Byrd rumbled in anger, unwilling to back down.
Kara gave him a pointed look. “You promised.”
A sneer turned his lip.
She ran her fingers through his hair, scratching across his scalp. “Everything is fine,” she soothed him. “Give me back Noah, and I promise, if he tries to hurt us, you can eat him.”
Byrd groaned in pleasure as his eyes rolled back. “Mine,” he growled one last time before retreating and leaving Noah slumped over her, panting.
Gathering his head in her arms, she hushed him. “You’re all right.” The scales that had tried to work their way out had receded. “Just breathe. A bonded dragon is a protective dragon.”
“A bonded dragon is a grumpy dragon,” Noah snarked back.
Kara laughed but was glad to see that his color was returning to normal. “Sometimes.”
“Someone said they saw a dragon land,” the man at the door said as he stepped into the barn, “but I wasn’t expecting this.” He kept his distance as he walked over to the shelves. “You look like you have a bit of a situation on your hands.” Picking up a blanket, he turned back to face them. “Is there something I can do to help?” He shook the blanket out and held it in front of him as he approached. A warning rumbled up from Byrd, but the man ignored it as he held the blanket out for Kara to take.
“Easy,” Kara said, touching Noah’s chest. She reached out and accepted the blanket from the man.
He squatted down so he was eye level with Noah. “I’m Brigs. Is there someone I can call for you?”
Unsure how to answer, Kara turned back to Noah.
His eyes were back to brown and flashed with recognition. “Daniel. Can you get me Daniel Callaghan?”
“Aye,” Brigs said, standing up and stepping away. “But it’ll take him a minute to get here.” He paused at the door and looked back. “Who should I tell him is calling?”
“Don’t,” Noah answered.
Kara’s head jerked around to look at him, shocked that he wouldn’t answer.
“Just tell him to come alone and don’t tell anyone. Eternity’s been compromised.”
Kara turned back to look at Brigs.
He stood at the door with a serious look on his face. “I’ll find you some clothes while you wait.” With that, he turned and disappeared back through the door.
Kara’s mind reeled as she turned back to Noah. “What?” There was no way she could have heard him right.
Noah swallowed before looking down at her. “Someone at Eternity is responsible for Raven’s death.”
That was a blow she hadn’t seen coming. Kara sat in his lap, completely lost for words. Eternity was the only hope they’d had of stopping these people. What were they going to do now?
This day just keeps getting better and better. Kara cuddled into Noah’s side, trying to process the tale he was spinning. It was unbelievable that someone who’d sworn to protect dragons was out trying to kill them and harvest their dragons.
Daniel sat on the other side of the booth, quietly absorbing the information. As Noah finished, Daniel leaned back. “I see.”
Kara bristled with anger. After being given all of this damning information, all he could say was ‘I see’? Noah’s arm squeezed her against him, keeping her from blowing up.
“What are we going to do?” Noah asked.
Daniel let out a long sigh. “Well, first, we need to get you and Miss Rose somewhere safe. You obviously can’t go back to your place.”
“Yeah, about that,” Noah interrupted him.
Daniel held up his hand, stopping Noah. “I’m already on it. The fire department called me when they responded to your alarm and found a dead body. We were all very relieved to find it was not you. Laurence is going to see what he can do to save your flowers.”
Kara felt Noah go rigid.
“Did Laurence drop my keys off at Kara’s office?”
A concerned look crossed Daniel’s face. “No.”
“Then who’d you send?”
“I didn’t.” Daniel frowned. “We couldn’t find your things at Raven’s, but Laurence assured us you had spare keys at home. Your wallet, however, is still missing.”
“No, it’s not,” Kara piped up. “I have it. It was with the files you sent over yesterday.”
Daniel went very still.
Kara’s heart skipped as Noah held her tighter to his side. Something told her that Daniel was not responsible for pulling Noah’s records.
“I think it’s best if we get you both out of here.” Daniel slid out of the booth. “Now.” He went over to the bar and rapped on it. “Brigs!”
Noah stood and pulled Kara up with him. He wrapped the blanket Brigs had given them around both of them.
Standing in the curve of his arm, Kara looked out over the pub. The warm tones of the wood lit by hurricane lamps should have made the mostly empty room feel safe, but after hearing Noah’s tale, Kara’s eyes checked every corner for enemies. The only other people in the bar were two old men tucked into a corner, but they were deeply involved in a conversation and paid them no mind. But even they made Kara nervous.
“All right,” Daniel called, bringing Kara’s attention back to him. “Go with Brigs.”
Kara turned her eyes to the owner of the bar.
Noah held her in place for a moment. “Do you trust him?”
Kara’s gaze shifted between Noah and Daniel, waiting to see what the man said.
Daniel stood tall as he answered. “With the life of the King himself.”
Nodding, Noah pulled Kara into motion. “Come on.” He followed Brigs out the back door.
Swallowing hard, Kara went with him. Worry ate at her. With Eternity compromised, their only hope lay with a man neither of them knew.
Byrd brushed against her mind, calming her anxiety.
A smile turned the corners of Kara’s mouth and she leaned into Noah, trusting his judgment. If Daniel’s promise swayed Byrd, then she would join them in facing whatever was to come. It was time to let someone else worry about things for a while. Besides, she had the man at her side to worry about. Noah may have found a balance with Byrd for the moment, but they were far from what she would call stable. And she was going to enjoy exploring every detail of his dual personality, helping him through his issues, and taking her time learning all of his facets, both mental and physical.
Epilogue
Scrawling his signature on the bottom of the page, Daniel let out a deep sigh and tucked the sheet into the folder. His report was not going to make Kyle happy. He’d suspected they had traitors in their midst, but to have two discovered in such a short time was horrifying. Now that he had a written account of everything Noah had said, he was going to have to get busy searching through his ranks to see who could be trusted. But that was going to be a monumental task. Eternity employed thousands of people.
Daniel pondered his problem for a moment. The best place to start would be with the maintenance man Noah had killed. Maybe his file would give Daniel some clues as to where to search. Or maybe I should start with the bureaucrat who sabotaged the necklace. That was an idea. He was still alive, and Daniel knew about what time he’d been in the lab. He could pull the surveillance tapes and easily identify the man. There were only twenty or so governmental liaisons with access to that lab, and Noah had given a fairly good description of him.
A knock at the door drew Daniel out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Kyle standing there, waiting for him.
“My Lord.” Daniel stood up as Kyle came into the room. He froze as another man followed the king in.
“I’m here for your report on Noah Dove,” Kyle said.