making a person look like an entirely different person takes more time than we have for a quick demonstration.”
He then turned to Airon and raised both his hands to face-level. The same faint, blue glow Amber had seen come from Lady Serie’s hands now surrounded Otaron’s. He did an elaborate series of gestures while his eyes were hyper-focused on Airon’s face. The air was also noticeably charged, putting her in mind of getting too near a live wire.
Then between one blink and the next, Airon’s nose faded out of existence, replaced with a smooth patch of skin.
Amber laughed in both delight and a little bit of horror. “That’s one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!”
There was no way Matty could be here.
The only way what Amber was seeing before her could be real was if Raphek had betrayed her. That was something that even her jaded mind couldn’t believe. The Taylor Madden and Matty before her had to be the work of a glamour, and there was only one dragon she had met that had that good of an American accent to speak for her and could perform magic.
“Glad to see that at least one woman on this earth isn’t as dumb as a rock,” Garrett said. “Now, here’s what we’re going to do. If you want to stay breathing, then you will come back to Houston with me and our son without a fuss. Then my father will arrange a little press conference where you will admit to the good people of Houston that you and the man you are having an affair with conspired to steal Matthew away from his own father. Once the media and public finish eviscerating you, I will announce that I have filed for divorce and full custody of our son. After that, you can go drown in a puddle of piss for all I care.”
She had no idea what the dragons’ play was here, but for now, it was probably best to play along with Garrett.
Amber opened her mouth, false words of agreement on the tip of her tongue, but before she could utter a single syllable, Garrett jammed the gun against her forehead, making her flinch. “And if that fucking audio file ever sees the light of day, I’ll make you watch me force that damned brat to eat a bullet before doing the same to you, you stupid bitch!”
Her heart was beating so fiercely with fear that it took her a moment to realize that the pounding she was hearing wasn’t just the sound of her heart.
“Sir! Step away from the woman, and drop your weapon! Now!” A deep voice demanded behind her.
Amber acted instinctively. She dropped to the ground as though her legs had been cut out from under her in a desperate move to get out of the way of the bullet she just knew was about to be fired. She was still in the process of covering her head with her arms in a feeble attempt for protection when Garrett abruptly dropped to his knees beside her, the gun falling out of his suddenly shaking hands.
“You got it all wrong!” he cried as he brought his now empty hands up. “This is her gun. She threatened to shoot me, and I took it away! I was just protecting myself and my son!”
“Son? Do you see a kid here? Because I don’t,” Another male voice said derisively behind her.
Amber chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw three policemen and one policewoman all pointing their guns at them, their stances a hair-trigger away from violence.
“Over there! Over there!” Garrett shouted, pointing his finger frantically at—she blinked in astonishment—a dirty, huge stuffed teddy bear sitting on the ground in the exact same spot that the fake Taylor Madden and fake Matty had stood only a minute or two ago.
“Your son needs a bath, I think,” One of the cops muttered while another ordered Garrett to lay facedown on the ground with his hands behind his back.
Amber expected him to start yelling “Do you know who I am?” or something of the like, but shockingly, he never once brought up his name or the senator. He just continued to shout about his innocence, that they should be arresting his bitch of a wife who had just tried to kill him, dammit!
For her part, Amber just sat completely still and silent where she had fallen, her eyes not even straying towards the gun, her hands raised to chest level