“It was your grandpa’s idea,” the dragon hunter continued. “I needed to talk to you and you’d blocked me from your mind. But your grandfather knew you wouldn’t be able to resist logging into your precious game.” He walked over and joined Stegosaurus in his dance.
“He knows me too well,” she said with a groan. She wondered where he was now—was he still inside Dracken Headquarters? She glanced at the door, both longingly and fearfully. A part of her wanted to see him so badly, but the other was afraid of what he’d do. He’d obviously seen Emmy in the courtyard. He knew she’d hatched. And if Caleb and the Dracken were to be believed, that meant he was here for one thing and one thing only.
“Why are you here, Connor?” she asked, deciding there was no time to be coy. “What do you want from me?”
Connor’s knight stopped dancing. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb,” she snapped. “I know all about your little mission to save the world. Specifically the part where you were planning to kill me if things didn’t go your way.”
“Wait, what?” her grandpa broke in. “What are you talking about? Connor’s there to rescue you, not kill you.”
“He probably told you that, Grandpa, but that was never his true mission,” she said in a flat voice. “Was it, Connor?”
She waited for him to deny it. To tell her that Caleb had been lying. That he’d made it all up just to get her on his side. But Connor only sighed deeply. “Yes,” he said at last. “That was my mission.”
She glared at the screen—at his avatar—wanting to be furious, but instead feeling only hurt and betrayal clawing at her insides. “You kissed me,” she seethed. “You made me think we were on the same team. I trusted you. I saved your life from those government agents. And the whole time you were just leading me on! To get me to trust you so you could cut me down when the time was right.”
“It wasn’t like that!”
“Then what was it like?” she demanded. “I think I deserve to know the truth.”
“You’d better start talking,” her grandpa added, the level one barbarian stepping in front of the knight, his massive arms crossing over his beefy chest. “Now.”
The knight nodded, sinking down onto a nearby bench. “You have to understand,” he began in a low voice. “When I first got my orders, I didn’t know anything about you except what I’d learned at the academy. They taught us you were evil, that you’d set dragons on the world. They told us you were the one responsible for all the destruction. For millions of deaths.” She could hear his hard swallow in her ears. “For my father’s death.”
Trinity cringed. In all her self-righteous anger, she’d conveniently forgotten about her future self’s role in this whole mess. She, with the help of her Dracken friends, had inadvertently released monsters upon the world, destroying everything Connor loved. She supposed she could understand why he might be a little reluctant to confide in her.
But still…
“It’s a bit harsh to judge me for something I haven’t even done yet,” she pointed out, “something that I might not even do.”
“You’re right,” he said simply. “You’re absolutely right. And when I finally did meet you—when I started to get to know who you were—I realized the history texts had to be wrong. You weren’t some cold, world-destroying monster. You were just an innocent girl who had no idea of the situation she was about to be put into.” He sighed. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to know I might have to kill you to save the world, all while you’re trying to help me figure out a way to do it?” He paused, then added, “Let’s just say suddenly things didn’t seem so black and white anymore.”
Trinity twisted her mother’s ring. “I guess I know what you mean,” she admitted. “It was kind of the same—once I met Emmy.” She remembered how much she wanted to destroy the egg when she’d first learned of what it was capable of. To snuff out Emmy’s life force before she even had the chance to be born. It was inconceivable to think of now. And maybe Connor felt the same way about her.
“It doesn’t help that I’ve had to spend the last week sharing hotel rooms with this old guy,” Connor added, his character tossing his head toward the barbarian. “Having to hear how amazing you are. How smart and dedicated and loyal you are. How hard you work every day to keep him and his museum afloat. Blah, blah, blah.”
“Well, it’s true!” Grandpa blustered over the headphones. “I owe this little girl everything.”
Trinity stared at the screen, tears welling in her eyes. All this time she’d assumed her guardian had been too wrapped up in his own fantasy world to recognize any of the work she’d put in behind the scenes. But he’d noticed. He’d been paying attention all along. A choking sound escaped her throat.
“I love you, Grandpa,” she whispered, then repeated it louder so he could hear.
“I love you too, sweetheart,” he said. “And I’m not going to let anyone touch a hair on your pretty little head.” He huffed. “I am Stegg the Barbarian after all!” His character beat his chest and roared.
She laughed. “Yes. Very frightening.” Then she sobered. “So what’s the deal, Connor? You still haven’t told us what you plan to do.”
She heard his deep sigh over the headphones. “I honestly don’t know,” he said. “The thought of allowing dragons to exist in the world terrifies me more than you could ever know. But at the same time, how can I go and mercilessly cut someone down in cold blood who has done nothing wrong?” He paused, then added, “And not just someone. You.”
His breath hitched and Trinity felt her heart beat a little faster. She suddenly wished she wasn’t in the game but right in front of Connor in real life, so she could look into his eyes and see the truth that she so desperately wanted to see.
“I always prided myself on following orders,” he continued in a rush, “never questioning what they told me to do. But what if they were wrong? What if there is another way? Should I blindly stumble on because some people from an alternate future once told me to?” He cleared his throat. “I can’t. I just can’t. Maybe that makes me a terrible soldier. Maybe they should have never sent me here in the first place. But I’m here now. And I think it’s time to start making my own rules. Find a way to make this all work—where no one innocent has to die.”
His words were passionate, his tone fierce, sending chills down Trinity’s spine. Did he really mean what he said? Could they really have a chance? “What about Emmy?”
“Well, I’m not likely to let her sleep at the foot of my bed or lick my face anytime soon,” he said dryly, “but I’m willing to give her a chance. Most historians claim it was the hybrids that caused all the trouble. If this is true, then it should be okay for Emmy to exist—as long as we can get her away from the Dracken.”
“But wait,” Trinity hesitated. “Can’t the Dracken help us? They’ve got everything you’d need to raise a dragon here, not to mention a good hiding spot.”
Silence fell over her headphones. “What?” she demanded, a cold chill rising inside of her. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Trinity, honey,” Grandpa interjected at last, “the Dracken tried to kill me.”
She froze, staring at the screen in horror. She suddenly realized that in her joy of seeing her grandpa still alive, she’d neglected to connect the dots in her mind. Darius must have doctored that newspaper, assuming the deed had already been done. And worse, he’d tried to pin the whole thing on Connor to make sure she’d never trust him again.
He’d been so sympathetic. So willing to comfort her when she’d fallen into his arms. Ready to hold a memorial service even—to honor a man he himself had ordered killed. She squeezed her hands into fists. “God, I should have had Emmy flambé that bastard when I had the chance.”