My heart be heavy as we walked back through the town gates and paraded down the main drag. Finn’s men be jubilant. They reined in outside one of the bars as the Dires howled and raced circles around them. The locals fled out the back as they went in the front.
Finn kept me going until I be back in the steel and stone stall. Where he shut the door and used his power to strip off the headstall.
His laughter echoed off the walls as he left.
I stood and stared at my manger of hay. My mission to reveal Galeran’s hideout seemed defeated before it had even truly started.
But I still had Anna. And be damned if I be going to let Galeran win.
I took a mouthful of hay and chewed.
27
Matt
Smoke filled the sky, and through it, screams pierced the air.
My heart pounded, and I planted my feet, refusing to move forward. I went to spread my Dire toes, but to my surprise, I didn’t have them. My long legs ended in hard hooves.
I also had no control over them. It was as though I was a passive passenger in this creature’s brain.
Which was when I sensed Anna’s presence.
Not aware, but more a part of this experience than I was—it must be the link. From me to her.
And through her to Sebastian? It had to be him.
The figure on his back drummed booted heels against his ribs. “Come on. We have innocents to slaughter.”
Sebastian. It was Sebastian. But was this Anna’s nightmare? Or was it real?
A flashing snake of pure energy cracked through the air to paint agonizing, ice-cold fire along his flank—
My eyes snapped open. It took me a moment to remember where I was. I inhaled the citrusy scent that was Anna.
I was curled around her, my arm holding her tight against me. Her breathing was rapid, her muscles twitching as she remained lost in the rapport she shared with Sebastian.
Not a happy place to be, especially as there was nothing we could do about any of it. Our link was alive with pain. I reached up to push her hair back off her face, to try to wake her gently, and froze.
My fingers were human, but what sprouted from the tips was definitely not. And there was no longer any mistaking them for Dire either.
Full-scale Dragon talons, long and thick and curved, gleaming gold in the early morning light.
Anna squirmed against me, and with a gasp, awoke. I snatched my hand behind my back, struggling to put the stonkin’ talons back where they belonged. Which was, frankly, anywhere but on me.
As she became aware of where she really was, Anna went completely rigid in my arms. I guessed what she was going to do a split second before she tried it, and whipped my arm back around to hold her tight. Fortunately, the talons were nowhere in evidence.
“No, you don’t,” I said.
“Matt, you have to let me go. I haven’t even got my gloves on.”
“We need to resolve this. I am not afraid of you.”
She stopped squirming, and I sensed her reaching. I squeezed her harder, and added, “Don’t. Don’t do that alpha crap. This is important.”
“Yes, it is. I could have killed you last night.”
“But you didn’t.” Sensing she was listening, I loosened my hold a bit. “Do you remember what I told you in Jacques’s suite?”
