Chapter 3 The Investigator's Game

Maya's POV

"Run or surrender?" Derek Hunt asks again, his storm eagle circling overhead like a promise of violence. "Choose quickly, Miss Cross. My patience has limits."

My brain is screaming at me to run. Every instinct says flee, hide, protect Evan at all costs.

But Evan's hand in mine is trembling.

Through our bond—this horrible, invasive connection I never asked for—I feel his terror. Not of Derek. Not of the Guild. Of what he thinks I'm about to do.

He thinks I'm going to give him a command.

He thinks I'm going to force him to fight, to kill, to become the monster the Guild has painted dragons to be for three hundred years. And the worst part? He CAN'T refuse if I order it. The golden chains wrapped around his soul won't let him.

I'm eighteen years old. Six hours ago, I thought my biggest problem was having a useless ability. Now I'm standing in a destroyed street with my best friend—who's secretly a dragon—magically enslaved to me, while a Guild investigator decides whether to arrest us or kill us on sight.

This is officially the worst day of my entire life.

"We'll come with you," I hear myself say.

"WHAT?" Evan spins toward me, his amber eyes wide with betrayal. Through the bond, his panic explodes like a bomb. "Maya, no! You can't—"

"We'll answer your questions," I continue, squeezing Evan's hand hard enough to hurt. Praying he understands. "But we're not criminals. The griffin attacked first. We defended ourselves."

Derek's expression doesn't change, but his storm eagle lands on his shoulder, watching us with intelligent eyes. "Defended yourselves. With what, exactly? You claim to be a Dragon Tamer—a bloodline that hasn't existed in two hundred years. You have no registered bond partner. Yet our sensors detected an energy signature consistent with..." He pauses. "Something very old. Very powerful. Very illegal."

My mouth goes dry. "I don't know what your sensors detected. Maybe they're broken."

"Our sensors detected dragon magic, Miss Cross."

The words hang in the air like a guillotine blade.

Evan goes perfectly still beside me. Through our bond, I feel his calculation. The distance to the alley. Whether his wings could get us airborne fast enough. How many civilians would get hurt if he fights.

"Dragons are extinct," I say firmly. "Everyone knows that."

"Everyone knows that," Derek agrees. His smile is sharp. "Which is why I'm very curious about what I saw today. A creature that moved like no shadow panther I've ever encountered. That roared loud enough to shatter windows. That flew." His eyes lock onto Evan. "Shadow panthers don't fly, Mr. Stone."

Evan's jaw tightens. "It was the griffin you heard. Not me."

"Was it?" Derek takes a step forward. "Then you won't mind coming to headquarters for a simple bond verification. We just need to scan your connection with Miss Cross, confirm your creature's species, and you'll both be free to go."

It's a trap. If they scan Evan, they'll know exactly what he is. And then—

Through our bond, I feel Evan make a decision. A terrible, self-sacrificing decision that makes my heart stop.

He's going to attack Derek. Knock him out. Take the blame entirely. Make it look like he manipulated me, controlled me, forced me into this situation. He's planning to let himself be captured so I can escape.

Don't you DARE, I think at him through the bond, not even sure if it'll work.

He flinches. His eyes widen.

So thoughts can travel through this connection. Good to know.

If you attack him, they'll kill you, I push through the bond. And then they'll still come for me. We stick together or we're both dead.

"Miss Cross?" Derek's voice sharpens. "Are you communicating with your bond partner? Telepathy is a sign of a very strong connection. Unusually strong for someone who awakened just today."

I'm so tired of lying. So tired of pretending. So tired of everyone treating me like I'm either useless or dangerous with nothing in between.

"Fine," I snap. "You want the truth? Yes, I bonded with Evan today. Yes, it was an accident. Yes, our connection is weird and strong and I don't understand it. But we're not criminals. We're just scared kids who don't know what's happening."

The honesty seems to surprise him. Derek's expression softens slightly. "Scared kids with an illegal bond. Miss Cross, do you understand what Dragon Tamer abilities actually do?"

"They control dragons," I whisper. "Except dragons are extinct, so it doesn't matter."

"It matters because your ability can break normal bond structures." Derek's voice is gentle now. Almost pitying. "Dragon Tamers don't create partnerships. They create slavery. The bond you've formed with Mr. Stone—if it's truly a Dragon Tamer bond—means he has no free will around you. No choice. No agency. You could command him to walk into traffic and he'd have to obey."

My stomach twists. Evan's hand in mine has gone cold.

"That's not—I would never—"

"It doesn't matter what you'd do," Derek interrupts. "It matters what you COULD do. Dragon Tamer bonds are illegal precisely because they remove consent. If the Guild confirms you've formed one, they'll require you to break it immediately. For Mr. Stone's protection."

Break it. Dissolve our bond. Set Evan free.

Through our connection, I feel his response: a surge of absolute terror.

"No!" Evan's voice is raw. "You can't break our bond. Maya, don't let them—"

"Why not?" Derek's eyes narrow. "If you're truly her friend, Mr. Stone, you should WANT freedom from a compulsion bond. Unless..." His hand moves toward his belt, where I see a weapon. "Unless you're not what you claim to be."

This is it. The moment where everything falls apart.

I open my mouth to—I don't know what. Lie more convincingly? Beg? Scream?

But Evan moves first.

He steps between Derek and me, his whole body tense. "You're right. I'm not what I claim to be."

"Evan, NO—"

"I'm not her friend." His voice is steady. Cold. "I'm her bond partner. Permanently. And if you try to break our connection, I'll fight every single person you bring against us."

Derek's storm eagle screeches. The investigator's hand closes around his weapon.

And Evan's eyes flash gold.

Not amber. Not human brown pretending to be amber.

Pure molten gold. Dragon eyes.

"That's what I thought," Derek says quietly. He raises his weapon—some kind of scanning device. "Evan Stone, or whatever your real name is, you're under arrest for bond manipulation and identity fraud. Maya Cross, you're under arrest for harboring an unregistered creature. You both have the right to—"

A massive explosion rocks the street three blocks away.

We all freeze. Through the smoke, I see something huge moving. Not a griffin this time. Something bigger. Angrier.

Derek's communicator crackles to life. "Code Red! Multiple A-rank beasts attacking downtown! All units respond immediately!"

He looks between us and the smoke. The choice is written on his face: arrest us now, or help the people being attacked?

"Don't move," he orders. "Either of you. I'll be back in ten minutes, and if you're gone, I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."

His storm eagle lifts him into the air, carrying him toward the chaos.

The second he's gone, Evan grabs my shoulders. "Maya, listen to me very carefully. Those aren't random beast attacks. The timing is too perfect. Someone just created a distraction to help us escape."

"Who?"

"I don't know. But we need to run. NOW. Before Derek comes back with reinforcements."

Through our bond, I feel his urgency. His fear. And underneath it all, something else. Something he's trying desperately to hide from me.

He knows who's helping us. And he's terrified of what I'll think when I find out.

"Evan." I grab his face, forcing him to look at me. "No more lies. Who's attacking the city? Who's creating this distraction?"

His expression breaks. Just for a second, I see the weight of three hundred years of secrets crushing down on him.

"My father," he whispers. "The Dragon King. And he's not creating a distraction, Maya. He's declaring war."

Another explosion lights up the sky. Closer this time.

And through our bond, I feel it: dozens of presences. Ancient. Powerful. Furious.

Dragons. Plural.

They're not extinct. They never were.

And now they're coming for me.