by Starla Night
Bare shelves accused her.
Her head swelled. Anger puffed her heart. She wanted to explode outward.
Amber gripped her coffee cart. Her claws pierced her skin.
No, no. Remain calm.
She never scratched her desk, trashed her office, or splintered a conference table. No, no. She repressed. She had control.
Darcy's face — contracted in fear — slapped her mind.
He had begged her to go. Begged her to leave.
Yet he was the one who'd proposed to her. If it wasn't for him telling her that he wasn't afraid, that he trusted her, that he wanted to marry her as soon as possible, she never would have let herself lose her heart.
She rocked her head back and forth trying to drive his words out of her head.
I'm not afraid. You have control. I can't wait to marry you.
Her bones loosened and scales jumped against her skin.
No, calm. Stay calm. She couldn't transform inside. A dragon like her would destroy the building.
Right.
Breathe in, breathe out, and don't lose—
"Ah, Amber. The real CEO." Serpentine strolled into her office like he owned the place. "I don't know who to complain to." He tapped his hand on her bare shelf. "You're out of coffee."
She gritted her teeth. "No."
"Oh, yes." He turned his back on her. "We searched the building and found a bag in Jasper's office, but that didn't last. The only thing making this whole tiresome investigation even possible was that strange, addictive blend, and now you've run out. I should declare you CEO and separate your brothers just to appease my anger."
Smoke emanated from her parted lips.
"You could make things easy and marry Chrysoberyl. Only a mentally deficient human male would ever want to woo a dominant female." He sighed, still facing away from her to greet the other dragon inspectors strolling into her office. "Perhaps I should summon your pitiful brother, Jasper, and exile him for failing to acquire more of this blend."
"I. Told. You." She sucked in a deep breath to stop the rage, but the rage wasn't stopping. Red filmed her eyes. Her hair crackled, and the hot pot of her belly bubbled with instant fire. "Not. To. Drink. MY. COFFEE!"
Serpentine jumped back. The inspectors fell atop each other. She began to grow, filling the office with claws and fangs and fury. Darcy's shirt shredded.
They scrambled out the door screaming. "She's mad! The real CEO's gone crazy!"
"I am not the CEO!" Amber burst through her office wall. Drywall collapsed in the hall and powdered the escaping inspectors.
Ulexite and Serpentine hugged each other and backed toward Mal's office. Graphite tried to slink below her notice into the elevator.
She erupted fire, scoring the hall and smashing into the elevator.
Graphite dove away and scrambled behind the other inspectors.
The elevator dinged and the doors closed. All the lights extinguished. Emergency lights flashed on and sprinklers gushed from the ceiling.
She stalked the cowering dragon trio and gnashed her teeth. "Transform, cowards, and accept my challenge."
Ulexite shrieked. "No! Calm, female. You never lose control!"
"That's right, I've accepted insult after insult. That's why it will be so satisfying when I bite you in half!"
The trio screamed.
Malachite burst out of his office. "Amber? Stop!"
She spewed flames at him.
Mal flew out of the way, still in human form, and tackle-hugged her monstrous neck.
She shook her head. "What are you doing?"
"Stopping you."
"Why? A dominant female would have done this the instant they arrived."
"You're not a dominant female."
"According to them, I am."
The trio clutched each other and trembled.
"They're going to take away your company, Mal, and I tried the calm approach."
"This isn't you."
"Well, maybe it should be." She snapped at the trio. "It would solve a lot of problems if I just ate everyone in my way."
"No, Amber." He squeezed her harder. "Yes, they're annoying and they deserve it, but you're better than this."
"I don't think I am."
"Don't be an idiot. As it is, for breaking the office and messing up our work, you'll be mad at yourself in the morning."
The sprinklers soaked them. Her flames went out and she shrank back to her small human stature.
Mal rubbed her back. Worry lined his normally oblivious face. "You okay?"
She nodded.
The dragon inspectors drew themselves up into a wet, indignant pack of fragile superiority.
"We have to report this," Serpentine announced, snout pointed at the dripping ceiling. "Amber is clearly the most dominant and in charge, as we always suspected. You will sign our report that you've scammed the Empress and forfeit your company."
Mal growled. "Never."
"Then how will you prove that you run this company against the wishes of this dominant female?"
"I have a solution." Amber closed her eyes. "I'll resign and return to Draconis."
Mal blanched. "You can't do that."
"I'm not needed here, Mal. All I do is give bad advice and endanger the ones I love."
"You can't resign. I refuse."
"Too bad, Mal, because it turns out I'm the dominant female." She flounced down the hall.
He stormed after her. "So what? I'm telling you, you can't resign."
She flew into his office and locked the door.
H banged on the door. "Get out of my office!"
"It's my office because I'm the real CEO."
"You're not the real CEO!" he roared. "You're not the dominant female. You're my younger sibling."
She sat nude in his claw-scratched desk and opened up a call to her mother. The banging continued and she hardened her heart to him.
"Amber? Amber!"
Her mother's dragon face appeared on his wall screen with the rustic view of the Outer Rim estate in the background. Red skies, severe landscape, and her mother with tinkling silver aristocratic piercings on her fierce, red dragon snout.
The connection at this hour was bad and scratchy, but joy transformed her face.
"Malachite? This isn't our usual ... Amber!" Her mother beamed and preened. "How are you, my darling? It's been weeks since we talked. I do love my new human daughters-in-law, but never forget that you are my first daughter, and were the first in my heart."
Her heart shrank with calm. Amber had never doubted her mom's devotion. She'd been loved from her earliest memories.
"I'm coming home," she said.
"Wonderful!" Her mother clapped her dragon claws. "I'll send our fast ship. Perhaps you will even join Kyan and Laura for a nice dinner."
"No, Mother. I'm coming home. Not just for a visit."
Her mother's brow ridges lifted. "Even better, my darling. I've missed you so much."
Amber's voice hitched. "I've missed you, too."
Her heart contracted and tears burned in her throat. But this was for the best. She could no longer hurt anyone this way. She'd no longer risk herself. And she would no longer be in anyone's way.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Darcy felt terrible seeing Amber off but her presence was driving his mom to hysteria. One of them had to go, and he needed to calm everyone down. Since Amber was so reasonable, he'd asked her to leave. His mom was in no state to plan a wedding for Monday.
"You're never leaving me, Darcy," his mom sobbed into his shoulder.
He patted her back. "Of course not."
They'd have to do a basic ceremony. It was the only solution.
"You'll never marry some inhuman bestial tramp."
"No, Mom, of course not."
Sure, his sudden decision had upset Amber because she'd focused on winning his mom over. This was his fault. They should have married already instead of trying to compromise when it became clear that they couldn't
make everyone happy.
"That's right, Darcy. No one will ever love you like your mommy."
"Whatever you say." He soothed to put her in an agreeable mood for what would come next. "Mom, I've sent Amber away and I've got to check on the rest of the guests. Will you be okay sitting right here with a new ice pack until I come back?"
Her lower lip trembled but she forced a chipped smile. "Of course, Darcy. I can be brave for you after that vicious, scary, unprovoked attack. Come right back, okay?"
"Right back," he promised and headed out of the kitchen with a stormy purpose.
The rehearsal guests had dispersed; a few groomsmen carried the charred buffet table around the front of the house onto a truck for a dumpster run. Ed gathered with a still-sniffling Tara and an annoyed Kris.
"I should have known." Kris shook her head, acknowledging Darcy as he approached, and tutted. "I should have kept a hold of that bouquet like my life depended on it."
"I know," Tara sniffled. "I should have paid the extra money for everybody to come to Vegas. I was just thinking that Silicon Valley's expensive to move and we're young college grads and how bad could it be?" She sucked in a deep breath and let it out, shaky, on Ed's shoulder. "Now, I know."
Ed hugged her.
"Mom went too far," Darcy said.
Everyone looked up in surprise.
"Mom?" Jackie said, voicing everyone's skepticism. "I didn't see Mom do anything."
"She dosed Amber's food with lighter fluid."
His siblings looked shocked; even Nicole's jaw dropped.
"That's criminal," Nicole breathed. "Like, actual poisoning."
"I don't understand," Tara said.
"Amber's allergic. That's why she sneezed. Mom dosed her."
A longer silence followed his accusation.
"Are you sure?" Jackie asked. "Lighter fluid goes on briquettes, not food. Maybe a drop splashed on the burger by accident."
Nicole eyed her. "Still in denial about Mom dosing Michael's food with cinnamon?"
"No," Jackie said defensively, as Michael ambled up the path from the bottom of the property. "It's just a big accusation. Being too proud to admit your pie is store-bought is different from pouring toxic lighter fluid onto someone's burger and then serving it with a smile."
Darcy nodded. "I know it's shocking, but she's been like this a long time. We've only just found out."
Everyone stared at him with skeptical eyes.
"It's true," he insisted.
"That Mom's always been a homicidal maniac and we never noticed?" Tara flipped her hair over her shoulder and shook her head. "Okay, I have the most right to be angry, and even I think that's going too far."
"Dad's told me." Why was this conversation going awry? He searched the bedraggled backyard. "Where's Dad?"
"Your dad?" Michael repeated and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "He's passed out on an empty twelve-pack of Coors."
"Right now? We kind of have a situation with Mom."
"Yeah, that's probably why."
Michael held his hand out to Jackie. She took it, bid farewell, and continued around the side of the house. Ed, Tara, and Kris headed after them.
Darcy followed them to the front. They were trading agreements for what time to meet in the morning for wedding preparations and heading for their cars.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
Jackie tilted her head. "We're done here. Whether or not she's a maniac, Mom made it an early night, and I'm going to take her up on it."
"You can't leave. Mom's having a breakdown. We have to do something."
"Like what?"
"Talk."
They looked at him like he was crazy.
"So, saying you're right, and Mom tricked Amber into lighting the entire wedding party on fire..." Jackie hung onto her nodding husband's elbow. "We are far past the point of an intervention. She needs serious mental help."
"Serious," Michael agreed. "That's above our pay grade."
"Right, so we have to talk to her, tell her our concerns, and convince her to take a break. Stop stressing, talk to friends, or at the most, maybe even admit herself."
Now they all looked at him like he was delusional.
"She's not going to do that." Tara hugged him gently as if he were the one who needed a psychiatric visit. "What could we say? The evidence went up in flames. Nobody saw her do it. Maybe she'd listen to Dad, but I doubt it."
"He's passed out. And he'll never commit her."
"So, there's your answer." Tara squeezed Darcy once more and then released him and draped herself across Ed. "I just need to marry you tomorrow. No matter what happens, no matter how badly it goes, we get married and then leave forever."
Ed nodded. "Agreed."
"You can't abandon Mom when she's broken. She's fragile," Darcy protested. "What about all she's done for us? What about our family?"
"'Our family' is a myth," Jackie said dryly.
"It never existed," Tara agreed.
"What are you saying? We had an amazing childhood. Mom was always there for us."
"Mom was always there for me and you, Darcy," Jackie corrected.
"She came to our games. Our activities. She was always there—"
"For us. Yes."
"But—"
"Yeah, things weren't that great for me and I was the one she ignored," Tara mused. "I can't imagine why Nicole still lives at home. She must suffer from Stockholm Syndrome."
"Nicole's still trying to help Mom." He gestured behind him, where Nicole had held back. "You can't leave her now."
"Why?" Michael asked.
Jackie shushed him and held up her hands. "Okay, Darcy. If Mom's had a mental break, and pouring lighter fluid over your fiancée's food is a good sign, call an ambulance. I'll wait with you until they get here. Let an expert evaluate her. If they take her, great. But if they conclude she's a sane, manipulative, possessive sociopath, and don't take her in, then it's a long night for nothing."
Tara and Ed nodded.
Kris waved her hand over her shoulder. "You guys got this. Good luck. Rest up for magic tomorrow!"
Kris got in her van and drove off.
Jackie waited for Darcy's answer. Tara leaned against Ed. Everyone was staring.
His decisiveness wavered.
He still wanted to protect his mom. She wasn't crazy, just stressed. Being tested by strangers and committed would embarrass her like her drunken fall and chipped tooth. He wanted to spare her that pain.
"Maybe ... if we share our concerns ..."
Tara gave him a final hug. "Goodnight, Darcy. Good luck with Mom."
Ed shook his hand. "You'll need it."
"Guys..."
"I'll see you in the morning." Michael shook his hand also with a dark grin. "I hope."
He chuckled uneasily. "We could handle this without embarrassing anyone."
Jackie followed Michael to his car. "Sure, Darcy. I bet Amber's not embarrassed right now."
His gut sank. "She's used to being on fire. She's a dragon."
"And being left soaked, alone, and naked is normal too?" Jackie got into the car. On the other side, Tara and Ed closed their doors and Ed started his engine.
"They shift naked..."
Michael leaned across the roof. "Just don't let your mom ruin your relationship the way she almost ruined mine. Or the way she's trying to ruin Ed and Tara's." He got in. "That is no debate."
The cars disappeared from the driveway leaving Darcy alone at the top of the house.
His heart flopped.
When he was a kid — heck, even a week ago — he'd had this illusion that his family was strong. His siblings lived at home because they cared about each other. If someone was hurt or needed a hand, the rest of the family would pull together and help them.
He'd even tried to sell this illusion to Amber. Promising she could get the love and community she craved from her brothers from his family instead.
But that illusion had only existed in
his head.
He returned to the house.
Nicole was waiting on the porch, her arms crossed, leaning against a pillar. "Everybody left?"
"Some family we are."
Nicole snorted, shook her head, and laughed. "You know, it's funny. I thought one day everybody would see that I wasn't the crazy emo drama queen. That something really is wrong with Mom and I'd be vindicated. But we're here. Everybody gets it. They can see Mom's a cuckoo and yet I still don't feel vindicated."
"Let's go talk to her."
"Oh. No."
"We can do it together."
"No, Darcy." Nicole put out her hands in a swift refusal. "I've talked myself blue. Or yellow. I'm a dead canary. I sang my last coal mine song."
"You have a video."
"Which I'll show to the police or anybody else who wants it. But I didn't capture Mom dumping lighter fluid on Amber's food."
"Wait, so you think she didn't?"
"I don't know. It's hard to believe Amber spontaneously combusted and the burger had nothing to do with it, but as I said, I don't have evidence."
Nicole's watch beeped.
She checked her cell phone. "Time for my emergency counseling appointment. Boy, do I need it. Oh, and another thing that filming myself is good for? Now my therapist knows for sure I'm not some delusional narcissist, but I'm actually living in a bonkers soap opera, and she's giving me emergency sessions at a discount so I can keep her updated."
"Nicole, nobody thinks you're crazy."
She patted his shoulder a little too hard. "You can talk to Mom, Darcy. You're her little golden boy. Maybe she'll listen to you."
"Nicole..."
His last sister clicked the fob for her car. The lights flashed and doors unlocked. She drove away without a second glance.
Okay. He was the last one who cared about this family. It was up to him to save his mom.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Darcy dragged himself into the kitchen.
Mom was no longer collapsed in the chair sobbing. She'd moved on to peeling apples. His great-grandmother's hand-written recipe for wedding tradition rum cake was taped to the tablet stand.
Mom squinted at the recipe. "Hmm. I can't tell if that's three teaspoons of rum in the frosting or three tablespoons. I'm sure it's a fifth in the cake itself...No, maybe that's in the glaze...need to make sure I have enough corn starch..."
