Page 86 of Dragon's Code

“Athena, do you mind if my brother comes in?”

“Uh…no?”

“Is that a question?” he asks.

I let out a breath. “Yes, he can come in.”

Kash appears with Ash behind him. “Hi, Athena. It’s nice to see you again.”

I manage a weak and awkward smile. “Hi, Ash.”

“I wanted to personally welcome you to the family. You’ve had a rough introduction to our world.”

I tug at the hem of my tank top, feeling fidgety and unsure. “I guess so, yeah.”

“I know that you and Kashton probably have a lot to figure out, but I wanted to welcome you and let you know that we’re so glad to have you. Kash has always thought the world of you, and I’ve always been grateful he’s had someone like you in his life.”

“Even as a vampire dragon?”

“Henrik’s mate can kill a dragon with her fire. You’re not the only unique mate in our family, hate to break it to you.”

“You’re not immune to all fire?” I ask.

Ash widens his stance and shakes his head. He tucks his hands into his pockets. “Not Quinn’s type. There’s a small army of women who can expel the same fire. Grey really went all out for his plan on revenge and world domination.”

“Wow. That’s horrifying.”

“You have no idea. Wait until you see it in action, which I’m sure you will before this war is over.”

“What did Raphael have you do?”

“He needed me to create a delivery system. There were files with names, addresses and everything of many supernatural people. It had their species and any specialities they might have. I saw Kash’s name on there, all of the Wystans. Not to mention, a ton of people I didn’t know, but knew they probably didn’t want their identities given. There were files that I wasn’t supposed to touch, they were protected, but I managed to get into them anyway. That’s where I found all the information about vampires. So I created a delivery system for the vampire files instead, and made sure that everything I could find on Grey was listed as well. I didn’t know you were friends with some of the vampires though. I’m sorry if I caused any problems for them.”

Ash waves me off. “Cillian says what you did was brilliant. Vampires and fae are the best at hiding themselves. They’ll figure it out. A lot of them are coming here, as long as we can prove that they’re against Grey. Syrena has been making a lot of truth serum for that. The important thing is that you thwarted one of Grey’s plans and you outed him. That should slow him down a little if anything. Which is all we need. We just need some time to get on the offensive.”

I feel a small bout of relief. I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing at the time, but it sounds like it may have good consequences and anyone who needs to hide can for the time being.

“I know you need some rest, but I just wanted to let you know that we’re so glad you’re here.” Ash gives me a small wave and heads out.

Kashton and Ash talk in the hallway for a few minutes. I can’t hear what they’re saying, just the low tones of their voices. Kashton comes back in and closes the door.

I let out a long yawn.

“Get some rest, my goddess. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

* * *

I hitthe wall so hard, I’m expecting to see a cartoon cutout of my body behind me in the concrete, but alas, I’ve just smashed my face into the cement and cracked it a bit.

“Ow.”

Cillian appears above me with a stupid grin on his face that I want to swipe off.

“I’m sorry, but you’re about the worst vampire I’ve ever met.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m supposed to be a dragon. But now I’m a dragon with super speed that I don’t know how to control.”

“That’s evident by how hard you smacked into that wall. It was like watching Wile E. Coyote hit the ACME tunnel.”

---