Destiny Kills (Myth and Magic 1)

My ears pricked up. “Us?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Me and my sister, Mercy.”

“So she’s a draman, like you?”

“Yes, but not kin to Egan. Her father is one of the lesser males.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Lesser males?”

He nodded. “Air dragons have a hierarchy system that’s based on both color and bloodline. The strong color lines—like blacks, reds, and golds—tend to raise more kings than the browns and the blues.” He shrugged. “There are some bloodlines that have never raised a king, and are considered ‘lesser’ families.”

“Much like British royalty.” I paused, and opened up a packet of chips. “What about the ring? You said it’s the king’s ring, but I get the feeling that it’s more than a bit of fancy jewelry.”

“It’s basically the succession ring. Without it, a new leader cannot be chosen.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I wouldn’t have thought that would be a problem. I mean, assholes like your father generally don’t want to lose the top job.”

His smile was grim. “Perhaps not. But without the power of the ring behind him, my father has become weaker and weaker, and will eventually die.”

“What? Why?”

He shrugged, yet the glimmer in his eyes hinted at malicious pleasure. The thief was enjoying his father’s predicament. “Apparently, the life of the king dragon is tied into the stone. Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know.”

“So by taking the ring, Egan found a way to kill your dad without actually getting his hands bloody?”

“Egan would never have won a fight with my father. Not only is our father older and cannier when it comes to fighting but, thanks to the ring, he’s all but invincible.”

“The ring is magic?”

“Only in the hands of the rightful king.”

How cool. And it also explained why the thing always felt cold and icy—certain magics could never hold warmth or life, according to my dad. Though how he got that knowledge, I don’t know. “So do all king dragons have the aid of such a ring?”

“As far as I know, yes.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m gathering sea dragons don’t?”

“Not that I know of. We don’t even live in groups like you lot do.”

“That’s probably a good thing, trust me.” He hesitated. “So where precisely is this research center? Loch Ness is a fairly big place from what I recall.”

Obviously, he was through talking about his family, hence the sudden change of topic. “Where else would it be? Drumnadrochit.”

He blinked. “Where?”

“Drumnadrochit. The home of Nessie and the Loch Ness Monster industry.”

He smiled. “So there really is a Loch Ness Monster?”

“Hell, yeah. Only she’s generations of sexy, slinky sea dragons, not that god-awful dinosaur-looking thing you see in so many pictures.”

The laptop beeped as he started it up. He glanced down at it, quickly typed something in, then looked up again. “So why do you think that Marsten’s mother will have these plans?”

“Because the mother supports the son.”

“Ah. The supplier of money.”

“Yes. We learned a few months ago that Marsten’s mother was a major investor, and that Marsten often uses her house as an office when he’s here in the States. We figured that maybe he’d have a set of backup plans there.” I shrugged. “We thought it might be safer coming here than to try and get into his quarters in Scotland.”

Trae considered me for a moment, then said, “So you went to San Lucas, a place they supposedly didn’t know about, and yet they were waiting. And then they found us today.”