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Keegan nodded, and suddenly an awkward invitation for drinks became something else entirely.

Ignatius Steel wasn’t simply Keegan’s uncle. He was one of the wealthiest men in the country, a significant supporter of the Dragons and, considerably more relevant to me, a member of the dragon council.

I’d been in rooms with him plenty of times. We’d exchanged greetings, discussed hockey once or twice, and acknowledged each other in that careful way dragons did when surrounded by humans who had no idea what we were.

We’d never had a private conversation.

If Ignatius Steel wanted one now, I couldn't think of a single reason I’d enjoy hearing.

“You could’ve led with that.”

“I was trying not to make it sound ominous.”

“You failed spectacularly.”

The corner of Keegan’s mouth finally moved. He told me seven, and I agreed because whatever Ignatius wanted, pretending I hadn’t been asked wasn’t realistically an option.

Keegan’s obvious relief as he headed toward his own car did absolutely nothing to reassure me.

By the time I climbed into mine, I’d already started compiling a list of reasons a member of the dragon council might suddenly want a private conversation.

None of them were good.

By six fifty-five, I’d expanded the list considerably.

Melanie was the obvious possibility. If the council had heard about the story and decided my private life represented some kind of exposure risk, I was going to have difficulty sitting politely through a lecture. I’d spent fifteen years making damn sure no human discovered what I was, and whatever else Melanie had done, she’d gotten nowhere near that particular secret.

Then there was the possibility that this wasn’t about her at all, which was somehow worse.

The council knew what kind of dragon I was. Most dragons didn’t, and I’d worked hard to keep it that way.

I parked outside Keegan and Drake’s building and sat behind the wheel for a moment, trying to decide which potential disaster I preferred.

My phone lay on the passenger seat.

Ash hadn’t texted, and I hadn’t texted him either because apparently respecting someone’s wishes involved resisting the urge to ask every twenty minutes whether they’d changed their mind.

I hated it.

The ridiculous part was that this was what I’d always wanted. Distance was safe because it meant nobody became too attached, nobody built their life around me, and I never had to lie awake wondering whether someone’s feelings belonged to them or whether my dragon had quietly twisted attraction into something neither of us could trust.

Ash had handed me distance on a fucking platter.

All I wanted was to give it back.

I shoved the phone into my pocket and got out of the car.

Whatever Ignatius wanted couldn’t make today much worse, although the thought occurred to me half a second later that I’d probably just tempted fate.

Drake opened the door before I’d knocked twice and immediately grinned at whatever he saw on my face.

“You came.”

“I was given the impression refusing might result in a council tribunal.”

His grin disappeared so quickly I almost laughed.

I explained that Keegan had invited me for drinks, looked like somebody had threatened his family, and then casually mentioned Ignatius would be there. By the time I finished, understanding had replaced Drake’s concern.