Page 46 of Wildfire Witch

Seth’s eyes widened. “What!”

“I know. Same, bro,” Rusty remarked. “So, my thoughts are, if we want to break Nix’s curse without getting shot at, we haveto get there as soon as possible. It’ll take Lance a day or so to regroup once he learns Benedict is dead. But then he’s going to be hot on our ass, because he adored that shit stain.”

The apple of Seth’s throat bobbed. “Right, okay. The navigation says we’ll get there in about twenty-eight hours. Are you suggesting we drive that nonstop?”

“Yeah, I’ll take over for you when you want a break,” Rusty said.

“Then I’ll drive,” I said. They both said “no” at the same time. I raised a sardonic brow. “Why not?”

“I’m not getting cuddly with anyone but you, mate.” Rusty nosed my hair again and released a soft rumble. I felt it vibrate all the way to my core. I tightened my thighs, thinking that if he did that much more, this was going to be an unnaturally long car ride. Twenty-eight hours was already going to be torture.

That settled, we kept quiet out of respect for Ceridor. He stirred again by midday, after we made a quick stop for a restroom break, gas, and an abundance of snacks, which Seth charged to the fae’s credit card.

The air in the car shifted, chilling considerably as Ceridor sat up and looked around. His cool wind fae tones were back as he said, “Whyam I in this death trap? Scoot this chair forward. My knees are killing me.”

“Hey, wind guy, welcome back. We saved your life. You’re welcome,” Rusty said over his shoulder.

I wiggled in Rusty’s hold to peer around the seat at Ceridor. He was pulling at the collar of his shirt, peering at the bandages wrapped around his torso. Clear silver eyes lifted to meet mine,softening with fondness. “I believe much credit is due to my wife, who must’ve caught me.”

“I did. Barely,” I said, feeling my smile soften too. He was going to be okay.

He sobered as he asked, “What of the dragon?”

“By the way he crash landed, super dead.”

“Hmm. We also crash landed and survived.” Lips twisting, he glanced out the window and ducked his head toward the sky. “East. We venture to Spells Hollow?”

“A nonstop trip in this death trap,” Seth said. “You might want to fly ahead.”

Ceridor winced. “I would agree, exceptsomeonedrained most of my magic for me.”

I flushed, mortified. Rusty’s arms tightened around me. “At least that means you won’t be stealing my…ourmate away again,” the dragon shifter said.

The fae’s eyes narrowed. “Do not think I’ve forgotten you wear the brand of Nix’s enemies. I will dismember you limb from limb if you seek to doublecross us.”

“I know, I know,” Rusty sighed. “After you rotisserie my liver and feed it to me.”

Ceridor recoiled, his icy features contorting. “What?”

I muffled a laugh in my sleeve. “Well, maybe it’s time you told us your story, Rusty,” Seth put in.

“Maybe, huh? Feel like learning about why I’m not a fire bro, mate?” Rusty asked, tugging me back to look up at him.

“Sure,” I said, glad we were finally having this conversation.

“I shall be listening closely for any falsehoods,” Ceridor added in his iciest tone. He really would pick a fight with Rusty if he needed to. I wanted it not to come to that, for the dragon to actually be some kind of spy who’d done what he had to to infiltrate a dangerous gang.

Rusty simply rolled his eyes. “All right, then. Let’s start from the beginning. I have Arax blood. That’s in my name, by the way. Ruston Arax. The Arax clan is old wyrm blood, tracing its way back to Europe, though they moved to Brazil for the climate and the feel of the soil down there. It’s…” He trailed off, glancing down at me. “It’s an earthen dragon thing. We hate the cold. It slows us down and makes the ground resistant to our magic.”

So, his element was different, too. Warm earth, like Ceridor’s cold air. They balanced each other out while also being naturally opposed to one another.

“My mom broke clan rules and became pregnant with me without fulfilling her arranged mating. She fled to America, raised me to love hamburgers and freedom, and we lived peacefully until the clan sent a representative to visit when I was fifteen.” He loosed a low growl at the memory, his lip curling. “He forced his way into our apartment and threatened to take her back to Brazil if we didn’t hear him out. So, we did. Turns out, the clan knew where we were all along, and a councilwoman was waiting eagerly for me to come of age, so I could give her beautiful great wyrm babies. I was to report to my arranged mating the day I turned eighteen. Now, I was a scrawny kid. I would’ve lost the dominance match with a full-grown adult female and forced to make her my mate.”

“That’s so wrong. I’m sorry,” I said, shuddering at the injustice.

He shrugged, shifting us both with the motion. “I know, but don’t be. My mom took the word with a bowed head and kept me from attacking the representative for how he spoke to her, which saved my hide. We left in the dead of night and my mom paid an agency to help obscure our tracks. I joined the army and volunteered at every opportunity to go overseas. From there, I got strong.” He flexed one of his beefy arms and I playfully squeezed his bicep. Hard as a boulder.

“And fromthere, well, one of the brass noticed my squad surviving some pretty dicey situations. They took me to an interrogation room with a team dedicated to sussing out supernaturals, and they pegged me as a shifter immediately,” he said.

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