“These royals were looking for something that matched a particular description. Two somethings, actually.” I got a sick feeling in my stomach, not wanting this subject to be going where I thought it was.

“Can we speak about this privately?” I asked suddenly, not looking at Christian.

Dom looked between me and Christian, a certain malice in his eyes that I was a stranger to. He smiled at me, and it was not a pleasant smile. “Is it be possible he doesn’t know?” he asked softly, adding a disturbing amount of relish to the question.

“Please,” I begged him softly, willing him not to say another incriminating word.

“Why would I listen to your plea?”

“Is there something you want from me? Is that what you’re getting at?”

His jaw clenched hard. “Many of the answers I wanted from you I found on my own this morning. What else could you give me?” He was being more of a bastard than I’d ever seen him. At least in regards to me. Even knowing he despised me, the thought of him showing no mercy towards me just wasn’t registering. And I’d thought I was far too old for naiveté.

I glared at him. “I don’t know. I can’t pretend to know you that well anymore. For instance, you never used to insist on conducting personal business in front of your men. Is that one of the ways you get your kicks these days?”

I could see the moment the nerve under his golden eye started to tick. “Don’t flatter yourself that this is personal,” he spoke menacingly, each word threatening me to contradict him.

I swallowed, and took a deep breath. His gaze stayed mercilessly on my face. I just wasn’t sure how to get through to this new Dom. “I’ll answer any question you ask, if we can do this in private.”

His cold gaze ran down my body insinuatingly. “Answers. Is that all you’re offering?”

Man, I wanted to punch him. It took me a minute to stifle the urge. “Aren’t answers what you want? Is there something else that you’re asking for?”

He took exception to the wording. “I ask for nothing.” His voice raised only slightly, but a chill ran down my spine at his obvious rage. The other druids bowed their heads low as they felt the punch of his power.

I spread my hands in defeat. “Fine. You want nothing. This isn’t personal. If you couldn’t care less about any of this, why are you here?”

His right hand shot out, gripping my neck lightly. His hands were large enough, his fingers long enough, that he could span a great deal of it with just the one hand. “You tread too carelessly here, Jillian,” he rasped. “Don’t presume to know me after all these years. You far overestimate my care for your welfare.” It occurred to me suddenly what he was doing. Was this all just a matter of his pride? I supposed that the only way to find out was to test him. Fuck his pride.

I pressed my neck harder into his hand. “Are you rescinding your protection of me, then? Am I fair game now, to all of the druids that hate me? Just say the word and they’ll have me taken care of within a month. A year maybe, if I run fast enough. Is that what you came here to tell me?” I threw my trump card at the bastard with no expression on my face.

He shut his eyes tightly, and I knew I’d won. He turned his rage-filled eyes on the men who’d stood silently and watched our tableau. “I do not rescind protection. If anyone touches her, I’ll make them pay, and pay dearly. Leave us!” His voice built into a roar at the end.

When we were alone, he moved his snarling face against mine, until we were nose to nose. “I met with the dragons this morning, as I can see you’ve guessed. They’ve proposed to ally with us, to lend their support to our numbers. They would be a formidable weapon to add to our army. They had only a few, peculiar requests. If those requests aren’t met, they’ve sworn to go actively rogue.”

A knot formed in my throat, despair trying to choke me. “What were the requests?” I asked, though I had a good idea already. My mind began to work furiously. If he took me into custody, I had to find a way to warn Lynn. She could still get away.

He pushed away from me, beginning to pace. “Both requests are deal-breakers for them. We must agree categorically, or find ourselves at odds with their wishes. We adjourned the meeting long enough for me to deliberate with the council. I give them my answer first thing in the morning.”

“What were the requests?” I asked again.

“The first is that we help them retrieve two of their own. Apparently two of their daughters left the clan a long time ago. One was a prisoner, the other a runaway who helped her escape. Both brought grave dishonor to the dragons. They have been named heretic, an apparently grave charge to the draak. They are to face the justice of their people. They will show no mercy.”

My body was shaking, but I was proud my voice came out steady. “What was the other request?”

“The other request was not so unexpected. As you know very well, the dragonslayers have long been on our rosters. They have, for the most part, been abiding by our laws for centuries. The draak request that they be named rogue and given into the dragon’s custody. Understandably, there’s some animosity between those two enemies.”

It shed a whole new light on Dom’s interest in Christian’s involvement in our skirmish at the fair. It could be named a rogue act, and help to justify the changing of alliances.

I was silent for awhile, eyes clenched tightly shut. Me and Christian were caught. But Lynn still had a chance to get cleanly away. I needed to get to a phone. “So that’s why you came here? To take us both into custody?” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice.