Page 62 of Dragon Unhinged

He lets out a shaky breath and meets my gaze. “Let’s never do this again.”

I kiss him softly. “Get dressed. We need to go. Now.”

Before he has a chance to respond, I pull open the door and run out into the hallway.

Ellie is standing in front of Kayden’s door, where the majority of the noise is coming from now. I can hear Ewan, but barely under Kayden’s roars.

“Take your dragon and go. I’ll get the bear out of here.”

“What about Ewan?” I go to his door, but I don’t touch the handle.

She shakes her head. “I’ll try to get him to move, but I don’t know what they did to him last night. He’s shut down, and I don’t know whether he wants to reconnect with his wolf now.”

I frown, opening the door slowly. “Ewan?”

“Go away.” He growls it, but it doesn’t have much bite to it, especially as he lays on his cinder block bed in the fetal position. “You should’ve just left me, little dragon-mate.”

I walk into the room, refusing to let him stay this way. “You can go. We all can.” I reach out to touch him and he recoils so fast, you’d think I was trying to burn him with a hot poker.

“What happened?” I whisper.

“Your dragon is lucky. Go, be with him. Leave me to the fighting pits. Let me die with what little dignity I have left.”

Declan’s behind me before I can fully comprehend he’s left his cell, and he growls, “Move. You’re done fighting. You’re done putting yourself through their torture.” He steps around me, getting face-to-face with Ewan. “Don’t make me carry you out of here.”

What happened to him?

Declan looks over his shoulder and projects just one word.Later.

When Ewan doesn’t make any effort to get up on his own, Declan picks him up in a fireman's carry and strides through the open cell door.

Ellie and Kayden are standing outside his cell, and I watch in wonder as she opens a door I didn’t even know was there.

There’s a shimmer as a dark, dirt tunnel lights up with antiquated torches long the walls beyond the door. Ellie leads the way, Kayden leaning heavily on her as they walk. Ellie’s petite in general but looks like a matchstick trying to hold up an ancient tree of a man. She manages anyway, like she’s determined.

Declan carries Ewan out behind her, and as I pull the door shut again behind us, a sliver of a thought I might never see my father again comes and goes just as quickly as the latch clicks into place. The door disappears and there’s more tunnel going the opposite direction.

I turn to find Ellie a few yards ahead opening another door. Boosted with adrenaline I pick up speed to catch up. I exit the doorway close behind Declan, who quickly turns to make sureI’ve come out as well. The early morning sunlight caresses the green sprawling lawn of our estate.

I turn back to find the door is gone, like it never existed.

“Brianna.” Ellie’s voice is crisp and stern, snapping my attention back to the mission at hand and not the wonder of magic and all the questions I have.

Ellie tosses me a set of keys that I don’t catch and have to pick up from the grass. She gestures at me to take her car, which is parked just outside of the tunnel.

“What about you?” I ask.

Ellie shakes her head. “He needs more help than I can get him on this plane. I’ll take care of Kayden. You get your dragon and the wolf to safety. I’ll find you when you’ve settled far from here.”

Declan’s already loading Ewan into the back seat, and he looks beyond broken as he just slumps over the seat and stares blankly ahead. Seeing the wolf for the first time, he hardly looks human or animal. He just looks broken. With all the blood, grime, and hair, I can’t really make out any defining features.

Whatever my father and his cronies did to him, I’m going to make damned sure they pay for it.

Declan slides the keys out of my hand and moves around the car and drops into the seat, starting the engine as I get into the passenger side.

I’m still pulling my seat belt on when he slams on the gas, and we jerk forward onto the residential street outside of the gate. I don’t even care to look back. There’s nothing in that house I want.

“Where are we going to go?”

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