Page 10 of Marked Dragon

Glancing over his shoulder, Drake beamed.

I would have to talk to her. If she kept showing her fear, Drake’s attitude toward her would get worse. He got a high from people fearing him. She was giving him that in spades.

I moved in front of her, blocking his view. I hated what he was doing to her. Drake already knew how much I cared about my sister, so there was no point in pretending I didn’t.

Realizing I had no intention of moving, he left. As soon as the door shut, my lungs worked easier, and the three of us stood in silence.

Uther placed his hands in his slacks pockets. “You two look like you’ve had a rough night. Why don’t you head to your rooms and get some rest?”

Time alone sounded perfect. I wanted to get Eva settled and try to get rid of this headache so I could stay focused. “Which room are we staying in? I’m assuming the one to the left.”

Uther winced. “Actually, your and Drake’s room is on the right. Eva’s is the one across the hall on the left.”

Tensing, I shook my head. “I’ll stay in Eva’s room with her.” I refused to share a room withDrake.

He bobbed his head and sighed. “Okay. It’ll be easier to watch you two if you’re in the same room.”

I forced myself to exhale. His reasoning didn’t matter as long as Eva and I stayed together.

I turned around and found Eva rocking, her arms wrapped around herself. Her face was sickly pale…worse than when she’d had the flu after Mom had passed.

Making my way to her, I placed a hand on her arm to comfort her, but she jerked back.

Her voice shook as she said, “Don’t touch me.”

My chest constricted as if she’d stabbed my heart. My eyes burned, and I dropped my hand, putting space between us. I had to remember she was going through a lot, and Elliott was the one she always turned to. Not me.

“Come on, let’s go to the bedroom,” I said, keeping my voice steady. I braced myself, ready for her to tell me she didn’t want to share a room with me, but she turned and headed down the hallway. Some of the tension left my shoulders.

We marched past the bedroom on the right, and I purposely didn’t glance inside. I didn’t want to see Drake’sroom. I needed to get some decent sleep and not have a visual of my personal hell.

Eva and I entered the bedroom on the left, and Uther stopped at the door.

He scratched the back of his neck. “I really don’t want to be in there while you get ready for bed and sleep, but I can’t risk you running away, either.”

In other words, he was a nice guy who was stuck working for a shitty person. I could only imagine what sort of punishment Drake would inflict upon him if we escaped. I suspected it would involve hurting someone he loved. That seemed to be Drake’s style, but Uther didn’t have anything to worry about because Eva and I were trapped. “All the warriors are out at the territory line, so it would be stupid to run away now.”

He bit his lip. “True, but that doesn’t mean you won’t. I have a little girl I can’t risk.”

There it was—Drake’s leverage against him. What sort of sick person was willing to hurt a child, especially when the dragon shifter population was dangerously low? “I promise, if I try to escape, it won’t be tonight.” And it wouldn’t be, not with a little girl at risk, but I decided not to say that.

“Fine.” He exhaled, but his face was lined with tension. “I’ll stay outside the door, but if anything sounds strange, I will bust in. Do you understand?”

I nodded. “That’s fair.”

“You better get some rest.” He arched a brow and frowned. “Trust me. You don’t want to disappoint Drake.”

As he shut the door, a chill ran down my spine. Ignoring the sensation, I scanned the room, taking in the dark cherry wood accents and the light gray walls. A modern bronze chandelier lit up the entire room. A king-size bed was centered against the right wall, with white silk bedding and four huge pillows. A charcoal rug ran from underneath the bed, and a dark cherry wood bench was positioned at the foot. The headboard was the same gray as the rug. Two oversized dark cherry wood nightstands sat on either side of the bed with a large bronze lamp on each one. Across from the bed, against the left wall, rested a dresser with a gigantic mirror. To the right, I glimpsed a sizable walk-in closet full of clothes and, to the left, a bathroom.

Eva stood near the edge of the bench. She appeared tiny in the enormous room. Tears streamed down her face, and the image reminded me of the preteen who’d lost her mother.

Devastated.

I eased toward her, needing to comfort her. “Eva, I promise everything will be okay.”

“You can’t promise that,” she said brokenly as she countered each one of my steps, easing toward the room’s double windows. “And don’t come any closer.”

The words were a punch in the gut, but I obliged. “Iwillfigure something out. I came here to protect you.”

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