Vander turned a cold eye to his brother. Feno could never begin to understand what he was going through. This was his mate they were talking about. She was in the hands of their enemy. Someone who was devious, pure evil, and wouldn’t give two fucks about killing a human.
“Don’t push me away. I’m on your side. But if we’re to get your mate back, we must work together. A plan must be developed so that we don’t mess this up. We’re going to have one chance to get her back.”
“I don’t give a damn what happens to me. It’s Faye who I care about,” he snapped. His dragon was ready to go off to bring their mate home. There was so much they had yet to share with her. Little did she know, this castle was hers.
“And that is exactly why I said we need a plan! I refuse to lose my only brother. We do this my way, and only my way. I’m the eldest, and I will have you locked up.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Vander growled, his eyes narrowed on his brother.
Feno had never threatened him before. His brother had lost his mind if he thought Vander would sit by and allow him to rescue Faye without him.
“To save my hotheaded little brother from running blindly into battle, I would.” Feno crossed his arms in front of his massive chest. He cocked an eyebrow and waited for Vander’s answer.
Vander paused and glared at his brother. Going by Feno’s expression, he would.
“And I’d help him.” Jodos’ voice appeared behind him.
He glanced at his friend as he came and stood next to Feno.
Two against one.
Vander released a sigh and ran a shaky hand across his face. He refused to fight with them. By the looks of them, Vander would lose.
“What do you suggest we do?”
Faye releaseda scream as her body fell through the air. She looked down at the murky water rushing up to greet her. She closed her eyes and held her breath, and she hit the water, hard. She had to beat down the panic that rose in her chest. Her arms flailed around, and her body began its ascent to the top of the water. She kicked her legs to guide her to the surface.
She gasped and broke through the surface, her lungs burning from being deprived of air. She tread water and frantically looked around. She tried to take deep breaths and avoid taking in the nasty water. The dragon flew overhead and released a deafening roar.
Where the hell are we?
She desperately searched for land. She wasn’t the best swimmer and knew she would tire soon. She sensed a presence quietly drifting behind her so turned. She held in a scream. A large decaying animal carcass floated past her. The dragon flew overhead again. She slipped beneath the water’s surface and swam away, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and the dead animal.
She couldn’t tell what it was, and somehow, she knew it had met the same fate as she would. She broke the surface, unable to hold her breath any longer. The smell in the air was nauseating. The aroma of death surrounded her, and she had to force the contents of her stomach back down that were trying to escape. She glanced to her right and finally saw land.
She took off into the disgusting water, keeping her attention on the land. She didn’t want to know what else was in there with her and pushed herself until she was finally able to put her feet on solid ground. Her feet carried her further until she reached the base of a tree. Her body slammed into the ground as she sat hard.
She leaned her back against the tree, her breaths coming rapidly. She glanced into the sky and found no signs of her captor. Fear gripped her, almost paralyzing her, but she knew she couldn’t stay here. He would come for her.
She shoved off the ground and stood on shaky legs. Her drenched clothes made it almost impossible for her to run, but she had to try. She didn’t know where she was going, but she moved as fast as her water-soaked clothes would allow. She headed toward a line of trees that were up ahead. She glanced behind her and still didn’t see the dragon. Faye sent up a prayer that he would think she had drowned and wouldn’t come for her.
She entered the brush of trees and hid behind a thick trunk, trying to control her breathing. She brushed the wet hair from her forehead with a shaky hand, then placed it against her chest, landing on something hard beneath her shirt.
Vander’s dragon eye.
She pulled it from beneath her drenched shirt and rubbed it between her fingers. The action encouraged a calmness to spread throughout her body. It was as if Vander himself was there to calm her down. She bit back a sob, looking around at her surroundings.
She knew he would come for her. Her dragon warrior would not let her down. She just had to survive until he reached her.
“Vander,” she whispered and closed her eyes. She knew it was silly, but she wished she could reach out to him. To speak to him. To hear his voice. She had heard plenty of times of paranormals being able to speak to each other, and this was one time she wished she was of the paranormal world. She prayed that his pendant would allow him to hear her plea for help.
“No use in calling on your dragon lover,” a chilling voice announced.
Her eyes flew open, and there he stood. She would recognize his figure anywhere.
“He can’t hear you.”
Gamair.
