Page 67 of Red Dragon’s Heart

Mikah sobered himself up, and then reached out and gently took the necklace in his hand. “This, my lovely unsuspecting human, is the very first piece of Zakerek’s hoard. For a long time, when the three of us were slaves, it was his entire hoard. The only thing he was allowed to have, and only because a dragon without any hoard at all usually sickens and dies, and they wanted us alive.”

He reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out a similar pendant on a chain. “This is mine.” He caressed it, as if it were alive, then tucked it away again.

He said, “Dragons’ hoards are a part of them, and the first piece is the heart of the hoard. More important, it’s a piece of the dragon’s heart.”

Maddie felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. Not the monster’s heart. The dragon’s heart. She said faintly, “He didn’t mean it like that.”

Mikah said, “No dragon would give you something like that unless he meant it. Especially not Zak. And the hoard wouldn’t sing to you unless his dragon approves of you. As a mate.”

Hope flared briefly inside her. “Really?” And then it dropped again. “He didn’t say anything.”

Mikah rolled his eyes. “Of course he didn’t. He’s Zak.”

True. “So, what should I do? Should I talk to him about it?”

Mikah said, “I wish I could give you advice, but none of knows how the hell to handle Zak. You can probably do it as well as anyone.”

“Okay,” she said. “It’s going to be complicated, though. I have responsibilities on earth. Family.”

“If you’re really true mates, it will work out. True mates are magic.”

“Unfortunately, I’m a scientist. Magic is probably quantum physics, which unfortunately doesn’t cover emotions.”

“Oh, darlin’,” Mikah said, shaking his head. “You have so much to learn.”

He rose and gave her a hand up, and they went back to the barbecue. Zak came over as soon as she stepped out on the terrace, carrying a plate. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. You need to try one of my Fire Dragon Red-Hot Tacos.”

“Sounds scary,” she said, eyeing the plate dubiously.

Cazbek was behind him, carrying a drink. “It’s okay,” he said, holding up the glass. “If it burns your mouth, this drink will fix it. I invented it for Lucinda after an incident we no longer mention. It’s called a Fire Extinguisher.”

At that moment, Cazbek’s pocket chimed, and he pulled out a small golden ball. There was an image in it, like a video. “Whoops.” He handed Maddie the drink. “Duty calls.”

A few yards away, she saw Emon had done the same thing. Then Mikah’s pocket chimed.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Must be an emergency.” He too moved off.

Zak had frozen, staring after the three of them. “What is it?” Maddie asked him.

“A bad feeling.”

The three dragons all spoke separately into their devices for a minute, which seemed to work like spherical video phones. Then Emon shoved his into his pocket and made his way over to them.

“Bad news,” he said, and turned to Maddie. “The security team was attacked while your brother was at the hospital for his dialysis treatment. He was taken.”

“What?” She stared at him. Zak growled.

“They’re calling me back on the office computer. We’ll know more when we get there.” And he led the way inside.

Chapter 29

Zak had to tell himself to keep breathing, while they left the barbecue and trooped up to Emon’s office.

In, out. In, out. Remain calm. Don’t kill anyone.

He wanted to rip the damn collar off so he could let the monster loose, or at least his dragon, just so the fury inside him could have somewhere to go. How the hell could this have happened? Maddie had trusted him. She was counting on him, and he’d made her leave earth.

And as soon as she left, her brother had been taken.