Lord of Destiny (The Dragon Demigods #6) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,33

prickly feeling up and down my spine and over my scalp. I don’t like it!

Stephanus

The chair lands on the ground as Forge stands. “Say that again,” he practically snarls.

“Take a few deep breaths,” Jarrod says. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“Screw breathing!” Forge yells. “Say that again!”

“You heard me,” Jarrod deadpans.

I can see that Forge is about to lose his shit. “We recently found out that you have a half-brother,” I repeat what Jarrod already said.

“Fuck me!” Forge growls, looking astounded. “That can’t be right.” He shakes his head. His chest heaves.

Rage leans back in his chair. “I know just how you feel,” he murmurs. “They seem…okay.” He shrugs.

“There are four of them?” Forge asks, eyes wide.

“Five,” I reply.

“Four dragon demigods?” His brows are up.

“Yes,” Jarrod says.

“And one dragon shifter. A woman,” I add.

“And let me get this straight. One of them is related to you,” Forge says to Rage, his eyes are blazing, “one to me,” he points a thumb at his chest, “and a third one is Bolt’s half-brother? Fuck!” He paces towards the window and stares out of it for a few moments before turning around. “What about the fourth one? What do we know about him?”

“No idea,” I say. “West doesn’t know who his father is.”

“How can he not know?” Forge growls.

Jarrod shrugs. “West isn’t the most forthcoming of the group. We don’t know them very well, in general. He doesn’t know what his power is either. I don’t have the details.”

I see Forge is calming down. Up until recently, he didn’t know what his ability was either. He didn’t think he had one. “There’s a chance he could be related to one of us, as well.” Forge looks around the room. Everyone is here except for Bolt. We decided to call a meeting without him in the end. We’ll fill him in when he gets back.

I nod. Jarrod does too. One or two of the guys shift in their chairs. The idea is uncomfortable. We knew this day might come. Nothing can truly prepare you.

“At the same time,” Forge goes on, “we don’t know them. They could be bad news. They could have ulterior motives for being here.”

“I don’t think so,” I blurt. I won’t lie; I have Raven’s green eyes and kind smile in my mind as I say it. Still, I think they’re okay. All of them, even West.

Jarrod chuckles. “Don’t listen to Stephan. He’s biased.”

“Biased, my ass!” I growl.

“He has a hard-on for the dragon shifter.” Jarrod is grinning.

“If anyone is biased, it’s Rage. He met his brother today. What do you think of this whole situation?” I ask Rage.

Rage sits up. “I don’t fully trust them.” His dog sits up as well from her position at his feet under the table. “I don’t know them well enough yet to make a call.”

“What does your gut say?” I push him.

He narrows his dark eyes for a moment. “I’m inclined to trust them, but I’m leaning in that direction because Maddox is my half-brother. My gut could be lying. I wouldn’t rely on my gut…or yours, for that matter. I saw how you looked at the shifter. I agree with Jarrod on that one.”

I roll my eyes.

“Do you think they’re deceiving us about being our siblings?” Forge asks. He looks us each in the eyes as he speaks.

“No way!” Rage says. “They’re definitely related to us. You’ll see when you meet Barrett. Just because we’re related doesn’t mean we should trust them, though. Not a fuck! That would be a mistake. That’s logic talking.”

“I really think they’re okay,” I put it out there. “My feelings have nothing to do with the dragon shifter. But I do think that they’re on the run. It sounds like they escaped from their weyr.”

“Escaped?” Trident frowns. “Why would they need to escape?”

“I don’t know enough yet to comment. I’ll work on finding out more about it.” Raven spoke to me in confidence. I don’t feel right divulging too much. I will find out more and discuss it with the guys if it warrants doing so.

“I wouldn’t mind meeting them,” Tri says, grinning. “It certainly sounds like the dragon shifter is worth meeting.” He looks my way as he says it.

Asshole!

“Stay away from Raven.” My scales instantly rub. Tri is a fucker when it comes to women. They also happen to love him. I’m not sure why, but they do.

Trident chuckles. “You do have a hard-on for… What is her name…Raven?” He looks up in thought.