They weren’t real prisoners, and they weren’t trying to escape at all, which was why their capture had been so cut-and-dry.
“That’s because they’re working for me,” Kate explained. “You can uncuff them now.”
One of the men jumped to it and did as Kate asked, while the other watched the scene with a mixed expression.
“I hope you didn’t tell anyone about this yet,” Kate said to the man who was still standing quietly, taking in the scene as if he wasn’t quite convinced.
“General?”
“I’m going to be running more mock intruder drills, and I don’t want anyone expecting this. I want to see how the other soldiers react when faced with the same situation. I’m assuming that this is the first that you’ve heard of the drills.”
“Yes, General, it is the first time,” he said, and Kate could see the tension melting from his shoulders as he visibly relaxed a little.
Now he believes me, she thought with relief. Not that she had to explain herself to anyone as the General, but she also didn’t want word getting around and causing her issues. The less people that knew about their visitors tonight, the better.
The other soldier returned with Kieran and Eli right behind him; then, he stood beside his patrol partner while Kieran and Eli moved to stand beside Jason and behind Kate.
Kate nodded at the two soldiers with a serious look on her face.
“There will be surprise drills throughout the week. You two have passed, and I thank you for your devoted service. Do not speak of this to anyone. If I find out that others are prepared for this surprise, I will be docking your pay for insubordination. Is that clear?”
“Yes, General,” they said in unison.
They saluted, and Kate returned the gesture. She heard movement behind her and turned to catch the three men following suit out of the corner of her eye. She smiled at the quickness of the three and the fact that they instinctively knew that their lack of salute would cause the two soldiers to question the encounter. It was a nice surprise.
Before any more questions could come up, she turned and left the room, with Jason, Eli, and Kieran following behind her. Jason sat in the front while Eli and Kieran slid into the rear seat and closed the door. Kate let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized that she had been holding, then turned on the engine and put the truck in gear.
“That went well,” Eli said with a smirk. “I didn’t know how we were going to get out of that one without alerting anyone to the fact that we were dragons, but your plan worked well, Kate.”
“Thanks,” Kate said, laughing a little. “It’s nice to see you again, and I’m sorry your kid snuck onto my chopper and hitched a ride.”
Eli shrugged.
“She’s a little spitfire, and I can’t say that I’m surprised. Is she with Anna?”
“Yes. Anna and Caleb. They’re at Caleb’s house, safe.”
“Good to know. We weren’t sure if you took her or if she went on her own.”
“I wouldn’t take her,” Kate said. “I can see why you would think that, though. I’m sorry for how I just blazed into Aman and announced that I was there to save her. I could have handled that differently.”
“I would say so,” Eli laughed. “So, what’s the plan now? Are you taking us to her?”
“I am, but there’s more, and I hope that you’ll stay and help us out.”
She caught Eli’s intrigued expression in the rearview mirror, and she knew that she had him. Eli and Lucy were a lot alike, even if she wasn’t his biological daughter. Eli couldn’t help but wonder what would have a military general asking for his help, and Kate hoped that pandering to his royal ego would get him to join forces with her to solve their mutual problem.
She was still looking in the mirror when she spoke next, and she didn’t miss the subtle change in his expression as the smile slid from his face.
“The reason the new President is pushing for reunification appears to be the influence of his new wife, Marissa. I understand that you two know each other.”
“Marissa is here?” Kieran said, sounding nervous, which troubled Kate.
“If a fellow dragon was afraid of her—”
“Are you sure it’s Marissa?” Eli wanted to know.
“Lucy said that she was struggling to stop her body from shifting when she got irritated. The entire time I was talking to her, she kept scratching her neck and shoulder blade. When I got back in the chopper, Lucy took the binoculars and showed me that scales were appearing on her skin, then disappearing again. I’m certain that she’s a dragon.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Eli said. “And if Marissa is hiding her true identity twenty-four-seven, then it’s no wonder that she’s shifting when she gets upset. That usually only happens to teenagers, but it’s been recorded in dragons that have spent months among humans without revealing themselves.”
“Do you think that Pearce knows?” Kate asked.
“Not likely,” Eli said. “She’s using him; at least, that’s my guess. Marissa has always had some pretty big aspirations, but she would rather manipulate a man into serving her needs than to make changes herself.”
“Gotcha,” Kate said. “So, what do we do?”
“Right now, we do nothing,” Eli said. “I’m not starting a war with my wife and daughter here.”
“We can’t just leave her running the show,” Kate said, panic welling inside her.
Was the Dragon King just going to leave her here to deal with this alone and hope for the best? She was capable and had the military at her disposal, but the Commander-in-Chief was the puppet of an evil WereDragon, and it would take some doing for Kate to convince anyone that Marissa Pearce wasn’t who she appeared to be.
“We aren’t going to leave her to rule New Hope,” Eli said. “But we’re also not going to be forced into a hasty overreaction. We need to think and to plan, and I need you to do what you would normally do without letting the fact that Marissa is married to the President change anything.”
“I have a meeting with them to discuss Aldeia and everything that I learned on my fact-finding mission.”
“And I’m sure you’ll tell them the truth: that no one was in Aldeia, and there are no humans to save. That’s what you planned to tell them all along, right?”
“It is.”
“So, why does that change just because you know Marissa is a dragon?”
Kate started to answer, but she realized that he was right. There was no reason that she couldn’t continue as planned, even though she would know that she was lying. She just needed to stick with the facts and avoid embellishing them, and she would be fine. It wasn’t exactly lying so much as omitting facts that they might want to know. Unless they came out and asked her about Lucy and Aman, there was no reason for her to assume that they would want to know about those things.