Chapter 41
“H oney!” Leonie practically pounced on her, blocking the path to the central square. “You have to get out of here. Lord Golden—”
“I know,” Honey interrupted, panting for breath. “I saw the dragon. Is he at the office?”
“I assume so. I didn’t stick around to wait for him to land.” Leonie gestured at the gaggle of wide-eyed kids clustered behind her, whispering to each other. “As soon as he came into sight, I thought it best to clear the area.”
“Stay with Leonie,” Honey told her own pack. “I’ll take care of this. Leonie, have you seen Buck?”
“No, but Honey, you can’t let Golden see you!” Leonie grabbed her arm as she tried to push past. “We don’t know why he’s here. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
“It’s not,” Honey said grimly. She shook Leonie off. “I have to go. Watch the kids for me. And if you see Buck, tell him what’s going on.”
Without waiting for a response, she broke back into a run, hurrying toward the heart of the camp. Even before she got within sight of the office building, she could hear a cutting, imperious voice, raised in anger.
“No, I will not step inside!”
She would have known him just from the voice, even if she hadn’t seen the dragon. Every word rang with arrogant command. Ignatius’s carefully practiced haughtiness was just a pale shadow in comparison.
Lord Golden stood in the center of the square, glaring at Zephyr as though the director was a parking valet who’d just dented his car.
The dragon shifter had clearly been in a hurry to get here.
His broad chest heaved underneath his undone suit jacket, and his bright blond hair was a windswept mess.
Zephyr, in comparison, was at his most calm. “Lord Golden, I really think this would be best discussed in private.”
“You are not required to think. You are merely required to obey.” Golden caught sight of Honey, and his ice-blue eyes narrowed. “You! Come here at once.”
Without conscious volition, Honey found herself walking forward. Golden studied her for a moment, his mouth tightening.
“Is this her?” he asked Zephyr.
An infinitesimal flicker of alarm crossed Zephyr’s face, quickly quashed. “I’m not sure what you mean, Lord Golden. Perhaps you could explain why you are here?”
Golden ignored this, still scrutinizing Honey. “Yes, you match my nephew’s description. You must be the one. Speak, woman. Explain yourself.”
The dragon shifter’s stare pinner her like a physical weight. Honey had a sudden, desperate urge to cower and confess everything. This man might look human, but she could see the truth behind that coldly handsome face. He was an apex predator, and she was…
Honey. Buck’s voice in her memory, rough with need. The way he’d looked at her, like she was a goddess come to earth. His hands skimming her curves with reverent awe.
She drew on all those memories now, letting them fill her with strength. She lifted her chin, looking the dragon straight in the eye.
“I’m Honey,” she said, and her voice came out firm and confident. “I’m one of Ignatius’s counselors. Or I was. Is there a problem?”
“That remains to be seen.” Golden snapped his fingers at Zephyr. “Fetch my nephew. I must speak with him.”
Zephyr’s jaw tightened, but he dipped his head in a nod.
He must have been in telepathic communication with Conleth the whole time, because a moment later the pegasus shifter appeared around the corner of the dining hall, one hand clamped over Ignatius’s shoulder.
Honey guessed he’d been trying to keep the boy out of sight.
The moment Ignatius saw his uncle, he twitched free from Conleth’s grip. He drew himself up in a startlingly accurate imitation of Lord Golden’s posture. Honey hadn’t seen that particular cold, aloof expression on his face for quite a while.
“Uncle.” Ignatius inclined his head, as though they were all at some formal gathering. “You got my message. Thank you for coming at such short notice.”
“You are my heir. You are always my first priority.” Golden gestured at Honey. “This is the one?”
“Yes, Uncle.” Ignatius was standing very straight, but Honey could see the tense desperation under the boy’s poise. “But can we discuss this in private?”
“I taught you better than that. Dominance is best established in public, for all to see.” Golden eyed the otherwise empty square with mild irritation, as though annoyed by the lack of a respectful crowd. “You, man in charge. My nephew tells me you fired this woman.”
Zephyr’s eyes flicked to Honey. “Ah… that is something of a simplification.”
“We were forced to let her go.” Conleth’s voice, always urbane, was now smooth enough to ski down. “Under regrettable circumstances. But there is no need for concern. I assure you we have a very suitable replacement arriving soon.”
“I don’t want a replacement!” Ignatius said. “I want Honey. Tell them she has to stay, Uncle.”
Lord Golden doesn’t know. A giddy wave of relief swept over her. Ignatius must have worked out the real reason she was leaving, but he hadn’t told his uncle. This wasn’t yet a complete disaster.
Golden looked at Honey again, the slightest crease appearing in his brow. “I do not see why you are so insistent on this, Ignatius. She may be a moderately powerful alpha, but she is clearly not a dragon. What makes her special?”
“She just is,” Ignatius said stubbornly. “I want her to stay, and a dragon always fights for what he wants. You told me that.”
“I was referring to treasure.” Lord Golden let out a short sigh of irritation. “But I acknowledge the principle. You all heard my heir. The woman stays.”
She could stay. Without fear of discovery now, because Golden didn’t strike her as the sort of man who would ever admit to making a mistake.
Having insisted that she stayed, he wouldn’t then turn around and demand that she left, even if he did somehow discover her secret.
She could stay out the summer, with the kids, and…
Buck.
And when fall came, nothing would have changed.
“I’m sorry, Lord Golden,” she said. “But I have to go.”
Zephyr cleared his throat. “Honey, if our generous patron insists…”
“No, Zephyr.” She turned to Ignatius. “Thank you for trying, Ig. But I can’t stay. It’s just not possible.”
“I’ll make it possible.” Ignatius swallowed hard. “Uncle, they fired her because—”
“Ignatius, no,” Honey said, simultaneous with Zephyr’s, “Ignatius, you don't understand.”
Ignatius lifted his voice, shouting over all attempts to drown him out. “Because she’s not a shifter!”
“Well, that’s torn it,” Conleth muttered, in the ringing silence that followed.
Golden stared from his nephew to Honey in outraged disbelief. “Is this true?”
“It was an accident,” she said quickly, scrabbling for any way to repair the damage. “They didn’t know when they hired me. It took me a while to figure out the misunderstanding, and when I did, I didn’t dare tell anyone that I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“The full picture only emerged yesterday,” Conleth said, which Honey supposed was technically true. “Of course we took immediate action.”
Golden showed no sign that he was listening to any of them. All his attention was fixed on Ignatius.
“ This is the reason you dragged me out here?” Golden demanded. “For a human? ”
Ignatius flinched, dropping his gaze. He nodded.
Golden shook his head, lip curling in disgust. “This is ridiculous. I sent you here to learn from a strong alpha, someone who would finally trigger your dormant dragon. Not to be contaminated by lesser minds. The human goes. Now. ”
Ignatius whispered, “Then so do I.”
“This is not up for discussion, Ignatius!” Golden swept his nephew with a glare.
“And you are not going anywhere. For all its faults, this camp is still the best place for you to learn to shift. You will spend the rest of the summer sincerely applying yourself to finding your dragon, or I will be very disappointed in you.”
“If Honey goes, then so do I,” Ignatius repeated. He’d gone white as a ghost, but he lifted his chin, looking his uncle in the eye. “I have to. Because—because—”
And looking at that pale, scared young face, Honey finally understood.
She went to him, enfolding him in her arms before he could force the words out. She hugged him close, feeling the way his thin body was shaking.
“Don’t,” she whispered in his ear. “Not like this. Not for me. But thank you.”
“Unhand my heir, human!” Lord Golden wrenched them apart. He shoved her away, so hard that she stumbled, off-balance. “Enough of this farce. I will personally—”
What Lord Golden would personally do, she never had the chance to find out. With a deafening thunderclap, a searing bolt of light struck the ground, blasting the dragon shifter off his feet. Honey instinctively grabbed Ignatius again, shielding the boy with her own body.
The eye-searing light faded. The stormwolf crouched in a ring of scorched earth, teeth bared, wings bright with leashed lightning.
And then it was gone. Buck stood there instead, fully dressed, energy crackling around his arms.
“Hmm.” He shook out his hands, scattering sparks. “Going to have to work on that. Don’t always need to make quite such a dramatic entrance.”
“Indeed,” Zephyr said from the ground, sounding slightly pained.
“Sorry. I’d offer you a hand up, but I think that would be a bad idea right now.” Buck looked round at Honey, electricity still dancing across his knuckles. “You all right?”
Dumbfounded, all she could think to say was, “You’re wearing pants.”
He glanced casually down at his jeans. “Huh. So I am. Told you my animal was just screwing with me. Motherlover could have taken my clothes along the whole time. Someone want to tell me what he’s doing here?”
Buck’s lightning blast had thrown Lord Golden against the outside wall of the office. The dragon shifter stirred, groaning.
“Uncle!” Ignatius exclaimed. He wriggled out of Honey’s hands, hurrying over. “Are you okay?”
Golden waved the boy off. He clambered groggily back to his feet, his white dress shirt now marred by scorch marks.