"Maybe one day you'll trust me enough to tell me."
Jane picked up her pace and they walked the rest of the way in silence.
It should've given him the perfect time to come up with a plan, but the image of present-day Elsie kept flashing inside his mind.
Given what had happened between them, he never would've expected her to become a DDA inspector. He yearned to find out the reason, but knew that would be unwise.
The best thing he could do was lay low until he could go back to Northcastle and put the Irish Sea between them once more.
Chapter Eleven
Fire raced through Brenna's body and her eyes popped open as she gasped. A familiar, stern voice filled the room—Dr. Sid's. "Brenna, who's in control?"
Her dragon roared and spoke aloud. "I am. Where is he? I want Killian. He is mine to claim."
Sid cursed and Brenna tried to take control of her mind. However, her dragon must've constructed some sort of invisible prison because her hands came across a barrier that refused to budge. Let me out.
No. You'll let him get away.
Sid's voice cut off her reply. "Sorry about this, Brenna. But it's the only choice."
Something pricked her arm. Her dragon tried to sit up, but something restrained their body.
With each second that passed by, her dragon's strength waned a little more. When her dragon fell completely silent, Brenna tried pressing against the former barrier and her hands moved freely. After briefly checking on her snoring dragon, she took control of her body once more and looked at Sid. "Thank you."
"I prefer not to drug dragons into silence. Sorry I couldn't ask your permission beforehand."
Brenna knew that since Sid's dragon had been overdosed into silence for more than twenty years, she was always careful when it came to using drugs.
She replied, "It's okay, Sid. It had to be done." She raised a hand to her forehead. "Although I have an awful headache now."
"You're a little dehydrated, but we'll fix that. Are you well enough to tell me what happened? While I received a secondhand report, you might have details they missed."
At Sid's question, Brenna glanced about the room. "Where's Killian? They didn't send him back to Ireland, did they?"
Studying her, Sid shook her head. "No, he's with Kai and Bram right now. What happened? By all accounts, this wasn't your first kiss with him. So why did the frenzy erupt now? A few dragons can hide the pull from their human halves, but you've always been open with yours."
Her first impulse was to ask her dragon, but the sleeping form in her head reminded her it would be a day or two before her other half would be awake again.
She tried to sit up, but the leather restraints dug into her skin. Sid added, "They'll come off soon. I want to ensure your dragon is out for a while. Now, answer my question."
Sighing, Brenna looked to the ceiling. "I'm not sure. I've kissed him a few times. The only difference is the baby dragon is with him now." She met Sid's gaze. "Could that be the cause?"
"Possibly. Dragons don't place much stock in memories, but a dragon-shifter without their dragon half is an incomplete person. It's likely that your dragon only recognized him as your mate once the dragon returned."
She frowned. "But how is that possible? I never felt the pull in the months I worked with him before he had amnesia."
After jotting a few things down on the clipboard in her hand, Sid said, "Female dragons don't always notice a true mate until after a kiss. It's entirely possible the mate-claim frenzy pull would've started if he'd kissed you back then."
Dr. Gregor Innes, Sid's mate and a former Lochguard doctor, waltzed into the room and said, "Or, maybe not. Judging by Dr. Silver's notes from Killian's time on Northcastle, the wee dragon is described as blue with white patches. Killian had been a blue dragon before. Maybe a new dragon personality has emerged."
Sid jumped in. "Unless it split, as we discussed earlier."
Brenna looked at each of them. "What are you talking about?"
Gregor turned to face her. "It's just a guess, but I think the shadow dragon and the baby dragon form a whole, and together they comprise Killian's former dragon. Whatever drug was used on Killian could've split them into two. One of which holds his memories and the main thrust of his dragon's animal-like personality, and another that's more innocent and placid. Their goal might be to find a way to banish the more instinctual half and be left with the innocent side. A less angry and instinctual dragon makes for an easier catch."
"To harvest their blood," Sid added. "Although I'm not sure if it's the dragon hunters, Knights, or a new foe entirely. Dragon's blood on the black market is sold for small fortunes. An enterprising person could be trying their own hand at it. Although I suspect the person experimenting on dragons isn't fully aware of Killian's case, or they would be kidnapping more dragon-shifters to use as test subjects."