Page 29 of Must Love Dragons
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he looked around, wondering what was causing his wariness.
Kinsley stepped toward the altar and it was then that Zay saw the symbols carved into the floor and knew that something bad was about to happen.
“Kinsley!”
An explosion, aimed right at Kinsley, knocked her off her feet, slamming her into a nearby pillar.Ash rained down on them from the burning altar.He rushed to her, his protective instincts kicking in.She was crumpled into a heap at the base of the pillar, blood pooling under her from a cut on her forehead.He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake, but she didn’t stir.Listening intently, he picked up her shallow breathing and slow heart rate.
And then he heard something else.
A strange ticking.
Another trap?
He couldn’t waste a second.
Scooping her into his arms, he raced for the entrance as the ground began to shake.He threw himself through the door, curling around Kinsley as he rolled onto the broken concrete of the parking lot.The warehouse exploded in a flash of bright red light, and flames licked at his skin.
Scrambling to his feet, he raced to the car, opened the back door, and laid her on the seat while Nysa meowed loudly in worry.He got behind the wheel and tore out of the parking lot as fast as he could, foot on the floor and heart in his throat.
“Stay with me, Kinsley,” he said.“Fucking stay with me.”
* * *
He had to use the car’s GPS to get back to the familiar rescue because he didn’t know the way.He kept checking in the rearview, but Kinsley didn’t move, her skin turning gray and her breathing getting shallower.
She’d tried to help him find Rorik and had gotten hurt.
And he’d been a total ass to her.
Shit, he wasn’t ever going to forgive himself.
His dragon growled in agreement.
When the familiar rescue came into view, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, thankful to be where she could get help.The brakes squealed as he stomped on them, the car rocking on the tires.
He unbuckled Nysa to let her free, then carried Kinsley into the rescue and laid her on the couch where he’d woken up.He hurried across the main room and knocked on the door of Delaney and Brody’s home.
“Delaney!Kinsley’s hurt, I need help!”he yelled, knocking again.
The door opened and a disheveled Delaney seemed to be trying to wake up.“What’s going on?”she asked.
“Kinsley’s hurt.”
Delaney followed him to the room and she gasped when she saw her friend.He told her about the symbols on the floor that he suspected had tripped a warlock trap.
“Okay, step back and let me work, I need to check out what her injuries are.Nysa!”The cat hopped up onto Kinsley’s lap.Delaney put a small turtle next to Kinsley on the couch.“This is Mimo my familiar.He’ll help me perform the healing spell better.”
“Whatever you need to do,” he said.
Fear was making him shake and he clenched his hands, trying to keep a lid on his freak-out.
He stepped away to let Delaney do whatever witches did when they healed people, and a thought occurred to him.
He cared about Kinsley.
And he was trusting her healing and care to another magic user.Even if Delaney was Kinsley’s friend, Zay didn’t know her.
Hell, he barely knew Kinsley because he’d been determined to ignore the bond between them.He’d shut her out immediately after they had sex, even though it had been incredible and life-altering.
