Page 77 of Fated By Fire
A sudden jolt causes me to drop the phone. “No!” I wail, then watch in despair as it plummets into the void below. My only hope of reaching out has just been snatched from me, and I’m lost. Totally lost.
The dragon levels out, soaring steadily now. Desperation claws at me. I glance down—the ground is impossibly far away. Jumping isn’t an option. The wind tears at my clothes, and the cold chews into my skin.
The city beneath us stretches on, a sprawling maze of lights. I don’t know where it’s taking me, but I know I have to get free. Because now that I know just a small part of this story, I have no doubt that whatever Malakai Steele has planned for me, it’s not going to be good.
In fact, it’s going to be bad.
Very, very bad.
Chapter 28
Caleb
Horns blare in protest as I weave through traffic, my foot heavy on the gas. I barely register them. The pull in my chest is a magnetic force tugging me forward. Elena’s in danger—I can feel it as surely as I feel my own heartbeat.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I growl, fighting to keep my anxiety in check. The bond pulses erratically, and through it, I can feel her fear, her desperation. It’s like a clamp around my heart, squeezing tighter with each passing second.
My phone rings, the sharp tone grabbing my attention. I glance at the screen, not recognizing the number. Ordinarily, I’d ignore it, but something tells me to answer.
“Yes,” I say tersely.
“Caleb?” a frantic female voice asks.
“Yes. Who is this?”
“It’s Mara—Elena’s friend.”
I grip the phone tighter, resisting the urge to tear her a new one. This fucking idiot has caused more trouble for us in one day than I’ve witnessed in a lifetime.
“Where is she?” I snap, not bothering to ask how she got my details.
“She—she was taken!” Mara’s voice wavers, panic evident. “It was… It was…” She audibly swallows. “It was huge! Terrifying! She was telling the truth. All of it. Oh, my God!”
“Slow down,” I command. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
“We were at Green Lake Park,” she says, words tumbling out in a rush. “I was supposed to meet someone, but it was a trap. Two guys grabbed me, but then this huge dragon came and—and it took Elena!”
“Malakai,” I hiss under my breath.
“What?”
“Nothing. Did you see where they went?”
“No, they just flew off!” she cries. “I managed to get a video—”
“Youwhat?”
Jesus Christ, this woman is fucking unbelievable.
“A video. I— I’ll send it to you.”
“Do it now,” I instruct. “And get somewhere safe. Don’t go home. They might come after you.”
“I— I understand.” She pauses. “Please, you have to save her.”
“I will. And Mara…”
“Yes?”
