Melanie leaned into his touch. “I sure hope so.”
Bram appeared in the doorway with his son in one arm and hugging his mate with the other, his face grim. “Kai just sent me a text about the attacks.”
Tristan raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Bram let out a sigh. “The Order of the Dragon Knights are claiming responsibility for the attack.”
Chapter Five
Careful to keep her voice low so as to not wake the babies, Melanie asked, “The same Dragon Knights as the ones in the legends old William tells when he drinks a little too much?”
Bram nodded. “And while most humans believe them to be legends, the Dragon Knights were real. They disappeared three hundred years ago thanks to pressure from Enlightenment thinkers and scientists who wanted to save the dragon-shifters from extinction. Because of their centuries of silence, I’m taking their claims of responsibility with a grain of salt.”
Mel blinked. “Wait a second. In all of my research, no one ever mentioned the Knights being real. Why not?”
Tristan squeezed her shoulder and she looked to him. “Because, love, we believed them long gone and didn’t want to give anyone ideas about starting something similar again.”
Melanie eyed her mate. “You’re not supposed to keep secrets from me, Tristan.”
Uncertainty flashed in Tristan’s eyes, but Bram spoke up before her mate could answer. “It was on my order, Mel. A clan leader’s word is the only thing that outranks a mate’s.”
Her throat closed up at being excluded, but Mel pushed it aside. “So you still don’t think of me as one of the clan? Or that I could know a secret and keep it? As you’ve seen today, this book’s release has caused major damage and threatened my life. Complete honesty is the least you owe me.”
Bram shuffled his feet. Evie elbowed him and after a quick glance to Evie, Bram focused back on Melanie with regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry, lass. The decision was made shortly after you conceived, when you asked about writing the book. Between the increase of dragon hunter attacks on our borders and Evie’s kidnapping, I forgot all about it. I’ll rescind the order with the entire clan as soon as the threat passes and it won’t happen again.”
Bram’s words eased some of her hurt. “I need some answers now, Bram, or I can’t help and think of a way to tackle the threats.”
Stonefire’s leader nodded. “Ask away, then, lass. I have a few minutes.”
Facts were more important than dwelling on the past slight, so Mel continued, “Right, then, let me get this straight. Not only do we have the dragon hunters wanting to trap all of you and drain your blood, we now have knights who want to slay you? For what purpose? Killing a dragon won’t bring them prestige.”
Bram answered, “I’m sorry, lass, but you’re wrong about that. In addition to earning a reputation in criminal circles, because killing a dragon is bloody difficult to do, they’ll gain prestige with their fellow knights. If they truly are back, they’ll be competing against each other and then it won’t be long before they have fans romanticizing them and admiring their work from afar.”
Evie spoke up. “Why the bloody hell would someone cheer on slaying dragons? If nothing else, their healing blood would be wasted.”
Bram drawled, “Nice to see you equating us with other medical rarities and not as individuals.”
Evie slapped her mate’s chest. “Stop it, Bram. From a logical perspective, slaying a dragon makes little sense anymore. They can’t win trophies or the respect of a king or nobleman. Not to mention it’s illegal and will bring the DDA down on them.”
Mel remembered something from her time working with Evie over the last few months. Leaning forward slightly, she looked to her friend. “But didn’t you mention the next-in-line at the DDA wanted to dismantle the sacrifice system and pretty much destroy the DDA? Jonathan something or other.”
Evie’s mouth dropped open for a second before she regained her wits. “Jonathan Christie. He’d have knowledge of the old Dragon Knights. Not only that, but by attacking the London DDA office, he’s sure to have killed the head of the DDA, Regina Ward.”
Mel frowned. “Does this Christie bloke have connections to pull something like today off?”
Evie shrugged. “I have no bloody idea. The man was far up the hierarchy. I only saw him from a distance at department-wide events.”
Tristan jumped in. “This is nothing but conjecture. Where’s the proof?”
Bram shook his head. “We just came up with the theory, Tristan. Gives us a little time to prove it.”
Mel pushed past her mate’s words. “If we can prove it and Christie is behind the Dragon Knights’ return, then we have a bigger problem.” She looked back to Evie. “If the head of the DDA is dead, then who is in charge?”
Evie’s face turned grim. “Jonathan Christie.”
&nb
sp; Mel continued. “Right, so if he’s in charge, he’ll ignore the Dragon Knights and they’ll continue making terrorist attacks. No human female in her right mind would volunteer to be a sacrifice. Rather than becoming targets, the sacrifices and their families would turn to the black market for dragon’s blood.”