Page 73 of Jay's Silence

I closed my eyes and felt my connection with my mate strong, vibrant, and moving towards us. Not a minute later, the woman herself walked into the cave, looking like a half-dead zombie. Three balls of Tyson’s fire floated above her, lighting the dark cavern. It was too bright for my dragon eyes. I changed back to my human sight and took one step toward my mate before the cocoon at my feet violently thrashed from side to side, making me hesitate.

The closest to Jay, Rehan, pulled her to his chest while Tyson was right behind him.

I pursed my lips. I’d spent most of my time in Ireland with Tyson and then immediately got drugged in Club V. Jay was turning into more of a stranger every day.

“Teamwork,” Ogden jerked his chin toward Jay, who was moments away from being pulled out of Rehan’s embrace by an angry fire dragon. “Let’s get these two out, and then it’s our turn to embrace our mate.”

I frowned. ‘Our turn.’

What did Ogden mean by that? This was the closest we’d had to privacy, and Ogden chose to use the word ‘our.’

“We need to talk,” I said lowly.

Og paused in his cocoon cutting but didn’t look at me. “It’s probably a good idea.”

We focused on our tasks, but I couldn’t think of a way to start the conversation, and Ogden stayed quiet. The sound of Rehan and Tyson arguing filled the cave.

I needed to say something. “This spider webbing is almost as strong as dragon tendon.”

“It is,” Og agreed.

We kept cutting, now with awkward tensions adding to our task.

Og’s cocoon shook violently. Sharp points dug out of it, shredding it from the inside. Og stepped back to keep from getting hit. With mine only half opened, Og’s burst, and a scale-covered fire dragon stood with wild eyes, his chest heaving.

“Tenzin?” Tyson asked, cutting off whatever fire and water were bickering about.

The fire prince rushed to the new fire dragon’s side. Tenzin, assuming that is who it was, slid his feet further apart. He scanned the cave as if seeing it for the first time.

Free of his cocoon cutting duties, Og slid to Jay’s side and started to pull his dragon scales back into his human form.

“Don’t you dare,” Jay snapped. “Keep your scales up.”

Og stopped mid-transformation, looking like a parrot who’d started plucking his feathers out. “But I can’t heal you as a dragon.”

“I’ll live.” Jay's gaze blazed.

Ogden rocked back on his heels, indecision clear on his face.

“Please,” Jay added. “We need out of here more. A little pain won’t hurt me.”

Ogden scowled, but his scales returned, snapping into place. Jay let out a physical sigh of relief. Even Rehan, who’d taken on the role of lookout across the cave, heard it. She might be trying to keep us at bay, but she cared so much more than she wanted to admit, at least about Og.

I tried to push my bitterness away, but the emotion festered.

“My mate!” Tenzin roared, his wild eyes taking on a panicked edge. He stared at the cocoon I was supposed to be working on, and fire bloomed to life in his palms.

“Tenzin, you need to calm down.” Tyson cut off the fire dragon's line of sight, and I went back to work.

“You can’t keep her from me!” Tenzin roared, striking out at Tyson.

“Calm yourself.” Tyson dodged Tenzin’s punch and returned it right in the middle of the poor kid's stomach. “Shite, there’s no way I was this much trouble,” he added.

Rehan let out a barking laugh, which echoed across the walls.

In two more cuts, I had most of Tenzin’s mate free, and I made quick work of slicing through the webbing covering her head. She sat up, gasping for air, the same panicked fear in her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Caoimhe?” Jay asked.

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