Page 67 of Seducing the Dragon
Clearing the emotion in his throat, he scooped up his fallen clan member into his arms and headed back toward their escape point. Four members of his team were back in human form, with one remaining in his dragon form to stand guard. They all glanced down at Charlie’s body.
Losing one of the clan was never easy, but losing a female was even worse given how few of them there were. He couldn’t allow his men to be distracted.
Looking at each of his men in turn, Bram said, “Charlie’s mate deserves the chance to give her a proper goodbye, but he won’t be able to do it if we don’t return. Save your grief until we reach home.” His men straightened their shoulders and gave slight nods. “Right, then two of you go in front of me and two behind me.” Bram moved his gaze to the purple dragon standing above him. “Once we’re clear, you know what to do.”
The dragon bobbed his head. Bram adjusted his grip on Charlie’s body and said, “Right, then let’s go.”
Two of his men entered the tunnel and Bram followed, careful to keep Charlie’s body close. He wasn’t about to damage her any further by accidentally banging her head against a sharp rock.
As soon as they reached the tunnel’s exit point, he was greeted by the sight of two dragons with large baskets, waiting to carry any wounded back to the clan.
Even though his dragon’s impatience had eased at the sight of their fallen clan member and Bram could probably shift to fly home, it felt wrong to leave the dragonwoman alone for her last flight in the sky.
His dragon said,Stay with her. It is best for when we land.
Rather than think about facing Charlie’s mate, Bram crawled into one of the waiting baskets and hugged the dragonwoman’s body in his arms.
Soon they were all in the air. Bram barely paid attention to the purple dragon bursting free of the building below him, nor the ensuing collapse of the building. The death of one of his own was always hard, especially when she had been on an assignment given by him. There was also the chance more blood was on his hands if Evie, Nikki, or even wee Murray were also dead.
The thought of never seeing Evie again made his stomach drop. She’d wheedled her way into his heart in a short time. Not only would his clan be worse off without her, he would be, too. Life would be lonely without his human.
His inner dragon said,Our mate must be alive. I would know otherwise.
Dragons aren’t telepathic. You have no way of knowing if she’s alive or not.
She is alive. I won’t think otherwise.
His beast was right. Charlie’s death was hard enough; constantly thinking of Evie being dead as well would distract him from protecting his clan. As with most of his adult life, his needs would have to come second.
Still, Evie had bloody well be alive. If the hunters had killed her too, he would unleash his dragon on any hunters he could find until Simon Bourne was dead. Bram was done playing nice and by the rules; the next time the hunters messed with his clan, they would regret it. No one else was going to die on his watch if he could help it.
Evie hadno idea how long she and Finn had been flying before she recognized some of the surrounding peaks and valleys. They were approaching Stonefire’s land.
She was nearly home.
Evie blinked back tears. The adrenaline had mostly worn off during the long flight. After two days of little sleep or food, she was on the verge of crashing.
Yet if she gave in and crashed, she would have to wait even longer to find out who was still alive. Finn mentioned Bram serving as a distraction. Had her dragonman survived? Sure, she believed in him, but after what had happened with Nikki and Charlie, it would only take one canister of periwinkle and mandrake root to bring down the leader of Clan Stonefire.
It wasn’t just Bram she was worried about. Murray could still be in the hands of the hunters; it also killed her not knowing which female Protector was still alive.
Her throat closed up and Evie closed her eyes. Tears wouldn’t help anyone. If anything, it would sap what little strength she had left. No, she should focus on what needed to be done once she landed. Even if everyone was whole and hearty, there was a lot of shit still to tackle. Stonefire was her clan and she wasn’t about to see them fall because of her or the stupidity of the dragon hunters. Her main concern, apart from everyone being alive, was that it was past her deadline to check in with the DDA. While she rather doubted it given the DDA’s track record, they could be lying in wait at Stonefire’s gates. Handling them wouldn’t be easy, but she could do it.
No, she was more afraid of the media circus that could also be waiting. Given everything that had just happened withthe dragon hunters, she didn’t want the media to make any connection between the incident in Carlisle and Clan Stonefire. Any act of violence, even in most cases of self-defense, ended in a suspension of the sacrifice program, sometimes indefinitely. While Bram would be strong for the clan if that happened, she knew it would devastate him.
Bram.Her dragonman had bloody well better be alive. Life without him would be lonely. She’d miss his humor, his cleverness, and, she wasn’t afraid to say, his cock. Stonefire’s leader was the whole package and had ruined her for all other men. Since she had no plans of living as a nun, her will alone would ensure his safety. She knew that was impossible, but her willing him alive with every cell of her body couldn’t hurt, especially since she was falling in love with him.
Already she dreamed of adopting Murray and starting a family with Bram. If they could ever spend some time together without another threat to the clan or her life, she would fall hard and fast for her dragonman.
Finn made his final descent. Opening her eyes, she clung to the hope that Bram would be there to greet her.Bram, please be alive. I don’t know if I can help pick up the pieces of your clan and mobilize them without you.
The Scottish leader slowed his wings and much like Bram had surprised her with his agile movements, Finn was the same way as he rotated his grip on Evie until she was no longer horizontal with her stomach facing down but vertical.
She had just enough time to notice a large tent off to the side of the secondary landing area before the windy backlash forced her eyes shut.
Her feet touched the ground. Before she could open her eyes, Finn released his grip. As the sound of him flying away filled her ears, she wobbled and opened her eyes.
Despite the spinning sensation in her head, Evie scanned the area. When she looked toward the tent, a familiar face raced toward her.
