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Chapter Four

E verything hurt, but her wing worst of all. That was the first thought that went through Iris’s mind as she started to regain consciousness.

Opening her eyes was hard, but eventually she lifted her eyelids. She was still in her dragon form, but the giant room, mostly empty except for the big bed she lay on, was foreign.

Slowly, she looked around at three bare walls and one made of clear glass, and she struggled to her feet.

Where are we?

Her beast replied, I don’t know. But if someone doesn’t stop the constant beeping of that bloody machine, I’m going to hit it across the room with my tail.

Iris had seen something like it before, whenever a dragon was hurt back on Lochguard. However, this most definitely wasn’t Lochguard. At home, injured dragons recovered in big tents that were constructed around them. There certainly wasn’t a room like this one.

As she wondered if she’d been captured by the dragon hunters, a human male walked in front of the glass.

And not just any human, but Antony Holbrook.

For a split second, pain raced through her, but of the emotional variety—hurt, anger, confusion, and even failure. She’d almost trusted him, her gut had said to trust him, and yet he’d brought her to this strange place.

He might have even developed the gas that had made her crash and fall unconscious.

After pressing something to the side of the window, his voice echoed in the room. “Stop looking at me as if I kicked your puppy, Iris. My people were watching the site and saw you crash. We brought you here to recover.”

She wanted to believe him, wanted to demand more information, and yet she couldn’t shift back to a human until she’d healed more.

As if reading her thoughts, Antony spoke again. “If you won’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe her.”

A dragonwoman with brown hair, pale skin, and a single scar on her cheek walked in front of the glass. She was a doctor from Clan Skyhunter who’d come several times to visit Aimee King—a Skyhunter dragonwoman staying on Lochguard. But even so, Iris didn’t know Dr. Scarlett Turner very well.

The dragonwoman glanced at Antony and then looked back at Iris. She held up something like a walkie-talkie to her face and her southern English accent filled the room. “Seeing as you interviewed me on my first visit to Lochguard, I hope you remember me. But I’m Dr. Scarlett Turner, from Skyhunter.”

Iris grunted, hoping the dragonwoman understood her question: Where am I?

Scarlett replied, “You’re in quarantine, near London. And since I’ve been helping Mr. Holbrook with other dragon medical matters, he called in a favor to get me to help you.”

As Scarlett’s pupils flashed, Iris’s dragon spoke up. I believe her.

So easily? You know she was imprisoned and tortured by Skyhunter’s former leader. No doubt she’s a master at hiding her emotions.

Maybe. But Aimee trusts her. And that speaks volumes.

While the former Skyhunter leader had imprisoned anyone who’d challenged his orders, he’d hurt some of his clan members more than others. Aimee had been young, so very young, when she’d been imprisoned and tortured. And for months after arriving on Lochguard, she’d stayed inside her cottage and never talked.

With time, between Arabella’s help—she’d suffered her own torture as a teen under the dragon hunters—and a burgeoning friendship with Connor MacAllister, Aimee had slowly come out of her shell.

So for Aimee to trust Scarlett meant Iris wouldn’t completely disregard the dragonwoman. At least, not yet.

The doctor spoke again. “And one more thing before I go. I’ve been developing a prototype that will translate your thoughts whilst in your dragon form into a voice. It’s had some glitches, but I think I’ve fixed most of them. If you’re interested, I’ll get it ready. So either nod or shake your head.”

Iris blinked. One of the biggest weaknesses of a dragon-shifter being in their dragon forms was the inability to speak.

Her beast said, Then we should try it. It could help us in our fight against the dragon hunters. Just imagine how much time it’d save us, too, from always having to shift to give commands or rely on wing signals.

She eyed the Skyhunter doctor. But despite her best stare down, the other female never looked away or blinked.

Iris finally nodded, and the doctor spoke up again. “Brilliant. The next time I suit up and check your injuries, we can attach it to your temples. Give me a few hours to make some last-minute adjustments with my team, and I’ll be back.”

With that, she walked out of Iris’s sight.

Antony still stood in front of the glass, and his lips twitched as he said, “Dr. Turner isn’t my biggest fan, I’m afraid. She thinks I could’ve single-handedly saved her and the others on Skyhunter much sooner. However, it wasn’t that simple.”

Why not? She wanted to ask.

Antony continued talking, as if she’d spoken. “You’ll find out that answer, and more, once you heal, my dear. For now, I just wanted to see that you were indeed awake. Because for a while there, we weren’t sure if you’d survive or not. Another thirty seconds of that gas, and you wouldn’t be here.” He leaned closer to the glass. “What the bloody hell were you thinking, Iris? Going straight to the site without a word or checking in with me. You could’ve died.”

She growled. So much for Antony trusting and believing her. He was just another male who thought a female couldn’t handle herself in dangerous situations.

Her dragon sighed. I don’t think that’s it.

Then what?

I think he was worried about us. He might even care a wee bit.

She mentally snorted. Stop trying to romanticize things, dragon.

Before her beast could reply, Antony’s voice filled the room again. “As much as some men love to have one-sided conversations, I’m not one of them. I’ll be back to see you after Dr. Turner tests the prototype. Because otherwise, it could be days before you can shift back into your human form. And I’d very much like to discuss a few things with you.”

She studied the human. But his face had the usual cocky-and-nearly-amused expression he almost always had with her. The only time she’d seen him drop it was with his brother, Max.

Or the very brief flash of anger when he’d mentioned her dying.

Her dragon spoke up. I think he likes us.

Before she could reply to her beast, Antony turned and walked out of her sight. Iris wanted to roar and scream. He and Scarlett had told her almost nothing. And now she’d have to sit on her arse or sleep so her body could heal.

And she bloody well hated being idle for so long.

Her dragon spoke up. Sleep. We need to heal, and whilst you might fight it, I know how exhausted we are.

Fine. But let’s hope that prototype works, because I’ll go mad if I can’t get some answers soon.

After turning a few circles on the large bed, she finally curled into a ball and closed her eyes. And as she drifted off, some music played over the speakers. Although how the people running the facility knew one of her favorite bands, she had no idea.

Antony tried to distract himself with paperwork.

But every time he tried to write something, his mind drifted back to seeing Iris in her dragon form, unconscious, her wing bone poking out of her skin. His stomach had dropped, and flashbacks to Lisa’s death had nearly overwhelmed him.

Which was ridiculous, since he barely knew Iris Mahajan. Yes, he liked to tease her. And she was fucking clever, beautiful, and a bloody good tracker.

And yet, for a split second, when he’d thought she was dead, his heart had twisted.

You’re getting too close, Holbrook. You need to put distance between you, more than before, or Iris will pay the price.

At least he’d called in some favors to get her to this facility. Once she healed and returned to Scotland, he’d find a way to avoid her as much as possible.

He’d just attempted to answer the same question for the eighth time when a member of his team, Joseph Doyle, walked through his office door.

The tall dragonman with pale skin, blond hair, and green eyes never smiled unless he was on a job. But he was one of Antony’s best team members, someone who could get information from just about anyone. And all without harsh tactics.

How, he’d never know. Maybe he just stared them down.

Antony abandoned his paperwork and asked, “What do you want, Joseph?”

The man’s Northern Irish accent filled the room. “They’ve finished analyzing that substance you found. It’s a diluted neurotoxin, one that only affects dragon-shifters and not humans.”

“Fuck. It’s like we thought, then. Someone has started using bioweapons.”

Joseph sat in the chair in front of Antony’s desk. “The scientists are still trying to find any kind of signature to hint at who made it. But they won’t be able to do it without help. I want to investigate, but I need your okay to do it alone.”

“No. You have a partner, and per protocol, you go together.”

The other man crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s human and only slows me down.”

Antony raised an eyebrow. “As am I. But who was it that kicked your arse when you tried to attack me, back when you were a teenager and full of far too much anger?”

Joseph grunted. “That was different. You were younger, and I was weaker.”

“Ah, so I’m an old pensioner now,” he drawled. “Good to know.”

“Antony,” he growled.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get back to the point—Gavin Edwards is one of the best spies in the United Kingdom. He can get in and out of places we can only imagine. Besides, if you’re investigating a drug that can kill dragon-shifters, then it might be a good idea to have a human around to save you, if you’re exposed.”

The dragonman grunted again, and Antony resisted rolling his eyes. Sometimes, managing a human-dragon team of highly skilled but socially awkward or stunted individuals was challenging. Of course, living on the edge of society would change anyone.

As he well knew.

Antony leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. “Take Gavin with you for this investigation, and I’ll reconsider approving your transfer to Northern Ireland.”

“Really? You’d let me leave?”

“I don’t want to lose you, and I think you’ll find I’m easier to work with than my Northern Irish counterpart. But yes, I will put in the transfer myself, once we’ve finished the case of the missing dragon-shifters. But that means working with your partner and not against him.”

Antony didn’t know all the details about why Joseph wanted to return to Northern Ireland, although he suspected he’d met his true mate on an assignment over there over a year ago. While the dragonman hadn’t said anything specific, Antony had his sources.

Joseph nodded. “Fine, I’ll do as you ask. But you’d better follow through, Antony. Or I can bloody well drag my feet in the future, if you renege.”

“Right, understood. Now, go find Gavin and let me know when you’re heading out.”

The dragonman stood. “You’ll hear from me as soon as I learn anything.”

With that, Joseph strode out of Antony’s office. He was just about to try doing some work again when Dr. Turner sent him a text message. Apparently, she was ready to try out the prototype with Iris.

As he made his way to the quarantine area, he imagined Iris’s first words. She’d probably scold him, and for some reason, that made him smile.