Dragon Hunter by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 6

The human’s eyes were wide as dinner plates as she walked through the lair. No one gave them a second glance. Humans were no longer an anomaly. There were so many males who had taken them as mates that it didn’t cause as much of a stir anymore. A number of unmated males gave Riley a once-over. She was an attractive female and unclaimed at that. The human didn’t scent of another male. She was also new in the lair. So, they mostly kept their distance, unsure of who she was and why she was there. That wouldn’t last long. They’d become the biggest pains in his ass once they realized that she was unmated and available. He would need to talk to Storm about putting out a broadcast that she was off-limits.

“There are so many hallways and staircases,” she murmured. “All the doors are beautiful.” She touched the engraved surface of one as they walked past. Then she looked up. “I don’t think I’ve seen so many crystal chandeliers before, either. I didn’t think that bronze could be that shiny. Are those semi-precious stones on some of the bigger ones?”

It wasn’t bronze! They weren’t semi-precious stones, either. The chandeliers were made of pure gold. Now that he looked around, he realized how beautiful the lair really was. Large, airy, bright, and opulent. The rugs were thick. All the surfaces gleamed. The furniture was solid wood. The doors were beautifully carved. All done by hand. Pieces of art. They lived in a beautiful structure. Funny how he hadn’t really taken note. How seeing something through someone else’s eyes could change a person’s perspective.

“Even the handles,” Riley gushed. “These aren’t real gemstones, are they?”

Fog glanced at one of the elaborate handles in the common area. It was encrusted with rubies and sapphires. “Dragons have a liking for shiny things,” he answered, not really answering the question outright. Thankfully, she let it go. Fog didn’t believe for one second that Riley was a dragon hunter; if he had, he wouldn’t have said half the things he already had. There was just no way you could fake fear like that. How would a dragon hunter have known about the cave dwellers? Nope, he wasn’t buying it at all. They couldn’t be too careful, though, and until she had been properly vetted, they would take every precaution.

There were several guards at the entrance to the royal offices. Fog nodded at one or two of the males he knew. They all stayed in formation. The main door was closed.

Fog opened it for Riley, who entered first. This was new. There had been a personal assistant to the royals in the past who would have greeted them, but the female had since had a couple of whelps. It looked like she had been replaced. A human female sat at a desk. “Hi there. I’m Gayleen. I’m the personal assistant to King Thunder and Prince Storm. I’m going to assume that you are Riley?” He could scent that she was mated. Probably one of the new females at the lair.

“Um…yes.” Riley nodded, licking her lips. She looked both exhausted and extremely nervous. Fog could even scent it on her.

“Do you have your form?” Gayleen narrowed her eyes. “The one we sent—”

“Oh…yes, yes.” Riley nodded.

“Can I have it, please?” the PA said.

“Sorry, yes.” Riley handed the form to the female behind the desk before stifling a yawn. The human was really hitting a wall. She needed rest and needed it soon. Hopefully, this meeting wouldn’t last long.

Gayleen looked down at the document. “Perfect. You can go on in, Miss Fuller.”

“It’s Riley,” she said as they walked towards the door that led to Thunder’s office.

Gayleen cleared her throat. “Just Miss Fuller…Riley may enter. You can wait here, Fog.” The female pointed at a sofa and chairs on the far side of the room.

“Riley is in my care,” Fog said. “I will accompany her.”

“No. I’m afraid I was instructed to only allow Miss…Riley into the king’s office at this time. You are to wait outside until further instructions are issued.” Once again, the PA pointed to the waiting area.

Riley turned big, blue, terrified eyes on him. He knew that look; he’d seen it several times since he had found her. She was freaking out. “Um…I’m not sure I like this,” she stammered. Quite frankly, he didn’t like it either. What the fuck was going on here? “I would feel more comfortable if you came with me.”

“You have nothing to fear, hon’,” Gayleen told Riley. “Thunder is married to a human. He has a couple of kids. He’s a great guy. Storm too. I recently mated with the most amazing guy. His name is Blizzard. The last few months have been…” She giggled and licked her lips. “You don’t want to hear all of this.”

“Oh! You’re Blizzard’s mate,” Fog said. “He has talked about you so much. Every time I see him. We used to work patrol together.”

“Oh! So, you’re Fog. I’m surprised we haven’t met before this.”

Truth was, he’s been somewhat of a hermit lately. Preferring to stay home and wallow in self-pity. Fog was glad for this distraction. It gave him something important to focus on. Like saving this poor female from the cave dwellers. “Yeah, I’m surprised too. So, you’re working for the royals?”

“It pays well. Gives me something to do with my time.” Gayleen shrugged. Then she looked back at Riley. “You’d better get in there before you’re late. I swear you’ll be okay.” She winked at Riley.

Riley shook her head. He watched her stand taller. “I don’t want to do this alone. I…” Her eyes widened. “Unless you have somewhere else you need to be, Fog? I mean, you don’t have to babysit me. You don’t even know me, and—”

“That’s not how it works. I found you, and I took you into my care. It was my decision to make. It is now my responsibility to keep you safe and happy. If that means being in there with you, then that’s what will happen.”

“I’m afraid that it isn’t really your decision to make. I’m going to have to insist—” Gayleen started to say.

“Actually, it is my decision.” She looked up at Fog. “I should probably just do everything they say. I need their help, but I really would prefer it if you came with me.” He could see her make up her mind in that instant as determination darkened her eyes. Riley turned to Gayleen. “I won’t go in there unless Fog comes with me.” She pushed her lips together, trying to keep it together. He could scent anguish and frustration coming off her in waves. That, and the peppery scent of her fear.

“I’m sure there’s room for one more, Gayleen.” Fog gave the PA a smile. He cranked up the charm.

Gayleen rolled her eyes and giggled. “Alright.” She sighed. “Blizzard would want me to help out one of his friends. Let me go and let them know first.”

Gayleen disappeared behind the door.

“Thank you,” Riley told him. “No matter what happens in there, I want you to know that I’m grateful for everything. You’ve been so kind.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “I haven’t been very…nice, or shown any kind of gratitude, but I am…thankful, that is.”

The door opened.

“I’ve got your back,” he told the female.

“Thanks,” she half-whispered.

“You can both go in,” Gayleen said. “I told them that Riley was nervous.” The PA smiled at him.

So that old dog, Blizzard was mated. Holy shit! At one point, he had wanted a mate too. His feelings for Azure had changed him. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to mate someone at all anymore, which was ironic since he’d been waiting for years to make the list. Years to be eligible to take a female of his own. Now that he could, it left him cold. Opening up your heart left you vulnerable. He and Azure hadn’t so much as held hands, and he’d been hurt. What if he gave himself completely, and the female changed her mind? Humans were fickle creatures.

No, and no!

Gayleen seemed really nice. He made a mental note to look his friend up to congratulate him. Fog held the door open for Riley and then followed. She gave a little gasp as she entered the large, well-appointed office.

“Come in,” Storm said. “Gayleen mentioned that you were nervous about meeting with us. You have nothing to fear, Miss Fuller, I assure you.” The prince wore a gray pinstriped suit. “I’m Storm, Prince of Air.” He touched a fist to his chest before holding out a hand to the female.

“Please call me Riley.” The human took Storm’s outstretched hand. She flicked looks at Thunder under her lashes.

“I am Thunder, King of Air.” He, too, touched a closed fist to the golden mark on his chest, which was bare since he had chosen to wear the regular garb of the dragons. A simple pair of black cotton pants. “I was sorry to hear of what happened to you and your friend. Please take a seat.” He gestured to one of the chairs around a conference table.

Riley took a seat. Fog sat next to her.

“Before we start…” Storm said, unbuttoning his jacket, then sitting down opposite them. “I will need you to sign this.” He pushed a document across the table. There was a pen on top.

“What is it?” Riley frowned.

“It’s a non-disclosure agreement,” Storm said.

She looked his way, frowning. “I thought I didn’t have to answer those questions.”

“It’s standard, Miss Fuller,” Storm said.

“Riley,” the human countered; there was an edge to her voice. “Why would I need to sign something like this?”

Storm pushed out a breath through his nose.

“We wish to keep our existence a secret, Riley,” Thunder said. “I am sure that you wish to return to human territory. To pick back up with your life at some point?”

“Not until my friend Ashlyn is safe.”

“Of course,” Storm said. “Before we can proceed with this meeting, you will need to sign that. It is a standard agreement. There are no hidden extras, I assure you.” The prince leaned back in the chair, folding his arms casually. “You may not disclose our existence to anyone. Or talk about what happened on dragon soil—”

“I was abducted,” Riley interrupted. “What am I just supposed to do? Should I keep something that monumental to myself?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. Any interaction with a dragon, of this tribe or otherwise, may not be discussed with anyone…ever. The ramifications of breaking the agreement are outlined in clause sixteen A through E,” he went on.

Riley pushed the pen to the side and then flipped through the document. Her mouth moved as she read. Her eyes grew wider and wider. “In other words, I would end up in financial debt up to my eyeballs if I ever so much as spoke the D-word out loud. I’d lose everything and then some. Not to mention that they’d probably end up sticking me in a loony bin.” She shrugged. “I guess I can’t tell anyone anything, anyway, so I might as well sign.” She picked up the pen. “Holy shit!” She looked at the pen in her hand. He could see that she was feeling the weight of it. Then she blinked a few times. “My apologies, it’s just that this pen is really heavy, like maybe it’s made out of…” She looked at the clicky part on top. It had an inlaid diamond. Her mouth fell open for a few seconds. “Or I could just steal this, and I wouldn’t have to worry about non-disclosures – or working ever again, for that matter.”

Fog had to bite back a laugh. The human was funny.

“Not true, Miss…Riley,” Storm corrected her. “That diamond is an S at best and is included.”

“Included. Included in what?” Riley asked.

“Included means that the diamond is flawed,” Fog said. “That’s why we used it in the making of a royal pen instead of…in another piece,” he quickly said. The female hadn’t been vetted just yet. Some information was still “need-to-know.” Truth was, they sold many of the diamonds of higher quality.

“It’s also huge. I was only joking about stealing it, by the way.” She was rolling the pen through her fingers, looking at it from different angles. “It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen a gold and diamond pen before. Please excuse me.”

“Please sign so that we may continue,” Storm said. “We—”

The door opened and Gayleen walked in. She handed Storm a file. “Anything I need to know?” he asked her.

“No. Everything is above-board. Can I get anyone anything to drink?” she asked, her eyes moving to each of them. “Tea, coffee, water, juice…” She lifted her eyes. “There might be soda.”

“Not for me,” Fog said. “Thank you.”

The human nodded and smiled at him.

“Me neither.” Riley shook her head; she was still reading through the agreement.

Both Storm and Thunder declined as well, and Gayleen left.

Riley sighed. “Here goes nothing.” She signed the last page of the document.

“You will need to initial each page.” Storm pointed at the document when Riley tried to hand it to him.

Clearly suppressing another sigh, Riley got to work doing as he asked. They all sat there in awkward silence. When she finished, Storm spent half a minute checking the document. “I’m happy to announce,” he finally said as he put the paperwork down, “that you are who you say you are. We did a background check.”

“Say what, now?” Riley cocked her head. “Of course I am who I said I am. Who else would I be?”

“We have enemies,” Thunder said. “Those who wish for our demise. We can’t be too careful. Non-disclosure aside, it’s another reason you can’t talk about this to anyone. Word could get out, and you might be abducted again to get to us. Our enemies would do anything to find our lairs.”

Riley’s chest rose and fell quickly. “I won’t say a word. Fog already told me about the humans who are after you. I understand the ramifications.”

Thunder folded his hands on the table. His gaze flicked to Fog for a moment and narrowed. “Please tell us everything that happened. Don’t leave out anything.”

“Okay.” Riley swallowed. “Ashlyn and I went to a club in town. You might know it; it’s called the Seven Sinners. Anyway, we had a great time…drank a little too much. There was this guy—”

Storm cleared his throat. “You can skip this part. Go to the part where you were abducted.”

“Of course. Sorry! I get wordy when I’m nervous. Stop me if I go off on a tangent again.”

Fog had to hold back a smile. Storm looked distinctly uncomfortable. It was great!

“Anyway, we left the club. Ash was mad at me because…” She flapped a hand. “You don’t want to hear this part. We were having a discussion…and poof!” She made this flourish with her hands. “One second Ashlyn was there, and the next she was gone. The same thing happened to me seconds later. Something grabbed me from above. I passed out soon after. My head felt swollen. I got woozy, and then I was out like a light. Talking about light, I woke up, and there wasn’t any. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Ashlyn was there with at least three other…um…creatures.” She spoke about what went on. The conversations in a different language. “The one holding me stroked my arm. I thought he was…being sexual. In hindsight, it might have been because he was checking to see if I had enough meat on my bones. I think they might have abducted us to eat us.” Her voice hitched. “We can’t just sit here. We have to go and save Ashlyn. You guys are strong. There are a lot of you. I’m sure—”

“Eat you?” The king looked confused. “What gave you the impression these creatures were considering eating you? I mean, aside from the arm rub?” Thunder asked, leaning forward.

Holy fucking shit!

He was going to kill Sun.

Kill him!

Slowly!

“It was Sun, my Lord. He was just joking around after we found Riley.” Fucking prick! “The male might have told her that dragons enjoy eating human females.” He could feel his face heat. “He wasn’t talking about the consumption of human flesh, he—”

Storm’s eyes narrowed. “We get the picture. Go on, please,” he said as he turned back to the female.

“From there, it went belly up quickly. I’ve watched programs on self-defense and what to do if someone tries to abduct you. I know that once you reach the second location, it’s over.” Her lip wobbled, and she bit down on it. Fog knew she was thinking about her friend. He could see how her eyes clouded and how she held her hands tightly clasped in her lap. “I still had my purse. I had it strapped to my body because… It doesn’t matter why, only that it was still there.” She flapped her hands again. “I have a flashlight attached to my keys. My mom gave it to me when I moved out, just in case. I actually use it regularly and had just changed the batteries…” She flapped her hands again before clasping them together. “You don’t want to hear all of that.”

Both Thunder and Storm squirmed this time. Fog liked this female.

“Anyway, I established that the man…guy…shifter holding me wasn’t wearing goggles. You know those goggles?” She held her hands up in front of her face, making rings over her eyes. “Goggles to see in the dark. I figured that he would more than likely be sensitive to light. I’ve watched those nature programs. Ones about creatures who…” Her eyes widened. “There I go again. I suspected he would be sensitive to light, and he was. I shined the flashlight in his face, and he let me go, even turning his back to me. The guy holding Ashlyn didn’t let her go. In fact, he held on tighter. I…um…” She took in a few deep breaths. “In the end, I had to leave my best friend. If I didn’t run, I wouldn’t have gotten away. The shifter holding me came after me. I had to shine the light in his eyes again to blind him because he was so fast. That’s when I saw him properly.”

“What did he look like?” Thunder asked.

“He was a huge guy. They all were. Huge and naked. His eyes were big, but not in a weird way. You know how some people just naturally have really big eyes?”

Thunder nodded. “Go on,” the King urged.

“They were a weird color, though. Silvery and too bright. He also had a tattoo like yours.” She looked at Thunder’s chest.

“Was it golden?” Thunder asked, touching his marking.

“Not exactly.” She looked at Fog’s chest. “It was silver but with gold flecks. Fog’s tattoo has blue flecks; his had gold. Do you know these shifters? Why did they take Ashlyn? Do they plan on harming her?”

“We know of them,” Storm said. He pulled in a deep breath. “Fog, it is very important that what is said in the room stays in this room. I need to be clear about that.”

“Certainly, my Lord.” He inclined his head.

“No!” Thunder boomed. “I insist. There are enough rumors flying around. Males who have spoken when they were instructed not to. That kind of behavior ends now, am I clear?”

“Yes, Sire.” Fog kept his gaze averted as a sign of respect.

“You will be flogged with a silver-tipped whip and your balls will be removed with a silver blade if you breathe a word of what is about to be said to anyone else in this tribe,” Storm growled, his eyes glowing.

Riley sucked in a breath. He could hear how her heart rate accelerated. He heard her gulp.

“I won’t talk of this.” Fog shook his head. “You have my word.”

“Good.” Thunder looked satisfied. He leaned back in his chair. “The same goes for you, Riley.”

“I don’t have balls.”

Fog came so close to choking out a laugh that he was forced to cough a couple of times instead. He put his fist in front of his mouth as he coughed.

“You know what the King means,” Storm said.

“I just signed my life away.” She gestured with her eyes towards the non-disclosure agreement. “I won’t say anything.”

“We have it on good authority that the cave dragons are in the same situation as the rest of the non-humans. They are having fertility problems. It’s why we began taking human mates a couple of years ago.”

“Fog was telling me all about it.”

“It seems that Fog has told you a lot about our kind already,” Storm said, using a questioning tone.

“Riley deserved to know, after what she had been through.”

Storm sighed. “We believe that the cave dwellers are looking for mates. That’s why you and your friend were taken.”

“What?” Riley pushed her chair back. “What are they going to do to her? Why are we even sitting here?” The human burst into tears. “Poor Ash. They’re going to turn her into a sex slave. A breeding machine.”

Thunder and Storm got looks of bewilderment. “No, we highly doubt that. The cave dwellers abducted one of our males. He said that they came across as well-organized and intelligent,” Storm said.

They also cut that same male’s wings off twice. They kept him locked up against his will for almost a week. They sounded like a vicious bunch, in Fog’s opinion. He didn’t say any of this; he didn’t want to scare Riley any more than she was already.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Psychopaths are generally well-organized individuals with above-average intelligence, but they’re still psychopaths.” Nail on the head!

“The cave dwellers are dragon shifters. We live by a code. We believe in honor,” Thunder said.

“Geez, you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you on that one. They abducted us!” Riley yelled. “That’s not okay.” Tears were still streaming down her face as she talked. Fog could see anger in her eyes.

Fog was inclined to agree with the female. They knew nothing of these creatures. That they were a species of dragon meant nothing. That Earth dragon fucker who’d attacked Ice’s mate, Azure, hadn’t believed in honor. Word had since come out about what the male had done to Azure. Skarn had been beaten several times since then. His life had turned into a living hell, which he deserved. The point was, if one of them on the surface could forsake honor, then why not a species living under the ground too? Again, he didn’t say anything, not because this shouldn’t be questioned, but because he didn’t want to upset Riley any further.

“It’s not okay. They are acting out of a place of desperation, as we once did too,” Thunder said, trying to placate Riley.

“Some assholes underground need women, so it’s alright to go and grab some?” Riley had stopped crying and was yelling. Her face was red.

“It’s not okay or alright to do such a thing. We’re not condoning what they did, Miss Fuller. We’re explaining why they did it,” Storm said in a placating voice that might come across as condescending.

“My name is Riley,” the human growled. “I don’t care about explanations. All I care about is getting her back.”

“We believe that the female with—”

“Not ‘female.’ Ashlyn. Her name is Ashlyn Montgomery.” Such a feisty human. Fog was enjoying watching her stand up to the royals.

Storm pushed out a heavy breath. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, Riley. My apologies.” He paused, but Riley didn’t say anything. She kept her narrowed eyes on him. “We do not believe that the cave dwellers mean Ashlyn any harm. They—”

“You just told me that they took Ashlyn with the sole purpose of breeding with her because their own women can’t have babies.”

“Not breeding, no.” Thunder sounded exasperated. “They would like an opportunity to mate with her. Offspring would be the ultimate goal.”

“What’s the freaking difference? I don’t see one. You might have to spell it out to me.”

“The difference is that she would choose to mate and choose to have young. The choice would ultimately be hers.”

“Oh, I see.” Riley rubbed her jaw. “Like she chose to go down into that cave with them. Like she’s choosing to stay down there right now. Are you telling me that they will let her go if she doesn’t want to become someone’s mate? That they won’t force her into it?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. They will do their best to convince her to stay, but if she decides she doesn’t want to in the end, she will be allowed to return home.”

“Please, can you tell me what it is you are smoking? Because I would love to try some right now. Must be some good shit!”

“That’s hardly appropriate, Miss…Riley,” Storm spluttered. “I’m trying to help.”

“You’re not helping, though. Not at all. You have no idea what the hell these things want or how they will treat my best friend. You’re telling me what you think I want to hear, and I don’t appreciate it.”

“One of our males was down there for close on a week. He was interrogated for hours but otherwise fairly treated.”

Fog shifted in his seat. He liked his balls, so he kept the whole “wing-cutting” incident to himself, at least for now.

“Big whoop! That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Riley threw back.

“They asked him about human females. They asked where to find humans. How to win them over. Their likes and dislikes. There was an abundance of questions along those lines. Questions they would not have asked if they planned on forcing anyone to breed.”

“So, you knew that they planned something like this?” Fog couldn’t keep silent any longer.

“We suspected that they might,” Thunder said. “And, before you say anything, there was nothing we could have done to prevent this from happening.”

“You knew though, and you swept it under the rug,” Fog countered.

“That is not true,” Storm growled. “Did you want us to inform the humans of the threat? What do you think needed to happen? It’s easy to judge. The kings have to think of the lives and well-being of all the dragons first. Sometimes hard decisions need to be made.”

“Next, they will come to our lairs. They will take our females…our—” Fog could feel his blood boil.

“We will fight them if they try. So long as they stay where they are and leave us alone, we will leave them alone,” Storm growled. “That is the decision that was made.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Fog asked.

“They are abducting women. You can’t be serious?” Riley added, her voice shrill.

“We abducted human women not so long ago. We made mistakes; we rectified them. The cave dwellers are no different,” Thunder said. “They will learn from their mistakes.”

“At what cost?” Riley sounded exasperated.

“With all due respect, Sire, you don’t know that for sure. We need to assemble a team. We need to rescue Ashlyn. Maybe meet with the cave dwellers. Discuss other options with them,” Fog tried. “We can’t allow them to do this.”

“Sending males into those caves would be a suicide mission. We would be in their world and vulnerable,” Thunder’s voice rumbled.

“It doesn’t matter,” Fog snarled. “We have to try.”

“Are you volunteering?” Storm asked; there was a definite edge to his voice.

“Yes,” Fog nodded. “I’ll go.”

“The tunnels that lead into the cave systems where the cave dragons live are narrow, barely able to contain a man, let alone a dragon.”

Fog felt his heart race. His palms turned instantly sweaty. Dragons hated confined spaces. It was a good thing that through modern technology, they were able to work the mines. They didn’t have to rely as heavily on the goblins anymore. “Doesn’t sound like much fun, but still,” he pushed out.

“Why do you think Skarn’s wings were removed? Think about it logically. Is that what you want for yourself? For anyone foolish enough to go with you?”

“Who’s Skarn?” Riley asked, frowning. “Does this mean that you won’t help get Ashlyn back?” She looked from the prince to Fog and back again. “Won’t you help me?” she asked Thunder. “Are you just going to leave her?” she yelled.

“Your friend won’t come to any harm,” Thunder insisted. Fog could see that he meant it.

“You can’t be sure,” Riley whispered.

“We are almost one hundred percent positive. We can’t risk our males over one human female.”

“It’s not just one!” Fog blurted. It had to be said. They had to know this, and yet they were turning a blind eye. This was why they didn’t want Skarn’s interrogation to get out. The humans were in danger, and the dragons planned on doing nothing to help them. “There will be more taken. More abductions. Are we just going to stand by and watch it happen?”

“I was outvoted,” Thunder finally said. “The majority voted to stay out of it. As long as the cave dwellers leave us alone, we will leave them alone as well. The only reason they came up in the first place was the same reason we started mingling with humans.” He shrugged. “It was out of desperation. There is little difference between us when it comes to that. We will stay out of it.”

“Ash!” Riley sobbed. “Oh, poor Ash.” She stood, pushing her chair back. “I’ll go myself.”

“You’re being foolish,” Storm said. “You would be recaptured.”

“Who cares? If everything you have just told me is true, then I have nothing to fear from these creatures. At least I would know that myself and be there for my friend.”

“You could become lost in the cave systems and die of hunger and dehydration,” Thunder said. “We will take you back to your home tomorrow morning. Fog can escort you. You will be well compensated for your trouble. Your friend will be fine. You will see that in the long run.”

“Well compensated?” She snorted. “You can keep your money. I don’t want to go back home without Ashlyn.”

“I am sorry, female, but you cannot stay here,” Thunder said, looking like he meant it. “You are not mated, testing compatibility, or in any kind of a relationship with one of our dragons. Our rules are clear. It’s out of my hands.”

“For the last time, my name is Riley, douche bag,” she growled.

The King’s jaw dropped open.

“You can’t speak to the King in that way!” Storm spluttered.

“You’re not my king,” she told Thunder. “I think it’s despicable that you would turn a blind eye to all of this.”

“If I send a team of males down, they will be killed for trespassing. Is that what you want, Riley?” Thunder exaggerated her name. “Do you want our males to die?”

“You know I don’t want that,” Riley said.

“Then it is settled. I am sorry for your troubles.”

“Sorry?” Riley yelled. “Sorry!” she repeated.

Fog tried to take her elbow, but she yanked it away. “Sorry isn’t good enough,” she growled.

“That is why we will compensate you as well,” Storm said. “You can take the pen as a gift.”

“You can stick your money and that pen right up your royal ass!” she yelled.

Fog coughed a few times as he grabbed her elbow, not letting her slip away this time. “Let go!” she shouted. “I’m not done.” Riley seethed.

“You are,” Fog said. “They’re not listening. Let’s go and talk this out.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Riley tried to pull free, but Fog held on tight.

“Please, Riley. I’m begging you to listen to me.” She locked eyes with him, still struggling. “I told you I would protect you, and you accepted my help. Let me help you right now.”

A few seconds later, some of the wildness bled from her eyes. Her shoulders sagged. “Okay, fine.” She turned to Thunder, pointing at him. “This isn’t over.”

Then, thankfully, she allowed herself to be led away.