I hear him call my name, but I don’t turn around as I dial Ru’s number. There are still a few more hours before the clubs open, but I need a drink, and she knows where to find the best.

  “Hello?”

  “Ru, I need—”

  “We’ve got a problem,” she interrupts, and I pause, my heart rate picking up once again.

  “What?”

  “Get over to my house, and I’ll explain.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I frown as I push open the door to Ru’s room, finding her pacing back and forth, her wild hair flying behind her. Black and gray scales cover her skin, her claws are elongated, and her gray eyes have narrowed into serpentine slits.

  The human I saw earlier is gone.

  Now I’m dealing with the dragon.

  “Whoa, what’s going on?” I ask her, approaching cautiously. Technically, her dragon hasn’t quite taken over yet; she’s still caught in her siem form, the one right between human and full-blown, dangerous dragon. If she doesn’t calm down quickly, there won’t be anything to keep her from finishing the shift.

  Her head snaps in my direction and she pauses, baring her canines. “Apparently there’s a pedophile who likes to hang out by the school.”

  “What?” I step further into the room and push the door closed.

  “When I went to pick up my sisters, I saw this creep standing outside the fence, trying to talk to them. He ran off before I could confront him, but I spoke to some of the parents, and apparently this isn’t his first appearance. They say he’s always lingering around the gates, trying to talk to the kids. Rumor has it he’s a pedophile.”

  “Then why haven’t the school or the law done anything?” This isn’t adding up. If there were a known pedophile hanging out near elementary schools, surely someone would step in.

  She shakes her head furiously as her fists ball at her sides. “Apparently, there’s no proof of any harmful or vicious activity.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” I feel my own anger rising and try to reign it in. One of us has to stay levelheaded. “That makes no sense whatsoever.”

  “They say that the CDA arrested the guy once, but the next week he was back. Now he always disappears before agents can show up.”

  Still, this is puzzling. “Don’t they have an agent on duty at the school?” I know for a fact that Ru’s sisters go to one of the most expensive schools in the country. It’s supposed to be secure. If Ru’s mom had any idea…

  “Apparently, their assigned agent leaves as soon as the final bell rings.” She grits her teeth. “It’s not like the CDA actually does shit anyway. Even if the agent stayed after the bell, I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything more than shoo the creep away. Hell, if they actually wanted to arrest the guy, they could easily go to his house and apprehend him there.”

  She smashes a fist into the wall, and the plywood caves in, leaving a bigger hole than the one I made in my own room.

  “It took me five minutes to find the man’s name, address, and everything else I needed to know, and that was without a government database.”

  “Have you told your mom yet?”

  “No.” She shakes her head and takes a long, deep breath. Her scales start to retreat into her chocolate skin, and her eyes return to their normal shape. “I haven’t told her, since we’re going to take care of it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m not going to bother my mom with this, not when we’re fully capable of doing what needs to be done on our own.”

  My blue eyes meet her gray ones. “I’m going to need you to clarify what you mean.”

  She holds my gaze. “We’re going to teach him a lesson.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “This doesn’t look like the home of a drunken pervert,” I tell Ru as I frown at the imposing brick home in front of us. It sits square in the middle of the most luxurious neighborhood this side of town.

  All the lights are on in Jakob Lowtun’s house, and it stands brightly against the encroaching darkness, blocking out the afternoon’s setting sun. One car resides in the driveway: a sleek black model that looks like money.

  “Perverts don’t have a look, Rox. They come in all shapes and sizes.” Ru’s eyes trail to the car. “And at all…income levels.” She reaches down, placing her hand on the leather sheath that hides her transforming sword, Yolanda. “Let's do this.”

  What this is, I’m not quite sure. Ru didn’t offer many details; we were going to go joyriding, she said, and our plans to go out were still intact. She’s dressed for the club, in a form-fitting cotton tank, a leather jacket, and dark, ripped jeans that accent her curvy figure. She’d thrown me a similar outfit before we were off like thieves in the night. We had a cab drop us off a few blocks from Jakob’s home.

  I trust that Ru actually has some kind of plan, but I would have followed her even if she’d said outright that she had no idea what we were going to do. She’s the only friend I have, and she’s always been there when I’ve needed her. The least I can do is follow her lead.

  Ru unzips one of the many pockets on her leather jacket, and I watch as she pulls out a pair of dark gloves, tossing them to me before putting on a pair of her own. “Can’t leave any evidence we were here.” Her pale eyes reflect the lit windows of the house in front of us, glinting. She pulls an iridescent charm out of another pocket.

  The stone brightens as she presses it against her neck, muttering a few words under her breath. “I need to bind our DNA to our bodies, make sure we don’t leave any stray hairs or droplets of sweat behind.”

  I frown as she presses the charm to my neck. “You make it sound like we’re about to commit a major crime.” I feel a small, painless charge go through my body.

  The corners of her lips lift into a small smirk. “I mean, it's not in the plan, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my mother—other than dozens of ways to kill a man, of course—it’s that plans sometimes go south. You have to cover your tracks thoroughly.”

  She returns the charm to her pocket. “It’ll wear off in twelve hours or so.”

  “Do I even want to know where that charm came from?” I whisper, following her around the side of the house.

  “I bought it from Franny.” Of course she did.

  “I’m impressed that you managed to get your devious plan together in just a couple of hours.” I don’t hide the sarcasm in my voice, and she lets out a low chuckle that has an edge to it.

  “Someday, I’m going to be the leader of one of the most dangerous dragon dens in the world. You’re going to be promoted from warrior princess to warrior queen. Consider this…problem-solving practice.”

  I don’t bother reminding her that she’d be an unlikely heir for mom’s den. Instead, I roll my eyes as she pulls out another charm, pressing it to the lock on Lowtun’s back door. I can’t see or hear the lock break, but I feel it as magic swirls in the air, harmlessly pulsing against my skin.

  Ru slowly pushes the door open, her shoulders tense. All signs of her usual light, easygoing persona disappear instantly.

  My own shoulders stiffen as I place a hand on Gwev’s hilt, preparing for any unexpected attacks. Ru holds up a hand, tilting her head, and as I watch, scales appear on her neck. Unleashing just a tiny bit of her dragon allows her senses to sharpen, making it easier for her to detect movement in the house.

  She flicks her hand to the right, and wordlessly, I move in front of her, using my own ears—sensitive, but not shifter-level—to follow the faint sound of a TV. I pause when I get to a doorway and look in on a man with his back to us. He sits with a bottle of yonka in his grasp, watching guts explode across the screen in some gory show. I glance at Ru over my shoulder, slightly nodding my head.

  She steps around me, taking point. In the blink of an eye, she’s behind the man, her hands wrapped around his throat as he thrashes violently, trying to escape her grasp.

  The bottle of yonka falls to the ground, shattering. I catch Ru’s eyes, raising a brow at her to see if she’ll give away our next move.

  Her claws are extended, drawing blood as the big man fights her hold. Her eyes have narrowed to slits, her canines elongated.

  “It’s time we had a talk, Lowtun.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Apparently, “having a talk” means kidnapping.

  “Gods, Ru, what the fuck are we doing?” I hiss at her, watching as she hoists Jakob’s thrashing body into the trunk of his car before slamming the lid.

  She looks up at me, her eyes practically glowing with menace. Her expression would have anyone else shitting their pants, but I just roll my eyes.

  “I told you we were going for a joyride, and surely you realized that the pedophile wouldn’t come willingly.” As if this is all a normal, everyday occurrence, she casually pulls out a stolen set of keys and hits a button to unlock the car. “Let’s go, Rox. This is the last place we want to be caught lingering.”

  I know she isn’t going to change her mind, and really, what can I do other than ride along and try to cover her ass?

  I get in the car.

  “So what’s the plan from here?” I ask, watching her closely as she pulls out onto the street.

  Her eyes flicker to me. “I heard that there’s a new nightclub between here and Portiyr.”

  I raise an eyebrow. While Portiyr is the closest nonhuman creature hotspot to Lobrooke, it’s still a good drive away.

  “Only an hour or two away, don’t worry!” She glances at the glowing dashboard, where the clock reads 10:15. “We’ll be there around midnight, when the party’s really getting started.” She shoots me a grin.

  Sometimes I wonder if Ru and I should’ve stayed orphans, stuck in foster care or wherever fate threw us. Maybe we wouldn’t have turned out so fucked up. Then again, there’s no way I would have survived a childhood in Caelumine without Conrad. The royals would have executed me the second they found out I was still alive.

  And Ru…

  I look over at her wicked smirk and her gloved fingers tapping against the steering wheel.

  She would have ended up batshit crazy no matter what.

  I’m sure being adopted by a madwoman didn’t help, but I don’t think there was ever a possibility of Ru turning out normal.

  A banging sound rings out from the trunk.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Ru shouts, which of course does not stop our hostage from making noise. “He’ll stop once he tires out.” She suddenly slams on the brakes, and my seatbelt yanks tight across my chest. There’s a hard thud behind me, and then a pained whine.

  “That’ll teach him,” Ru proclaims as she gets us back up to speed.

  I pull out my phone to distract me from Ru’s terrible driving, yanking off a glove with my teeth so I can use the screen. On a whim, I type “Jakob Lowtun” into the search engine. An article about a previous arrest pops up, but that isn’t the thing that really catches my eye.

  “Holy fuck, Ru! We just kidnapped the son of a former Synod member.”

  Ru doesn’t even blink. “I’m aware.”

  Shit, my loyalty to my best friend may actually cost me my life this time. The Synod is the chöąt equivalent of the human Senate. The power they hold…

  “How am I going to become queen if I’m imprisoned in this realm?” I mutter to myself as pieces start to click in my head.

  This is why Jakob has never been properly prosecuted, why the school lets him get away. Even though his father isn’t in the Synod anymore, he’s still wealthy and powerful.

  He’d bring down anyone who dared lay a hand on his pedophile of a son.

  And we just kidnapped that son.

  My head spins as I think about the expression Conrad would make if he found out what we were doing.

  “Ruth—”

  “My sisters, Roxanna.” She cuts me off. “My fucking little sisters, he could’ve—” Her voice cuts off with a waver as her hands clench the steering wheel, and I hear a quiet ripping sound as her claws break through her gloves. “We’re not turning around.” She lets out a deep breath, her reptilian eyes meeting mine before they flash back to the road. “We can’t turn around.”

  “I know.” I don’t have any living siblings, but I know that if I did, I’d do everything in my power to protect them.

  Hell, I plan on taking down an entire dynasty for my dead parents and sister.

  This is just one man, I try to reason with myself. Sure, if things go south the repercussions will be dire, but...

  “We just have to be smart,” I tell Ru, exhaling slowly. “This can never lead back to either of us.”

  “It won’t.” She gestures vaguely to my lap, and I quickly slide my phone-hand back into my discarded glove. “We’re just going to scare the fuck out of him. When we’re done, he’ll know that if he ever so much as looks at a child again, he’ll have a much bigger problem…”

  I wince at the thought of what Ru’s mother would do to this guy.

  “…One who can get rid of a dead body without breaking a sweat.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  We spend most of the two-hour drive in silence. Ru has chosen the most beat-up, brutal highway, and it jostles the car and our hostage around. Jakob has stopped making so much noise; he’s either worn out like Ru predicted, or he’s just given up hope.

  I know that if this goes wrong, it’ll mess up both my future and Ru’s. Yet I don’t protest, not even once.

  Jakob Lowtun deserves much worse than what we’re doing.

  “We’re here,” Ru declares as she pulls the car to a stop.

  I look at the dark, vacant alley around us, frowning. “I thought you said we weren’t killing him.”

  “We’re not.”

  “This doesn’t look like a vibrant club, Ru.”

  “We’re going to leave the car here, obviously. If we parked at the club, a bystander might hear the pedophile bitching and try to free him, and then we’d have a big mess to clean up.” She turns the ignition off, sliding the key into her pocket. She tilts the rearview mirror toward her seat, fixing her curly hair as if it doesn’t already look good. She pushes her boobs up dramatically. I scoff, but I start to feel my shoulders relax.

  “It’s all going to be fine. We’ll party for a couple hours, get drunk off our asses, and maybe even get a hotel room for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll drive home and drop the pedo off on the way, once we’re sure he’s gotten the message.”

  We get out of the car and Ru sizes me up. “We’ll need to put a glamour on that,” she says, nodding at Gwev. Unlike her weapon, mine isn’t magically compact; I’ve got a full-length sword dangling from my belt.

  “Let me guess, you have just the thi—”

  Before the words are fully formed, she’s produced a charm and looped it around the hilt of my blade. I watch in shock as Gwev lights up, and then she’s no longer there. A second later, she reappears, and I raise a brow at Ru.

  “Somehow, Fran reproduced the kind of magic Yolanda uses.” She runs a hand along her own miniature holster. “It places a glamour on your weapon. You have to know about it to see it.”

  Shit. One of these charms would be nice to have handy. “How long will it last?” I ask as we start to walk. I follow her lead since I have no idea where we’re going, and the barely lit streets give no indication.

  “Eh, twelve hours? Give or take.”

  “And it won’t affect my ability to use her if I need to?”

  “Nope.” Silence falls for another five minutes before the faint sound of music reaches my ears and the club comes into view. There’s a long line of partygoers waiting to get in, but Ru takes my arm and drags me to the front, overpowering me when I try to stop.

  What in the hell is she doing?

  I can’t ignore the disgruntled chatter coming from behind us as Ru whispers into the bouncer’s ear and places her palm on his chest. It looks like she’s flirting, but I don’t miss the small baggie that she slides into the man’s pocket. He gives us a sharp nod, the corner of his lip lifting as he gestures for us to go in.

  Shaking my head, I follow Ru, seeing the fresh confidence in her step. “Your mom is going to kill you if she finds out you’re stealing her drugs to bribe bouncers,” I inform her as we walk down a hallway to the dance floor.

  “I guess it’s a good thing that she’ll never find out, then,” she replies smugly. I laugh. We’re both aware that her mom knows absolutely everything that happens under her roof.

  Ru pushes open the door at the end of the hall, and music and flashing lights instantly assault my senses. Wincing, I try to process the chaos. By the time I finally get my bearings, Ru’s already snagged a drink from a passing waiter. His mouth drops open, but before he can call her out, Ru grabs my belt loop, pulling me along. I shoot the man an apologetic look as I’m dragged away.

  “First, we drink! Then, we dance!” she shouts over the music as she finds us spots at the bar.

  The legal drinking age for chöąts is only fifteen, but before either of us has time to show ID, the bartender slides us drinks. I look down the bar and lock eyes with a warlock, who smirks and raises his glass to us. He looks a couple years older than us, but Ru nods and winks back at him.

  Shaking my head, I take a sip of the drink and wince at the overly sweet flavor. I turn to complain about it to Ru, but she’s no longer beside me. I swivel toward the dance floor and see her there, grinding against the warlock. I didn’t even notice her getting up.

  I was so prepared to let loose earlier, but now that we’re out, I’m not even excited. If anything, I’m annoyed by the flashing lights, blasting music, and intoxicated people bumping into me as they pass. More than once, my hand goes to Gwev before I can catch myself.

  You wanted this, wanted to be normal and shuck your responsibilities.

  I let out a bitter laugh.

  We haven’t even been here five minutes.

  I sigh and gulp down the rest of the drink, figuring it’ll help me loosen up.

  “That’s a nice bit of equipment you’re working with.” A husky voice just to my right catches my attention, and right before my eyes, a man melts out of the shadows.