I tossed my hands out, appreciating his passion. “A true leader.”
“Encouraging others not to support businesses that treated dragons poorly.”
Ivan rubbed his chin. “Commendable.”
“Destroyed buildings and roads.”
I stilled. “Wait, what?”
“Made some plans to overthrow leadership.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Oh, you were an actual criminal.”
Pierce tilted his head from side to side. “You say criminal, I say aggressive dissonate.”
“I don’t know if I’d be the only one who’d say criminal,” I muttered. He really had no problem talking about crime so casually. “You say you teach children? Do you share these kinds of ideas with them?”
He scratched his cheek. “Teenagers and they aren’t as impressionable as I hoped.”
Ivan raised his brows as he considered his uncle. I couldn’t tell if he was impressed or concerned. I, for one, was impressively concerned. “Thanks for taking a stand?” he asked more than said.
“Of course. But, yes, it’s safe to say that if I step back into the realm I will most likely be put to death.”
“Not necessarily, we lost the war to Prinath, and it’s technically a combined territory. A lot of old leadership is gone.”
Pierce leaned back, shocked. “Really? Good. Nodoor was a shit kingdom. Prinath was always a little better to their dragon population.”
“It’s gotten a lot better since the war ended. Maybe what you did played a role in that.”
Pierce waved a dismissive hand. “Eh, I didn’t cause destruction alone. It was a group effort. Our family did some damage too. Although I didn’t agree with all their methods.”
This was the part I wanted to hear most about. Ivan thought his family was perfect. That they were just justifiably angry at their station in life. One could be wronged and still be wrong. “Is that why you said your family might know something about the curse? Do you think some of your protesting could have resulted in an enemy that sought revenge through Ivan? I don’t know why they’d want to keepusapart though. It seems so small in comparison to the scale of things you talked about. I’m not that important.”
Pierce stilled and considered me. Perhaps he was debating telling me something or finding the words on how to tell me news I might not want to hear. His expression was confusing to read, but I could see those green eyes working in thought. “Oh dear, our families go back longer than you think. When he told me your last name, I thought, ‘well that’s it. It all makes sense.’ It was as if this was some fateful joke, the two of you getting together.”
Now he lost me. If my family had known Ivan’s family, they would have told me. Right? I looked to Ivan, who looked just as confused. “What are you saying? That our parents knew each other?”
“Yes. We used to work for Jalisa’s family’s defense company. And, if I’m being honest, they were horrible to work for. Particularly your grandfather. He was a monster. Barely paid us and was cruel to a fault. Zero benefits like the ones I get in my current job. It was barely better than slavery.”
My insides ran cold. I knew nothing about the defense company, just the trading side. I was not only ashamed but embarrassed. “Why didn’t you fight back? You were dragons. Fae are strong, but there are limits. Especially against shifter dragons.”
Pierce sighed. “I feel like maybe I do need a drink. Got any whiskey?”
Ivan got up and headed to the kitchen where we kept the liquor. “That bad, huh?”
“At least three generations of hatred between our families. Yes, it’s that bad. I still don’t like that they never said anything to you two. Even after being so vocal about not wanting, you to be together. But I’m not surprised. Jalisa, maybe it means your parents have some kind of conscious buried deep, deep, deep down inside.”
Ivan returned with three short glasses and a bottle of brown liquor. I pulled my chair closer to the coffee table for access. “So, why didn’t you fight back?” he asked as he poured the drinks.
“Your family, Jalisa, entrapped ours with collars that limited our ability to transform on our own.”
My heart froze in my chest. What was I hearing? I knew my family had a history of less than ethical practices, but this really did sound like slavery, even if they were getting paid. This couldn’t have been my grandfather, Kofen? He was always smiling and seemed so kind. But perhaps that was just to the family. Was he hiding this evil? Did my father know about this?
I looked down at my lap, shame washing over me. I didn’t even want to look at Ivan. I’d been so self-righteous all the time, and this was my family’s practice? “Was this all my family? My father, too?”
I looked up to see Ivan pass Pierce a short glass of whiskey, which he quickly sipped before replying. “No, dear. You have other family members who were more invested in the cruelty. Your father, for as uptight I heard he could be, was more removed. He worked in your family’s trading company, correct?”
I nodded, unable to respond, and watched as Ivan placed my glass down on the coffee table. He squeezed my shoulder before sitting back down on the couch. I wanted to feel comfort at the touch, but it felt wrong. He should be angry. He should look at me in disgust. All that he’d gone through just to bewith a woman whose family was filed with monsters. I wanted to find some relief that my father wasn’t directly involved, but I couldn’t believe he didn’t know. “It’s illegal to entrap anyone into work. It’s been that way since before I was born. It doesn’t make it better. My family needs to atone for any dragon they’ve harmed.”
