Chapter 2
The greatest treasures were most often guarded by the slyest and cruelest dragons.
―Adam Nevill, House of Small Shadows
Diamonds are my best friend… The words hummed through Piper Linwood’s head as she stood in the showroom of the Victoria and Albert Museum, staring at the glass-encased display of jewels with longing and fascination. Never in her life had she seen such an impressive and awe-inspiring collection. As one of the premier gemologists in North America, she’d seen hoards that would make a queen emerald-green with envy.
But all of those paled in comparison to this.
No one back home in Massachusetts would have guessed she’d end up in glittering, aristocratic London, overseeing a trove of this magnitude. After ten years, multiple jobs, double course loads for classes
