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"Come," Robin said, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. "We need to at least search the place. I doubt he's left my birthright behind, but there might be something we can use. Tread carefully. No doubt the pestilent old hemorrhoid has left traps for his visitors."

Martina slipped through the door, silently taking point, while I fell in behind the others to protect our rear.

The sweep was largely anticlimactic. The place was huge, but most of the rooms were empty. There were a few magical traps waiting for us, as predicted, but Sanka easily located and disarmed them as we went. Taking a spiral staircase upward, we started on the upper floor of the sprawling two-story ode to gaudiness and worked our way down.

Robin was quiet, and she seemed contained. But I could sense the emotions swirling inside her. I unobtrusively sucked in any of the darker emotions that I could, feeding not only on my alpha, but on the aura of faint fear and unease that hung in the air, lingering leftovers from the inhabitants who were currently hiding from us.

We searched an empty office, a library, and several guest rooms. But there was nothing lingering about that provided any information we didn't already have. The emperor had known we were coming, and he had cleaned out the house.

When we reached what must be the emperor's suite of rooms, Robin lost some of her calm. She pressed a hand to her head and growled, then surged into the room and started tearing things out of a massive walk-in closet. "It was here," she bit out. "Damn it, it was right here!" Flames and smoke flickered from her mouth as she spoke, and the things she touched turned to blackened ash from the heat coming off her skin. Shiny red and gold scales rippled across her body, appearing then disappearing in waves as she struggled with control over her dragon. "IT WAS RIGHT FUCKING HERE!"

I looked at Sanka. He shook his head. His eyes were sad, but he didn't get too close to our raging Alpha. "Robin, I sense it too. But it's gone, sweetheart. It's gone."

Her birthright. It must be. I wasn't sure of all the implications, but I knew she was desperate to get back the portion of her power that had been locked away when she was a child. The dragon ritual was supposed to help kids grow up and learn control before they were burdened with the massive magical power that their species was capable of. But no one thought about what would happen if someone were to steal that power and use it for themselves.

Once upon a time, dragons had rightfully believed that no one would be stupid enough to even try to steal from their kind. Then the emperor who was supposed to be looking after paranorms and protecting their rights committed genocide.

Cicely upped the flow of feel-good energy in the room. He stepped closer to the raging alpha, his bright green eyes full of compassion, as if he was about to hug her. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him backward. "She'll burn you to ash, goat."

Robin turned at the sound of my voice, and her eyes narrowed, fangs flashing as she spoke. "I don't need you protecting me or calming me," she said, clearly sensing our magical interference. "I'm not weak. And I'm not a fucking child."

Technically, she was correct. But also… so wrong. She was strong, yes. One of the strongest people I knew. But having part of herself stolen from her was wearing on her. And fully grown though she might be, in dragon years she was still a few weeks away from adulthood. She needed us. But the alpha in her was on the defensive right now, sensitive to anyone thinking she might be vulnerable.

Martina silently slipped from the room, her head bowed, and her posture meant to draw as little attention as possible, removing the other alpha from the room just in case Robin saw that as a threat. Sanka crept closer to his lover, one hand held out beseechingly. "Robin? Hey. Alpha, I need you. Your beta needs you, but he can't even get close to you because you're a threat to him."

From anyone else, that might have been interpreted as an insult. But coming from a beta under her care, it was the dose of ice water that was needed to put out the raging fire. Robin blinked. She shuddered. Then she tucked away all traces of her raging dragon self. "Apologies," she said stiffly.

Sanka sighed and dropped his hand. "Fuck, Robin."

She started to growl, but cut it short and cleared her throat instead. "It's… I'm sorry. I lost control for a moment there. It won't happen again. Let's go."

She led the way out of the room, and I shared a wary glance with Sanka and Cicely before following. Something was up with our alpha. Something beyond the normal irritations of the day. She might be a moody, mercurial thing sometimes, but this sort of lack of control wasn't normal. And… I had a feeling it was about to become more frequent.

None of us really knew what would happen if the dragon shifter reached maturity without being reunited with her birthright. It was entirely possible she'd go feral, for all we knew.

When we reached the back of the ground floor, we found a group of people huddled together in the kitchen. Most were human, with a couple of weak shifters and fae thrown in the mix. Robin slunk into the room with all her usual lithe grace, full of command and haughty indifference. The wave of fear that came from the huddled mass of people at the sight of our group was heartbreaking—delicious, but heartbreaking all the same. I had a feeling they weren't just afraid of us. This was something else entirely.

These people lived in fear. And their master had left them here when he fled. Like the unimportant possessions they were. No more thought given to them than to a piece of furniture.

"Where is he?" Robin said without preamble. She examined her nails as if she was bored. But there was an air of danger around her that no one could miss.

"P-please," a woman with a touch of fae blood whispered. "We don't know anything."

Robin sighed. "Really? You all work here. You serve the emperor of the paranormal syndicate, and you want me to believe that you know nothing?"

"Leave them alone." A human man spoke up, shuffling forward and standing, using his thick body to block the others the best he could. "I'll talk to you. But there really isn't much to tell. Bully me if you must. But leave the others out of it." His defiant expression and bitter tone were brave. But it wasn't smart to goad an alpha by ordering her around, especially in front of others.

Robin had him pinned against the wall in seconds, her hand around his throat as he struggled for air. She held him effortlessly with her shifter strength, her entire posture still calm and collected. "I'm sorry. I thought I heard you telling me what to do. I must have been mistaken."

He huffed and gasped, and shook his head.

"Right," Robin said evenly. "Now then. Tell me everything you know about the walking disease who employs you and I'll make your deaths quick."

Cicely sidled up next to me, but I didn't look at him. This was where we came in. If it came down to it, it was going to be up to me and one soft, easy-going fawn to stop a raging alpha dragon from slaughtering innocents. Sanka would be no help. He'd gladly let Robin burn the whole world if it made her happy. And Martina… I gave her a fifty-fifty chance of siding with us or the woman who had saved her from life as a vampire slave.

"Fuck. You." The man choked out between choking gasps.

Cicely made a noise in his throat, something that probably would have been a protest, if he had any way to speak. Please. He said in my head. I wasn't sure if the word was aimed at me, or at Robin.

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