Chapter 38
TALON
We’d been flying for most of the day only to be able to eliminate two locations as possible hideouts for Jewels, Blaine, or any of their allies.
I hadn’t expected it to be easy, knowing that witch always had plans upon plans.
Her schemes were layered. Even if we unraveled one, we’d soon find ourselves battling the next.
This is peaceful.
Slade’s voice thundered in my head and my beast and I concurred with that feeling.
Despite not finding anything useful yet, the only part of this day I really hadn’t enjoyed was crawling out of bed this morning and leaving Emme.
The fact that she’d been attacked in her dreams right after was unacceptable.
Constantine had better get his shit together and figure out how to protect her.
At least until we fucked that witch up.
It’s always peaceful up here, I said. There’s nothing that can compare to the freedom of soaring above the world like this. We’re as close to gods as any shifter could be.
Slade’s laughter was low and filled with fire.
Couldn’t agree more, brother. The smaller animals of flight cannot reach our vantage point, so they only partly understand.
There was a long pause, before he rumbled with more amusement.
Emme would tell us we’re arrogant bastards, and she’s not wrong.
But we can at least back up our arrogance.
Our mate loves us. Including our arrogance.
We might never have met another dragon, but there was no chance any of our ancestors were lacking in confidence. We knew our place in the food chain.
Right at the top.
It’s nice to be on a mission for my pack, I told my twin. I spent a lot of time flying for Fletcher, but there was never any enjoyment in it.
Working with my family changed it all. I had a choice now, and I chose to fight for them.
This is how it should have always been, Slade muttered as he released a small blast of fire.
It will be from now on. I’d never go back to who I used to be.
As we continued our flight, we checked in on Emme and the rest of the pack. She had us partially blocked, but we could push through it.
She’s training with Kellan.
Slade’s dragon’s rumble grew louder as he banked west to reach the third and final location.
Yes, Kellan is very well trained in fighting, but especially weapon work.
His father was quite an exceptional enforcer.
Our brother might appear cheerful and laidback, but when he fights, even I am wary of his skill and lethality.
Kellan was the literal definition of watch out for the quiet ones. Though in his case, it was the smiling ones.
It was almost impossible to leave Emme this morning.
My omega was never far from my thoughts, and not having her pretty face in front of me felt wrong.
I might have every curve, feature, and all twenty-six freckles memorized, but that wasn’t enough.
I’ve never had anyone in my life that I needed to see on a daily basis.
I was alone at least ninety percent of my week.
But now I feel adrift when I don’t have contact with you or Emme every few hours.
It was easy to admit my weakness to Slade. My twin felt like an extension of myself and my beast, and there’d never be any true judgment between us.
Yeah, it’s weird for me too, Slade admitted. I always had Hunter, and while he was essential to my survival and mental health, you and Emme are the other parts of my soul. Kellan and Finley sit only just below you three.
He didn’t need to justify his hierarchy to me; I completely understood. All of our brothers were important, but Emme was first, then my twin, followed by everyone else.
Beyond our pack, every other shifter is no more than an ant though. I care nothing for them.
Slade’s dragon nodded. Agreed. When he turned again, I followed close behind. The third and final site is up ahead. His tone turned sharper as his beast focused.
Sending more of my dragon essence through my scales, I made sure to hide every part of myself. We were up so high that the tips of my claws had frost clinging to them, but there was no discomfort as internal fires kept my center toasty warm.
The first two sites were closer to Golden Claw, but all we’d found were a large-scale protest and a new, not-yet-registered commercial farm.
This third site was near Silver City and had taken most of the day to reach.
Since Slade expected Blaine would be near one of the cities, this was our most likely location.
We started our descent, and I caught a glint of silver buildings shimmering on the horizon, telling me we were maybe ten miles from the city.
This is where Blaine sat on the council, Slade said, dropping faster.
Which makes it safe and familiar territory for him.
We landed in a parcel of uninhabited land, shaking off our hours of flight.
Exactly, Slade said. “This is also where a lot of his allies will be. It was always my strongest lead, but the others still needed to be eliminated. My brother was nothing if not thorough and methodical.
Shifting back took an extra second after being in our beast forms for so long. As soon as we were bipedal, we pulled clothes and boots from our storage bags and got dressed.
“Let’s check it out,” Slade said, taking off at a run. “The recent surge in power was triggered from a spot northeast of us.
“I didn’t see any civilization as we flew overhead,” I noted, easily keeping up with him.
Slade shrugged. “Me either, but I expect they’ll be hidden with more than magic. Possibly camouflaged as well.”
We ran through the territory, most of which had the look of an area that had been recently cleared.
“From my research, nothing here was connected to Blaine or Jewels,” Slade told me, his head almost on a swivel as he tried to take in everything around, above, and below us.
“But it’s easy enough to hide information under multiple shell companies.
I didn’t have enough time for the days of hacking it would take to unravel a detailed web of deception. ”
“I’d rather track hands-on anyway,” I said, still not buying into this whole online world bullshit.
Slade just shook his head at me, but he didn’t try and change my mind. We were similar in so many ways that it was almost scary, but our upbringings had obviously created more than a few differences also.
“Location is just up ahead,” Slade murmured, his voice much lower.
I expected to find a building or sign of habitation but there was still only wilderness. “You’re sure this is where you pinged the heavy power usage?” I asked when we stopped, basically right on the coordinates.
Slade’s gaze narrowed as he perused closer. “Absolutely. I checked it twice. Which is once more than usual, since I’m rarely wrong.”
Striding out in a wide perimeter, I used every extra sense I possessed to figure out what we were missing.
“The previous two locations showed immediate reasons for their power registering so high,” I called back to my twin as I spun in a circle.
“But this… makes no sense. It might be magically shielded or an underground bunker?”
Only, where was the entrance?
Slade did his own sweep, his expression both focused and annoyed.
“There’s something hidden here,” he said slowly.
“I can feel the otherness on or under this land, but I can’t figure out how to penetrate the veil that hides it.
It must be magic, but usually dragons wouldn’t be fooled by a spell when we stand in front of it. ”
Magic wasn’t my expertise, outside of my innate dragon abilities.
I did know our kind weren’t susceptible to a lot of spells or normal witchy tricks.
“Jewels knows us,” I reminded him, “and thanks to Fletcher, has a lot of insider information. She’s going to throw everything at this hiding place, especially if she has any of your essence remaining. ”
Stolen dragon energy was how she’d ambushed Slade in the street, and since Slade’s essence was essentially mine, I would also be impacted.
“I’m sick of this bitch always being one step ahead,” he snarled, his frustrations bleeding through. “I’m usually the most powerful, but lately I keep chasing my damn dragon tail. I’ve even screwed up a few times, which never fucking happens. Hence the reason I checked the coordinates twice.”
“Jewels knows you too well,” I said, wishing I could wrap my hands around that witch’s throat and squeeze until her head popped off.
So fucking satisfying. “You were always fighting a losing battle with her, especially after you dismissed her as a threat long ago. You know everything now, though, which means letting go of your self-anger and moving forward to take her down.”
I didn’t beat myself up for mistakes. I simply moved forward and never made that mistake again.
My pep talk didn’t ease his furious expression, but his essence was lighter. “Maybe we need Constantine for this?” he said, giving the area another glance. “If it’s magic, he’s our best chance of sensing it.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it would hurt to bring him in to help.” We were running out of time, and if this curse came to pass, my dragon would hit the self-destruct button and wipe all of us from this world. He’d never allow me or any of his pack to be caged by magic.
Not even Fletcher did that to me.
If I needed to shift, I never had to ask permission. Within the compound grounds, of course.
“Come on, let’s do a quick aerial search again, then I’ll contact Hunter and get them out here.” Slade stripped off his clothes in quick, succinct movements, and I ditched mine as quickly. When the items were packed in the bag, I called on the change.
Can you scent the magic in this form? Slade asked as we lifted off from the land. It’s stronger.
Circling above him, I took my time to really breathe in the area, noting a faint buzz of static electricity in the air, along with the sulfur of spells. There’s definitely more going on here than we can see.
Fire spilled from Slade’s mouth. I can’t find even the slightest crack in their shielding to take advantage of. It’s got to be the most thorough shielding I’ve ever come across.
Agreed. Even without an extensive knowledge of magic, I was aware that there was always a point of origin with a spell. It was this point you needed to start unraveling the spell.
Jewels has to be behind this, I said, stretching my wings out, which were strong and sure even with our hours of flying today. She’s the only one with enough power for this.
Yes, it’s looking more likely. We need to figure out how they have power hooked up here, hidden beneath the shielding. I have no idea how far we’d have to travel to find that source.
I tilted my long neck to take in the silver glow. My guess would be that city.
Slade took off toward it, and though the sun was long gone, our vision remained clear. He banked toward the city, hovering over the power station on the edge of town.
I wonder if they’re drawing from here, he said, examining it from all angles.
Let’s call Hunter, I suggested. We can investigate while they fly out to us.
Slade’s hesitation was strong, even in dragon form. Just Hunter and Constantine, I think. We can’t remove Emme from the protection of our house, now we know she can be attacked in her dreams.
Will she be safe there without all of us?
Slade didn’t answer immediately, and I was about to ask again, when he finally replied: Okay, I managed to get a message through to Hunter, now that Emme has eased up on blocking us.
He agreed that she should stay for now. She has Kellan and Finley, and as an extra, I’ll keep the enforcers around the compound.
I really believe we might have the location here, which makes Golden Claw the safer option.
Emme would be pissed with us, but as long as she was safe, I didn’t care. Okay, we bring them out just to check what we’re dealing with before we involve Emme.
Slade rumbled his agreement. We’ll only be gone another day at most, he said.
We need this to be over, I bit out, resigned to my fate for the next twenty-four hours. We need the threat to be eliminated and our mate safe.
Slade’s wing brushed against mine, and it was weirdly comforting. It will end one way or another. We’re closing in. I can feel it.
Part of me knew he was right, while another sensed it wouldn’t be as easy as that.
It never was.