Cara had declared Tyrez’s mate the group leader, and now she waved her hands at him. “We need those location references.”
Havoc shot her a look that wasn’t entirely respectful, but he crouched, and launched himself into the sky. In moments, he was lost against the gathering night.
“How long will it take him to get there?” Nettie asked. She hadn’t been in on that part of the planning.
“The lake resort isn’t far from here as a Dragon flies. Half an hour, tops,” Dani stated. Her eyes flashed constantly. Although Tyrez and Ash weren’t physically with us, they seemed determined to participate.
Cara glanced at her. “Tell Tyrez to calm down. We’ve got this.”
“He cares too much to stay uninvolved.” Dani pushed a hand through her thick hair. The white streaks at her temples contrasted with her long, dark locks. “But it’s not just him. Ash is busy trying to filter timelines, to find the Matriarch and her daughters.” She grimaced. “He’s pushing me to notice details, like who says what, when… not something I’ve ever been good at.”
The Watcher’s mouth straightened. “He might have to just give you his best guess.”
Dani sighed. “I keep telling him that, but hehatesguessing.”
I understood the tension in her voice. The Matriarch could be anywhere in the building, and the timing was critical. If we went in too soon, whoever was planning this would be on to us. Too late?—
We couldn’t be too late.
“I will leave you to it, then. Good luck.” Cara turned back to the gate and raised her hands. She would be waiting for us at our final destination, but when she vanished, I experienced a stab of unease.
We were on our own.
“Okay, everyone. Load up,” Dani said.
This was the part I’d been dreading, but being with Breana helped. Marcus and I followed her and Riley into the wagon. It already contained three large barrels. Nettie and Rafael unpacked the stuff from the bearing beast, and after we crawled beneath a canvas tarp, they buried us in—yes—more greenery.
I couldn’t see Breana, but her warm body was pressed up against me, and I was engulfed in her scent. The quarters were tight, Riley was on my other side, and then Marcus. Dani and Rafael remained outside with Nettie.
I leaned closer to Breana, and whispered, “Is Grunt really going to be able to pull all of this?”
“Nettie said if it’s only for a short distance, he will. He’s a strong little fellow.”
Marcus spoke from beyond Riley. “Havoc’s sent us the visual. He’s in the forest just above the lake resort.”
“Hold onto each other and me, I’m going to Jump us,” Riley said.
The wagon swayed as Dani, Nettie, and Rafael climbed on board. Riley was in the middle, and we pulled the tarp back so that we could all grab hold of her. When Rafael moved up beside Breana, she leaned away from him—as if she didn’t want to be close to him? I wasn’t sure. Just as I looked at her, Nettie leaned down to touch Grunt?—
A flare of golden light permeated everything.
Snap!
The golden light faded, and the wagon jolted as Grunt shifted in the traces and snorted.
“We’re here,” Rafael whispered. He was a silhouette against the darkness.
A tiny fuzzy lump jumped from Riley to Rafael. Again, Fang miscalculated the leap, and Rafael had to catch her.
“She can stay here with Havoc,” Riley told him.
Rafael vanished from sight with his burden.
Dani pulled the tarp back over us. Foliage rustled as she replaced the herbs.
“You guys stay quiet,” she added, her voice now muffled. The wagon swayed as she jumped off to join Nettie and Rafael on the ground.
“You’re abouts twenty minutes froms the front gate at Grunt speed.” The deep rumble from behind us could only come from Havoc’s Dragon, and he sounded pissed off. But I’d noticed the red Dragon shifteralwayssounded pissed off.
