The guy looked, understandably, confused by the item. However, as it was not a weapon, he stepped back so Rone could pass. “Thank you, sir. You may go.”

  Come over here, I thought, wanting to make sure Rone got past the guy before I released my control.

  He strode my way. When he stood right in front of me, I allowed my power to dissipate and handed him his bag.

  “That was close,” I said. “But we got through.”

  Rone stared down at me, his eyes hard and narrow.

  My gut churned. I hadn’t thought through the impact of my actions—I’d only been interested in getting Rone through the security gate without incident. But as intense heat rolled off his body I realized how unwelcome my mind manipulation had been.

  I closed my eyes, chastising myself. Of course it was unwelcome. What had I been thinking?!

  I’d spent years trying not to invade other’s minds because I thought it was rude and now I’d just controlled Rone. Who wanted their mind tampered with?

  I was about to say something else when someone jostled me to retrieve their bags. We needed to get out of the way.

  “We need to talk, but not here,” I said. “Let’s move.”

  I led him away from security, through the crowded airport. After a few minutes we found an empty gate to settle in. Positioning us in the corner, I set the insulated bag on the ground and looked Rone in the eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I knew you didn’t want him to touch you, but they have to. It’s their job to keep flights safe. If you refused them, they would’ve been able to stop us. Then who knows what would have happened?”

  Rone’s eyes were burning with fury but he didn’t respond.

  I chewed on my lower lip. “I didn’t even think before I did it. I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  A growl emitted from the prince’s throat. “How would you like it if someone took over your mind, controlled you?”

  I gulped. “I wouldn’t like it.”

  My eyes flashed away from him for a moment. His gaze was so intense that a dozen emotions began churning violently within me.

  “Do you at least understand why I did it?”

  Rone was silent for a moment, and my heart rate doubled. “I do, but do not do it again. Swear it.”

  “I promise, it won’t happen again.”

  We fell into silence and remained that way for at least half an hour. When I realized we should go to our actual gate and wait, I suggested that to Rone. He didn’t speak to me as we walked through the airport. Upon arriving at our gate we discovered there were already many people waiting. Still, we managed to find two seats together.

  The time before departure passed slowly and quickly. More than anything I wanted to get on the plane and to Phoenix but I also didn’t want to rush my experience. As I’d never been in an airport before, only seen them in films, the experience of watching the comings and goings of travelers enthralled me. Occasionally, I caught snippets of supernaturals, most of them excited about their vacation.

  When someone considered how hungry they were and began planning their exciting food tour around Portland, my stomach gave a huge growl. I was starving..

  When did we last eat? In prison yesterday? I shook my head. How could it have been only yesterday that Rone and I had been locked up? How was it possible that I’d known Rone for only a couple days?

  Life was so crazy sometimes.

  “Hey,” I turned to him. “I’m going to go get something to eat. Do you want anything? There’s a great Jewish deli that we passed on the way out of security.”

  Rone arched his eyebrows. “Do they have sandwiches with meat? And hot sauce?”

  “I’m sure they do.”

  “Good. And no vegetables. Especially lettuce. I hate that stuff.” He made a face, lightening the tension lines in his handsome visage.

  “But veggies are so good for you,” the teasing tone slipped from my lips. “They will make you big and strong.”

  “Not for a dragon. We require meat and the occasional carbohydrate.”

  “Duly noted.” I gestured to the bag. “You okay if I leave my bag here? The eggs are heavy and the straps dig into my shoulder.”

  He scooted the insulated bag closer to him in answer.

  “Be back soon.”

  I made my way back toward the deli. The line stretched down the terminal, so I hopped in it first to place my order. Once that was done, I went to the coffee shop right next door while I waited for the sandwiches to be made.

  I was holding a steaming hot Americano with a splash of cream and hazelnut syrup in my hands, when a voice trickled through my mind and made my blood freeze.

  The dragon . . . have to warn . . .

  I gasped and whirled around to face the wider airport hallway, nearly spilling coffee on myself in the process. So many people milled around. Hundreds. My heart thundered and the urge to bolt came over me, but at that moment the deli worker called my name.

  Hastily, I grabbed the sandwiches and made my way back to the gate. I plopped down in my seat, handed Rone his sandwich, and leaned in close.

  “I overheard someone at the deli. They were thinking about a dragon.”

  His eyes snapped up from the pastrami sandwich to meet mine. “Where?”

  “Not too far. Right by where we entered security. But they could be anywhere by now.” My gaze shifted from side to side. “Have you smelled anyone supernatural?”

  Rone tilted his head up and began sniffing the air. After a few moments he shook his head. “No. Although I’ll admit, the press of bodies makes it difficult to tease out individual scents.”

  “We’ll have to be alert, see if they’re on our flight.”

  “And if they aren’t, we must assume that they have contacted the Komisio,” Rone said rightly.

  “That’s what I thought too.” I took another sip of my coffee, because holy heck I needed it, and released a groan. “This sucks. If they’ve already found us, then all they need to do is watch us get on the plane and they’ll know where we’re going.”

  “You said Phoenix is a large city?”

  “Really big.”

  Rone mulled that over.

  “Then there’s hope. I’m only one dragon. There will be no passing between realms and I won’t use my magic to shift, so witches won’t sense me.”

  “What about the vampires? Don’t they have a great sense of smell?”

  “Not as good as shifters. If someone wanted to find us, they would use wolves.”

  My anxiety spiked. “I’ll still keep alert and listen for anything fishy until our flight leaves.”

  Being on the lookout hadn’t been how I wanted to spend the next two hours. Honestly, I’d been hoping for a nap but until we boarded the plane there would be no rest for the weary. So I put my big girl pants on, sipped my coffee, and listened for supernaturals.

  I only breathed freely again an hour later when we boarded our flight.

  Because we were flying first class Rone and I were among the first people to get on the plane. Our position in the forward cabin was perfect. If someone was in the airport because of Rone it would make sense that they were on our flight. And if they were on our flight, they’d have to walk past us and see him.

  If they saw him, it was almost a certainty that they would think about him. Probably even call him a dragon. Then I’d know who we were dealing with.

  We settled into our seats, Rone clamping his murse to his chest, and me nestling the insulated bag between us so his body heat might keep the little eggs warm for as long as possible. As people filed in, I listened.

  Most were human, but half a dozen times I caught the inner dialogue of a supernatural. None of them were thinking about dragons and one, a young woman about my age, even looked right at Rone.

  Actually, she didn’t just look right at him. She fluttered her long, perfect, dark eyelashes at him.

  He was pretending to examine the safety paperwork so no one knew he was sniffing the air and didn’t even notice her—but I did.

  And like a possessive psycho, I placed my hand over his arm. A crackle of electricity rippled over my skin the moment I touched the dragon, but I ignored it, holding the girl’s eye.

  The flirty tart wrinkled her nose and moved on.

  Not a second later Rone turned to me.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  I sighed. He’d warmed up slightly since I’d mentioned someone knew he was here, but he was still obviously not okay.

  “No. Sorry.”

  More people filed in, and I resumed listening.

  The flight attendant had begun serving the first-class cabin and I’d asked for a cup of tea, when another person walked past. I caught the tiniest hint of his thoughts.

  I can take that dude. No real man carries a red purse.

  That put me on alert but once the flight attendant left, I wondered if it should. Rone was a big guy. And some men were competitive like that. Always looking for a fight. Still . . .

  “I need to see someone,” I said to Rone, who’d taken the aisle seat to better protect both bags of eggs.

  His eyes widened as I leaned over his enormous body.

  Trying not to touch him, I twisted. From my vantage all I could tell was that the supe had longish, blond hair, jeans, and wore a black t-shirt. I made a note to keep on the lookout for him.

  “What did you see?” Rone asked.

  “A dude,” I said, still not sure what to make of the man.

  At that moment, the flight attendant announced that the aircraft doors were closing in a couple of minutes. She requested that all bags be stowed under the seats in front of us for takeoff. Rone did so grudgingly and then watched the bag in front of him like a hawk.

  Takeoff was amazing, so unlike anything I’d experienced before—even riding on the back of a dragon. It was only once we were safely in the air that I could relax. For the next two-and-a-half hours no one would chase us or the eggs.

  I turned to Rone. “Do you want to nestle both bags around you to keep them as warm as possible?”

  “Yes,” he said, his tone tight from the stress of being separated from his bag by a few feet.

  I scooped up my insulated bag and brought the armrest up to burrow it between our bodies. Rone wrapped his arms around the murse.

  “There,” I said. “Now that they’re settled, we should sleep while we can.”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Rone closed his eyes.

  I wound my hand through the insulated bag’s handles, and followed suit.

  I woke minutes before we landed. The bright Arizona sunshine blasted through the small window, warming my skin and sending a shiver of excitement down my spine.

  Craning my neck, I watched our descent in awe. The city of Phoenix spread out before us, massive.

  “That’s where we’re going?” Rone asked, peering past me. “It’s enormous.”

  I’d known that Phoenix was populous when I chose the destination. That could either make it harder or, I hoped, easier to find four more dragonbloods to take care of the remaining eggs. If we found dragonbloods at the festival that Jadis had told us about, then we might not need to scour the city at all.

  “It is big,” I whispered. “But that also means there’s lots of people. Way more than in Portland. And we’ll have a greater chance of finding a dragon. When we land and deplane you’ll understand why.”

  I’d never been to Phoenix, but Mom had. She’d often told me about her time here. Her years of camping in the deserts, or attending festivals with her best friend Stacia. It sounded magical, particularly their friendship.

  Although, the climate sounded kind of awful. I liked to be warm and even enjoyed a little sun now and then. But overall, I much preferred Oregon’s climate.

  When we stepped off the aircraft I looked around and spotted the sign for baggage claim. Pointing in that direction I led Rone through a sea of people, all the while remaining alert for any strange activity—like a mention of dragons.

  It took about twenty minutes for the belt to roll out the bags. In that time, more people from the plane had joined us and we stepped back from the crowd so I could better access them. I scanned the group but didn’t see the guy with long, blond hair and a black t-shirt. I tried to recall if he’d been carrying a backpack when he got on the plane. I didn’t think so.

  Was it normal for people not to travel with bags?

  “Is something wrong?” Rone asked, noticing my distraction.

  “Remember that guy I heard on the plane? He was thinking about how he could beat you in a fight.”

  Rone scoffed. “A fool then.”

  I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. Men . . .

  “I didn’t mention it earlier because all that proves is that he’s supernatural and has way too much testosterone for his own good. Still, I wanted to keep on the lookout for him here.”

  Rone took a step toward the moving belt filling with multicolored suitcases. “Good idea. I’ll get closer and watch for your bag. You listen carefully.”

  He disappeared into the crowd.

  Before I got down to business, I pulled out Micah’s phone, and turned off airplane mode. Right away, a message appeared. Micah, telling us about his new number.

  I saved it and relayed that we’d landed and everything was fine. Then I texted Stacia, Mom’s bestie, who we’d be staying with.

  Her reply was instantaneous and made me smile. She was waiting excitedly for us.

  Once again, the eggs had grown heavy on my shoulder and the straps dug into my skin. Carefully, I set the bag down so it leaned against my leg.

  Because the airport was so large, much bigger than Portland International Airport, which had seemed enormous to me, there were a few voices here and there. Two were kids which made me smile. I had never heard supernatural voices younger than mine. At least five were adults but none seemed to resonate like the aggressive male’s tone.

  I didn’t understand how someone could get on a flight with no luggage and also have no luggage to pick up. Maybe it was a day trip? Was that typical? I had no idea.

  Out of nowhere someone collided into me, nearly toppling me over. My heart lurched into my throat, and I let out a low yelp. Thankfully, their hands righted me seconds before I fell over.

  “Oh my god! I’m so sorry.” A young woman, perhaps five years my senior held up her palms innocently. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. My guru says I need to be more in the moment, and clearly he’s right.” She shook her phone in her right hand.

  I glanced at the ground. The insulated bag remained upright. She hadn’t tripped over it. No harm, no foul.

  “No worries. There’s a lot going on.”

  “Well, sorry again.” The woman gave me a sheepish smile and walked off, presumably in search of someone at another baggage carousel.

  Finally, Rone emerged from the crowd with my duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He gave me a questioning look.

  I shook my head. “No luck.”

  The dragon prince grunted, upset.

  “That means the dude thought he could take you, nothing more, nothing less.” My lips curled up slightly. After such a serious morning I wanted to pry a smile out of him. We both needed it. “Of course . . . he was wrong.”

  That did it. A smile that made my heart flutter broke the stony expression he’d been wearing.

  “Let’s go up to the cab line.” I waved for him to follow me. “Stacia is waiting for us at her place.”

  4

  Rone

  The hustle of the airport, with all the crowds scurrying to their destinations, ate at my nerves. Violet’s attempts to cajole me into a better mood only lasted for a moment.

  She’d shamed me by invading my mind and exposing such a weakness. Thinking about it again only riled my nerves once more.

  I needed to get out of the building or I’d do something I’d regret. Like shove the man in front of me who kept wandering from side to side while reading the device in his hand, showing no regard for others.

  “This way.” Violet pointed, breaking my predatory stare at the guy.

  When my gaze followed where she marked I had to catch my breath. In the distance, a set of glass doors opened to the outside. Better than that, bright sunshine beckoned from the other side.

  I hurried my pace and only slightly nudged the rover’s shoulders as I passed.

  “Hey,” he called out but I ignored him.

  Violet gave a scoffing snicker as she lengthened her stride to stay with me, but I disregarded that too. I needed to feel the sun’s warmth on my skin as a connection to my homeland.

  The automatic doors opened before we got there, and a waft of warm heat rushed through. My euphoria made me falter a step. Why had Virhan ever sent me to Portland when somewhere as glorious as this existed in the human realm?

  “Ugh, this is suffocating!”

  Violet used both hands to fan herself when we stopped on the sidewalk away from the doors.

  “There’s a cab, let’s hurry and flag it down so we can get out of this heat.”

  “This is nectar!” I raised my chin and soaked in the life-giving refreshment.

  The dry air and sunny sky matched Baskara so much better than the gray, moisture-laden atmosphere of Violet’s hometown. Every second the warmth permeated my body gave me more energy. It invigorated me and eased some concern I had that the eggs would be in danger.

  A renewed hope that I’d complete my mission flared through me.

  I didn’t have time to revel long, because a car with a sign on top that read “taxi” jerked to a stop in front of where we stood. Violet hurried to open the rear door, and I reluctantly followed. The cold air blowing from the vents chilled my mood.

  I rolled my eyes and clutched my satchel closer when Violet released a sigh of relief.

  “So much better!” She then gave an address to the driver.

  The car sped off with a jolt that rocked me backward. Apparently, he believed that time was of the essence, though we’d not explained such.

  Violet and I both held tight to the seats during the hasty stops, starts, and wild corners. It took extra effort to stay upright even with my core muscles engaged, while Violet clung to a handhold until her knuckles turned white.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27