“Do we know if this was targeted at Elf directly?” Costas asked. “Or was it whoever was unlucky enough to drink from that particular mug?”
“A question for my mate and the rest of Sorcery D’Vaire,” Alaric responded as he lifted his gaze to the building where the Arch Lich was ensconced with the rest of the geniuses.
“Here’s what I can’t wrap my head around,” Damian remarked. “What’s the fucking purpose of getting Elf or anyone else in dragon form?”
“I couldn’t say. Maybe an experiment gone wrong?” Conley suggested.
“If this is directed at Elf, it has to be someone who knew he likes his caffeine fixes,” Zane said. “He doesn’t have a private mug. They had to know that.”
“That’s the first change we’re going to make. Elf and Chrys get their own fucking mugs that only we wash and fill. We’re going to put a coffeemaker in their boardroom, and it’ll be hands off except for the royal family,” Damian grumbled.
“Is there anything we’ve overlooked?” Chrysander asked, peeved he couldn’t even drink coffee in the staff room. It was boggling his mind the way history was repeating itself. Two of the men in front of him were dead because people who they should have been able to trust arranged for their murders. He’d purposely only kept the dukes he could count on close to him, so he didn’t have to worry about his safety and that of his mate.
Whoever put the substance in Ellery’s mug was going to find out what kind of justice a pissed-off dragon could deliver—he would not stop until the culprit or culprits were found. It was a ferocious shock to the system to know that he hadn’t managed to eradicate any deception in his own staff, and the remorse his brothers were feeling was no small affair either.
“The coffeepot was still half full. We sent a sample over here for Sorcery D’Vaire as well as one from the water source. The other cups too,” Drystan revealed.
“I think it’s time we ask for an update. Alaric, can you ask your mate to bring them out here? Ell can’t get inside the building.”
The Lich Sentinel pulled his phone out, and Chrysander had no idea how Chander replied, but there was a small smile playing around Alaric’s mouth. He didn’t have to ask if the pair were happy. It took only a few more minutes; then Sorcery D’Vaire piled out the door of the office building. There wasn’t a face in the bunch that wasn’t serious. The Grand Warlock waved a hand through the air, and a gigantic table and chairs appeared in the backyard.
“Let’s have a seat and we can go over what we know,” Dra’Kaedan directed.
Chrysander didn’t argue; he grabbed a seat and there was even plenty of room for the white dragon who followed him to plant himself around the wooden surface.
“We were discussing the samples we sent over from Chrys’s and Ellery’s office,” Drystan informed them.
“The water wasn’t tampered with. If there was any of this substance in the coffee mugs or the pot of coffee, it has evaporated,” Vampyr Lord Grigori Volkov-D’Vaire apprised them.
“Another fucking dead end,” Zane griped.
“Let’s go over what we’ve learned so far,” Prism Wizard Vadimas said. “This was a wizard potion. It’s not a beginner either. He or she is accomplished. We haven’t been able to narrow it down to what color of the rainbow they are, but we will in time. That’ll help us as we begin designing an antidote.”
“There’s no easy way to impart this news, but this was an attack on Ellery. It’ll only work on a hybrid,” Lichpriestess Saura stated softly. “If a full-blood dragon drank it, nothing would happen.”
Ellery let out a growl, and Chrysander laid a comforting hand on his neck. “So someone wanted to put Ell in dragon form. I can’t get past the ‘why.’ ”
“We can’t answer that,” Chander replied. His shoulders lifted as he blew out a breath. The Arch Lich’s eyes rose to meet Ellery’s golden dragon ones. “Ellery, at a microscopic level, your elven side is being attacked.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Damian demanded. “Is his life in danger?”
“No, it can’t kill him. It doesn’t damage his dragon cells—it essentially turns some of them into killer ones intent on shredding the elven ones. Left this way, Ellery will live forever…as a dragon,” Grigori informed them gravely. His pale blue eyes were solemn, and Chrysander barely knew what to think. An eternity with Ellery as a dragon was so unacceptable, his heart couldn’t accept it.
His gaze went to the beautiful white beast next to him. Once he’d been petrified that Ellery wouldn’t survive while shifting into the gold-dusted beauty at his side. Now he was forced to contemplate losing the elf he adored. What the hell was wrong with Fate?
“I don’t want you guys to think we’re simply content to understand what’s happening,” Chander said into the silence. “Our first step is to try and stop the damage somehow. While his dragon is more aggressive, this isn’t something that is measured in minutes or hours. This consumption—for lack of a better word—of his elven form is going to take a great deal of time. That works to our advantage since we’ve never encountered anything like this. We’ve already started our list of possible avenues for a remedy. Chrys, without a doubt, we’re going to need your blood.”
“I’d like to try a straight transfusion to see what happens,” T’Eirick stated.
“What are the possible repercussions of that?” Costas asked.
“Absolutely none. They’re mates. If it does nothing to help, it’ll also do nothing to harm,” T’Eirick replied. “We can study the cells to see if there are any changes. Perhaps given the strength of Chrys’s dragon, he can rein in the more aggressive one Ellery now has.”
“I’m more than happy to give you all the blood you want,” Chrysander told the Lichpriest.
“I have a feeling we’ll be taking a great deal from you. You can shift to replenish it,” Vadimas said. “You’ll need to continue to eat a great deal of protein, but it’s important that we not overtax you. Unlike Ellery, you’re a larger dragon and you simply cannot stay in your beast form all the time.”
“I understand. How soon do you think you can come up with an antidote?”
