Page 50 of The Dragon's Warlock

“And when did you figure out we were shifters?” Diem asked.

“Not until after we were taken.” Kayda rested her handcuffed hands on her knees. “I have an IQ at the genius level, but I never realized what was around me for a long time—not just for a week or days but for years.”

No matter how high an IQ her sister had, she wouldn’t have been able to figure out that shifters existed. Shifters were something people read about in fantasy, not real life.

“You can’t possibly think that way,” Diem said.

“I don’t know what to think.”

“Have you met a man named Darius?”

“Yes.” Kayda’s shoulders dropped. “He’s our—”

“Dad.” Diem wasn’t positive, but something inside her told her that Darius was their father.

Kayda’s eyes widened.

The main double door crashed open, and a tall man walked in. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. With each step, his army boots stomped against the floor. He gripped the cell bars and leaned forward, glaring at Diem. They were the same black eyes she remembered from the ritual. It was Darius. He pushed his nail into her side.

Darius's lip curled, showing his yellow teeth. “Hello, daughters.”

“I don’t understand.” Kayda looked from Darius to Diem.

“Kael always had a soft spot for you. He wanted to let you go and live your life. I was the one who brought you back. You work for me now.”

“I will never work for you,” Diem spat out.

A loud growl erupted from Darius, and he opened the cage door. In two short steps, he was in the cage. “You’re wrong. Both of you will do everything I ask. See this?” He held up a syringe. “You’re going to go kill that warlock you’re screwing, or I’m going to inject this into your sister.”

She couldn’t keep her eyes off the syringe with purple liquid—the same liquid she remembered going into her body. The ringing in her ears started again. She had to make a choice between her sister and the man she hadn’t even told that she loved. So much anger was coursing through her body, but she still couldn’t call on her dragon.

Darius took a step toward Kayda. Diem tried to stand up, but the chains were stuck to the ground. Darius pressed the needle to Kayda’s skin.

“I’ll do it. Leave her alone.”

She hoped she could figure something out. Darius watched her for a second before walking to her. He ripped the chain from the ground and took the cuffs off her wrists and ankles. She was free, but her sister wasn’t.

“You have twenty-four hours to kill Gideon.” His lip twisted. “Better go.”

This was her chance to come up with a plan. Her father was making a mistake. He thought she would do anything for her sister. She would, but she would do what she could to save Gideon as well.

The second Diem’s foot was out of the cell, she heard the cry of her sister. The sound would be engraved in her mind forever. She turned to see her father pulling the needle from Kayda’s arm.

Her scream must have alerted other people in the building, because two guards rushed into the cell area. Diem turned to run back to her sister, but an arm wrapped around her. She couldn’t get out of the grip.

“You think I trust you to kill Gideon?” He glared down at her. “I’m going to have him brought here and killed in front of you. He’s worthless. My daughters are both dragons now. I’m going to sell you to the highest bidder.”

“Why?”

“Money.”

The hands around her arms gripped her tighter the more she struggled to get to her sister. Kayda lay on the floor, screaming. The sound echoed through the large room.

“We need to help her,” Diem said.

Darius looked down at Kayda, who was struggling on the ground, and shrugged. “If she’s strong enough, she will come out of it.”

One second Diem thought she was going to watch her sister die in front of her, and the next second, all hell broke loose. The door to the room slammed open, and a bullet whizzed through the air, straight for her dad. His head exploded, and the smell of copper filled the room.

---