Page 28 of Fated for his Flame

“We need to go,” I whispered to Chloe. “Right now.”

I hadn’t seen Seth at the party yet, but if he was there somewhere, Mattias would head right to him to repeat what he’d heard. Then Seth, Caine’s eldest son, would come find me.

That would not be good.

Keeping a hold of Chloe’s arm, I disengaged us from the conversation as fast as I could without being overly rude and made a beeline for the exit.

For her part, Chloe stayed quiet and did as needed. The questions would come, but for now, she was smart enough to know better than to interrupt me.

There really was a lot to like about her, I decided.

We reached the gold-plated doors just as they swung open to reveal Seth at the head of a group of dragons.

And at his side, Mattias, who was practically preening after how I’d treated him earlier. To him, it must be the sweetest form of revenge.

“Hello, Silas,” Seth said with a cold smile. “Going somewhere?”

Chapter Fourteen

Chloe

The slight tightening of fingers around my forearm was all that betrayed Silas’ unease at the sight of the newcomer, whoever he was. I recognized the asshole Mattias from the clothing store standing at his side, but everyone else was unfamiliar.

Taller than his followers, he loomed even above Silas, with long black hair falling down nearly to his chest in waves that looked purposefully messy. His eyes were so dark as to be nearly indistinguishable from his pupil, but they had a sharp, biting nature as his gaze swept from Silas to me and then back. A sneer split his face, turning features that would otherwise might be ruggedly handsome into something unpalatable.

I decided right then and there I would not be upset if Silas broke the man’s nose while wiping the disdain from his face. Watching the blood pour onto his half-unbuttoned white silk shirt would make my night.

“Hello, Seth.” That was all Silas seemed to think the man merited. Taking my arm, he tried to guide us around them.

“Leaving so soon?” Seth asked, moving slowly to his side, just enough to block our passage without having to be aggressive about it.

“Get out of my way,” Silas growled, a threatening rumble in his voice.

Nobody seemed shocked when Seth did no such thing. Instead, he took a step toward Silas, his chest puffing out in wordless challenge. Clearly, there was bad blood between them, but now didn’t seem like the best time to settle that. We were badly outnumbered.

“Just drop it,” I murmured, half-turning toward Silas, tugging on his arm, trying to drag us back into the party still going on behind us. “Don’t bother with this.”

Seth chuckled. Mattias and the others followed suit like geese honking after one starts. They were followers, nothing more. I doubted there was an ounce of leader in any of them.

“Who is this pathetic thing you brought to ruin a lovely party?”

I whirled on Seth. “Do you see me insulting your wannabe Fabio look? No, you don’t. So, why don’t you and your boyband groupies go home, and you can have them change you into something that makes you look like a real adult, okay? While they’re at it, maybe they can put you into a clean diaper, too.”

Silence ruled. My brain caught up with my mouth, and I knew I was turning as white as a snow. Those were dragons I’d just insulted. Not humans. All my martial arts training would mean nothing against them. So, perhaps I should just try to stay quiet and not antagonize them. Silas would be supremely unhappy with me, I was sure.

Beside me, the big dragon shifter started to chuckle, his chest vibrating with the deep noises.

Or he would find it funny.

Seth, Mattias, and the other hangers-on, however, were all exchanging dark looks with each other.

“You should do as she says,” Silas growled when those looks started to come my way instead of darting between one another. “Move aside.”

I wondered why Silas was so intent on leaving through that exit. There were many other doors that could take us outside, I was certain. So, why force his way through?

He doesn’t want to look like he’s retreating. That would make him appear weak.

Even as those thoughts coalesced in my head, I knew there was no way that evening was ending in anything other than violence. Silas wouldn’t back down, and whoever Seth was, he wasn’t in any way intimidated by who he was facing. Which meant he was probably from a family that rivaled Silas’ in power.

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