Page 51 of The Dragon's Warlock

The hands on her arms loosened for a second, and she broke free. Another shot rang through the room, but she didn’t take the time to see if the man holding her had died. She dropped to the ground next to her sister. Kayda’s eyes were closed, but she was still screaming in pain. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Diem placed her hand to her cheek. Her sister was burning up.

Diem’s strength still wasn’t back, and she couldn’t feel her dragon. She took a deep breath before turning back to her dad and looking for the cuff key. Blood pooled on the floor as she crawled to him, looking for the keys.

An arm encircled Diem’s waist, pulling her back. She threw her arms back, fighting.

“Stop, Diem.”

She couldn’t stop. Her sister needed her.

The grip tightened more, and she was dragged out of the cell.

“You need to listen to me, Diem,” Gideon growled.

He was there. He’d come for her, but she needed to help her sister. Urgency overwhelmed her, but Gideon didn’t loosen his grip.

“I need to help her,” she cried out.

“Lucy is the best. Let her work.” Gideon’s words cut through the fog.

Lucy was kneeling on the ground next to Kayda. Arrow stood next to her, taking orders. Kirin and Kia were piling the guards to the side. All three men were dressed in full black tactical gear. It took Diem a few minutes to realize they all had guns strapped to them.

“You came.”

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said.

Before she could respond, Kayda cried out again, and Arrow lifted her into his arms.

“I have to go with them,” Diem said.

Gideon nodded and stepped back. “I’m going to help Kirin.”

But there was something he wasn’t saying. She wanted to reach out for him again, but he was already across the room.

Lucy turned. “I need to get her back to my lab.”

Diem’s body went numb as she followed Lucy out of the facility. Gideon watched her but didn’t come with them.

* * *

Lucy satin the back with Kayda, and Diem sat in the front seat as Arrow raced down the road. In the distance, she saw a helicopter. The farther they got from the facility, the more she could feel her dragon come to life. And her beast wasn’t happy with being silenced.

Arrow shot her a glare. “You need to keep your shit together. If you change in the car, we won’t be able to get your sister help in time.”

“Diem?” Kayda asked weakly from the back seat.

“Is she going to be okay?” Diem asked.

“Darius gave her the medicine to turn into something. We don’t know what, but she couldn’t shift in the building, and he knew that.”

“Why would he kill her?”

“I don’t know.” Lucy frowned.

Arrow slammed on the brakes. They were at the helicopter. When he opened the back door and grabbed Kayda, she let out a blood-curdling scream before the air started to shift.

“Put her down,” Lucy shrieked.

Seconds later, Kayda changed into a giant dragon, bigger than Diem’s. The dragon let out a long stream of purple fire, burning the grass and trees. Diem ran toward Lucy to try to protect her. Arrow stepped toward the large dragon. The dragon snarled for a second until Arrow placed his hand on her leg, calming her immediately.

“You need to change back.” Arrow’s voice was low and demanding.

Kayda took a step away from him, but Arrow didn’t back down. He kept his hand on her. Seconds later, the air changed again, and her sister shifted back and dropped to the ground in human form. Arrow rushed Kayda into the helicopter to take her back to Kia’s.

The mission was over, and Diem had her sister. Gideon hadn’t come for her again. Does that mean he no longer wants anything to do with me? They were supposed to be mates, but he’d stayed back.

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