“Something’s going on with you, I can feel it. And last night you came to my dream.”
Damn. Steele sighed and stepped away from his brother. There were five other Drakon in this room with them right now and Steele didn’t want any of them hearing about something only he and his brother shared. Aside from being a larger than life, kickass dragon, each Drakon was gifted with a special power. As for the Eze brothers, their power rested in dreams. Magnum was a Dream Watcher, meaning he kept watch over the dreams of others, monitoring them for any interactions that could endanger the realms.
“I’m not in any danger,” Steele said the moment he and Magnum were standing outside the conference room alone. “I’m just following up on something.”
“On what? You’re searching for something, you have been for a while now, but I can’t see what. Tell me what’s going on, man, so I can help.” Magnum had a similar bulky build to Steele’s, but his human skin complexion was a bit darker than Steele’s reddish-brown hue. Their dragon bodies were bronze, with only a variation in their eye color.
“I’m good, Mag. Trust me. I’d tell you if I needed your help.” Seventy-five years ago when Magnum had pulled him out of the Abyss, Steele had promised he’d always let Magnum know when he needed help. A slight tightness gripped his chest as he stood there staring into his brother’s eyes and swearing he was fine, when they both recognized the signs that proved otherwise.
“You’re still thinking about Opal,” Magnum said with a sigh. “I sensed it in your dream, your guilt was like a weight around your neck as you moved. You’ve gotta let that go, man. It was a long time ago.”
Steele looked down the hallway, watching as the other Drakon filed out of the conference room and went on about their business. Everybody went about their business in this world. Shit happened, people died, the world kept moving. He knew all that and didn’t like that his brother was acting as if he didn’t.
“Opal is gone. I don’t need you reminding me of that.”
“Then let her go and move the hell on. There was nothing you could’ve done to save her. She wasn’t meant to be saved.”
“How the hell can you say that? She was our sister!” he yelled and then snapped his lips shut and looked away once more.
“I know who she was and I loved her just like you. I also respected her position in our clan and in the war against the Venomstone clan. We were born warriors, and we had to fight, all of us.”
“Not her,” Steele said, shaking his head. “She shouldn’t have been in my dream, Mag. She only had her dream power, nothing else and that wasn’t a threat to the power balance. It was bullshit and I should’ve seen it sooner. I should’ve refused to lead him to her.”
When his brother didn’t immediately respond, Steele looked across the hallway to where he stood. The look on Magnum’s face was like stone, somber and intentional.
“That’s your job. You were born to do it and you cannot walk away from it.”
“Why? What’s gonna happen if I don’t give the Reaper another body? Huh? Will he take me next?”
Magnum moved fast, stepping right up into Steele’s face. “Don’t say stupid shit! You were born to do this job, so do it.” His eyes flashed with a spark of his beast’s fire, but the edge of his tone spoke of worry.
“What if I can’t?” Steele asked, his voice lower than his brother’s.
Again, there was no quick response from Magnum and Steele took that moment to continue. “I’m gonna head back to the city and wrap up this thing I’ve been following up on and then first thing tomorrow I’ll get in touch with the new client and set up a meeting.”
Magnum released a heavy sigh that made Steele feel like a colossal ass for making his brother feel like he had to worry about him or whether or not he would uphold his duties as a Drakon and a Dream Reaper.
“When are you coming back home?” Magnum asked.
“The Office is not my home.” The words were out before Steele could stop them and he regretted them seconds afterward.
He and Magnum had traveled to the Human Realm after the battle of the clans that had stretched across Nigeria one hundred years ago. They’d found Theo and pledged their power and allegiance to him. They were doing good and living well, but it would never be home to Steele. It would never be enough to make up for all that he’d lost.
“I mean, for right now, the hotel’s where I’m hanging my hat. I’ll be back when it’s time to come back. But a few months ago we stirred up something in Burgess, and one of us has to be on hand when that ticking time bomb erupts.”
Again, he wasn’t lying. And he also wasn’t sticking around any longer for his brother to figure out even more of the crap floating around in Steele’s head. Theo and Shola had questions too. Steele could see it in their eyes each time they looked at him today. He didn’t have any answers for anyone, not now. And so it was best that he leave. In fact, it was imperative because Ravyn needed him now more than ever.
Chapter Five
Steele stepped out of the shadows this time. He stood right behind her and was about to say something to let her know he was there when she turned, leg lifted to execute a front kick. Without blinking he caught her ankle, but she yanked her leg free of his grasp. Their gazes locked for quiet seconds before she took off running.
“Shit!” Now he was
