Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
SYRENA
T hank the gods the human mates of these tourmaline dragons have more sense than my rock-headed Wystans.
Finley just about kicked Ash’s ass right down the tarmac to get him on the plane, and she kept him distracted the entire flight up to Montreal to get us all up here.
I don’t blame the dragons for wanting to fly everywhere on their own wings, but with Declan and Malcolm already on their way up the coast, and a baby due any minute, we don’t have time for them to catch up, and I could use the fire breathing back-up.
“What’s the plan when we get there?” Finley tilts her head at me, her fingers entangled with Ash’s as the dragon stares out the window.
“I’ve got a tracking spell that I should be able to use to locate Brianna. It took me some time to work out, but luckily she had left her purse behind, so I had some personal items to use to connect with her. She is our first priority.” I sigh, glad for the privacy of the chartered plane. “Malcolm’s still on Declan’s tail, and he’ll let us know if they change trajectory or if something happens.”
“Do we really think Brianna might be about to give birth? I can’t imagine how scared she must be right now. And the pain.” Finley shakes her head at me, and I’m sure she’s thinking about her first time giving birth and her baby, left in Pru and Gavin’s care while we’re on this mission.
I stare grimly down at my own hands. “I hope not, but I believe Tabitha and I believe that monster is capable of anything. There are plenty of spells and potions that could do what Tabitha described, if given the right magic and combination. I don’t know what Grey would want with a dragon baby. If we could figure that out, maybe we’d be able to figure some other stuff out.”
Finley reaches across the aisle and puts her hand over mine. “We’re doing the best we can. We’ll find her.”
I nod trying to hold back the tears. Between the exhaustion and stress, I’m over this life and death shit. We need a fucking break. “We need to get them both out of his clutches, and we need to get them to Declan. If she hasn’t had the baby yet, she will soon. And if she has, I’m going to need all the talons and teeth you both possess to make sure we get them both out. If we can take down Grey in the process, all the better. Put an end to this bullshit once and for all.”
I pull another card from my tarot deck, trying to decipher what the fates have in store. All of the information I’ve pulled so far has been contradictory, like there are too many factors at play, too many possibilities for where this trip could lead, but so far I don’t like one of them and so I try again until I get an answer of hope.
“We’re starting our descent into Montreal. I hope you’ve had a pleasant trip.” The pilot’s voice crackles a little over the intercom, and I quickly stack my deck again and slip it back into my bag.
Ash and Finley look stoic, ready for whatever this fight might bring, but there’s something else radiating off our king. He’s worried about the consequences of all of this. We’re trying to negotiate with the Elder’s Counsel and figure out a way to live in peace with the existing dragon clans and the new one forming ever so quickly.
Obsidian dragons were a thriving clan at one point, but they all of them died…or were they wiped out?
And now with Declan losing it to the craze, to the grief of his mate being ripped from him, it’s possible the counsel will insist Ash do his duty and execute Declan for being lost to the craze, even if he manages to find his way back.
It will kill Ash if he has to do that. It will kill us all.
Goddesses, I hope it doesn’t come to that.
The plane lands, and before we even leave the comfort of our seats, I pull out a mirror and prepare the tracking spell so I can activate it.
A slip of paper with the address of Grey’s house in Montreal.
A drop of blood left over from tests Pru ran on Brianna.
A quartz crystal for clarity.
And with a tiny burst of dragon’s fire, courtesy of the king, an image of Brianna appears in the surface of the looking glass.
She’s alive. The spell wouldn’t have worked if she wasn’t.
She’s not moving. She looks misassembled, like her hips have been dislocated or her pelvis broken. She’s damp with sweat, her hair clinging to her forehead and the sides of her cheeks. Her skin is pallid with a sickly yellow undertone. Her eyes have dark circles and have a hollow look like she’s lost too much weight too fast.
The expected baby bump is a lot smaller than it should be, no longer round and full, more like right after a woman’s given birth. Her body is hollowed out and left with the waiting period of the body healing. She’s had the baby and from the looks it she isn’t doing well.
“We need to go. Now.” I quickly brush the remnants of the spell into a plastic bag but keep the mirror handy. “She’s had the baby.”
Ash’s eyes flash gold, and I can tell his dragon is close to the surface. “No one is hurting my family again. Grey won’t take another Wystan, as long as I live.”
Finley squeezes his hand as she tugs him down the steps toward the waiting black SUV.
I let them take the front seats, but I focus on the mirror, watching Brianna, watching other people moving in and out of the silver frame. The same woman keeps appearing, again and again.
She’s touched by magic. I can’t tell what kind, but if she’s with Grey we have to assume she’s jacked up on Dragon’s Fire and Dragon’s Breath, which means she’s a major threat.
As I watch Brianna and this mystery woman through the mirror, I open my phone and find an app I use for scrying. It’s so much more helpful than “find my friends”, especially when I’ve already established a connection to the target.
A bright purple dot lights up on the screen, and I pass the phone up to Finley to read off directions while I close my eyes and focus on Malcolm and Declan.
“Shit. We might need to split our energies. Declan’s in Montreal already.” I shake my head, frustrated with myself for the strain on my magic, for constantly feeling like I’m always behind. “We have to get to Brianna, but we can’t have Declan destroying the entire city at the same time.”
“We’ll get to Brianna first. We’ll need her help to get Declan calmed down.” Ash’s jaw is set tight, determined. “Malcolm’s got things under control.”
I don’t know how much I believe that. Malcolm can fight—all the Wystans can—but Malcolm’s never sought out a battle. Never liked to use his claws or teeth, if he had other options. He’s young and still growing as a dragon. If Declan’s as close to the craze as it seems, I’m not sure there’s any talking him down off of this. Hopefully he can keep him distracted.
“Drive fast, Ash. As fast as you can. I’ll clear the lights, as much as possible. I’ll keep us moving.”
“Turn right, now!” Finley practically reaches over and grabs the wheel, sending the SUV careening to the right as we barely make the turn.
Three more screeching turns, and then Finley is yanking the wheel into oncoming traffic until we stop right in front of a van. I look up from my mirror and see the woman from the looking glass in the driver’s seat ahead of us. There are horns blaring and people yelling, but we don’t give them the slightest bit of attention.
“She’s in that van.” Finley hands me the phone again. Her claws are already out, ready for a fight.
“Finley, you aren’t going in there,” Ash snaps, grabbing his mate’s wrist.
Finley snarls, a tendril of smoke escaping her lip curled mouth exposing her sharping fangs. “I’m helping, mate.” Her words are muddled with the growing teeth and shifting of her body. “That’s our family in there.” Without another word she yanks her wrist out of his grip, and she’s out of the vehicle and Ash is following quickly behind her cursing every step of the way.
The driver of the van gets out, holding up her hands. “I know how this looks, but please, let me help.”
I can sense the magic much more clearly now. She’s been infected with Dragon’s Breath.
I’m standing just outside of the SUV keeping an eye on our surroundings in case this is an ambush. “Ash, we can’t trust her.”
The woman takes a step forward and Finley growls low in her chest. “Wait. I have Brianna. I have the baby. Grey thinks we’re on the way to the hospital, but she needs more than that. She needs to be claimed.” The woman gestures at the van. “I gave the baby an injection, so that Grey would think there was something wrong, but she’s okay now. I got her the antidote as soon as we were on the road. Brianna though, she’s in bad shape. Tell me this guy’s her mate.” She gestures at Ash.
I shake my head. “He’s not her mate.”
The roar of a dragon not too far off makes the woman tremble, but she backs away from the van, and I can hear a baby cooing.
Almost like she recognizes her father.
I head for the side door of the van as I pass the woman. “You better be telling the truth.”
“You can trust me. Brianna… I don’t know what she did, but my head’s been mine, been clear, for the first time in months. I couldn’t leave her behind, and I knew the moments after birth were going to be the one chance we had. Her body wasn’t ready. It was the only way I could get away from him. Get them away from him. He thought I was still under his control because I let him believe it. He ordered us to the hospital and said he would follow behind shortly. He gave me orders and I didn’t have to follow him. It’s the only way we escaped.” She shakes her head as she backs away from the van door, her hands still held high. “I had to…” I watch her squeeze her eyes shut. “I broke my oath to do no harm. It was all I could do to make sure the baby came out safely. But I gave her his heartstone. I heard those can protect the wearer. Please tell me it’s true.”
I don’t trust that she won’t still light us on fire the first chance she gets, but if Brianna really is in there, I need to see her. I need to make sure she’s okay. “What did you do?”
I can feel Ash and Finley flanking me as I peer inside.
Brianna’s laying across the bench seat, unconscious. I can feel the pain radiating off her even deep in a coma, and I curse under my breath. The ring around her finger and wrist is unmistakable as Declan’s heartstone. I can hear the tourmaline sing in the frequency that is only his. I remember the day I connected him to his heartstone. He was such a tiny baby compared to his older brothers.
I climb into the back of the van and kneel down next to her. Her body is barely hanging on. I rummage through my bag, pulling out crystal after crystal and placing them around her body. I grab my moonstone and start murmuring the words of healing from an ancient dialect. When desperate, ancient is always the way to go. “She’s right,” I say once I feel Brianna stabilize a little. “We need to get Brianna to Declan, and we need him to be fucking human when we get there.” I give her another look before turning my attention to the infant kicking her feet in a car seat. “Finley, please drive the van. Ash, keep your eyes on this woman until we’re out of the woods. We can decide what to do with her after Brianna wakes up.”
“I’m not staying behind,” Ash barks.
Finley is already buckling herself into the driver’s seat. “Then follow in the other car, but there’s no more room for either of you.”
I brace myself for Finley’s insane driving and keep working on healing Brianna to the best of my abilities, which isn’t much right now.
“Syrena, if he’s fallen to the craze…” Ash’s voice trembles, ever so slightly, and I know what he’s about to say.
I shake my head, like I refuse to hear it. “I can reach him. I know I can. All the stories, they’re about dragons trying to reach dragons. But I know Declan. I know his heart, his soul. I know him as a man, and I know him as a beast, more than any of you do. We can bring him back. Trust me, Ash, please.”
“Whatever we’re going to do, we need to do it fast, Ash,” Finley says, pulling his attention back to his mate. “Or we’re going to lose more than one brother to Declan’s craze. And you and I are adopting that little baby, because Brianna could die too.”
My king frowns, even as he wraps his arms around Finley and pulls her in close. “Keep Syrena safe. I’ll follow with the fire breather in the SUV.”
“Fire breather? I have a name.” She scowls at Ash.
“Prove your worthiness, fire breather, and I’ll consider caring what it is,” Ash snaps as he drags her away.
Finley puts the gear into drive and slams on the gas, winding around Ash’s SUV.
“Where am I going, Sy?”
The streets get more and more cluttered with rubble, more obstacles, the closer we get to the two dragons battling in downtown Montreal.
At least it looks like most of the people have already fled. The fewer witnesses we attract, the better, especially since we already have plenty of humans who think we’re the enemy. It’s too much to hope for with everyone carrying around a camera and video camera with them everywhere they go. There’s going to be videos from every angle on the internet by sundown.
Trees, buildings, benches, everything in sight seems to be on fire or crumbling from Declan and Malcolm slamming into each other, into every structure that gets in their way. Finley swerves around obstacles, dodging whatever gets in her way, to get us as close to the dragons as possible.
Even without me having to tell her, I’m sure she understands just how important it is that we get Brianna and their baby close, so Declan can sense them, so that Declan can cling to the new family he’s building and come out of this baser-instincts-driven craziness.
Assuming we can bring Declan back from his dragon form at all.
I close my eyes, holding Brianna’s hand, as I focus on her mate, as I focus on making sure that I can bring them both back. The last thing any of us want to do at this point is to orphan this baby, and I know that if I can’t get through to Declan, if I can’t make him return to his human form and claim his mate, Ash will do what he has to as the king of the clan.
A fate we all want to avoid.
The van stops, and I take a slow breath, readying myself for what we’re about to face.
The windows of the vehicle rattle as one of the dragons lets out a roar, reminding me just how dangerous, how big and awesome these beasts can be.
Reminding me just a little more just how much is at stake right now.
Ash’s SUV pulls up next to us, and I look over Brianna again. “I don’t want to take her out there. She’s hurt enough as it is, but I’m afraid she’s likely the key to getting Declan to return to us.” I shake my head and turn my attention to the baby. “Finley, will you watch over her?”
“Of course. But if things go sideways, you should get back here. Take her far away, so that Ash and I can finish it.” She frowns, looking at the car seat. “I can’t imagine the pain Brianna went through. Childbirth is hard enough when you have time to prepare, but to rush through it like that…” She shakes her head. “Go. Take care of her father now.” Savior of the fucking Tourmaline Clan, I should get an award. Or at least an all-inclusive, all-paid vacation.
I nod and step out of the van, looking at Ash. “Bring Brianna. I’m going to need them both. And your connection to Finley, if we have any hope of bringing your brother back.”