Page 11 of Dragon Unhinged

The door to the basement is off the kitchen, so as soon as I put about half a dozen fresh cookies into a baggie, I make a beeline for the door.

Every step towards the basement rachets up another wave of nerves, afraid that if I get caught, there’s no good excuse, and somehow it’ll end up hurting Declan and the others.

I get through the first door with my father’s code, and I’m so much more confident I can get through the second one withoutanyone knowing I’m down here, that I practically run down the stairs, while trying to practice some caution.

I take a deep breath.

Here we go.

If there are guards, I’m fucked.

I pull the door open as slowly as I can, listening for anyone who might be moving around. Listening for any reason to sprint back up the stairs, and hope Declan will still want to see me tonight.

Silence.

It’s now or never.

The basement looks a lot different in the day. The windows are oddly impossible to see in from the outside. Trust me, I’ve looked. But somehow light gets through the slits of glass from high above. I realize just how much squalor these shifters are forced to live in. Scratches cover the floor, the walls, anywhere a man of Declan’s size could reach if he were being dragged through here. There’s no effort to maintain the cleanliness or order that we keep upstairs, and I doubt any of the staff is allowed down here.

A faint scent of something coppery hangs in the stale air, even over the smell of the three large men who don’t get to shower down here. It’s not until I see the dark brown stain outside one of the doors beyond Declan’s that I realize it’s blood.

These men aren’t just living in a dungeon. They are suffering everything I’m sure would be entirely against every peace treaty and accord designed to stop cruel and unusual torture.

My cookies, wet wipes, and hairbrush seem childish and stupid in comparison to how they’re actually suffering down here.

With a deep breath, I step through the door.

Chapter

Five

DECLAN

Ihear her breathing on the other side of the door. My senses aren’t dulled as much as I’m sure the humans would prefer, even though I make no attempt to let them know how aware I still am.

I can always hear them coming.

Only right now, it’s her.

I was sure she was a dream until I could hear her on the other side of the door.

My dragon is agitated, almost itchy today, and it’s making everything else that much worse in comparison. It’s not very often I feel him this strongly. Even though the cuffs cut me off from actually feeling my dragon inside me, sometimes I can still get emotions from him.

She pushes the door open, but stops in the doorway to glance around the dimly lit space. “Declan? May I come in?”

I take a slow breath, and it almost seems to melt away everything I’ve been suffering with today. Her scent wafts over and it calms me even further.

“Of course.” I ignore the way my heart beats more erratically in my chest, as if her simple question, her simple care for my permission, has an effect on me.

She moves into the space and closes the door behind her. Her eyes go to something up over my cage and it holds her attention.

Her heartbeat is thumping unsteadily and faster now. She glances back at the door as if she expects someone to break in any second.

“If you used his or your brother’s code, the cameras aren’t recording at the moment,” I say quietly.

Her head jerks back to me. “What do you mean?”

“I heard them talking when they installed new security down here the last time I tried to escape. They don’t need the cameras to record when they’re down here because they’re here. And if the footage of them with us ever got out it could be damning, so he protects himself. His code is what shuts them off. You have to use his code out of here too and that’s when they turn back on.”

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