Orla moved to her side and leaned forward. “What’s wrong with you, Killian? You’ve worked with Brenna for months. And I bloody well hope you remember me.”
Killian crossed his arms over his chest, the chains jingling in the process. “Should I? And what’s wrong is that strangers are keeping me locked in this room against my will.”
Orla leaned forward. “Killian O’Shea, I’m your grandmother. Stop playing games.”
He stood up, stretching his chains to the limit, and that was when Brenna noticed the tattoo on his arm had been lasered off. The flesh was still tender and slightly pink where the former design had been, but there was no longer ink there.
On high alert, Brenna watched his pupils. However, they never once flashed.
Something was very wrong.
She jumped in. “Does your inner dragon remember anything?”
“Dragon? What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t have any bloody inner dragon. All I know is that I woke up surrounded by strangers and now everyone keeps asking me questions and saying I should know who the fuck they are.”
Her beast spoke up. And yet he remembers how to talk and retained basic knowledge of how the world works.
Brenna decided that if she was to learn anything, she needed to treat Killian as a stranger found on Glenlough’s land. Maybe he’d respond better to that approach.
She placed a hand on her hip and stood to her full height. “Before I can provide answers, my doctor needs to examine you. We can do this the easy way where you cooperate, or we can do this the hard way, where we drug you unconscious. Which will it be?”
Killian studied her gaze a second before replying, “If I cooperate, will you remove the restraints?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Let’s see how you do first.”
“That’s better than an outright denial,” Killian muttered. “But if anyone tries to cut me open during the process, I’m going to punch them hard enough to break bones.”
She should nod and walk away, but she couldn’t help but say, “I’d like to see you try. I’m going to be there as they examine you and trust me, I know a few things about knocking a male down.”
Killian grunted noncommittally. “Maybe, maybe not. I’ll just have to be a good boy so you’ll take off my bloody restraints. Then we can have a proper match.
Her dragon chimed in. He’s more talkative than before.
Is it wrong that I like the change?
But then her eyes fell on Killian’s missing tattoo, and guilt flooded her body. No matter if she already liked the new version of Killian better, she would never be selfish enough to wish he stayed that way. Teagan and Orla had trusted Brenna and provided opportunities she’d never dreamed of. The least she could do was do her bloody best to restore Killian to his former self.
She finally spoke again. “Just sit down for now. I’ll call the doctor.”
Brenna took out her mobile phone and dialed Dr. O’Brien. Between him and the Stonefire pair of scientists arriving at any moment, she only hoped they could pinpoint what had been done to Killian and reverse it.
Because there was no bloody way she would accept that Killian’s memory and dragon were gone forever. After all, a doctor back on Stonefire—Dr. Cassidy Jackson—had lost her dragon and found it again.
Her dragon asked, And what if he never has it again? What then?
Afraid of speaking the truth, Brenna focused on the phone. Dr. O’Brien picked up and she went to work.
~~~
Teagan awoke to someone poking her shoulder and saying her name. Even though her eyelids were heavy and moving a finger took an enormous amount of effort, she slowly forced them open. Brenna’s brown hair and green eyes came into focus. “Brenna?”
Brenna grimaced. “Sorry to wake you, Teagan. The doctor says you need to rest, but we have a problem.”
Fully awake, Teagan registered the slight sweat on her body and that moving took some effort. The combination of fever and pain medication made her slow. She finally sat up and said, “Tell me what’s wrong.” She darted a glance over to Aaron’s bed, but he was still there. The machines connected to him beeped the same as before.
Brenna shook her head. “It’s not Aaron. It’s Killian. He doesn’t remember who he is or even that he’s a bloody dragon-shifter.”
Teagan blinked, now fully awake. “What the fuck are you talking about?”