Page 37 of Surge of Ice

He pats at his wet hair. “I took a shower.”

Reaching up, I tug one of the strands. “So you did.”

Zane leans his head down until my hand touches his cheek, and then he sighs, seemingly pleased with himself. Slowly, I draw my hand back, but my skin tingles where we touched.

“Are you adjusting to everything alright?”

He shrugs. “This place and time is very different from the last one, but I like the food, and I like the cleanliness. I think this lifetime will be a good one.”

“It will be.”

“Where are the fire dragons?” he asks, cocking his head.

“They went out to… have a big conversation with the humans, to try to convince them that not all dragons are dangerous. It’s really important, so we have to hope it goes well for them.”

“I will say a prayer to the gods,” he says, seeming quite serious.

Suddenly, my phone rings. He jumps a little, but I give him a comforting smile. “It’s just a phone. A way to communicate with people over long distances.” I pull out my phone and see Dahlia’s name. She was supposed to be on her way here by now.Hopefully everything is okay. “Hello?” I ask, as I put the phone on speaker to show him how it works.

Dahlia’s voice is filled with panic. “Sam, thank goodness!”

My heartbeat immediately picks up. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I made it to Oceanview, but then a fucking brown dragon started blasting fire all over, and everything went crazy. People got out of their cars and started running, so I did too, and now I’m at this restaurant… people are hiding in here, but then the dragon left, and the riots started. It’s getting scary out there, and I don’t know what to do.” She ends the last word on a sob. “I don’t know what to do, Sam.”

It’s like everything slows down. “Are you sure the dragon is gone?”

“Yeah. It looks that way. It was literally here and gone in a flash.”

Okay, good.“Where are you? What restaurant are you at?”

“I don’t know… it–it has a UFO on the top of it. It was… something, alien, UFO, planet… cafe.”

My memory swings back to the night we’d explored the town drunk. I remember seeing a restaurant with a UFO on top.

“Listen, just stay where you are. I’m coming for you. I’m going to find you and get you out of there, okay? Just stay put and stay safe.”

There’s another sob, followed by a shaky breath. “Okay. I can do that. Okay.”

There’s shouting, followed by someone screaming, and the call ends. I stare at the phone for a second. The scream wasn’t Dahlia’s, which is something, at least, but I have to get her out of there.

Turning, I run for the elevator. I’m going to need to ask the staff to borrow a company car. Maybe even see if some securityofficers can come with me. Then, I just need to keep an eye out for trouble and get to Dahlia, no matter what it takes.

It’s not until I enter the elevator that I see that Zane is with me. I push the correct floor, heart hammering. “I need to go help my friend.”

He nods. “I understand. I am coming with you.”

With me?“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He draws himself up taller. “It is my responsibility to protect you. Not only because you are my mate, but because the fire dragons have entrusted me with your safety, whether they realized it or not. I am coming with you.”

I consider arguing, then decide the hell with it, I’ll feel safer with him at my side. “Okay, but this is an in and out kind of operation. We get my friend Dahlia, and then we get home. In the best case, before Aydan and Evander can figure out I was gone at all.”

“Understood.”

My stomach does a little twist. Leaving without my men at my side is a reckless decision, I know that, but I can’t interrupt their news conference, and even if I could, I can’t waste time when Dahlia is in trouble.I’d never heard her sound that scared before. She needs help.I just have to have some faith that a badass female dragon, with a badass ice dragon at her side, will be fine out there.

I hope.

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