenarios had she projected Nikki would welcome her with open arms. More of them had been full of rejection or resentment or hatred.
She knew only the bare bones of how their mother had been Stonefire’s first sacrifice, and how Li-Na had fled as soon after the birth as she’d been able to.
And apparently, Nikki was going to hold their mother’s actions against Trina.
Not that she’d let it interfere with her job. Nor would she give up that easily.
Nikki needed time, and Trina was patient.
And so she started to plan a new strategy of how to better know her sister if Nikki eventually wanted anything to do with her.
Chapter Sixteen
After a week of studying notes, prototypes recovered from the prison, and any records related to the dragon-shifters who hadn’t survived the brainstem implant, Trahern was close to figuring out a way to help the young, sedated dragon in the next room.
Surgery would be risky, and his last resort. However, his latest test with a recovered prototype was promising. He’d been able to disable the device with a strategically placed needle. Whether by design or not, he’d discovered the millimeter-wide weak point. If he destroyed that spot on the microchip, it would no longer be able to receive instructions or commands from the software designed by the dragon hunters.
The only unknown, which was a major one, was whether the human half could rein in the dragon side once the device was disabled.
The young dragon was one of the two surviving prisoners from the experimental facility. Since the other person was in a coma, Trahern wouldn’t be able to judge if his procedure worked or not.
However, the idea of risking the boy and getting something wrong made him uneasy.
His inner beast spoke up.Each day he grows weaker from the sedatives. If we don’t do something soon, he’ll die.