"Fascinating." Constantine breathed, leaning forward and resting his chin on his fingers laced together. "I was not expecting that."

Nolan sat perfectly still, not letting himself react. The whole Counsel was still and quiet as the Midground representative read from Ian's statement. Ian McSorley sat in the visitor's chair off to the side. He stared silently at his feet. He was pale and there were shadows under his eyes. He hadn't slept in a while or wasn't sleeping well at the bare minimum. He looked like shit.

"No one saw this coming." Nolan whispered back, keeping his voice blank and completely without emotion. "The dragonkin didn't even know about her."

"The dragonkin, maybe. Luna, on the other hand..."

He looked at Nolan from the corner of his eye. Bright red pupils burned with curiosity. Nolan couldn't give him anything. There wasn't anything to give, anyway. "Rhia's never met Luna." He hissed. "I haven't spoken to her since she got into town."

"Really?" that same, irritatingly curious voice never changed. "Strange. She was so insistent that I leave her alone. Makes me wonder why."

Nolan finally looked at his king. "Are you telling me," he said in a deadly quiet tone. "That Luna herself told you to stay away from Rhia, and instead you stalk her to her work and offer to turn her?"

"No, no, no. First I sent three of my messengers to deliver the offer for me. She didn't tell you? Kaila had a grand time getting to know your little dragonkin."

Nolan let a part of his anger slip and show in his eyes. "Do you ever get tired of playing this game, Constantine?" he snarled. "Do you ever get tired of seeing how far you can push me and Luna and the other dragons before one of us snaps?"

Constantine leaned in uncomfortably close. "Why would I stop playing a game that is leaning so heavily in my favor? They did nothing when I turned you, their yfeerie, their most trusted outside their own kind. Rhia Kincaid, on the other hand, is a nobody to them. An orphaned half-blood they never would have noticed if it weren't for you. And yet Luna was so worried that I would try to turn her. Makes me wonder what's so special about her. Makes me wonder what just might happen if you mix a little vampire blood and venom in a dragonkin's system."

Nolan forced himself to look back at the fae finishing his speech. How, after twenty thousand years, did he still let Constantine get under his skin?

The midground representative sat back down, leaving the hall in a stunned silence. The first person to move was Arkil, who slowly rose to his feet. He looked up to Nolan. "Did you know?" he asked hesitantly. There was no trace of his usual arrogance. He, like everyone else, was in shock.

"I am afraid you will need to be a bit more specific, Lord Serirnil." Nolan answered unhelpfully. He could only hope that they were too in shock to ask the really dangerous questions.

"That... That there were... that your..."

"I do believe he is lost for words." Constantine chuckled quiet enough for only Nolan to hear. "Incredible."

"Did you know there were half blood dragonkin?" Arkil finally spat out the words.

"Yes."

"And you did not think that this Counsel would need to know about that?"

"The Counsel did not ask."

"This is not the sort of information we should need to ask, Lord Wes!"

His anger roused the other members of the counsel until there was a steady ripple of noise resonating through the room. Nolan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What will you do now, old friend?" Came the amused hiss of Constantine's voice.

Nolan stood up, adjusting his jacket calmly. The action had an immediate response to the rest of the counsel. They went dead silent and those who had risen, sank back into their seats. "It has been a few decades since I last stood in this room." He said softly. He did not need to raise his voice. He knew everyone could hear him. "Most of you I know. Many of you I have known before you accepted your seats here. A select number of you I have known since you were children. There are only a few faces that I do not recognize. So, for the sake of you few, allow me to introduce myself.

"My name is Nolan Wes. I am the yfeerie of Quintiles Drakos.

"The dragons have entrusted me with secrets that none of you can ever possibly imagine. I knew of the half-bloods. But, in time, I am sure that this is not as much of a surprise to you as you think. If there is anything I know, if there is anything any of us know, about humanity, it is that they can and will reproduce with just about anything. Half blood dragonkin are extremely rare. It is even more rare for there to be a half blood that the kin do not know about.

"As mentioned in the statement of Lord Saurward's guest, I have been romantically involved with Rhiannon Kincaid. It has been confirmed by the administration of the local dragonkin compound that she is a half-blood kin. She is also one of those extremely rare cases in that they did not know she existed. I did not know of her true nature until I was summoned to the compound two days ago. To say this has been a shock would be a tremendous understatement.

"This situation with the demon attack at South Coast Plaza is greatly concerning. The realization of Rhiannon's identity, and for you all to learn that half blood dragonkin exist, is, to say the least, shocking. My recommendation to this counsel is to adjourn for an adjustment period of forty-eight hours at a minimum. Upon our return, we will be able to make appropriate decisions with regards to the demons and the dragonkin. Thank you."

He sat back down and waited. It didn't take long. The xiezhi called for a recess with a scheduled return in six weeks. As the counsel members and their assistants filed out of the room, Atticus slid to walk next to Nolan. "The power of the yfeerie at work." He muttered quietly. "You ask for two days and you got six weeks."

"That has nothing to do with my title." Nolan craned his neck looking for the faeries. "When has the counsel ever recessed for less than one month. Lord Saurward! A moment, please!"

He jogged past the rest of the members to reach the Midground representative speaking to Ian. The young faeling still looked like he couldn't believe what was happening. "Lord Wes," Saurward reached out to accept Nolan's hand. "I apologize for not speaking to you about this beforehand. I know that Miss Kincaid must mean a great deal to you."

"It's fine, I understand. May I speak to faeling McSorley for a moment?"

Saurward visibly hesitated and glanced at the younger male. He stared straight ahead, like he couldn't even acknowledge the situation. "Sure. But only a moment. Ian, I'll be right down the hall."

Ian nodded. Nolan took his shoulder gently and moved him closer to the wall. "Ian, we haven't had the chance to officially meet." He said quietly. "I'm Nolan Wes, Rhia's..."

"I know who you are." He almost whispered. "She told me about you."

"Of course. Look, Rhia was asking about you. Her phone was destroyed during the South Coast incident, but here's my card, and you can-"

"I don't want to talk to her."

Nolan felt the words die in his mouth. He looked over Ian's head, seeing Saurward watching him carefully. "Ian," he tried again. "Rhia didn't want to talk to her mother or her brother. She only wanted to talk to you. She was worried about you."

He shook his head. "I can't. I can't... That's not... She's not the same anymore."

Nolan ran his hand through his hair, feeling his heart quickly turning to stone. "She is still Rhia. The same Rhia I fell in love with, the same Rhia you have known for years. You stuck by her through the Church situation, you can still be there fore her through this."

"No..." his words were barely audible now. "I didn't sign up for this."

"Ian," Nolan almost begged. "Trust me when I say this, I know exactly what she is going through. She feels like she is losing everything right now. She is losing her sense of self, her career, and she is starting to feel like her whole life is a lie. You are her best friend, if she loses you, it will destroy her. Do not turn on her now."

Ian took a step back. "I'm sorry, Lord Wes." He breathed. "She has you. That has to count for something."

He turned away and headed back to his counsel rep. Nolan could only stare at his back. His stomach was in his feet. He was pretty sure his stomach had stopped beating all together. The scenario was eerily familiar.

Atticus's hand landed on his shoulder. "Your son is waiting for us in one of the conference rooms."

A breaker inside of Nolan flipped and something went dark and cold. He gave a curt nod and followed Atticus to the room, Constantine following closely. Cameron's eyes widened when he saw his king and the other counsel member. "Dad, I thought it would just be us. No offense, your majesty, Lord Shaw... but this is goes far beyond attorney-client privilege. The information about Rhia should really be for her eyes only."

"Rhia doesn't want to know." Nolan snapped. "Atticus is investigating Richard Kincaid, so this information will get back to him anyway. And if you want to tell Constantine to go away, be my guest."

He took the file from the table and ignored the looks he was getting from both Cameron and Atticus. "How is she doing?" Cameron asked nervously after a minute.

"If she kept spiraling the way she was when we left," Atticus answered with a shrug. "She's either too drunk to remember her own name, or she passed out in another coma."

"For her sake, I hope it's the latter." Constantine settled into a chair like it was his throne, crossing one leg over his knee. "That much power in an unprepared body and mind is bound to come with consequences."

"What on earth would you know about a dragonkin awakening?" Atticus questioned.

"The majority of my species are humans gaining a sudden influx of magic." Constantine smirked. "And I have spent many, many years sharing a bed with a dragon. Turning and awakening are not wholly dissimilar. Really, Nolan, I am hurt that you didn't request my help."

"Rhia doesn't like you." Nolan said in a verbal shrug without looking up.

"Yes, yes, of course. How could I possibly forget that little scrap of information?"

Noland handed the document to Atticus. "Richard Kincaid left her in that ally." He said coldly. "He left her in that specific alley so that his wife would be the one to find her. All just to adopt her legally. Why?"

"I can't hear this." Cameron shook his head and stepped towards the door.

"Stay. We might need someone with practical knowledge of human law."

"No, dad, there needs to be someone in Rhia's life who doesn't know the stink of her dirty laundry. You and Atticus might not have that luxury on the counsel, but I sure as shit do."

"I can make it an order if that resolves you of your personal feelings."

"Nolan," Atticus said in a warning tone.

Cameron was frozen with a hand on the doorknob. When he turned again, his eyes had gone completely red. Tendrils of black began to creep up from his shadow. "I'm impressed." There was a slight echo to his voice. "You've been back as a Lord of the Counsel for barely five minutes and you're already back to being the bastard I grew up with. That's got to be a new record."

The words ripped through the dark part of his mind. "Cameron, I..."

It was too late. Cameron ripped open the door and stormed off, leaving whisps of his shade to curl angrily in his wake. Nolan wanted to hit something. Hard. "Nolan," Atticus said quietly. "We don't need to do this now."

"Just... tell me what you think."

Atticus fixed him with a hard black stare before dropping the file on the desk for Constantine to take. "It pretty much confirmed my suspicion that Kincaid wasn't the mastermind of all this."

"How do you figure?"

"We shouldn't be letting it live." Atticus repeated from memory. "That wasn't the deal. Capture. Study. Kill. He spoke like someone sold her to these people. They knew what she was from the beginning. Richard Kincaid knew she was dragonkin before he left her in that alley and before he legally adopted her."

Nolan felt sick. "That doesn't make sense... Why would they bother doing the heritage tests if he already knew what she was?"

"Because they weren't testing her heritage." Constantine had dropped his silky, condescending tone. He pushed the file away from him like it was something disgusting.

"What are you talking about?" Atticus snapped. "That's what the tests are for."

"Spoken like someone who's never been on the receiving end of human experimentation."

"Meaning?"

"Oh, come now, Lord Shaw." He hissed, his eyes burning with emotions Nolan rarely saw from his king. "Surely you remember the origin story of the vampires and the lycanthrope. Mortals craved the power of the ancients so much they were willing to do anything. Anything... except foregoing their own humanity. They got as close to perfection with me and the first lycan. But because we require feeding on human blood and flesh, we were abominations and failures to them. That was where they made their mistake. They strung us up to be charred by the sun instead of just killing us themselves."

"I have heard this story before." Atticus muttered slowly.

"It's how he met Luna." Nolan sighed. "It's a vampire fairy tale. Parents tell their kids about how the king was rescued by the great dragon and how she brought our species to greatness. We tend to leave out the part where he was a creation of humanity's greed."

"We also leave out the part where I returned to my place of birth and burned everyone and everything in it." Constantine hissed.

"As interesting as that is, what does any of that have to do with Rhia and the tests? We have confirmation from her brother, and she remembers them."

"Let me get this straight," Somehow Constantine managed to stare down his nose at Atticus from his seated position. "You are relying on the recollections of two children, one of whom has gone through years of- well, let's call it what it is- torture, to accurately remember the events of over twenty years ago?"

"What are you getting at, Constantine?" Nolan asked quietly. He could feel his brain trying to work through the information.

"Think about it." There was a bite to Constantine's voice now, his irritation showing through the cracks. "It's not that difficult."

"Are you trying to say that she didn't have the tests done on her?" Atticus growled.

"Oh, dear gods," Constantine sighed dramatically. "I thought you were both smarter than this. No, I am not saying that. What I am saying is that she is simply remembering incorrectly. The heritage tests were performed on her before she was dumped in that alley."

"But... why perform the tests at all if they already knew."

Constantine let out a dramatic sigh. "Like explaining quantum physics to children." he muttered before dropping what remained of his taunting tone and spoke plainly. "These people have been trying to get on the level of the ancients without losing their precious humanity since the days of Atlantis. They live by the philosophy that if they couldn't achieve what the Ancients were capable of, then they will find a way to drag us down to their level. The dragonkin are essentially mortal for the first two and a half decades of their lives. It is not that big of a leap to assume that their train of thought would turn to; how do we keep them from awakening at all?"

Nolan's mind finally starting to put the pieces together. "Holy shit..." he breathed. "They would have done the tests repeatedly until they came up negative."

"Exactly." Constantine beamed at him. "Finally, you get it."

"Then why would they let her go?" Atticus asked cautiously. "If they're trying to make it permanent..."

"They didn't." Nolan's words came out in a rush. He grabbed the transcript and read aloud. "We're not really releasing it. It's still under our watch. We're still studying it. There are some results you just can't see in a lab setting. They could condition her to never use her magic, but they wouldn't know if they ever really turned it off unless they let their test subjects out into the real world and let them face everyday life, especially in her adult years when she gets closer to her natural awakening."

"Her adopted father was likely supposed to kill her if she ever showed signs of magic." Constantine added, a little too cheerfully. "I wonder what he'll do now that she's in someone else's control."

"You've been investigating him." Nolan looked to Atticus. "What do you think?"

Atticus was quiet for a moment. "Given how protective the dragonkin are over their kind," he said slowly. "Cutting their losses and starting fresh will not be an option. Rhia was a once in a lifetime test subject. If they're not already, they will be considering every opportunity to get her back."

"And you two moved her out of the safety of the dragonkin's compound." Constantine chuckled. "Not the best move on your part."

"She's in even more danger now than she was before." Nolan ran his hands through his hair again. "It's time to pull the trigger, Atticus. It's time to bring Kincaid and Price in. They're the men on the ground, without them, their superiors are blind."

"I'll make the call."

"Atticus," Constantine said softly as the shifter pulled out his cellphone and started powering it on. "If you require any additional forces, do not hesitate to ask. My vampires are at your disposal."

Atticus blinked. "You would allow me to command your elites?" he asked carefully. "For what in return?"

"Eventually, you are going to flush out the puppet masters at the top." Constantine's voice was low and filled with a deep-seeded rage. "When you do, I want to drain them of the very humanity they think they are protecting."

"You're going to turn them into vampires?" Atticus went pale, his jaw dropping.

"Yes. And then I am going to chain them to the same hill they put me and watch them burn in the sun. Do you have a problem with that, Lord Shaw?"

A thick silence settled between the vampire king and the shifter lord. After a minute, Atticus just walked away without saying another word. Nolan met Constantine's gaze. "Thank you." He said softly.

Constantine smiled. A real, genuine smile, not just the smirk he used the rest of the time. It reminded Nolan of the much younger versions of themselves when they first met. When he still lived to experience new wonders. Before he turned cold and leapt from one distraction to the next just to keep going. Before he was regularly feeding from a dragon. "Your Rhia and I may never be friends, but she can trust that it brings me no joy to know that she has suffered in this way."

Nolan nodded. "Have you talked to Luna lately?"

"Not since the day of the demon attack." His eyes narrowed slightly in concern. "She has been acting off lately. I haven't seen her like this since..."

"Since when?"

"It's nothing, really. She is overly sensitive to anything that happens to Nekros. Of course, I expect her to be upset since he has gone missing."

"But...?"