Page 38 of Devoted to the Dragon

My sister snort-laughs.

“Fine. Whatever.” I get up, but I find myself walking toward the shadows instead of going to my room.

“Where are you going?” Sloan calls, her voice far more amused than is called for. “Don’t spend the whole night fucking and feeding. I need you to be of use tomorrow.”

“No promises,” I toss back, letting her think what she wants.

But I don’t feed. I slip into the blur and hover in the shadows outside the dragon’s door.

Chapter 18

Gunnar

Fennik closes the door, and I blow out a long sigh now that both of my mates are back in the room.

My wolf and I are restless in this place. It itches my skin and makes it feel as if my fur is standing on end. Ever since the power-boost brand, my wolf has been getting stronger in my mind. My instincts are sharper and more tuned in to his voice.

And he is telling me we should not be here. As a fighter, I’ve learned that listening to my instincts keeps me alive.

Neither of my mates is doing any better. Fennik looks as if his instincts have him in overdrive, and Randi has been rocking scales since Tent City.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m hungry, and this place gives me the creeps, so I vote we go back.”

That at least earns me a twitch from Silent Daddy and a small smile from my dragon. She crosses the room and ruffles through a bag, producing a sack I’m familiar with. I ate through the one Henry sent with me before I’d made it out of Moon Lake territory.

“I had him pack you extra.” She tosses me the bag.

I settle on the trail mix, folding myself into one of the chairs in the den outside the two rooms of our suite.

Fennik looks at Randi, brows lifted and arms crossed. “The pup is right. You’ve already had words with the king. We should go. Tonight. They have a plan, and whatever it is, it requires you. Don’t give them an opportunity.”

Technically, Fennik has his own set of rooms, but I’m not surprised that he’s deviating from the plan. The thought of him being away from us in this place makes my wolf whine. It’s only the crystal wards Randi set up for our rooms that keep me from me pacing outside.

Randi stills, turning away from the bag she was digging in. When she turns, her expression is free from the fire I expect. She looks at the two of us, her eyes melted gold around the black slits of her dragon’s eyes. “My instincts are telling me danger is here. You’re right that we’re among enemies. But I won’t slink away in the night like a coward. Our wolves in Moon Lake Valley and those in the tents deserve a chance. The best chance we have is to know what the Council is planning. How will we prepare to fight what we don’t understand?”

“I’d like to stay alive to fight,” Fennik grumbles.

“And you believe their plan is to attack at the Council Meeting?” she asks dubiously.

“I didn’t say?—”

She cuts in. “I can defend myself.”

I’m getting whiplash from their back and forth. But if I’m honest with myself and not being a selfish shit of a coward, I know in principle, she’s right. In practice, I’d like to keep my hide.

Randi goes to Fennik and cups his cheek. “They only have claws. Dart guns don’t work on my dragon, even if they managed to find a witch to spell them. The room is warded. No one is getting in here tonight. Tomorrow, we go in assuming it’s going to shit. Stay close. But we wait until it becomes necessary to fight or flee.”

He crumbles. “I hate everything about this.”

“We’re not outmatched—only outnumbered. Sometimes, we simply have to fight. But we can and will make it,” Randi says adamantly.

She has chosen, and that means we’re staying. Like hell I’m letting her go in without backup.

I abandon my snack and fold myself around them in a hug. “I think you’re both right and all our options suck and we should cuddle.”

Fennik kisses the top of my head. “Good idea, pup.”

We’re piledonto the queen-sized bed in Randi’s assigned room, all of us naked and cuddled under the covers. I’m half draped over my dragon and Fennik. She idly runs her fingers through my hair as she and Fennik make morbid guesses about what kind of plan the king and the Council have cooked up.

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