16. Chapter 16
The cliff edge loomed ahead, the yellow guardrail a warning. Izzy couldn’t move. The lunatic was going to kill them.
“Prepare yourself,” Fotios said from behind her. “Jump out and grab your body midflight.”
As the Jeep flew over the edge, she released her seat belt, yanked the door handle, and—
Darkness blinded her. They weren’t falling?
The vehicle traveled over something solid, and she loosened her hands from the useless locked handle. Izzy released a shuddering breath. The rhythm of overhead lights passing reduced the tension in her arms. They rode through an underground passageway.
Bile rose to her throat, the acrid taste filling her mouth. She held her stomach, forcing nausea back as she tried to puzzle through what had happened. Dots crowded her sight as she struggled to breathe. Shaking, she focused on bringing air into her lungs.
“Izzy?” Concern laced Daxton’s voice. His face appeared soft around the edges, but his eyes blazed with fire. He delivered her waves of reassurance through the link, but it felt like he fed her emotional food when she was full.
“Stop th-the car.” Her words vibrated through her clenched teeth.
“No can do, sweetheart. You’ll be fine.” The driver took a glance at her and continued driving.
She didn’t have as much confidence. The backlash of adrenaline and stomach acid made her nauseous. She wanted to break into a sobbing mess or run away. Her hands shook as she unlocked the door.
“Damn it, Silas, I will beat the shit out of you. Slow down.” Daxton’s guttural voice, inhuman-sounding, prickled Izzy’s skin.
She stored Silas’s name once again. The car slowed. Nothing would keep her in the vehicle. The locks thudded closed. Silas. She faced him with murder in mind. He didn’t pay her any attention.
“Get yourself under control,” Fotios said as if sitting in the backseat. “You’re better than this.”
Fine. She sat back and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing.
As she exhaled, the shake in her fingers grew steadier. With each inhale, she focused on the plush seat beneath her, the pressure in the car, and shoved the burning in her stomach to the back of her mind. She could handle this.
Calmer, she opened her eyes. They drove down a dirt road toward a three-story building the size of a small-town hospital. Coniferous trees on either side welcomed them like sentries.
A large shadow passed over the ground. She craned her neck to see the culprit outside the window, but the mystery object had already flown out of sight. At the idea it was a dragon, a bubbling in her chest lifted her heart, and a grin eased over her lips.
Am I in…a dragon territory?
“Sorry for the theatrics. Boss’s orders. We needed a genuine reaction to see if Illusion works on her.” Silas shrugged.
Illusion? Izzy might not have liked their methods of testing her, but Daxton had warned her they’d pull a stunt.
“Your boss is studying me,” she said to Silas. “It’s practical and smart.”
Silas’s eyes widened. “You’re calmer than I expected.”
She gazed out the rear window using her spirit senses. A Fallen with indigo or higher light could have created an illusion of a cliff instead of a tunnel. She’d never been under another Fallen’s or Archfiend’s Influence. Darcy had nearly killed her because of it.
The bottom of a mountain loomed behind them, no tunnel in sight. Trying to detect any irregularities, she sensed powerful energy in the area, manipulating her world. It felt dragon in nature, but it shifted constantly, creating difficulty in her ability to pinpoint its origin. Izzy looked at Silas.
Silas seemed to have a power like a Fallen’s Influence, but had he created the illusion? Was he the reason for her memory loss? He had suspiciously scripted his questioning. I wonder what will happen if I…
She pinched him.
“Ouch! What was that for?” Silas grumbled, rubbing his arm.
“I’m evaluating you,” she said, watching the tunnel behind her. She studied the formation for any changes with the senses of her spirit.
“What do you mean?” Silas asked.
The crease between her eyebrows tightened. Even spirits had a fingerprint, and her small touch verified that Silas’s energy coated the illusion. He was a dragon but with an immense power of Influence.
“How are you able to sustain such an Influence without concentrating on it?” she asked. “My pinch should have disrupted your thought of the Influence, creating some sort of ripple. But nothing happened. It’s as if you’ve transferred your power to a solid object. I’ve seen nothing like it.”
The tires skidded to a halt. She slammed into the back of Daxton’s seat.
Silas whipped around and pinned her with lethal, icy-blue eyes that gleamed with specks of metallic silver. Before he could open his mouth, Daxton’s hand snaked around his throat, gripping tightly. “Don’t even fucking think about it.”
The air became thick, making it hard to breathe.
Her ears rang. A wall-like force crashed into her.
Along the link she received impressions of Daxton’s forceful power surrounding Silas, keeping Silas contained within his seat as his face turned redder.
Holy hell. From the way Daxton talked about his possessiveness, she expected him to protect her, but this bloomed a heat inside of her she didn’t understand.
Silas clenched his jaw but lifted his hands in surrender.
Daxton released his hand enough that Silas wheezed in air.
“I just wanted to ask our friend here a question.” He flashed Daxton a placating grin, though there was menace behind it, as if he enjoyed unhinging Daxton.
Though Daxton released him, the pressure in the car remained.
Silas cleared his throat. “How did you know I caused the Illusion?”
Izzy swallowed. “The illusion has the same spirit imprint as you. But I don’t know how you made me forget the conversation we had before we got into the Jeep.”
Silas stiffened. She must’ve been right about him. He skimmed her from head to toe as he hummed.
Turning back around, he murmured, “You’re more dangerous than I thought. For a second there, I almost believed you were human.”
She rubbed her pounding temples. “Why do you say that?”
He pressed his foot on the gas. The pressure from the dragons lessened with a pop in her ears. She made a mental note to ask about it later as the tension in her shoulders eased. A thickness still clouded the air, but it ebbed the farther they went.
She understood the need for secrecy, but why did her transparent explanation of Silas’s abilities seem to piss him off? Was it the same protectiveness Daxton had when she drew his blood?
“Our sixth sense of Insight picks up your spirit energy as normal,” Daxton said. “There’s nothing to tell us you’re not human.”
“That’s peculiar. I wonder if dragons and Fallen have crossed paths and not realized it. I can sense a spirit difference in the dragons, but it isn’t strong enough for me to raise questions.”
Everyone drifted into silence. Izzy busied herself with gazing at the building they drove toward.
It was built with wood logs and solar panel roofing.
Conifer trees crowded close, offering protection and insulation.
On the wide porch, three women sat at a small table with mugs in their hands.
With the sun blazing, the greenery appeared peaceful.
“It’s been ten years since I’ve been here, but it hasn’t changed,” Silas murmured, staring ahead.
Silas pulled the Jeep around the wood-chipped, circle driveway and parked next to a sidewalk leading to the main entrance.
A huge garage on the right side looked like it could hold close to fifty vehicles.
Down from the lodge stood a standard house-sized greenhouse, and a gymnasium with a track out front.
Daxton jumped out, opened her door, and stretched.
Her shoes sprang atop soft wood chips. Earthy smells of dirt after a fresh rain twined in the breeze.
The unfamiliar territory called to her as if she had been here before.
The sensation coming from Daxton along the link gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “home sweet home.”
“Welcome to Pentros.” Daxton’s voice slid across her mind like warm silk and her heart thumped. She was in dragon territory. He walked to the trunk.
As he slung her luggage over his shoulder, she hurried over and moved her hand under the strap to take it off.
The kind gesture only agitated her need for control in this new place.
The last thing she wanted was for her belongings to disappear.
Before she dragged the band past his arm, he grabbed it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Taking my luggage.” She tugged on the bag.
“I can handle it.”
“It’s my responsibility.”
“It’s just a bag.” He stepped toward her.
“It’s my bag.” She leaned away as his body heat radiated sinful thoughts into her mind like him grabbing her hair and hauling her into a—
Daxton gazed down at her lips like he was caught up in the same thoughts.
“Can I carry the damn bag?” Silas asked, strutting over to them.
In unison, they yelled, “No.”
Silas raised his hands in surrender. The movement drew Izzy’s attention to the curious gaze peering from behind him.
A taller man in gym shorts and a black hoodie stood to the right of Silas.
Izzy’s arms slackened, and her entire face heated. Great way to let your emotions control you into acting like a foolish child.
The man pulled the hood back to show his glistening face as if he’d been running all morning.
His spirit energy hit her, and she took a step back.
Few creatures on Earth wielded a presence Izzy’s spirit detected while she wasn’t consciously using it.
As if she stood in front of a dragon rather than a man, his fiery force enclosed her.
His pointed features displayed carnal masculinity.
Slicked-back black hair showcased a prominent widow’s peak, and the slight curl made it difficult to tell the true length.
His thin goatee added to the harsh sensuality of his face.
The lean muscle on his body suggested a sly serpent that could deliver a sudden lethal strike.
When his weighted metallic-black eyes met her gaze, she straightened, certain of two things: she stood before the Centurion of the dragons—and if his presence didn’t burn her to death, her crippling embarrassment of him witnessing her interaction with Daxton would.
“Are you finished?” the Centurion asked, crossing his arms. “I hope you two take this situation a little more seriously.”