Page 61 of The Dragon Recruit
She should be angry. And yet, Iris had been privy to Dougal’s ramblings, the ones the clan at large hadn’t known about. Dougal hadn’t been in his right mind at the end. “Your meddling might have saved Lochguard and prevented a dragon war. Finn has definitely been the better leader. But just how much meddling have you done over the years?”
“Well, I try to avoid meddling when possible, so very little. But Dougal Munro wanted to start a civil war, one that would’ve killed a lot of people, both human and dragon. It was a calculated choice.”
Iris turned a little to better study Antony’s face. “How did you stay in the shadows for so long? To the point we didn’t know you existed?”
He gave a wry smile. “I was erased and invisible to the outside world for a long time. It was safer that way, especially as the government worked to better protect against hackers and cybersecurity threats. Having humans and dragon-shifters who didn’t have any kind of records, like those on my team, meant our enemies wouldn’t look for us.”
“So what changed to bring you into the light again?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Rosalind Abbott. When she took over the DDA, she was told about us and she reached out for a meeting. She convinced my superior that slowly having us in public, helping the dragon-shifters and humans alike, would make for better optics. Especially since Rosalind has plans sheis determined to see through, ones that concern humans and dragons.”
Iris had suspected for a long time that the DDA Director was playing 3D chess, always a few steps ahead of everyone else. “And you can’t share any of those plans?”
He traced her cheek. “I’m afraid not, my dear. At least, not yet. Once we finish this business with the rogue dragon-shifters and your fellow Protectors, I’ll be recruiting more people to work with my team. Ones I can share everything with. You, too, if you’re still interested by the end.”
Iris wanted to ask more about his proposal. However, at his mention of Zoe, guilt crashed over her. She needed to focus on helping her fellow clan member and changed the topic. “Speaking of Zoe and the others, you still need to tell me what you learned today.”
“Back to work already.” She arched an eyebrow, and he sighed. “Of course. But let’s get cleaned up and sit down to eat, then I’ll tell all.”
As he helped her up off his lap, part of Iris wanted to hold Antony close and go back to cuddling on the sofa.
However, too many people were counting on her. Her wants and needs would have to wait.
Her dragon spoke up.You act like we’ll never be alone with Antony again.
I hope we can be. But if we find the missing dragon-shifters and have to do a rescue mission, anything could happen. We’ve lost people before.
Don’t think like that. Be positive, aye? Dad always says if you think you’re defeated before you even start, it’ll become reality.
I know, dragon. I know.
So Iris did her best to push her worries aside as she cleaned up, dressed, and brought the takeaway containers to the table.Once she and Antony were seated, she asked, “What did you learn?”
He grimaced, and her stomach dropped. This wasn’t going to be good.
Antony wanted to keep Iris safe, and yet he couldn’t keep things from her. That would be the fastest way to lose her.
So once she asked for the news, he took a deep breath and said, “I talked with Dr. Turner about the small object from the town today.”
“So someone managed to retrieve it?”
“Yes, one of my people did, after I left, and they transported it down south to Dr. Turner. The object was a hollowed-out chestnut, filled with a tiny tube and release mechanism.”
“A real one? How did they fit that in there? It’s tiny.”
“Yes, which means time and effort went into making it. However, they made a mistake using a real chestnut because someone on Dr. Turner’s team analyzed the shell down to its components, which tells us it came from a tree in South Ayrshire.”
“Aye, I’ve heard of how certain amounts of elements or what have you can pinpoint a location, but Lochguard has never really had the ability. But does South Ayrshire mean anything?”
He nodded. “There’s another abandoned castle there—Dalquharran Castle. One with a rumored set of secret tunnels.”
She frowned. “That seems too easy and predictable to have the chestnut lead to a place with tunnels. Especially given how much we learned about the dragon hunters and their tunnels a few years ago. It might be a deliberate distraction or a trap.”
“I agree. But the more worrying matter is what Dr. Turner thinks the gas used today will do. Namely, it can kill humans but only knocks out dragon-shifters.”
“I’ve never heard of something working on both humans and dragon-shifters before, since our genetic makeup is a wee bit different. How did they do it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Dr. Turner and her team are still looking into it. However, our job became that much more important, given what someone might use this for—to destroy entire clans in one go.”
