“Get ready,” the guy on the other side of Henry whispered.
Henry pulled his gaze away from Balladyn and saw a lone figure walking down the slopes toward them. The man wore a charcoal gray trench coat that hung open to reveal a dove gray suit beneath.
Conversation from the agents around him drew Henry’s attention.
“Don’t look at him.”
“He’s trouble.”
“Nearly as much as the Dark.”
“We’ll be lucky to get out of this meeting alive.”
The man in charge of the contingency of MI5 agents, Daniel Petrie, turned and gave them all a withering glare. Daniel stood at the front with only ten feet separating him and Balladyn.
It didn’t take long for the lone man to reach them. He had thick black hair that skimmed his shoulders. Even though he wore a confident smile, his gold eyes appeared to see everything.
He finally reached them and stopped a few paces from Daniel and Balladyn. “Well, gentlemen,” he stated in as fine of a cultured British accent as Henry had ever heard. “It seems we’re all here.”
“Why?” Balladyn demanded.
The man paused and slowly turned to look at Balladyn for a long period. “We all want the same thing—to bring Dreagan down and expose the Dragon Kings.”
Henry imagined that was about all they had in common. Each group had its own agenda once the Kings were toppled, and allies would quickly become enemies. The world would become a shell of what it once was if any of the three groups standing before him got control. Not that MI5—or any human for that matter—stood a chance against magic. Henry didn’t understand why no one at MI5 realized that yet.
He felt the weight of every human’s existence resting upon his shoulders, and he staggered beneath the burden. This was his first foray into protecting not just the UK, but the world, and it left him feeling a bit … stressed.
The Dragon Kings had been doing it since the beginning of time, and yet they didn’t discount any threat to humans or Earth. They faced the evil each time.
If only the humans knew what the Dragon Kings had done for them. Perhaps then they wouldn’t be so eager to see them exposed.
Somehow, in his dealings with the Kings, he came to realize he was na?ve and green. The Kings opened his eyes to an entire new world, a world that involved them, regardless if they were hiding in it or not.
Nothing good could come out of letting the world see a Dragon King. MI5 were fools if they expected the Kings to roll over and do whatever mortals wanted. Henry had seen the Kings in battle. He’d witnessed their power, their raw fury. Anyone who went up against the Kings was an idiot, because the Dragon Kings couldn’t be killed.
His gaze rested on the new arrival. The man looked human, but the way both MI5 and the Dark were a bit wary of him told Henry the man was much more.
How could the Dragon Kings defeat three enemies at once? The Kings would have to decide to protect mankind as they always had, or themselves. No matter their decision, they would lose in the end.
The truth of it all hit Henry right in the chest. He was sick with it, and though he wanted to kill everyone around him, he remained standing, his eyes on the man in the trench coat.
The man raised a brow at Balladyn. “Am I right? Dreagan is our common ground. We’ve worked together before, and it’ll be to our benefit to continue.”
“We don’t have the weapon,” Balladyn said, his words thick with his Irish accent.
The man shrugged. “I gave you the location of the doorway.”
Henry seethed. So this was the son of a bitch who had deceived Iona for years and killed her father. No wonder Laith wanted to kill the man.
“A doorway,” the man continued, “that would’ve been impossible to find without me.”
Daniel glanced up at the clouds gathering above them. “Why weren’t my men involved in this?”
“As if,” Balladyn said with a sneer. “All you and your men are good for is dealing with humans. Leave the Kings to someone who knows how to take them on.”
“Which would be me,” the man said before Daniel could reply. He looked from Daniel to Balladyn. “The fact is, gentlemen, we have two issues to deal with.”
Daniel smirked as he rocked back on his heels. “So now you need me.”
“Definitely,” the man said.
Balladyn crossed his arms over his chest. “Unless you found another way to get us the weapon, the Dark won’t help you.”
The man walked a slow circle around Balladyn. “I know Taraeth would disagree with you. There’s no need to bring this to his attention, however. He sent you in good faith. I also hear you aren’t in good favor with him right now.”
Balladyn’s red eyes glowed with hatred, but he didn’t respond.
The man rubbed his jaw as he looked Balladyn over. “The Dark want the weapon, and I told Taraeth I would find him a way in. I did, but the Kings—and a human—outsmarted you.”