Chapter 26
Emmett
Elana was gone again.
I paced the main foyer of my castle, phone in hand again, as I read and reread her message.
Elana: Tried to scry. Found them. They’re together. Going to open a portal and bring them through.
I should’ve answered those calls. I should’ve read her message right away. But instead, I’d told myself I needed to concentrate on looking for my daughter, and that the message could wait, the phone calls could wait.
Five minutes. That was how long I’d waited.
I should’ve landed immediately. Now I was missing both my child and my mate. I’d failed them again.
I read the hastily written message again, frustration growing. There wasn’t enough information in those few words. Where had she found them? Inside the mountain? Or in the woods? What had happened?
I’d found one of Sena’s old magical spell books open inside the witch’s casting room, but as always, I couldn’t read any of it.
She’d always put privacy spells on both her books and journals.
It had pissed Leroy off royally when he realized he couldn’t access any of her knowledge after her death.
Certain that the spell would fade eventually, I’d kept her things the way she’d left them.
The words on the page were still gibberish to me, but Elana had clearly been able to read them.
It must be because the castle had chosen her.
My heart had filled with joy when I first realized what had happened. It was one more reason for Elana to stay here with me. The castle—or was that the remainder of Sena’s spirit?—had known she was the right woman. But what use was that now that she was gone?
I’d found the remnant of a foil-wrapped spell in the room. According to the word written in thick green marker, it had been a portal spell. The spell must’ve worked, because Elana was gone. But what had happened after?
I’d tried to call her, but her phone kept ringing.
They had to be all right. They had to be. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to talk to Elana yet and explain what she’d overheard. And more importantly, I hadn’t even told her she was my mate.
I stormed out into the courtyard, my clawed feet pounding against the stone, but the open air did nothing to calm me.
My dragon thrashed beneath my skin, demanding action.
I hadn’t been able to shift back to my fully human form since all this began, and it made me think of Melly and her inability to shift.
Stress, and not feeling safe enough… that had to be it. Leroy had used her room to plot his treachery. She must’ve understood in some basic, instinctive way that we were not safe. And I’d failed her by not catching it earlier.
My dragon snarled beneath my skin and I leaped into the sky, my wings unfurling so violently that a loud crack split the air.
Scales tore through flesh, my bones reshaping.
But I welcomed the pain. It was better than the hollow ache in my chest. Better than the fear gnawing at my ribs.
Better than the constant thought that I’d failed them both.
The wind whipped past me as I soared over the mountains, scanning the landscape below. They had to be here somewhere. Leroy was trying to claim my castle after all. He wouldn’t take them far.
But the mountains were vast, and there was no sign of Elana or Melly, just empty forests and barren peaks. There was nothing here. Nothing except… a massive grizzly racing toward my castle through the fields. It was huge, bigger than any bear I’d ever seen, its fur dark against the golden grass.
As my shadow passed over him, the bear stopped and looked skyward. It reared up onto its hind legs, standing tall, and waved.
I dropped from the sky, shifting mid-fall, landing in a crouch just as the bear shifted into a man. It was Solstice’s mayor. Bjorn Halvorsen stood before me, his expression grim.
“They have them,” he said, voice rough and harried. “The wizards. They have them. You have to save them.”
I grabbed his shoulders. “Where? What happened?”
“It’s the town’s first annual artist walk, and we had booths set up all along the shore. There was a flash, and a portal opened right over the lake. Everyone saw it. Three figures came through. I recognized Elana and Melly. They fell into the water.”
My stomach twisted.
“The town’s triton made tail and swam for them immediately,” Bjorn continued.
“But then three men arrived. One of them was dressed like those old-style wizards. I would’ve laughed if they hadn’t used magic to lift them out of the water before anyone could react.
” The big bear shifter’s jaw tightened. “I thought they were trying to help at first. We were about to thank them before we realized they were stuffing the women into the back of a van. I saw them struggling.”
“Where are they now?” I demanded.
“Noreen is following them,” Bjorn said. “They’re heading north. Hurry, Emmett. Before it’s too late.”
I remembered Noreen. She was the eagle shifter with the two twin boys who had practiced strengthening their wings with Melly.
“Thank you,” I told Bjorn. “For everything.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder, his grip firm. “Go. The rest of the town is assembling a team in case you need backup, but let’s be real, nothing much stands in the way of a dragon. Go and rescue your family.”
My family. I had a family now. I didn’t waste another second.
I launched myself into the air again, my focus singular: Find them. Bring them home.
Then I noticed the shapes forming around me: Cassian, Flame, and Blaze.
“Let’s find them, boss.” Cassian gave me a salute.
Flame, still wearing his nametag, gave me a thumbs-up.
We flew, scanning the sky for an eagle. We spotted Noreen a few miles north. She spotted us too. I gave her a nod in acknowledgment, and she banked sharply, leading us north.
She circled an area twice before I saw it.
Below us, tucked halfway under the canopy of trees, was a rusty white van. The windows were tinted, but I didn’t need to see inside to know that there was no one inside. They were on foot, and they must be close.
We circled down, landing on the barely-there dirt road.
There was no visible sign that anyone had come through here, as if all traces of them had been removed with magic.
But I could smell the sharp tang of Melly’s fear, and the familiar scent of Elana’s skin tainted with something sour and acrid.
They had to be here somewhere, and no magic would hide the ones I loved from me.
And when I found them, the wizards responsible would suffer.
Tear them apart! Burn them to a crisp!
My dragon wanted to destroy the idiots who dared to touch what was mine. Usually, I tempered my dragon’s violent thoughts, but not this time. This time, my dragon’s thoughts were mine, and mine were his.
These fools had made a fatal mistake. They’d taken both my daughter and my mate. And now they’d learn exactly what happens when you provoke a dragon who has nothing left to lose. The fire in my chest was a vow to rid the planet of their pathetic presence.
I didn’t care if I had to burn through every piece of this mountain to find my mate and child. I’d find them. And those who’d harmed them would burn.