Page 42 of So I Dared a Dragon

I stayed close to Magnus, keeping an eye on his passenger. I trusted him implicitly, but flying with untrained riders was dangerous. Some would even say irresponsible. There were times I could be counted amongst those ranks, but there was no other solution.

That vibration grew stronger, more urgent. Luca soared ahead, leaving a streak of cobolt in his wake. He lowered his glide, easily navigating in between the craggy peaks of the mountains.

“This is it,” he confirmed. “I can feel it like it’s my own heartbeat.”

Same, brother, same.

“Do you see an entrance?” I asked. “Any activity on the ground?”

Luca swooped down, and Magnus and I followed. Our flight slowed as we surveyed the area. The buzz of activity practically burned my ears and rattled my veins.

“They’re in there,” I said. “And they must know we’re out here.”

“I can’t find a way in.” Frustration swirled like smoke with each of Luca’s words.

“We can blast it open,” Magnus suggested.

“No,” I said in unison with Hugo and Bjorn. “Too dangerous.”

“What do we do?” he asked. “Even if there was a door, it doesn’t mean there would be a welcome mat.”

“We can’t destroy the mountain. It could be an act of war. We’re outnumbered.” At least, as dragons. There were countless shifters in the area, but we could hardly count them as allies yet. And we had yet to know the history here. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“This isn’t like last time, Aarix,” Magnus groaned. “You can be a strong leader.”

He was right, and it solidified my decision. “We’ll free whoever is in there, but not tonight.”

sixteen

. . .

Bibi

I had a bad feeling about those scales on Calista’s arm. The paint should’ve washed off easily. Moon knew I got enough of it on my hands while I was painting, and it was all gone.

What’s happening in the hive?I texted Tina. I’d tried to go to bed, but I couldn’t possibly sleep when there were most likely major developments happening at HQ. But I also knew the dragons wouldn’t find what they were looking for if Calista was there.

You need to stop trying to protect her, my wolf warned.She’s a grown woman, and she’s more than familiar with the consequences of her own actions.

At least my wolf was talking to me, even if I wasn’t thrilled with what she had to say. Calista did have a flair for the dramatic—it was no wonder we got along so well. If she didn’t feel her wolf, it didn’t mean that it was totally gone. And she had every right to be concerned that those scales wouldn’t budge.

The three little bouncing dots kept popping up and disappearing. It wasn’t like Tina to not get straight to the point.

Tina:The guys are off to the mountains.

What? No, that couldn’t be right. The purpose of putting the dragons in touch with the security team was so they could share information and intelligence and narrow down the suspect list so we could hit the ground running as a team the next time we were together.

Which guys?I asked for clarification.Did the dragons head back to the chalet?

Nope, they all went to the mountains.Bjorn, Hugo, and the dragons.

And you’re only telling me this now???

It’s late, and you deserve to have your time off be exactly that.

Normally I would agree with you…but this is too big to keep under wraps.

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I can keep you updated when they come in.

---