Page 18 of Scion of Chaos

My relief is short-lived. A moment later, several heavy footfalls come thundering down the path to the building we’re in.

“Clio!” The feminine voice jolts me up, and a woman wearing snug leathers runs past in a blur, leaving a wake of ocean scent. She kneels at Clio’s side, and I stare, bleary-eyed.

“Ephyra,” Clio whispers. “She knows where Pan is.”

“Bullshit,” Ephyra says, glancing back at me, her eyes wide.

I shake my head. “I don’t…” I begin, but I’m not sure it’s the truth. The memory is faint enough to be a half-forgotten dream, but it’s there in pieces.

I don’t have time to finish answering, because a pair of big hands grab me beneath the arms and haul me up, then spin me to face the door.

“You’re coming with us, Miss Jones.” My head throbs when I turn to look up at the enormous man who holds my upper arm in a firm grip. Errol, one of the hot-as-fuck Shadow dragons who guard this island, is the one who grabbed me. His two partners, Razik and Salem, both stand grim-faced on either side of the door as he pushes me through. I stumble over the threshold into the open air, stomach churning over how low I’ve fallen.

“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” I say, my eyes blurring with tears. I try to lift a hand to wipe them, only to find my wrists bound by a dark shadow that vaguely resembles handcuffs.

“You can tell us all about it in a minute. Catch your breath.”

“Where should we put her? We don’t exactly have a holding cell. We’ve never needed one,” Salem says. He’s the quiet, intense Shadow.

“As far from the glass studio as possible,” Razik says. He ponders for a moment, then seems to come to a conclusion. Suddenly all three of them shift, and I’m no longer gripped by a hand, but an enormous dragon talon that curls around my shoulder. A second talon scoops me up from behind, the other closing around me like a cage before he lifts me up into the air.

“What the fuck?” I scream, struggling against the grip of the two claws I’m sandwiched between. Errol rises over the treetops and sails through the air. Nausea surges through me for a moment before the chilly wind obliterates it, replacing it with a rush of adrenaline. Ahead of us, the other two dragons fly erratically. One lets out a frustrated roar, then they drop back. I crane my neck to look behind us just as one of the others veers away, heading toward the main office.

“You need to calm down,” comes a deep, resonant voice that vibrates all the way through the talons holding me. “I won’t drop you, but you’re interfering with the wind, which makes it difficult to fly.”

“Where are you taking me?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer, and I do my best to rein in my panic. Watching the island sail by beneath us is a sight, so I focus on the scenery, heart jumping when we pass over the ruined cabin. I blink, almost positive I saw a dark figure walking up the beach, but we flew past too fast for me to be sure.

We fly beyond the northern tip of the island and past a cliff jutting out into the water before Errol tilts against the air currents and turns.

What I see next is a breathtaking view of a beautiful villa carved into the stony cliffs. I marvel at the intricate construction that only becomes more detailed as we close in on a wide balcony spanning the stone face, opening into a dark interior. He slows to a hover above the balcony, holding me while his partner swoops down, shifting into Salem a few feet above the balcony and landing naked and agilely as a cat. Black smoke flows from his mouth and nose, weaving itself into clothing around his muscular frame. I’m a little sad he covered up, but less so when he reaches out both arms to take me from Errol’s grip.

Hell, I’ll take what male contact I can get, even if they’re now my jailers.

“Where are we?” I ask, staring up into Salem’s eyes as he sets me carefully on my feet. Errol lands beside us and strides into the darkness. He doesn’t bother conjuring clothes for himself, so I enjoy the view of his naked butt until a glowing female figure joins him, giving me a pointed look and a raised eyebrow.

I snap my gaze back to Salem’s face. He smirks.

“As far from campus as we can get you, for now. Soyou’rethe reason things have been going haywire all week, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry?” I give him a chagrined smile. “I wish I knew why. Or how to stop it…”

“Welcome to our home,” the woman says, interrupting. She approaches with cautious footsteps, red-gold flames flaring from the corners of her eyes for a moment before receding. Heat builds in the air as she draws nearer, and I take a step back, beginning to sweat.

“I’m Benedetta,” she says, stopping at the threshold to the balcony. “We haven’t met yet, but I’m usually found in the glass studio when I’m on campus. I teach the flamework classes in the summer and autumn sessions, then take winter and spring off.”

My mouth drops open. “You’re the phoenix! I’ve heard about you.” She’s just as intimidatingly strong and beautiful as the two dragons standing on either side of us. I feel like a troll in the presence of all her fiery, glowing brilliance. Her hair occasionally flickers with a cascade of flames, but is otherwise an ashy silver-black against her luminous skin.

“We need to keep Nemea here for the time being,” Errol says. “At least until we can figure out how to counteract her power.”

“What is your power?” Benedetta asks.

“I…” I wince, hating how it sounds, then take a breath and spit it out. “I think it’s chaos. I think that’s why things keep breaking on campus. But it didn’t start until a few days ago.”

“And you’re having trouble controlling it, I gather,” she says, her mouth dipping in a concerned frown.

A sudden flood of desperate, confused emotions fill me, choking me to the point I can’t respond. I hastily wipe a tear from my eye as I nod, wrapping both arms around my midsection, struggling to swallow back the anguish.

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