1. Ryland
ONE
(Thirteen Years Later)
“Report!” I snarl as I walk through the dark blue cloud of magic and deep into the forest. I storm through the twisted trees toward the small group of men in front of me, gathering my long black hair and tying it at the top of my head, needing it out of my eyes to take in everything.
The golden glow of the remaining sunlight slowly darkens in the sky, lengthening the shadows of the warped trees and casting the already haunted forest with an eerie feeling that sets my teeth on edge. We have twenty minutes tops before we need to retreat onto the school grounds. The creaking of the twisted limbs over head doesn”t help my racing heart as I stalk toward my team, immediately doing a headcount, ensuring each and every one of my men is accounted for.
My shoulders relax when I count eight men standing in a circle, until I realize their attention is trained on the small, still figure in the center, and dread pools in my stomach. No one answers my command; their silent horror is answer enough as I draw near, pulling a growl from my chest in response.
I grimace at the thick stench of copper filling the air, my nostrils flaring at the bittersweet scent of death. I can feel my Dragon press against my barriers, wanting out so he can find the person responsible for this senseless crime and tear them limb from limb. But I push him back down, demanding his submission, refusing to be bested by my beast.
My fingers ball into fists at my side as I stride over, shouldering past Andrei before pulling up short, taking in the gruesome scene in front of me.
“Fuck!” I yell, startling a flock of ravens from the trees above, who cry out their displeasure as they fly up into the darkening sky. My men take several steps back as I release my magic, letting the wisps of blue crawl from my fingertips to the pentagram etched in the dirt at my feet. I take deep, steadying breaths, noting the crescent moon shapes and other odd symbols carved into the dark, moist earth before I let myself look at the young girl”s pale white skin and brown hair. Her small body staked to the ground in the center of the circle by a wooden stake protruding from her mangled chest. The silver bark of the stake is almost sparking with the amount of magic radiating from it.
“We’re too late,” I growl, clenching and unclenching my hands. Fury filters through me as my magic mingles with the blood-soaked earth, tearing apart the Demonic magic that is keeping my team from getting closer to the dead student in front of us.
“We’re always too late, boss. It might be time to call in that Councilman you have connections with. Not even Boris has been able to find Demon signatures as fast as you have these last few weeks, and we are still too late. Things are getting bad,” Andrei murmurs, his deep voice heavily accented and full of a darkness that speaks to my murderous thoughts. I can feel his Dragon’s presence on the surface of his skin, close by after the shift, guarding Andrei just in case the monster is lingering near its fresh kill.
Fuck, I almost wish the Demon was still here so I could settle the bloodlust coursing through my veins. The need for violence and to spill blood is so heavy in the surrounding air that it”s almost palpable.
All of my men are staring at the girl in front of us as my magic shreds the demonic presence to pieces under its powerful grip. Their gazes are a mixture of fury, disgust, and guilt as they stand guard over her one last time.
This victim had only been missing for three days.
Three fucking days!
I tracked down the bastard who took her this morning, trailing him, and thought maybe this once we would finally make it on time. Finally, save one victim before they meet their end in this forest. But I didn”t find her in time; now she”s just another number. A statistic to bring back to Boris, a name I have to report to the Fae Council and another barrier keeping me from the woman who owns my soul.
When I was first assigned to this case more than three years ago, I thought it would be simple. Find the person—or Demon as I now suspect it is—killing female students at Silverwood University and bring them to their knees. Figure out why they’re sacrificing the girls and stop anyone from helping them; then I could return home to be with my family. But that quick mission handed to me by a man who I respect more than almost anyone else in this fucked-up world turned out to be much harder than I initially thought.
It started with three missing girls. Now we’re at eighteen.
I frown, looking down at the young, terror-stricken face, her eyes wide with fear, and lips parted in a silent scream that will never be heard. Alexandra Bucur. A local seventeen-year-old who would have attended Silverwood University this year. According to her file, she worked hard to graduate high school a year early so that she could start on her degree. She had a bright future, and now all that has gone up in smoke.
Nineteen.I correct myself.
Alexandra is now number nineteen, and I have failed yet again to figure out who is doing this and why.
“Get me a cloak,” I demand. Then snap my fingers at Dimitri, my newest Dragon shifter recruit, and wait until the soft black fabric is in my hand before I step forward. My men hold their stances, knowing they are not to move forward onto the demonic symbols until I ensure it’s safe. Once I reach the petite girl, I sigh and close my eyes for a moment, swallowing hard before I stoop, crouching next to her bare form before reaching out and tearing the wooden stake from her chest with a growl. I refuse to let her be seen with the weapon that took her life protruding from her body the way it is. Her family deserves better.
I toss the murder weapon at Andrei’s feet—knowing he will pack it up in one of the saddlebags with Dimitri—before draping the cloak over Alexandra’s tiny body, giving her the privacy that was so cruelly taken from her along with her life. Scooping her cold, stiff body into my arms, I nod at my men and allow them to finish photographing and documenting the crime scene. I need to get Alexandra”s body back to the University and tell Boris we found her before we inform the girl”s family of her death.
“Dimitri!” I call out, striding to one of the three black horses our newest Dragon Shifters ride when we are out hunting. It”s something that all newbies have to do once accepted into the Balaur Patrol. I did it all those years ago, and now it”s Dimitri’s turn.
“Coming,” Dimitri clips out, frustration in his voice as he trails after me. I know it rubs the blue-blooded Dragon Prince the wrong way to be summoned like a commoner. He hates having to follow us on horseback rather than fly with the rest of our Flight, but it”s only for a few months. Besides, the Prince is a little too snobbish for my liking, but he’s not a bad kid. He’ll learn eventually.
I glare down at the Romanian Prince and wait for him to divert his gaze, acknowledging my leadership and giving me respect as his Alpha. Dimitri’s brown eyes brighten, the gold rings expanding, and I fight the urge to release my magic and shove this prick to his knees, but I know that will not help our relationship. I need Dimitri to trust me. For him to know I have his back and that he is a part of my team, no matter how new he is to it. After a moment, Dimitri snarls and yanks his gaze from mine, shoulders heaving, black scales rippling up his neck as sweat glistens at his temples. With a curse, he jumps onto the saddle before reaching for the girl in my arms.
“Take her back to the school. I’ll get Boris and meet you at the chapel,” I order, refusing to acknowledge the blatant challenge the young prince just threw in my face.
“Yes, sir,” Dimitri grumbles before digging his heels into the horse’s sides and taking off between the thick trees.
“You need to leash that attitude, or the little prince will try it again,” Andrei muses, stepping next to me and watching as our youngest Dragon disappears. I shrug my shoulders, not worried in the least. His royal lineage got him into the Balaur Patrol, a favor Boris granted to his father, along with my promise to watch out for him. But the Prince will have to prove himself if he wants to stay here. He’s strong, to be sure, probably stronger than the majority of my team, but he’s hot-headed and doesn”t do well with not being in charge.
“He can try. He won”t succeed,” I whisper confidently, and Andrei laughs, nodding in amusement as he turns his eyes to me. Andrei is small for a Dragon shifter, standing at just over six feet, but he is fast. He can cut through a wind current with an ease even I can”t replicate, and his hand-to-hand combat skills are off the charts. He”s a friend I’m glad to have on my team, my right-hand man who I keep close to guard my back in a fight. A brother who I would die for.
“And what about Boris?”
“What of him?” I ask with a slight growl, rolling my eyes as I move to watch the rest of my team clear the area. It”s getting darker, the sky above still illuminated with the softest of light, but down here in the thick of the trees, it”s so dark that I have to shift my eyes to those of my Dragon’s to see. “Five minutes,” I call out, glaring around our surroundings, the silence of dusk slowly growing louder as the creatures of the night wake up.
“You should challenge him, Ry. You’re stronger than he is by a long shot in both dominance and magic. You know we need to do more for these girls. Boris is a good leader, but he’s stuck in the past. He waits too long to respond and is losing his strength. We need someone new to lead, and maybe—just maybe—we can save some of these girls.”
I clench my jaw and roll my shoulders back as I shrug. I agree with everything he’s saying. However, Boris is still strong and knows much more about this land and the culture than I do. I have much to learn before comfortably taking over the Balaur Patrol.
“No,” I say firmly, shutting down Andrei with a glare when he opens his mouth to argue. He snaps it shut with a huff of annoyance, growling his displeasure as he tears his shirt over his head in preparation to shift. “Time. Let”s go,” I announce when something shifts in my periphery. I watch my men as two of them run over to the remaining horses and mount up with the evidence collected, nodding respectfully at me and taking off immediately through the trees. Thank God we aren’t too deep in the forest, so I don”t have to track them out of here to ensure they are safe.
The remaining four men strip down, tucking their clothes into satchels as they spread out, trying to find a spot large enough for them to shift. I wait as they take flight, a mixture of gray and blue wings propelling them to the safety of the skies above before I move to the clearing I landed in previously. It”s the only one large enough to fit my Dragon, and even then, it was a tight fit. The shadows of the forest dance around me as my steps sound like thunder on the dirt below. Darkness creeps in, and I can”t help the shiver of dread that races down my spine as I glare at the twisted silver trees around me.
Something in this forest is unnatural, something that sets my Dragon on edge—something much stronger than I am. That thought alone terrifies me, and I growl as I spin in a slow circle. This forest has always felt off to me, but the darkness is growing alarmingly fast, and the magic in the air thickens each time I step into its shadowy depths.
I snarl and swipe a hand through the air, letting my magic curl around me, melting the threads of the fabric straining against my flesh as bright gold scales erupt down my arms and legs. In the next moment, my Dragon shoots up into the air, and I release some of my control of him, letting him have a moment before I chain him back to my will once more, allowing myself a brief moment to figure out what to do next.
As I fly through the night sky toward the castle I now call home, I know my time to handle this on my own is up. Girls under my care are dying, and I can”t allow my pride and failures to stand in the way of their lives. A family lost their daughter tonight, and I can”t help but wonder if she would still be alive if I’d had more help.
The university is in danger, and despite Boris’ warnings about allowing students back onto school grounds, the board overruled him, and a whole new batch of students will start showing up tomorrow. New blood to be hunted by our resident serial killer, and I have no doubt there will be another death within a month”s time.
Silverwood University needs help, and there is only one man I can call to get it. I only hope it will be enough to save them all.