Page 36 of Marked Dragon

What?He slowed and glanced over his shoulder.

Shock pulsed through our bond, and my breath caught.

His brows furrowed.Why would you say that?

Because I’m ogling her son, and she can smell what he does to me.I closed my eyes for a second.Why else?

He grinned and winked.Oh, she understands. I’ve smelled many things I’d rather not have been privy to while growing up with those two, and they’re fated mates, too.His nose wrinkled at what I assumed were those memories.

Maybe we could all pretend that no one had smelled anything. I was downwind from them.

“Oh, gods,” Saphira groaned. “They’re not together ten minutes, and it smells like a brothel.”

Then again, maybe not. Though I loved Saphira, I would have no problem killing her at this moment. Too bad I hadn’t dislodged the glass from Drake’s chest so I could stabherwith it.

Thorn chuckled, his happiness wafting through the bond. “What I’m more intrigued by is why you know what a brothel smells like. Did you visit, or did you work there?”

“Thorn Wight,” Cassidy exclaimed and turned around, careful not to bump Vlad into the wall.

There was no doubt about it—she was his mother. The mom tone was unmistakable, and my heart ached from remembering my own mom.

His shoulders shook. “I’m twenty-seven years old. I can give Saphira hell when she’s making my mate feel uncomfortable.”

I wanted to bury my face in Thorn’s back for many reasons, but mainly so Cassidy couldn’t see me. Instead, I lifted my chin, faking that the banter and attention didn’t bother me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m in the very back. You can’t smell anything.”

Saphira twisted to look at me. She placed a hand on her hip and arched a brow. “You wanna bet? I wouldn’t be surprised if the warriors tracked us down. That’s how strong it is.”

I narrowed my eyes just as a deep moan echoed in the tunnel.

“Please, for the love of the gods, stop talking about my son and his mate,” Vlad grumbled as he rubbed a hand over his forehead. “My head hurts, and there are things better left unsaid.”

I could get behind that sentiment. We should drop it and not address the elephant in the secret passageway…or the dragon that ate the elephant…or whatever.

We all paused, and Cassidy squatted as Vlad stood and leaned against the side of the tunnel, blocking Saphira from view. I had to wonder if he’d done that on purpose, but some tension left my shoulders.

“At least, the king came through for us.” He yawned and stretched his shoulders.

I glanced at Eva, then at Errol hanging over Thorn’s shoulder. I bit my lip. “How come you woke up before Errol?” I understood why Eva remained unconscious. She was human and had a slower metabolism, but Errol had been shot first.

“I removed the dart before all the liquid leaked out.” He pointed at Errol and my sister. “If those two still have the dart lodged in them, we need to remove them. The darts have a slow-release mechanism to keep people asleep longer.”

That would’ve been nice to know a while ago. I kneeled and dropped Eva’s legs to pull the dart from her arm. I was already worried about the dose she’d gotten, but to know more had been trickling in made me panic. I hadn’t thought about pulling it out while we’d been running for our lives.

“How did I not know that?” Thorn grumbled. Using his free arm, he felt Errol’s side and yanked out the dart.

Vlad shook his head. “I learned about the upgrade when we were kidnapped.”

My heart sank. All of us had suffered so much.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” I couldn’t hide the worry in my voice. “She’s human.”

“Yeah, it’ll knock her out longer.” Vlad stood, though his legs wobbled under him. He glanced up and down the tunnel. “How much longer until we reach the exit?”

Saphira was back in view, and she pushed a stray curl from her face. “We’re halfway.”

“Let’s keep pushing.” Vlad smacked his cheeks to wake himself up. “We need to listen so we know when we can risk leaving.”

The king had said he would handle the warriors, but if Drake had his way, he would go behind his dad’s back and force them to keep watch in large numbers. We could hope, but there was no guarantee we would make it out of here tonight. I only hoped that whoever was coming for us wouldn’t give up.

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