Queen of Dragons Read online

  Not today.

  “We’re here to help,” I say, while my face stays calm and I hide how pissed I am.

  Pissed at how Kinsley can be so cruel. Pissed that shifters would do this to each other and that this kind of injustice exists.

  It makes me want to burn this place to the ground—plan be damned.

  Deep within, my dragon coils with fury. She’s seething at how these shifters are being treated.

  I get it, I tell her. We will make sure these bastards pay for everything they’ve done. Just not now.

  My beautiful diamond dragon snarls at me, but accepts my promise to destroy the Vaer when the time is right.

  One of the shifters, a man with a shaved and bloodied head and dark bruises beneath his eyes, sits up and stares at me with the look of a man who believes his death is near.

  “Kill me,” he wheezes. “Please.”

  Oh gods.

  I can’t do that.

  “I won’t do that,” I say gently as I lift his thin arm over my shoulder. “But I can help you get out of here in one piece.”

  Drew breaks the cuffs off of the trapped shifters. Seven of them are strong enough to walk, and one by one, they pair up—the strong with the weak, carrying each other toward the door.

  A redheaded woman walks up and places her arm around the bleeding bald man. “I’ll get him to safety,” she says as she assists him in following the other freed prisoners.

  Toward the exit.

  Toward freedom.

  “Shit,” Drew mutters.

  Oh, good.

  A complication.

  “What is it?” I ask tensely as the last of the freed prisoners shuffles into the hallway. A patter of gunfire comes from down the hall, and I stiffen, wondering what fresh hell that could be.

  Drew wraps his strong fingers around my shoulders and guides me toward the hallway. “We have to get to the security room.”

  “What happened?” I ask as Drew drops his hands.

  I should know better, though. Drew never tells me anything.

  “Tucker, escort the shifters out,” I say into my comm as Drew gestures for me to hurry the hell up.

  “BUT YOU NEVER GET MY VOICE RIGHT,” Ashgrave says through the line before Tucker can respond.

  “Got it,” my weapons expert says.

  “And stop pissing off my castle!” I add as I race after Drew down the hallway.

  “Eh,” Tucker replies, and I can practically hear him shrugging. “No promises.”

  “Tell me what’s wrong,” I demand, glaring at my fire dragon as he and I bolt down the corridor.

  “I didn’t exactly have the luxury of time when I set everything up,” he answers, scowling. “It looks like some asshole is trying to block the upload.”

  “Damn it,” I mutter.

  We silently race out of Area Twelve toward the security room.

  This time, the hallway opens to a wide area with large crates lining the walls of the room. A few desks are scattered throughout, some of them overturned, and I guess it’s been a while since any secretaries filled this space. Broken chairs litter the floor, and a large dark door stands ajar at the opposite end.

  The security room.

  The air is stale and eerily silent, but I know better than to think we’re getting off that easy.

  “Hey, Tucker, did those shifters get out okay?” I ask into my comm as Drew charges ahead.

  The line is silent. With a pang of dread, I wonder if something happened to him.

  Seconds tick by, and a deep, brewing tension builds in my chest.

  “Tucker, what the hell?” I snap.

  Still no response, and flashes of worst-case scenarios start playing in my brain. I grip my gun tighter, more for comfort than anything else. “So help me gods, if something happens to him—I’m slitting throats.”

  “Whoa, whoa… easy there, Rory. I’m okay. Sorry, my comm got knocked off by your stupid steampunk-robot-bird.”

  “Damn it, Tucker,” I mutter as my heartbeat slows.

  I release the breath I was holding just as muffled screams filter through the line.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  No one had better hurt a single hair—or scale—on my men.

  “Oh, just Jace and Levi kicking Vaer ass while I help these captives out to the chopper. Really, babe, you’re missing all the fun.”

  ”Someone’s gotta do the legwork,” I say with a smirk as I enter the security room and join my fire dragon.

  Drew’s already huddled over a computer, typing furiously as he curses under his breath. While the man who tried to stop the upload lies dead in the corner with a broken neck.

  “I’m restarting my software. This should only take a few seconds,” my fire dragon says.

  With my back to Drew, I keep watch, my gaze scanning from left to right across the large—and definitely unused—room. I’m used to battle and gunfire, not silence.

  Silence sets me on edge.

  Through the line, I hear more gunfire and an explosion. Tucker’s voice chimes in. “Just blew up a crate full of drugs. Mind if I take out a few more?”

  “Be my guest.” I chuckle.

  Let the Vaer think we’re here to free their captives and destroy their illegal goods while we sneak into their network.

  “Ror-rry,” a man’s voice echoes down the hall in a sing-song kind of way, like we’re playing hide and seek.

  I tense as the soft thud of his shoes on the floor echoes lightly toward me with each slow step.

  I’ve never heard his voice before. I have no idea who this is—but it’s pretty obvious he knows me.

  “Oh Ror-rry, dear,” he sings, his voice louder this time.

  I look over my shoulder to find Drew tense, his fingers hovering over the keyboard as he glares out into the large room. Our eyes meet, and I simply shake my head.

  He needs to focus.

  I’ll deal with this new asshole myself.

  “Rory, don’t,” Drew snaps.

  I glare at him, daring him to stop me.

  Without a word, I turn my back on my fire dragon and cock my gun as I head out into the large room.

  Searching the cavernous space, I notice bare light bulbs that hang down every ten feet or so from the ceiling. No wonder it’s dark in here. The Vaer are saving money on electricity.

  “Ror-rry,” the new voice sings again from around the corner.

  Let this poor fool try to hurt me.

  After all, Tucker said it himself—he’s been having all the fun so far—time for me to have some fun of my own.

  I raise my gun and slip into the hallway, eyes narrowing as I follow the soft trail of the stranger’s footsteps. I strain my ear, listening for any guards that might be following behind him. Sure enough, he’s not alone. There are four—no, five soldiers with him.

  “Come out and play, Rory,” the man says—so close, this time.

  The hallway ends in a T, where the three corridors meet, and a man’s shadow stretches from the hallway to my right. I raise my gun, my shoulders tight and tense as I let out a slow and silent breath.

  I fire.

  The bullet lands in the wall across from me, and the soldiers gasp with surprise and panic. The stranger, however, merely chuckles.

  “You missed me,” he mocks.

  “I never miss,” I correct him as one of the suspended light bulbs falls and hits him in the head.

  His shadow pauses, and both of us wait for the other to make the next move.

  “Come out,” I demand. “Leave your guards.”

  “Very well,” he says.

  With a few steps, he appears from around the corner and lifts his chin. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Not a wrinkle on his baby face. He’s a kid, nineteen at most, with a sneer plastered across his lips—like he has me right where he wants me.

  Despite my training, despite my experience, my blood runs cold. There’s something about this guy that just isn’t right.

  The hatred on his face has m
e searching my memory for this young Vaer. But there is nothing there. I know I’ve never met this man before. He’s probably just another of Kinsley’s lackeys, eager to prove himself to their psychotic Boss.

  “What do you want?” I demand.

  “You,” he says simply, with confidence beyond his years.

  My heart aches with how the Vaer manipulate their youngest members.

  “Join the club,” I snap, lifting my gun toward his forehead.

  To his credit, he doesn’t flinch.

  “Put the gun down, Rory,” he says calmly, glaring at me like he can’t even see the weapon. “Just give in.”

  “You’re new,” I say with a chuckle. “That’s not how this works.”

  “Oh?” he tilts his head inquisitively. “How does this work?”

  “You make some longwinded speech about how I’m going to lose. We fight. I kick your ass. You die.” I roll my eyes.

  “Or,” he says with a gentle shrug, “we skip to the part where I chain you in a room until my Boss can have a word with you.”

  The clamor of footsteps down the hall catches my attention. My ear twitches briefly, zeroing in on where the sound is coming from.

  It’s coming from—shit, it’s coming from everywhere.

  They’re trying to surround me. This little asshole is trying to set a trap.

  “Call them off,” I demand, narrowing my eyes as I aim my gun at his forehead.

  “You can kill me, Rory,” he says with another gentle shrug. “But you’re still not getting out of here. You have no idea what you’re up against. Not really.” A loose lock of black hair falls in his face, and he smirks.

  Something in his voice makes my blood run cold. I need to get out of here, and I need to get out now.

  Rule 12 of the Spectres—always know when and how to escape.

  I have to choose my next move carefully. My dragon stirs within me, coiling and ready for war.

  I’ll only have one chance to make this work. And I’ll do it by using the magic of the dragon gods that runs in my veins.

  The coward darts behind the corner for cover as the chak-chak of over twenty rifles being cocked at once has me staring at the surrounding guards.

  A little handgun won’t help me now.

  Shit.

  In a fluid motion, I holster the gun and reach inward for my magic. Ribbons of white light dance across my skin, familiar and safe.

  My magic.

  My power.

  But as it ripples through me, the magic burns suddenly hot—too hot. Far hotter than it ever has. In a flash, it’s cold as ice, and I can practically feel my blood freezing.

  What the hell?

  This can’t be good.

  I grit my teeth as I try to control the power surge. This is a really bad time for my power to fluctuate like this. Not now—not with over twenty soldiers barreling down on me from every direction.

  I need control.

  But the surge hits—and in that moment, the world goes white.

  I lose track of everything. Time. Direction. Which way is up. My stomach churns as I fly through the air, suspended in nothingness as my magic explodes out of me. I’m a leaf in a storm, at the whim of the fury burning within me.

  The world fades in and out. For a second, I see that stupid kid’s face as he sneers down at me. I blink, and the world goes dark.

  Gods above, I want to slap that smile off his face.

  Even if it takes every ounce of magic I have.

  Chapter Two

  I awake with boards stabbing me in the back while I lie on the floor in the middle of a large unfurnished room. Drew stands over me with his fists out in front of him.

  Damn. I must have flown through the wall and landed here. My fire dragon growls at the guards and Kinsley’s new lap dog who are circling us. Some of the guards are wiping blood from their lips and noses. Drew must have landed a few punches while I was out. Good.

  I roll to my hands and knees and force myself to stand on unsteady feet. The ringing in my ears is deafening. My head is spinning and it’s hard to focus my eyes.

  Shit.

  I have to get a hold of my magic before these power surges do something worse than just knocking me out.

  “Are you sure you want to be a foot soldier in this war, kid?” Drew asks the young Vaer, as he bumps me lightly with his shoulder.

  Drew’s lips turn upward in a grin that could charm a snake, as he faces the young commander and the other guards.

  An echoing bang comes from the front of the compound, and everyone in the small room turns his head to the hallway. Even though my head is pounding and spots are still floating in front of my eyes, my lips draw up at the thought of Tucker trying to draw attention away from me and Drew.

  “Kinsley wants you alive. That is the only reason you’re still breathing.” With that, the young man in charge turns his back to us and struts to the rear of the building, his form lost in the darkness as I continue to fight to stay on my feet.

  That must be where more of their victims are.

  The Vaer guards make a loose circle as they surround us.

  Spreading my feet apart, my dragon hums to life. My head’s still foggy and I shake it to clear the haziness.

  Drew’s eyes meet mine as he raises a questioning brow. I give him a slight nod and answer his unasked question.

  “I’m fine,” I say.

  My dragon is pissed, yet she attempts to calm me as we try to figure out what the hell just happened to our power.

  She’s eager to fight. I chuckle at her impatience, as my eyes scan across the heads of the soldiers in the dimly lit room, and my hazy brain tries to count how many Vaer we’re up against.

  Twenty-something, maybe thirty armed guards.

  With the ringing in my ears and the fuzziness starting to clear from my aching brain, I’m ready to fight. Let’s rock and roll.

  The rustle of fabric tells me the soldiers are just as hungry to get this over with as I am. The clicks of guns being cocked has me and Drew dropping to the floor with a heavy thud just as the thundering of gun fire deafens me. The Vaer are out for blood, that’s for sure.

  Mine.

  Time to save more prisoners and get the hell out of here.

  Drew jumps up like he’s got springs in the soles of his boots and roundhouse kicks the advancing three guards. His long muscled leg takes all of them down. I smile, as I admire my fire dragon.

  I jump to my feet and notice my ear stings as something warm lands on my left shoulder. Shit. One of the bullets must have grazed the tip of my ear.

  I hiss through gritted teeth, while my left hand reaches up to wipe away the blood dripping down my ear lobe.

  Drew’s handsome face is marred by the tight scowl he’s giving the surrounding Vaer. His eyes take on a subtle red glow, and his body is giving off heat. He is out for blood. My Darrington is fighting the urge to shift.

  Drew throws himself through the wall on the far side of the room, drawing startled yelps of surprise from the Vaer.

  “Hey assholes,” Drew shouts from a dark corner in the large room with the scattered desks.

  Damn, that was quick.

  The guards rush him but only hit him with the butts of their guns. I guess the Vaer aren’t interested in killing a Darrington heir. If the Darringtons enter Kinsley’s war on the Fairfax side, it could be the end. And not the end Kinsley wants.

  After a few grunts and fists thudding as they hit flesh, bodies drop to the floor. Drew has just taken out eighteen Vaer guards. Alone.

  His strength never stops amazing me.

  I face two of the remaining five guards and punch them both in the face with my magic-infused fists. Their bodies tumble to the ground unconscious.

  “Do you want to play?” Drew asks the three guards surrounding him.

  “Easy,” I tell him. “We don’t want to fuel the fire any more than we already have.”

  The plan was very clear. But none of us expected to find the atrocities
we’ve found here. And I am not the running away type.

  “On second thought, fuel it a little bit. We need to send the Vaer a message. Kinsley needs to know she is not in charge. But get out before you put yourself in danger,” I tell Drew.

  “Danger?” He asks in irritation.

  Drew tenses and raises a questioning brow. I smile. I can’t help it. He’s so damn sexy when he’s mad.

  “You’re right.” I roll my eyes and chuckle. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  I wink at him, and his shoulders relax.

  He’s going to use that against me later. If I’m lucky.

  My eyes rove over his large form. The way his muscles tense and bulge in all the right places. It’s a turn on. We may be outnumbered, but we sure in the hell aren’t out-muscled.

  Even if we were, worst case scenario I can always shift. Hell, an extra set of razor sharp teeth and bone crushing claws will help. But with the way my magic is acting, I don’t want anyone to know about my fluctuations. The less they know, the better.

  My dragon pouts. She really wants to rip out some throats.

  Patience, I tell her.

  “We’re running out of time. I’ll hold these guys off, get to the rear of the facility. Be sure to search every door,” Drew demands.

  He is so bossy. I love it.

  I laugh and give Drew a small salute, as I run toward the back of the building.

  As I make my way down the hallway, a door opens behind me, silently. A bullet ruffles my hair as it passes my head.

  I do a one-eighty and come face-to-face with the cold stare of a Vaer guard. I lunge forward, yanking the gun from his hands. I lift up the butt and use it to hit him in the face, before tossing the rifle off to the side. His body drops with a satisfying thud. I turn around to start my search for more prisoners and notice that I just drew the attention of a few of his friends.

  “Are you just gonna stand there and let a girl hit your friend like that? Who’s next?” I taunt them, hoping to get their blood boiling.

  Angry guards are less focused, more fueled by emotions than logic. More likely to miss if they shoot. Two guards raise their weapons. Now I’m staring at the business end of cool steel barrels.