Page 69 of The Dragon Recruit
Had she been that transparent about her feelings?
Before she could reply, Robin from Skyhunter grunted. “I’m more concerned about Max’s threats to give our clan hell if we don’t save his brother.”
Arabella raised a dark eyebrow. “Max is your problem, not ours. No, Iris has done a lot for Lochguard and it’s time for us to help her in return.”
For a second, Iris merely stared. She’d never been close to Arabella, but now she wondered if maybe she should’ve made more of an effort.
Her dragon spoke up.We have time. I think maybe now you realize we shouldn’t isolate so much from the clan and focus solely on work, aye?
Before she could reply, a familiar female voice drifted from the doorway—it was Alice. “The DDA is willing to help, if it gets bad enough. Yes, the dragon hunters are a big pain in their backsides, but the thought of possessed dragons running around, snatching up people, scared the shit out of them.” She stopped next to Iris. “Are you okay?”
For a split second, her steady facade faded, and her eyes heated with tears. She still didn’t know if Antony was even alive.
But then Arabella spoke, and it helped her focus. “That can’t be right.”
Iris asked, “What?”
Arabella frowned at the screen. “According to this, Antony is in Glasgow Central Station.”
“The train station?”
Arabella nodded. “But surely not. If he’d escaped and made it there, someone would’ve called us by now.”
The unnamed tech next to her nodded. “Yes, Antony could contact our boss within seconds, from any phone. So he must be there unwillingly, somehow.”
Part of her wanted to ask who the bloody hell they worked for, but finding Antony was more important. “Then we need to go to Glasgow Central.”
Arabella glanced at her. “You’re in no state to be going anywhere.”
“My ribs are already healing. I can help.”
A voice boomed behind her—Kai Sutherland. “Iris, we’ll find him. I vow it.”
She turned toward the Stonefire head Protector. Truth radiated from his eyes. He added, “You’ve helped us before in the past, so let us do the same. Especially since you’ve helped protect Arabella over the years, and regardless of her mate, she’s still one of ours.”
Arabella was originally from Stonefire but had moved to Lochguard and eventually mated the clan leader. It’d helped to form the close bond between the two clans, arguably closer than between any other dragon clans in the UK, even if that was slowly changing.
Her dragon spoke up.We need to trust him. Kai is a good male, and he will find Antony and Zoe.
But it should be us.
Aye, maybe. But if it were another Protector, what would you tell them to do right now, if they were injured?
She mentally grumbled.Their injury could do more damage than good.
Aye. So let them find Antony. We need to give them the best chance at success.
Iris made a decision. “I’ll stay back, out of danger, but I need to at least go to Glasgow, Ara. Please.”
“As long as you let Kai and the others take the lead, I won’t try to stop you. But just remember, Antony will need you when you find him. So don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t.” She glanced around the room. “Let’s find out everything we can about Glasgow Central on the way.”
Kai nodded. “This place is only about forty minutes away from Glasgow, and before we leave, I’ll call in reinforcements. We’ll have to drive, to keep a low profile. But those from Stonefire can fly most of the way and shouldn’t be too far behind.”
As everyone volunteered for tasks, Iris waited for regret or doubt to rush in about not having a lead role this time.
But it never came.
