Kellan shook his head. “That is Con’s power.”
“Power?” She squeezed her eyes closed while still clutching him. “I don’t understand.”
“Let us show you,” Con urged.
Kellan waited for her to open her eyes. When she did, the uncertainty there confounded him. In battle, she had been sure of herself. Even while lying in a bed wounded, her confidence had been unshakable.
If seeing a wound healed disturbed her, could she handle seeing them shift into dragon form?
“Con, I’m no’ sure it’s such a good idea,” Kellan said.
“You don’t think I can handle it?” Denae asked him, squaring her shoulders.
Kellan sighed. “Nay.”
She stepped back, releasing him, and turned to Con. “Show me.”
Con walked to the window and waited for her to stand beside him. “Kellan? Do you want to do the honors, or should I ask one of the others?”
“Sod off.”
Con chuckled and faced the window. “Look to the sky, Denae.”
A second later, Kellan caught a glimpse of deep red scales. Guy.
Denae took one step back, her hand over her mouth, before she moved closer to the window, watching how Guy soared through the air and clouds. Her face held a dose of disbelief, a dollop of confusion, a touch of fear, and a trace of excitement.
Kellan wondered which would win out. He had seen humans terrified of them, while others hadn’t been able to get close enough.
Denae was practical, realistic. She would probably never fully accept what she was seeing.
“Dragons,” Denae whispered, fear making her voice shake. “That was a dragon. A very large dragon.”
Con turned from the window and walked to the door, his eyes briefly locking with Kellan’s. “That’s right, Miss Lacroix. Now you know our secret.”
Kellan watched Con leave the room. Con was leaving him to answer any of Denae’s questions, as if that would make her trust him more—or make him forget about the life he took.
His head swung around to Denae. She was watching Guy with wide, bright eyes. One hand was on the window as she strained her head to follow his path. She looked like she was enjoying the show Guy put on.
But he knew how duplicitous humans could be.
“It’s frighteningly beautiful,” Denae said. “Is it the only one here? Is that what I was bait for?” She looked over her shoulder at him. “Will he eat me?”
“Nay. Aye. Nay.”
She faced him, her eyes shining with wonder. “That was amazing. It never entered my mind that dragons could exist. There’s been no video, no blogs, nothing about Dreagan.”
“We like our privacy.”
“That’s what MI5 must be after. The world can’t know you have a dragon. Wait.” She blinked and then frowned. “You said nay to my first question. That means…”
“There are more.”
She took several breaths as she contemplated him. “Con asked you to do the honors. Are you … are you a dragon?”
He could lie. She would never know. But for some reason, it wasn’t the lie that crossed his lips. “Aye.”
“You can turn into that?” she asked and pointed out the window.
“I can.”
“And your cave? You were there, weren’t you? You were in … dragon form?”
He nodded slowly.
“I was bait for you,” she said and sank onto the bed, a shell-shocked expression falling over her. “Bait for a dragon. And MI5 knew. How did they know you were dragons?”
“Dragon Kings, actually,” he corrected her.
Her brows lifted high on her forehead. “Dragon Kings. What does that mean?”
“Dragons have been in this realm since the beginning of time. Every size, every color ruled the sky, the land, and the waters. Each class of dragon had a King.”
Her lips softened as she said, “You.”
“The dragons with the most magic, the most skill and intelligence were chosen as the King to their group.”
“And yours is?”
“I’m King to the Bronzes.”
She rubbed her hands together, her coloring beginning to return. “Where are all the dragons? Are they hidden in the mountains?”
Kellan looked at the mountains out the window. “I wish. They’re gone. Sent away because humans arrived in this realm.”
“I … I don’t understand,” she said hesitantly.
“The Dragon Kings were charged with keeping the peace between dragons and humans. For a while it worked, but a human woman betrayed one of the Kings, Ulrik, and started the war. The dragons—and Kings—were divided on whether to protect the humans or kill them. Con united us.”
“Why Con?”
“Because he is the King of Kings. He is King to the Golds, but he earned the right to reign over all dragons.”
She licked her lips and nodded. “Okay. So he united you. Did that stop the war?”