Page 23 of Phoenix Rise


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Cara shook her head. “I don’t know. The blood of other species is not as powerful as that of Liberis. I obviously did not know Isobel as well as I thought I did. This is more than merely misguided.” She glanced at me. “Why don’t we go and see Cody? If we are going to help Matt and Talakai, we have to be ready.” Her hand on my arm tightened. “Did you dream of Matt?”

My heart ached. “No. But I dreamed of Talakai.”

Her lips twitched. “Matt is probably under too deep. But Dragons are more resistant to the drugs. So, how did it go?”

Her tone was deliberately casual. I blushed scarlet, but answered. “Xumi has really messed him up.”

“The matebond can save him.”

She sounded so sure, and I glanced sharply at her, but her eyes were on the building we were approaching. “We have to get them out of there.”

She met my gaze. “Yes. We do. And... we will.

We’d just walked into the foyer when Cody bounded down the stairs.

He grinned when he saw us. “Oh, good. Been looking for you guys. I’ve got everyone together, and we think we have a workable plan. We need to form you all into a team. Got a practice mission set up too.” He met my eyes. “Are you ready?”

I straightened and nodded. “Bring it on.”

* * *

The gate spat us out into another back alley. The stone buildings were like the ones in the realm I’d visited with Sebastian. Cobblestone streets and buildings with plaster façades over quarried stone.

After what had happened, I was unsure as to my abilities and grateful that Cody had managed to arrange for our rescue squad to practice together. The recon/insertion team consisted of five members—me, Cody, the female Dire alpha, Maddy, and one of her wolfie mates, Logan. The final member was Lucas, the young Dragon shifter I’d seen with the big scary Bellati guy.

As we gathered around Cody, he glanced at me, and his nostrils flared. His eyes glowed as he stepped away before looking to Maddy.

“Ready?” he asked. And when she nodded, he took us to the street.

Beside me, Maddy’s brows were low, and she had lines of tension around her mouth. She was not only in constant mental communication with her three matebonded Dires, but she also used her talent as a Blocker to hide parts of the team from prying eyes. Thanks to her, myself and Lucas were the only ones visible to passersby. Lucas was taller than me but much shorter and leaner than the other Dragon shifters I had met. The Dragon part of him was acquired from his mate, Aria—he was born a Morph, a shapeshifter who could adopt anyone’s appearance if he absorbed their DNA.

It made him an excellent thief, which had been his stock-in-trade before he’d met the Dragon mercenary and the big scary Bellati.

Behind us paced Logan in beast form. The blond Dire sneezed, and Maddy’s eyes flashed at him, like she was giving him a piece of her mind. He moved closer to her, and away from me.

Lucas paced me, but the lean Dragon shifter kept his head turned away, scanning the street. While he and I stalked straight along the paved sidewalk, Cody, Maddy, and Logan ducked and dodged the evening crowd.

I’d read about the Blocker talent in my textbook, but seeing it in action was something else. Maddy could convince people they weren’t there by projecting empty space, but she couldn’t do anything if they crashed into someone.

This practice mission involved getting into a building, obtaining a package, and retreating without being detected. For the real one, the packages lived and breathed, and one spoke in incomprehensible sentences.Matt.My heart dropped a beat, and I yanked my focus back to the task at hand.

Maddy’s eyes flashed. “Wyatt says Mari is drawing some attention, but so far, it isn’t interfering.”

“Excellent,” the Sabre purred.

Mari was on the second team shadowing us. Wyatt and Mari shared Shaker talents that would provide a distraction once we were ready to gain entry. Another Dire, Ben, was with them.

With a flutter of wings, a small owl landed on Maddy’s shoulder. She was linked to Ben, and considered an official team member.

“How clearly can you see through Valki’s eyes?” Cody asked her.

Maddy’s lips twisted. “Not as good as Ben, and when I’m Blocking, it’s very difficult to do both.”

The Sabre nodded. “Okay, then. Have Ben do it, but report to you.” He turned to Lucas. “How much contact do you need to take on someone’s appearance?”

Lucas’s eyes gleamed at me before settling on Cody. “I only need a second,” he said. “How long I can hold on depends on how much of a stretch it is, size-wise in particular.”

The Sabre’s eyes glowed. “Useful talent, that. Once we’re near a guard, I’ll need you to become one.”