Releasing the Dragon Read online

  “Of course.” Dru nodded and stepped away.

  “Thank you,” Sylvan said as Drugair left the Council room. “And now, I believe we have our scientists—this is Doctor Bron, one of our finest microbiologists…” He nodded as a huge Beast Kindred in a white lab coat stepped up. “And his partner, Doctor Sorin, one of our finest virologists.” He motioned to a Blood Kindred with sleek, silver-blond hair and pale blue eyes.

  “Thank you, Head Councilor Sylvan,” Dr. Sorin said smoothly. “We will do the best we can to address this issue before the Council. Unfortunately, our team is incomplete at the moment.”

  “Incomplete?” Sylvan frowned. “What do you mean? I thought the two of you had worked together for years?”

  “So we have,” Bron’s voice was deep and growling and his golden eyes flashed as he spoke. “But in the past year, we have added another to our team. Dr. Kayla Smith of Earth.”

  “Kayla is a noted xenobiologist and chemist. She has a brilliant mind,” Sorin said. “She was a valuable addition to our team.”

  “Then…why is she not here with you today?” Sylvan frowned.

  Sorin shifted uncomfortably but Bron answered forthrightly enough.

  “Because she was with us when the Xi-46 was released into the air. Both of us.”

  “Then why has she not bonded with one of you?” Councilor Gerrund asked.

  “Did you not hear what my colleague said?” Sorin snapped. “She was with both of us. She touched both our hands at the same moment. And so we both…” he trailed off expressively but Bron went on.

  “We both helped her. But she cannot between us and we are not Twin Kindred. And Beast Kindred do not share,” he growled.

  Sorin’s pale blue eyes flashed. “Nor do Blood Kindred, old friend.”

  The words might have sounded sarcastic but Sylvan saw something pass between the blue eyes and the gold and knew they were meant as a reminder, not a threat or a jibe.

  Sorin was reminding his colleague that the two of them were friends—had been friends long before the human female scientist had entered their lives. This must be an incredibly stressful situation between them—if both of them had helped Dr. Smith with her needing—as seemed to be the case.

  They were not, as Bron had so succinctly pointed out, Twin Kindred who expected to share a mate. In fact, he had never heard of a Beast or a Blood Kindred entering into any kind of three-way relationship with a female before. It simply wasn’t in their nature—a duel to the death to decide the winner was more common in such circumstances. Clearly Bron and Sorin didn’t want to fight—but how could they resolve such a sticky situation otherwise?

  Goddess give them wisdom, Sylvan prayed. He cleared his throat and spoke aloud.

  “Your missing partner notwithstanding, what can you tell us about the make-up of the Xi-46 compound and do you have any possible antidote for it?”

  “Not yet,” Sorin said. “But we have found some interesting things in studying the residue we scraped off the vents in our lab.”

  “Xi-46 has both chemical and biological components.” Bron spoke in his low, harsh voice. “It’s really fascinating—the vector that carries it is a microbe.”

  “But once inside its host, it acts like a virus,” Sorin said, continuing his colleague’s thoughts smoothly. Clearly they were much easier with each other when they were talking about their work than the woman they both cared for, Sylvan thought.

  “It invades the host’s cells and hijacks some of them to make more viruses,” Bron went on. “In this way it replicates itself over and over—but not all at once.”

  “The ‘lust virus’—as we are calling it—can lie dormant for hours or days at a time,” Sorin said. “Just waiting inside the host’s cells. Then it will suddenly replicate itself and spread throughout the body again, causing another attack.”

  “The fact that it can go dormant makes finding an antidote very difficult,” Bron said, frowning.

  “Which is why we want permission to go to Carnal Four where the Lust Blossom grows,” Sorin continued. “Not just Bron and myself but Dr. Smith—Kayla—as well. We need her expertise in chemistry and xenobiology.”

  “And if she has an attack…” Bron cleared his throat. “We must be there to help her.”

  “Which of you will help her, though?” Councilor Gerrund said, plainly mystified by the strange relationship.

  “I will,” both males said at once, then glared at each other.

  Sorin was the first to sigh and put a hand on Bron’s broad, tense shoulder.

  “We will manage the situation when we come to it,” he said simply. “So far, since the first attack, it hasn’t been an issue.”

  “As far as we know,” Bron growled.

  “Excuse me?” Sylvan frowned and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, as far as you know?”

  Sorin sighed again.

  “Bron means that Dr. Smith—Kayla—won’t see us now. Since the, uh, incident, she’s locked herself in her quarters and refuses to come out. She hasn’t asked for any further help so we’re hoping she’s all right. But…”

  “But we don’t know for sure,” Bron finished.

  Sylvan frowned. “Will she come with you then, on this proposed mission to Carnal Four?”

  “We hope so because it seems possible her issue is…over,” Sorin remarked.

  “We are hoping that Dr. Smith might be one of the rare, lucky females who had only one attack and then no more,” Bron said. “Some females seem to be more susceptible to the effects of the lust virus and some are less.”

  “But in order to learn more about it and to make an antidote, we must have a fresh sample. It would also be helpful to speak to the natives of Carnal Four and see how they deal with the Lust Blossom and its effects,” Sorin said.

  “I think the idea of an expedition to Carnal Four is an excellent idea,” Sylvan said. He looked at the Council. “Anyone opposed?”

  “Certainly not!” Councilor Gerrund said. “Anything that can be done to fix this crisis should be done—at once!” There were hearty murmurs of assent and approval from all the Councilors seated around the table.

  Sylvan turned back to the two scientists.

  “You have the blessing of the High Council. Please get your ship outfitted and inform Dr. Smith that we have sanctioned your mission. The three of you may leave as soon as possible.”

  “We will let her know at once,” Sorin said.

  “If we can get her to fucking talk to us,” Bron growled under his breath.

  “She will.” Sorin sounded more hopeful than certain, Sylvan thought. “When she knows that the fate of the Mother Ship is at stake, she’ll see past her own feelings and come help. We need her expertise.”

  “From your lips to the Goddess’s ears,” Bron muttered.

  “Thank you, gentlemen,” Sylvan told them. “You are dismissed to start packing.”

  Both scientists nodded and left the Council Chambers. Sylvan watched them go with a worried feeling in his chest. Goddess go with them and help them, he prayed. We need an antidote and we need it soon! We can’t go on this way for much longer!

  Twenty-Six

  Dru couldn’t help feeling shocked. Not only was the Council not going to punish him and strip him of his rank, they were going to let him stay here—stay on Earth—and they had practically given him permission to let his Drake come out again if he wanted to let it. And to his surprise, he found he did.

  Joy suddenly filled Dru and he knew it wasn’t all his own. Much of it came from his other half.

  “I want to fly,” the Drake informed him. “I want to fly with Annie. She is mine too—not only yours.”

  Dru automatically started to object…but then he remembered Annie’s words about how she liked his Drake and how it was cruel to keep such a huge creature confined in a cage. True, it would be going against everything that his people had believed for centuries but there was no need to be bound by the conventions of a planet where he did not even li