Page 70 of Hidden Fate

Her irises blazed with anger. “It’s easy for you to say when everyone you love is here andsafe.”

I’m fine,Thorn connected.I promise. It’s just the stress catching up to all of us. If you were in danger, I would do far worse than what she just did to me.

With his reassurance and having him back on both feet, some of my anger ebbed. My throat constricted. “Saphira, you’re like family to me, and so are Theron, Hydra, and Sol. Their thunder is important to me, just as much as everyone here.”

She took in a shaky breath and unclenched her hands. I heard the faint sound of a phone ringing on the other end of a call Theron was making. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She hung her head.

I pulled my attention away from Saphira to take in our surroundings. Just like Spike had said, this place was identical to ours, right down to the sheets. Tyson sat on the sofa bed, his hair messy and his mouth open. The vacant spot beside him smelled like Saphira, which meant she had probably opened the door to let Thorn in.

“Hello?” Wyvern’s voice replaced the ringing.

My gaze settled on Theron and Hydra. They were standing in the doorway of the bedroom on the right with the queen bed.

“Gather the thunder and get the hell out of there,” Theron barked, the skin around his eyes tight. “You’ve been compromised. They know you’ve been talking to me.”

“What?” Wyvern asked in disbelief. “How? We’ve been so careful.”

Rubbing a hand down his face, Theron grimaced. “Someone who’s been around us got back to Drake, and I didn’t realize he knew you and I were still in touch. I’m sorry. I should’ve figured that out.”

Another phone alert went off, and Thorn glanced at the message. “It’s Uther. They’re leaving the château, but there are five warriors an hour closer, and they’ll be flying. They need to grab some things and leave. He said the warriors are coming from the south, so if the thunder flies north, they should be able to get out undetected.”

Theron sighed. “Your best bet is to grab what you need and be ready to leave in ten. I’ll reach out and see if anyone else can take you in.”

“Okay. I’ll call you back soon.” Wyvern hung up, and the room filled with silence.

Theron was already typing out a message on what had to be the network system, looking for another location that could provide aid.

We were putting so many thunders at risk, and I feared we might have used every resource available.

“When they leave, they need to separate into groups.” Vlad tapped his fingers against his leg.

My dragon stirred, and an uneasy feeling coursed down my spine. I watched Saphira, noting how she was wringing her hands. That was a safer way to work out her concern rather than on my mate, so I stepped outside onto the porch. The wide-open space eased my dragon and me.

Joining me, Thorn led me to the side that overlooked the pond. Now that we were out of there, more people were able to fit in the front room. We’d left the door open.

“That will make it harder for them to decide who to track.” That was Rex. “They won’t know who all’s involved, and since Wyvern is the acting alpha while you’re gone, they’ll focus on him. They’ll blame him for the breach, even if he didn’t make contact.”

This had to end. We had about eleven days to get a plan in place, including an army, before Drake officially took control of the dragons. We had to begin thinking offensively and get ahead of them.

Theron joined us on the front porch, his phone in his hands. “There are a few thunders around Memphis that can take in the majority of my people. They’re about an hour’s flight time apart, but they’re close enough. We still need a place for about twenty of them.”

I understood the predicament. Once shifted, they needed to know where to head. They couldn’t risk stopping and someone seeing them along the way. It was best for them to fly high and stay away from planes and other dragons. “What about here?” Especially for Saphira, it would be best if Wyvern came here, but I didn’t want to make that decision. That was Theron’s place.

Leaning against the railing, Thorn tugged me so my back pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist, the sizzle of his touch nearly taking my breath.

“We have an extra building with bathrooms. We can take turns sleeping outside, or we can make space on the floor,” Thorn added.

“It would be nice to have Wyvern here so he can be part of the training and the upcoming attack.” Theron stared out at the pond. “Drake will be hunting him since he’s been in charge. It’s not like we have a ton of options.”

“It’s settled.” Thorn nodded.And maybe Saphira will calm down.

I mashed my lips together, trying not to smile. I glanced back inside to find Saphira sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, looking worse than I’d ever seen her…which was saying something since she’d been Drake’s prisoner for a while.

When Theron’s phone rang, her head snapped up. As Theron told Wyvern everything we’d discussed, I headed to my friend and hugged her. I murmured, “Wyvern will be here soon.”

Her breath caught, and she shook. “Thank gods.”

I had to believe Theron’s thunder would be all right. And there was one thing we could do to distract ourselves until they got here: train.

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