Page 2 of Firedrake Betrayal
I watch him brush dust from his shirt.Figured it would be his clothes upsetting him.I snort as I shove myself to my feet and continue my search for Jade. If we’re all awake, why isn’t she?
“Jade?” I yell.
Silence.
“Jade? You okay?” My eyes probe the collector’s ruined compound.
Silence.
Seeing nothing and hearing even less, I turn to Shep and Isaiah. Both are studying me, brows stamped with concern. “She was right next to me when Brennan went down. Why isn’t she answering?”
Shep sniffs, then wrinkles his nose.
“What?” I ask.
“Ash and burned flesh.”
“Lovely,” I say sarcastically. After all the fire breathing Brennan was doing from the sky, I’m thankful not to have Shep’s sharp wolf’s nose.
It kills my head, but I drop to my knees and start digging through a pile of stone near where Shep found me. Maybe she’s buried and can’t get out?
“She’s not here,” Isaiah calls out.
“What did you say?” I curse when I jab my thumb on a piece of metal shutter. After sucking the blood away, I glare at Isaiah. “You’re not even looking.”
“I don’t need to look.” Isaiah’s eyes are on my thumb and his gaze is hungry. “I know her heartbeat and it’s not here.”
I pretend not to notice Isaiah’s hungry attention. Blood in the air must be the equivalent of waving a menu at a vamp while yelling, ‘free food, come and get it.’
Then I realize who else was here. Orshouldbe here and isn’t.
“What about that dragon?” I spot a gun and stuff it in the waistband of my jeans before I get to my feet. I might need it later.
Shep and Isaiah stare at me.
“The dragon?” Isaiah echoes, his brow creasing in a frown.
Or firedrake, I guess. Right now, the name isn’t important. One thing is.
Jade is gone, and only one person could have taken her.
Atticus could have, but if he’d been around, none of us would be breathing.
“Yes,the dragon.” I abandon my search for Jade. I get the sense I know what happened and really fucking hope I’m wrong. “Dominik isn’t here, and neither is Jade. Could it be possible that he took her?”
Shep frowns. “We came here to save him. He wouldn’t take her.”
“Well, she didn’t just disappear into thin air. He’s gone. She’s gone. Makes sense they’d be together,” I glower.
“But how?” Shep’s frown deepens.
“Perhaps we could check if the hunter is still alive,” Isaiah suggests.
I wave him off. “In a minute.”
Jade was standing right beside me, pointing out that her dad was a dragon, which I admit, was kind of cool. A guard tried to grab her. I shot him, and then?—
Hold up.
