Page 62 of Firedrake Betrayal
It actually sounds like he’s telling the truth. Not just his version of it.
I turn to Shep. He’s looking at Jade, concerned. Probably wondering if we should grab Jade and get the fuck out of here. Maybe taking the fight to Chicago might be the better alternative. Isaiah’s mansion might not survive the fight but Jade would.
Isaiah is looking thoughtful. Is he also considering leaving right now?
“Atticus wants her, and he won’t stop until he gets her.” Da leans toward Jade. “I could?—”
A thin blue ribbon slams him into the wall.
We all turn to Jade.
She tucks her right hand under the table. Her cheeks are pink, and she doesn’t look anyone in the eye. “I’m still figuring this out. And I told him to stay away from me.”
Yeah, she’s coming into her powers, all right.
She’s this mix of sweet innocence and potent danger, and it’s sexy as hell.
I do the only thing a man can under these circumstances. I slide my hand into the back of her hair, drag her close, and kiss her. A second later, she loops her arms around my shoulders as she kisses me back.
“He likes to live dangerously, doesn’t he?” the dragon asks tightly.
“You have no idea,” Isaiah mutters. “He’s gone by the way.”
I break the kiss. “Who is…?” My voice trails off when I spot the dent in the wall but no Da on the ground. “Fuck.”
“He knows where we are and can go right to Atticus to tell him,” Shep adds.
I blow out a heavy sigh. “Like I said. Fuck.”
17
JADE
Istare at the big human size dent in the wall.
I feel bad about the damage I just did to someone’s home, but what the hell did I do?
Spirit, or the thing Patten has taken to calling my blue ribbon friend, has vanished, and I know I had nothing to do with that.
But I don’t regret what I did, even if I’m not sure how I did it.
Patten’s dad was leaning toward me, and I had to defend myselfandmy baby.
So I guess I did.
“We should leave now that Almeth knows where we are,” Shep says. “He tracked us here and the only way he could have done that is that he was following us. There’s no telling what he will do with that information.”
Like tell Atticus.
He said he was here to help, but I didn’t believe him. And he tried to feed on me in my dreams. I saw the hungry way he was eyeing me. He was thinking of doing it again.
Feeling antsy, I get up from the dining table, needing to move. I can’t help but notice the way all their eyes dip to my right wrist.
I glance down too.
No translucent blue ribbon circles my right wrist, an insubstantial looking thing with the power to slam a man into a wall. Patten called it my blue friend, but can it truly be my friend if I can’t control it?
I look at the dent left in the wall and I wonder how Almeth was able to get up and walk out. Just how strong are demons? And would I have killed him if he’d been human?
