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  "This is a traditional family recipe from the old country," Darius remarked in a mild tone that nevertheless carried all the way down the table. "It's said that back in my grandfather's time, if someone offended one of the old dragon clans, their punishment was to be made into a broth and served to the clan in this style."

  Tessa dropped her spoon.

  "For fuck's sake, Dad," Ben snapped. "Are you capable of at least acting like a civilized person for as long as it takes to—"

  "May I have the recipe?" Tessa asked loudly.

  This was followed by a silence so profound that the sound of a servant's foot scuffling in the hallway seemed very loud.

  "After all," Tessa went on, "I'm dating your son, so I need to learn his family traditions." She forced herself to lift a spoonful of the soup to her lips, all the while staring at Darius and chanting in her head, It's only seafood, it's only seafood. "And," she added, wiping her lips with her napkin, "I want to know how to behave properly if someone offends me."

  She followed this up with another stare at Darius. His face was completely blank. So was Melody's. Tessa didn't even want to look at Ben.

  And ... now is the point when Ben's father transforms into a dragon and eats me in front of his entire family. This day is going great. At least now I know I'll be served in a tasty broth.

  Then Darius laughed.

  "Perhaps this one is, after all, a suitable mate for a dragon," he declared, pointing at Tessa with his spoon. "Is the soup to your liking, or would you prefer a different course?"

  "The soup is entirely to my liking," she said, dipping her spoon again for another bite, this time with only a minimal amount of jaw-clenching. It's only seafood ... "And I was very serious about wanting the recipe."

  "I'll have it send to your room. Er ... where those animals still remain, I presume."

  "Oh yes, that's another thing," Tessa said. "We need a litterbox. They've probably already taken a dump or two on your nice white carpet, most likely under the bed. There's kitten food in the car, by the way. They'll need that too."

  She delivered all of this in her best approximation of the peremptory tones Darius had used on them earlier. Okay, NOW is when I get eaten ...

  But the thing was, she thought she knew how to deal with people like Darius. The ones she was used to weren't dragons. They were customers who wanted this exact cat even though the information packet clearly stated "No homes with small children" and there were half a dozen small children clinging to them but I'm paying for this cat and I want this one! They were social services workers who held her teenage life in their hands and thought they knew what was best for her better than she did.

  You didn't back down, didn't show weakness, and didn't yell. You just planted your feet and told them what they were going to do. If you made yourself impossible to move, most people got tired of trying to move you and went around instead.

  Darius smiled slightly and turned his head. "Malva? You heard her instructions. Please relay them to Maddox. I'm sure he'll enjoy it."

  "You're just trying to make that guy hate my guts, aren't you, Dad?" Ben said, with a levity in his voice that Tessa knew him well enough to know was forced. But he seemed a little less tense than earlier. He brushed the backs of his fingers against her bare shoulder.

  "You've shown that you're perfectly capable of annoying him yourself," Darius said. He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers as another course was brought around, this time a flaky fish garnished with parsley and lemon. "And I thought you'd outgrown dragging me into your messes whenever you get in a scrape."

  "That's rich, coming from you, when you're the one who got me involved in the first place." Ben slipped his hand down to rest on Tessa's gloved forearm. "Plus, if an assassin hunting my mate and nearly killing my sister is what you call a 'scrape,' I don't want to find out your idea of a serious problem. So how is your 'research' going so far?"

  Darius considered them over his steepled fingers and then picked up his fork. "Reive's clan leader is his great-uncle, Heikon Corcoran. Intriguingly enough, the family's gone through some upheaval in the last couple of decades. Heikon was deposed in a coup orchestrated by his younger brother Braun—Reive's grandfather. Several other members of the clan were in on it, including Reive's father. Recently, within the last couple of years, Heikon reclaimed his place at the top of the clan and had the conspirators executed."

  "You got all of this in an hour?" Tessa said.

  "He knew some of it already," Ben murmured.

  Darius smiled as he dug his fork into the fish. "The key to being well connected, Miss Davelos, is knowing exactly who to call for the latest gossip ... and one never reveals one's sources. Eat up, it's wild-caught salmon. Very good for you. Full of omega-3."

  "Anyway, fascinating dragon politics aside," Ben said, "what does all of this have to do with Tessa?"

  Melody spoke up in her soft voice. "Do you think Tessa's parents knew the Corcorans?"

  "Where are you from, Miss Davelos?" Darius asked her. "Originally, I mean. You needn't be specific; the state will do."

  "We lived in Colorado when I was small. That's where my parents died."

  Darius nodded. "And that's where Heikon Corcoran has his lair."

  "Oh," Tessa said. It was a small, soft sound.

  "If the Corcorans believe Tessa's parents stole part of their hoard," Darius said, "that would explain why they're is hunting her."

  "They didn't!" Tessa flared, closing her fingers over the stone. "My parents weren't thieves. They weren't."

  "Merely a suggestion," Darius said mildly. He went on eating.

  There was a throat-clearing noise and Maddox loomed very suddenly at Darius's shoulder. Tessa still didn't know how he could move around so quietly, but she took some satisfaction from the cat scratches on the backs of his hands. He leaned down to murmur into Darius's ear.

  Darius nodded, murmured back, and Maddox left as quietly as he'd come. Darius continued eating, oblivious, it seemed, to all the eyes at the table fixed on him.

  Finally Ben said, "What was that about?"

  Darius raised a hand until he had finished chewing. "It seems," he said after swallowing, "that your assassin is here."

  Melody fumbled her napkin and dropped it in her lap. Ben threw a protective arm around Tessa. "And you're just mentioning this now?" he snapped.

  "I've given Maddox instructions not to let him in. That being said," Darius added, raising his head to fix Ben and Tessa with a cool stare, "my business plans do not currently include a feud with the Corcorans. I am not sheltering you. However, the meal will be spoiled if we leave it to cool while we deal with this."

  Everyone else at the table stood up, pointedly.

  "Ah, well." Darius sighed and laid his napkin beside his plate. "Perhaps the leftovers can feed your infernal cats."

  "You should go somewhere safe," Ben told Tessa quietly. "Go back to our room and wait for me. I'll talk to Reive. Maybe we can come to some kind of agreement."

  Tessa shook her head. "I need to be there. I'm not letting you negotiate with Reive on my behalf." Or go into danger without me.

  "Tessa." Melody reached for her friend's hand, black-gloved fingers slipping into coral. "In this, he's right. It would be too easy for Reive to simply shift and grab you. I'm not sure if I could stop him. I'm not sure if Dad would stop him."

  Ben lightly kissed the corner of Tessa's mouth. "Go with her, love. She'll protect you."

  A shudder went through her. It was the first time either of them had spoken the word love aloud. She wanted to say it back to him, but it was as if her throat was paralyzed; the words wouldn't come.

  And then Ben was turning away with his father, and the moment had slipped away. Tessa strained after him, but Melody's hand, strong and implacable, pulled her in the other direction.

  How had she never noticed how strong Melody was before?

  "Let them go," Melody murmured. "I know a balcony where we can watch. We can see and hear
them, but they won't see us."

  Tessa nodded and tore her eyes away from Ben's back. Before leaving the table, she turned around to fork up a last large bite of the fish and cram it into her mouth. It was very good fish, and she was still hungry.

  She tried not to think of it as her last meal.

  Chapter Thirteen

  As Ben, together with his father, stepped out of the wide double doors of the mansion's main entrance, the first thing he saw was Reive's motorcycle, not looking any the worse for wear after its adventure in the creek, parked in the sweeping front drive. Reive stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up with his hands shoved into the pockets of his black leather jacket and the night wind from the valley ruffling his dark hair.

  Reive hadn't come any further because Maddox stood at the top of the steps, arms folded and wide shoulders bulging at the seams of his suit.

  Ben had a feeling that Reive could have taken Maddox easily—whatever Maddox shifted into, it probably couldn't beat a dragon—but hadn't tried for the same reason that Darius hadn't run Reive off yet. The state of relations between the different dragon clans was fragile. None of them wanted to be the one to break the peace.

  "Reive Corcoran," Darius said. He glided forward, and Maddox moved out of the way. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

  "I think you know," Reive said. He stood with his legs apart, body loose but tense, ready to move if he had to. "I'm here on behalf of my clan. I believe you have something that belongs to us."

  Ben had to stop himself from looking up at the mansion, trying to figure out which of the lighted windows belonged to the Lilac Room.

  "Ah yes, the girl with the rather important necklace," Darius said. "I'll turn her over to you in just a moment, although—"

  "The hell you will!" Ben shouldered his way between his father and Maddox. His cat was snarling inside him, struggling to push its way out and claw at this threat to their mate. "She's not yours to give, and she's not going anywhere."

  "She's not mine to conceal, either," Darius pointed out mildly. "May I ask why you want her, Reive of clan Corcoran?"

  "She's a thief and a traitor," Reive said.

  "She is none of those things!" Ben snarled. "She'd never heard of dragons until I told her about them. She didn't even know what her necklace was. She's blameless in all of this."

  "Not my call." Reive sounded regretful, though Ben couldn't exactly muster up sympathy for him. "I'm under orders from my clan leader. Just give me the girl and we can all—"

  "Orders to do what?" Ben demanded. "To kill the person who has the necklace, regardless of who it is or how they got it? Does your honor permit you to go around killing random bystanders who just happened to get their hands on a piece of jewelry when they don't even know what it's for?"

  Reive gave a short, humorless laugh. "It doesn't work like that, trust me. The person who has the necklace is the only person who could have the necklace. Which means she's guilty, sad to say." He looked up at Darius. "You're Darius Keegan, the head of this clan, correct?"

  "That is correct," Darius said.

  "You can stonewall me, and you can negotiate for the girl's life with my clan head if you want to go that far out on a limb, but it won't change the outcome. Trust me, my clan leader is not the type to change his mind on a whim."

  "Nor am I," Darius said with a trace of a smile. "He's right, Benedict. This is a matter of honor. You'll recover from the loss of your mate; she's only a human—"

  "Reive Corcoran, I challenge you to a duel," Ben said.

  There was a moment's pause, when the only sound was the wind rustling the leaves of the trees along the edge of the cliff, and then Reive said, "Pardon?"

  "A duel. I challenge you to combat, me and you. I may not be a dragon," Ben said, with a hard look in his father's direction, "but I grew up around them, and I know how dragon culture works. All of you live your lives according to ages-old traditions, and one of those traditions is the resolution of disputes between clans in single combat. Father? Am I wrong?"

  "It ... has been done," Darius admitted. "But this isn't a matter between our clan and theirs. It's strictly between you and them."

  "It's a matter for the clan now. Since I brought her here. At least, Heikon Corcoran could easily see it as one."

  Darius's eyes flashed; Ben glimpsed his father's dragon for an instant. "You played me."

  "No, I didn't. I hoped you'd help me, because I'm your son and I do still believe, deep down, that means something to you. But since you won't, this is the only path you've left me." Turning to look down the steps at Reive, Ben called, "Do you accept my challenge? Just between you and me, I don't think you want to kill her. Give her a chance to escape with your clan's honor intact."

  Reive took his hands out of his pockets; he wore fingerless leather driving gloves. "Or I'll simply kill both of you. There's no honor in this. A mere panther shifter against a dragon? That fight will be over in moments. I refuse."

  "So what would make it honorable?" Ben asked, his heart beating heavily. "What if we agree to fight in our unshifted bodies? You against me, human-form? We're about the same size. You couldn't ask for a more level playing field."

  "Dragons are still stronger," Reive said. He smiled faintly, an expression that made Ben think of his father. "And I don't know how long I can contain my beast once I really let myself go."

  "I don't either." Ben could already feel his panther struggling inside him, wanting to be let out to claw that smirk off Reive's face. "So we'll fight as humans for as long as we can keep our beasts leashed. And then it's panther against dragon—but not if I defeat you first."

  "This will not be a fight to first blood," Reive said, his voice cool. "I know my clan head won't accept that. It will be a fight to serious injury at the very least. Perhaps to the death."

  "I know," Ben said. He didn't look at his father, and forced himself not to worry about Tessa. If I lose, Melody will protect her. She's already proven that she's willing to defy draconic honor and Dad's orders to help us.

  "Then I accept," Reive said quietly. He stripped off his jacket and slung it across the motorcycle's seat.

  ***

  "We can't let him do this! He'll be killed!"

  On a glassed-in balcony high above the action happening below, Melody caught her friend to prevent Tessa from throwing open the sliding glass doors and screaming her rage at the men below. "Tessa, stop! If you show yourself, there's nothing to stop him from shifting and taking you back to his clan for execution. Or simply flying you high into the air and letting you fall to dash your brains out on rocks in the valley. He's your executioner, don't you understand?"

  "I don't care!" Tessa cried wildly, struggling against Melody's powerful grip. "Let him! At least that way Ben won't have to fight him and die!"

  "Listen!" Melody gave her a shake and gripped both Tessa's upper arms, turning the other woman to face her. "Think of it as Ben buying time for us to find another solution, one in which no one has to die. Think!"

  Tessa took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. What could they do? Who could stop this? Her father clearly wouldn't. And there was only one other authority she could think of to appeal to.

  "Can we somehow get in touch with the head of the Corcorans?" she asked Melody. "This Heikon guy."

  "I ... don't know." Melody hesitated, some of her usual mousiness creeping back into her manner. "I don't know if he'd talk to us."

  "But we're in your father's house, right? What if he thought your father was calling him? I don't know how all of this works, but I guess it'd be like the leader of another country calling our President, right? He couldn't not take the call."

  "Well, sort of," Melody admitted. "But we still have to find out where to call, and—"

  "So let's get moving! Your dad was just looking into the Corcorans, so there should be somewhere around here that we could go to get their number and all that other useful information, right? Where would that be?"


  "His office," Melody said immediately. "I can take you there."

  Tessa looked down at the drive, and her throat tightened at the sight of Ben and Reive squaring off against each other. It looked like they were going to fight right there. They'd both shed their jackets, and Ben had taken off his shoulder holster.

  Please don't die, she thought as she turned away to hurry after Melody. Please hold on. You can win this fight, I believe in you—but if it doesn't work, we need a backup plan.

  I'll find something. I promise.

  I love you.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Darius stood like a statue as Ben stripped off his tuxedo jacket and slung it over a marble bench, followed by his holster and gun.

  "As the challenger," Reive called up the steps, "I choose the weapon."

  Weapons. Right. Too much to hope that they'd fight bare-handed. "I agree," Ben called down. "What do you choose?"

  "Knives."

  Ouch. But it was a good choice, the closest human alternative to the claws that were the natural weapon of both dragons and panthers.

  Maddox looked toward Darius, who gave a slight nod, face like stone. The henchman drew two knives from somewhere under his jacket and tossed one toward each of the combatants.

  Shifter-quick reflexes were more than enough to pluck a knife out of the air. Ben caught it easily and hefted it, feeling its weight and balance. It was a good knife, and a big one, the size of a kitchen butcher knife and razor-sharp along the gleaming edge. Down at the bottom of the stairs, Reive did a few test thrusts and tossed the knife from hand to hand.

  "I have one question for you, Benedict," Darius said, turning toward him. "Can you win this?"

  "I have to," Ben said. "For Tessa."

  Darius scowled. "That's not the answer I was hoping for."

  "Yeah, well, me not being a proper part of the clan is a sword that cuts both ways, isn't it? You can't order me to do anything."

  Darius's dragon flashed in his eyes. "I could stop you."

  "Yeah. You could. But you'll have to do it by force." Ben met his father's stony gaze. "Dad ... for once in your damn life, trust me. Trust me to be able to do this."