As Jane’s mind whirred, she noted the lack of grief in Maggie’s eyes. She should keep her mouth shut, but her curiosity won out. “By your lack of mourning I’m guessing you didn’t love him.”
“No. Although he was good to me whilst alive.” Maggie cleared her throat. “Is there anything else? Otherwise, I have lessons to prepare.”
Maggie may be soft-spoken, but if she were weak in her youth, she’d mostly outgrown it.
Her first impulse was to tell Maggie to leave Kai alone. Jane had no idea if her kiss would still initiate the mate-claim frenzy or not. Dragon-shifters could move past a true mate, but Jane had no bloody idea how long it took.
But then she remembered Kai’s loving glance, and it chased away her fears. Jane trusted Kai. Even if Maggie tried something, Kai would remain faithful.
A small niggle of doubt warned otherwise, but Jane pushed it away. Otherwise she might never find out what she needed. “If you mentioned the secret door, then I imagine Delia told you why she might need it. Can you share anything about that?”
Shrugging, Maggie rearranged a few stacks of paper. “She wanted to investigate something, to try to imitate you.” Maggie’s dark gaze met her own. “If anything, this is your fault. It’s hard for a human to understand, but dragon-shifter teenagers are always out to prove themselves. Delia is trying to prove herself to you.”
Jane clenched her fingers. “Says the woman who told her how to escape. Hate me if you like, but risking a child’s life to get at me is unforgivable.”
“Kai will find
her, but he’ll blame you for it all. Maybe then he’ll finally understand why humans and dragons should never mate.”
She closed the distance between them. “Kai will easily see how a woman who broke his heart wanted to hurt his current love. What happened with Kai is your fault, Maggie. If you think there’s a second chance with Kai, then you don’t understand him at all.”
“I’m not about to discuss dragon matters with a human. I’ve told you all that I know. You’d better leave before I mention to my clan leader how a human is trying to scare me into saying what she wants to hear.”
The urge to punch Maggie returned, but Lily’s warning about not being able to win against a dragon-shifter came back to her.
Jane may not be able to win a physical fight, but she could win the long game. Once Kai returned, they should be able to find a way to use Maggie’s pettiness to ensure she got what she deserved. Putting any young at risk was a crime with dragon-shifters. Or, so it was on Stonefire. She imagined it was the same on Snowridge.
Maggie Jones would get her comeuppance in the end.
Jane took a step back. “This isn’t over.”
Shrugging, Maggie raised her brows. “It’s your word against mine. I don’t know how things are done on Stonefire, but Snowridge puts clan above strangers.”
Jane wanted to take out her phone and show she’d recorded the interview, as she always did, to review later. However, Jane would allow Maggie to think she was safe.
Turning around, she strode out the classroom and down the corridor. It seemed Jane and even Kai had underestimated Maggie’s abilities. She’d ensure that neither one of them ever did so again.
Chapter Six
Kai and Carys had kept to the trees and watched the area until nightfall. When the sun finally set and nothing had happened, they made their way toward the farmhouse and other buildings. Eira and Wren were posted at two different spots to keep watch and alert them to anyone coming their way.
Thanks to his dragon-shifter eyesight, Kai could see every rock or even cigarette butt on the ground despite the near-darkness. The key was to make as little sound as possible and to avoid any potential booby traps. Kai didn’t think they’d have sophisticated security systems, but he kept an eye out for them as well.
Light shone through one of the windows in the farmhouse on the ground level. However, as they approached, he didn’t hear any talking, footsteps, or other signs of human habitation. He signaled for Carys to investigate the perimeter of the house while he went to the barn.
As his dragon always did on important missions, he remained silent inside Kai’s head but lent his observation skills and would let him know if he spotted or heard anything.
Closing the distance to the stone building of the barn, Kai sniffed the air. Instead of animal dung, hay, or dirt, he smelled something chemical he couldn’t name.
Since he’d dealt with his fair share of explosives in his army days and could identify them by scent, he ruled them out, too. However, ever since his clan had been targeted with drugs that made dragon halves take over and go wild, Kai had learned to be cautious of any chemical he couldn’t name. When he had the chance, he needed to talk with Dr. Sid and the other doctors on Stonefire so that he could obtain a sample of the drug and have his Protectors memorize the smell.
Scanning the side of the barn, he counted a few long, narrow slits on the sides in addition to the set of wide, wooden doors. One of the ventilation slits was on ground level, so Kai crouched down and crept to just below it. The silence made him suspicious.
Careful not to disturb the earth and make noise, Kai rose slowly until he could peek through the opening. A large, white truck sat at the far side of the room. Sweeping the room with his eyes, he noticed a thin line of light shining from behind a closed door.
His dragon spoke up. We need to look inside.
I know. Give me a bloody moment.