Page 25 of Wildfire Witch

“—And the dozens of painful deaths that will follow from their ham-fisted work, I will leave this place and break my curse. The phoenix and I will become separate beings once more.”

His lips spread in a smile. It was predatory, full of sharp teeth. “You will give the phoenix to me?”

“You would treat her well, right?” I reasoned, entertaining the fantasy for a moment. “If she brought your mate back from death, she would have to stay close for the rest of her second life. When she dies, there goes your mate’s second life…”

Yearning tugged at his hungry expression. He might’ve been the monster that leads the gang whose actions haunted my nightmares, but he was still a man who’d lost his wife to senseless violence. “She will be the most pampered pet. Practically a Drakkon herself.”

“All you have to do is let me go, and I will handle the rest,” I said.

A lull of memory had softened his face, but it’d only been for a few moments. His gaze refocused on me, more ravenous than ever. “And where will you go, to break this curse?”

I bit my lip. This felt like a line to cross, a secret I could not take back.

“Tell him. You can see he’s going to agree,”Aodhnait pushed.

“Spells Hollow,” I answered.

The air grew heavier around me as silence closed in. He stroked the stubble on his chin while I cursed a blue streak in my head. He’d figure out where it was and then there would be no hiding from the fire bros ever again.

Aodhnait released a regretful sigh.“You won’t have to, if they have what they want.”

“But you will be dead, permanently. Just as you prefer,”I said waspishly.

The dragon shifter walked around the length of the table, grabbing the back of my chair to turn me toward him. “I will consider your idea,” he said in a heated whisper. “However, know this…”

The black claws that elongated from his fingernails skimmed from my collarbone to the patch of shirt above my heart. “This is mine.My treasure,” growled the dragon inside of him. “Scheme all you want for your pathetic life, but the phoenix belongs to me, vessel.”

I met his stare in defiance. Several seconds passed before he hauled me to my feet, pulling me to the door and shoving me toward the wolf shifter who stood around waiting. “Take her back to her cell,” he ordered, slamming the door behind him.

With an angry mutter, he slapped an oven mitt-covered hand on my shoulder and steered me down the hall, ignoring my hiss of pain. We didn’t get very far before he jerked his chin andflagged a man from a group of young-looking shifters. “Ruston,” he barked. “Come here, recruit. Take this bitch back to her cell.”

The most muscular dude amongst them parted the group of recruits when he changed course toward us. His black shirt bulged around the swells of his inked-up biceps. “I’ll save you some dinner, Rusty!” called a woman as the rest of them moved on.

She giggled, and I understood why. He was built ruggedly, his jaw chiseled and strong, decorated with dark stubble. It matched the tousle of black hair atop his head, the only soft thing about him. His skin was a flawless, earthy brown…really, the only flaw he carried was the jag of his nose, broken and reset one too many times to be completely straight.

“The boss put her in A-20. Here’s the key.” The wolf shifter passed a flash of metal into the other man’s broad palm and went off to follow the recruits to dinner, apparently.

What a dick,I thought to myself, since I wasn’t speaking with Aodhnait anymore unless it was necessary. I could still feel her contempt for me, the echo of her words like a scattering of stinging embers.

He’d left me alone with Ruston, who took me in with an intense gaze that shifted into slitted, green-brown draconic eyes as he rumbled, “Mate.”

NIX

I looked aroundto be sure no one else heard the big, growling man’s claim. “You’vegotto be kidding me,” I said dryly.

His eyes shifted back to normal, a rich hazel color, as he looked me up and down with a growing frown. “My dragon knows that you’re the one. But who are you?”

“Someone you should release outside, right now,” I suggested.

He shook his head, gently steering me down a hallway with a hand around my arm. Well, it was worth a try. “You are obviously an enemy to the gang, to be in such a…condition and on your way to a cell,” he said. He grew extra rumbly as he added, “I want your name so my dragon can hoard it.”

Unlike with my wolf guard, he was in no hurry to get to our destination. We walked at a pace my aching body could keep up with, and I considered the situation for several paces. This guy was a recruit. He’d do what he was told. The ink on his fire bro tattoo wasn’t even dry yet. But he was also a dragon shifter, clearly about to be somebody around here. Maybe he wouldmake for a solid Plan B if the boss experimented on me instead of accepting the offer for Aodhnait.

I decided to play nice. “It’s Nix. And you’re Ruston?”

He rolled his eyes. “Only if you’re my mother. Call me Rusty,” he invited with a smile that changed his entire face. It wasn’t toothpaste perfect like Seth’s, but he looked open, friendly even. “I’m going to take care of you, Nix.”

Considering he was about to put me back in a jail cell, I doubted that very much. That self-assured look on his face became one of concern as he looked me over again. “I’m going to start by getting you something to eat. I’ll slip a potion into some water for this…”

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