Page 74 of Gold Sector

“Based on these supposed rumors you’ve heard,” I drawl. “Yeah, I got that part.”

“No. Based on his own observations,” Riordan replies, a hint of steel coming through his tone. “He’s a Stealth Royal, Oros.”

I stop walking. “That’s a myth.” Stealth Royals are the beings Drakonians tell whelps about to make them behave.Don’t misbehave or the Stealth Royals will see you and tell everyone what you did.

A ridiculous tale about Drakonians who can vanish into thin air, then come and go at will. Basically like spirits.

“It’s not,” Riordan tells me. “It’s a rare gift, one Keegan possesses. He can prove it to you.”

I stare at him. “By what? Disappearing? Because I can do that, too.” I do it all the time when I ash to another location.

“He visited Gold Sector several times before deciding to take Tali there,” Riordan says, ignoring what I said. “And before you ask, no, he didn’t bring her with him. She doesn’t possess the same talents.”

I fold my arms. “So you’re saying he’s been spying on my sector for a while now?”

“I’m saying he visited various Drakonian territories, and a few wolf packs, too, in order to decide where to take his daughter. He’s been hunting for an ideal location for nearly five years.”

My jaw ticks. “If he was in Gold Sector, I would have sensed him.”

“Except you didn’t,” he replies. “I know it’s hard to believe, but as I said, he can prove it. He’s a Stealth Royal.”

I consider Riordan for a long moment. “All right. Let’s say I agree to believe in this myth. Why did he need to test us with his daughter?”

“It was never a test for him, Oros. It was a test for me.”

I narrow my gaze. “Elaborate.”

He sighs and runs a hand over his tight braids, the tattoos along his scalp seeming to tense in response.

“Since Jasper Sector would never accept his daughter—that part we both know is true—I told him to go to you and to report back to me on the results. He could have done it in stealth mode, but I opted to speak to him in front of you. Because I wanted you to know.”

“How kind of you,” I drawl, unable to hide my sarcasm.

His hand drops to his side. “Look, I meant it when I said I wanted to visit to firm up our alliance. What I didn’t add is that I would like to bring my sister, too. I needed to hear Keegan’s report before I could even begin to ask.”

“And now you want to request a favor,” I conclude for him. “After thoroughly pissing me off.”

“Yes.”

I huff a humorless laugh. “You have some nerve.”

“If an Omega under your care was promised to a tyrant, what would you do?” he demands. “Now imagine that Omega is your own flesh and blood.”

“Decline the request,” I suggest. That’s what I would do in his position, anyway.

“I fully intend to,” he returns without hesitation. “But my sister has it in her mind that she should be a martyr and give herself up. Which is why I need somewhere safe to hold her until this problem is resolved.”

My eyebrows lift. “You mean you want to imprison her somewhere so she doesn’t fulfill the blood vow your family engaged in with Basalt’s father.”

“Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate, just gives me a hard stare like that’s somehow going to convince me to cooperate.

I close my eyes and dig deep for the energy I seem to have displaced. All I want to do is flame everything around me. Which won’t do much since the entire cave is full of singed black rock.

“My sister is twenty-five, and she’s a little hellion princess who won’t listen to reason,” Riordan confidessoftly, obviously realizing he’ll have to try a bit harder to convince me.

I tell him without words that it’s not enough by resuming my pacing.

“I won’t let her waltz into Wes’s lair. It’s clearly a trap. And I’m fairly certain he’s the one who penned the letter, not his father. I’m not even sure if his father is still alive; no one has seen him in decades. Regardless, I can’t go confront Wes because my sister will no doubt follow, and then she’ll sacrifice herself for me.”