Sabres weren’t built to run. I summed it up. “That means at least three for a Dire. And who knows how fast a Unicorn can do it. But Sebastian said we need Tyrez. The river is flooded, and the bridge is out.”
“Bloody hell,” Ryan said. “That river—there’s no way we’ll swim it if it’s flooded enough to take out the bridge. We do need Tyrez.”
My gut twisted at the surety in Ryan’s tone. These guys knew this realm.
“Anna and Sebastian are headed right toward that river. We have to get them help,” my attempt at calm failed—my voice was a full octave higher than normal and completely lacked my usual Aussie flare. “I know where they’re going. Sebastian marked it on that map.”
Kitani put her hand on Cody’s arm. “Tyrez and the others might be back by now. We have to return to the academy.”
Cody was shaking so hard I could see it. How impossible would it be to stop yourself from running toward your children, even if it wasn’t the best thing to do?
But then the big Sabre dropped Aaron and turned to race down the street. Kitani went with him. Both were in beast form by the time they vanished around the corner, bits of their clothes fluttering in their wake.
I could see Ryan wanted to go with them. “Go,” I suggested. “I can handle Aaron. But don’t leave me out of this.”
He heard the note in my voice and nodded before he raced after them with the rolled map clenched in his fist.
I sighed, picked up Aaron’s limp body and the Unicorn horn, and resumed my trek.
7
Sebastian
This be my sardding fault.
I be not surprised that the alpha be involved in this chaos, but he be incapable of planning with this kind of intricacy.
For that, they’d needed a Dragon.
I’d known Talakai be Guild. He had both the training and resources to pull this plan off.
And I’d resisted bringing him to the council’s attention. If we couldn’t get these twins back, I would have another misdeed to atone for.
If I could.
I had another, more immediate issue—I’d never carried a rider before.
Anna’s thighs and calves wrapped around my ribs and clung, warm against my skin. As my racing hooves skidded on the cobblestone roads, I struggled with my very physical reaction to her presence.
It wasn’t the first time I’d felt it. When I’d held her unconscious form on the Dragon after our disastrous Night Games, I’d sensed it then, too. Along with a strange link to Matt, and even, I thought, to Talakai himself.
The Dragon who be a traitor.
I refused to be part of this. Regardless of how Anna called to me, I could never share her with another male. And Talakai aside, she definitely had something going on with the Dire.
No.I be not Fate’s bitch. Not again.
I wrenched my thoughts away from that and tried to tamp down on my unwelcome physical reactions. We had twin Sabre children to rescue. And between them, and us, be a raging river. I needed every iota of my being focused on the task ahead.
I couldn’t afford to slow down to coddle Anna. I used life energy to animate my mane, wrapping it tightly around her as we flashed through the streets so fast that to pedestrians, we be but a blur. Their riding and cart animals snorted and reared as I flew past.
No animal that ran could outpace my kind. It wasn’t just a simple matter of muscle, tendon, and bone—we wove the surrounding life essences into every stride, enhancing our physical abilities. I’d meant it when I’d told Matt he’d never be able to keep up.
When in beast form, my people could literally outrace the wind. The only living thing that could move faster than a Unicorn, was a Dragon.
But this time, something be different. I pulled from the surrounding life essences, but as Anna laid her hands along my neck, an energy flowed between us. It surged through me, pushing me to heights that I’d never before reached.
At first, I fought it, pushing it away. But I chastised myself—if it improved my speed, it be a welcome resource.
