Page 92 of Centaur Bolt

Where I collapsed and shook. To one side, was a branch almost horizontal to the ground. At a perfect height—

Riley…

Don’t you dare,Iskar said.Until I have Watcher assistance, and we can get your human running the show, regardless of what pops up, you are thinking about grumpy Dragons. Or how much you miss being a Centaur. Or filling your cavernous belly. Or creating a new bonding agent for knives. Or anything, in fact, other than Riley.

I ground my teeth together, sat with my back leaning against the old twisted tree trunk, chewed my Haba nuts, and thought about how much I missed being a Centaur.

No Centaur could have done what I’d done with Riley.

A single dark scale erupted on the back of my hand.

Dammit, Marcus.

Okay, okay.I sighed, focusing my thoughts on Havoc and just how annoying he really was.

29

Rafael

My accommodations in Isobel’s new hideaway weren’t an improvement over the old ones. Only different in a more disturbing way.

They’d moved me during the day, along with supplies and belongings for the coven and most of the Bellatis. Finn and the mercenaries were packing up as well. The army itself was destined for other compounds in other realms. Brock and Finn would oversee their deployment from the heart of the overlord’s domain.

Splitting up our forces was new, but it made sense. Hiding an army from those that wish to stop Isobel was extremely difficult. However, Brock had come up with a new strategy—the army wasn’t hiding any longer. It was being amalgamated into Brock’s forces, and would bolster his claims to his mother’s throne while still remaining available to Isobel.

The core of her group—of which I was, apparently, a member—would now live in this palace deep in Brock’s territory. I was pretty sure it was the one that held the coliseum we’d visited for Havoc’s orgy. Surrounded by his most trusted pinions, it would take a serious fighting force to take him on here. Not even the Dragon Legion would be likely to try.

This time, rather than being provided a tour of the prestigious upper levels, I was taken to the dungeon.

I’d hoped the move would grant me an opportunity to escape, but the Bellatis handling me had been well warned of my abilities. They kept me strung between them with chains. I never got within touching distance of them.

Where I was made Finn’s entertainment room look like a children’s playground. Examining the apparatus lining the walls churned my stomach. I lay on a cot with my wrists manacled and my ankle chained to a bolt in the floor.

A part of me had held out hope that Havoc would manage to elude pursuit and tell others where we hid. Although, now we were nearly unreachable.

There would be no rescue for me.

I sensed Isobel coming long before she arrived. I sat up just before she breezed into the dungeon, trailed by Aurora, two other coven members, and three Bellatis.

“We are embarking on a recon mission, and we need you, my dear Rafael,” Aurora purred as she came to a stop only a foot from where I was chained.

If only I could get my hands on her…

However, she knew what I would try and stopped beyond where my chain would take me. Isobel stepped up beside her.

All four of them raised hands that glowed red.

I fought them, but I didn’t stand a chance. The bloodmagic grabbed hold and made me their puppet.

30

Riley

The dream had me so preoccupied that the cafeteria server had to ask me three times whether I wanted the Meritt-stuffed dumplings.

Then I had to chase down the appropriate memory association. Yes. Yes, I did. As many as would fit on a plate. Despite Cara filling me full of food, my stomach was like a cavernous pit that couldn’t be satisfied. But the dust had flooded me with much-needed strength.

Kiko looked up as I wove through the tables.

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