Page 69 of To Ignite a Dragon's Desire

Malachy picked up his phone. “Why is Kieran calling me?”

A chilling breeze whipped through the cave.

My mouth went dry and my hands clenched to fists as I immediately began to call the shadows.

“Answer it,” I barked out harshly.

Fool. You left her alone.

The pounding of blood filled my ears.

A deep knowing settled in my bones as they shifted, rearranging to that of my dragon while Malachy listened to Kieran’s panicked voice come from over the distance in a way magic couldn’t replicate.

I didn’t need my advanced hearing to know something had happened to my mate.

My wings unfurled as I stepped out of the cave and my vision tunneled red as I jumped off the mountainside, finishing the shift to dragon mid-air while I beat my wings hard to gain altitude.

“Tell him I’m coming,”I roared to my brother as I took off toward the tug of the unsealed bond in my chest, leaving a burning trail of smoke in my wake and flying faster than I ever had before.

27

Riley

Ouch

I stared at the soap-scum yellow and chipped porcelain tile that was well past its use-by date while the haze of drugs cleared from my mind. There was a small mark on my chest where he’d pierced it with the needle. I hoped that was the worst of the damage.

You’re not dead yet.

I sucked in a slow breath to calm my racing heart before I did something stupid like scream and alert him I was awake. Slowly, I flexed my hands and feet.

He hadn’t tied me up.

I rolled my head to the side, testing my range of mobility. The pulsing throb in the back of my scalp intensified as I rubbed it against the hard bathtub.

He must’ve dragged me by my hair.

It wasn’t the first time Drew had used that particular move. There was a reason I’d started wearing it short. I hated trying to work out the knots.

As quietly as I could, I pushed myself up onto my elbows.

I was in a cramped bathroom, lying in the bathtub, next to a toilet with stains on the seat. A vinyl shower curtain hung from one of those cheap aluminum tension rods above me. To the left was a bathroom vanity with cigarette burns on the counter bolted to the wall. A small window—not big enough to push even Harper through—was cracked open a bit near the ceiling.

At least I’m in here alone.

I patted my hands up and down my body, checking for injuries as the fog continued to clear.

My clothes were still on. Nothing was sliced open or broken. I was a little uncomfortable, but I’d live.

A silver lining.

Look at you, practicing gratitude.

I continued to slowly sit up, listening for sounds from the other room. The window had a metal screen on it. But if I could climb on the counter, maybe I could call for—

The bathroom door swung open.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up.” Drew unbuttoned his pants as he came into the small room.

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