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Sebastian reared back to bark orders at Everard, but Bertram had pressed the gun to his back and forced their brother onto his knees next to Raven. Everard’s hands were on him, and slowly but surely, Raven’s wounds stitched themselves shut.
Bertram kept the gun pressed against Everard’s back, but looked into Sebastian’s eyes. “We are equal now, I suppose. Take your mate and do for him what you can. Everard stays here until Raven is healed.”
Sebastian wanted to argue, but Bertram truly had gone insane, and there would be no reasoning with him. Without a word, he scooped Perry into his arms and headed for the door that led from the atrium to their hoard.
Behind him, he heard Everard pleading with Bertram. “Lower the weapon, brother. I am healing him and have no intention of stopping.”
“Finish the job and I’ll lower the gun.”
“Is this who you are now? Forever Frederich? I am doing my job. This is well outside of enough!”
Sebastian stepped through the door and hurried down the hall. While he feared for Everard, he knew he would not come to harm by Bertram’s hands—he was too useful, and he’d saved their lives more than once after a job had gone wrong. Not even his lashing tongue would make Bertram forget it.
Bertram, however, would not be saved by prior good deeds.
They were well beyond that now.
He would answer for what he had done, but later, after Perry and the babe were safe.
“Sebastian?” came a voice from down the hallway. Sebastian looked up to see a familiar mop of brown hair, round glasses, and an eager expression. Harrison was on his way toward the atrium, his pet lizard on his shoulder. It was dressed for a day at the beach. “What’s going on? Is Ev okay? I felt something through our mate bond that worried me, so I’m trying to find him. I wasn’t supposed to come, but I followed him here because it’s been a long time since anyone has seen Perry, and some of us were starting to get worried.” Harrison seemed to come to the realization that Perry was in Sebastian’s arms. He stopped abruptly and stared. “Is Perry okay? And why are there so many alarms going off? Is it the Topaz clan again? I thought Ian was working to dismantle the rebel groups.”
“Everard will be fine, but if you go in the atrium, you might not be.” Sebastian nodded in the direction of his hoard. “There’s no time to explain. Come with me quickly. Perry is pregnant and has suffered trauma that has triggered his labor. I need your help.”
Perry groaned in pain, and Sebastian, heartbroken, took off at a sprint down the hall. Behind him, Harrison squeaked.
“I’ve never delivered a dragonet on my own before,” Harrison called out after him as he started to run, too. “But I’m sure it will be fine. I mean, I’ve delivered all kinds of clutches before, so how different could this be?”
Filled with dread, Sebastian ran faster.
29
Perry
Present Day
Sebastian sprinted down the hall and straight to their hoard room, following the same path Perry had once taken to usher an addled Ignatius and an injured Harrison to safety during a Topaz attack. The lush greenery of the atrium gave way to familiar walls and doorways, and while Perry knew he should be glad that he’d be safe throughout his labor, his heart was heavy. Unlike last time, when only Steve had been forgotten during their escape, they’d left family behind.
“Leave me,” Perry groaned as Sebastian pushed the secret button on the planter, collapsing the wall that hid the secret hallway leading to their hoard. “You must go back and make sure no harm befalls your brothers.”
“You mean Everard,” Sebastian grumbled as he hurried Harrison inside and ducked through the small opening. The wall closed behind them, plunging them in darkness, which Sebastian remedied with a flip of the nearby light switch. “Bertram is no brother of mine. Not anymore.”
“You mustn’t say that.”
“I will say whatever I wish, especially when it’s the truth.” He carried Perry down the hall to the reinforced metal door. It was quite a long way, but Sebastian’s long legs made quick work of the journey. Harrison practically had to jog to keep up. “Bertram has betrayed us. It matters not that he did not shoot—he has stolen proper medical attention from you. He is no brother of mine.”
“Sebastian,” Perry groaned. “You mustn’t… there has to be a reason.”
“I care not for any reason that comes from his treacherous mouth. Bertram is dead to me. Should he ever set foot in our lair again, I will rend him in twain.” With some difficulty, Sebastian pressed his hand onto the biometric scanner beside the door. As a consequence, Perry’s side and shoulder pushed against the wall, and while the pressure was slight, pain exploded inside of him. He hissed and squeezed his eyes shut. The fall must have done more than send him into early labor—there was something wrong.
“Perry?” Sebastian asked, panicked. He pulled away immediately, alleviating the pressure. The pain went with it, and Perry, at least for a moment, was able to relax. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“He might have broken a rib,” Harrison suggested. “When Ev gets here, he can fix it. I’m not sure I’m skilled enough. How much longer do we need to wait until the door opens?”
The same biometric scanner that had read Sebastian’s fingerprints now scanned his retina. After a thoughtful moment, it beeped, and a metal panel on the wall slid back to reveal a keypad into which Sebastian punched a six-digit code. At long last, there came a click and the door opened.
“Wow,” Harrison remarked as they stepped through the door. “I don’t remember your door ever having done that.”
