Page 32 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
Saige cut him off. “You have more important things to do. I can handle getting a cauldron!”
“Absolutely not.” Sloane pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
“I’ll go with her,” Misha said, stepping next to the couple as they stared each other down. It was all I could do not to smile at their dynamic; the stubborn glint in each of their eyes as they stared at each other reminded me so much of Palmer. Realizing that, it felt as though someone was physically squeezing my heart within my chest.
Sloane’s icy blue eyes snapped to Misha’s and narrowed as Saige clapped once in triumph. “See, Sloaney? I have an escort.”
He slowly looked down at her and huffed, but I saw the way his shoulders dropped. “Fine. I have to go get some backup anyway.” Abruptly, he faced Misha as though he hadn’t just been melted by his woman. “You don’t let her out of your sight.”
“Understood,” Misha replied as he patted his thigh, showing off his arsenal of blades. She’d be completely safe. I’d just met the woman, but I already knew I’d kill for her, any one of us would. She was too important to the realm, too critical for whatever was shifting here. She was the catalyst. Sloane must’ve sensed Misha’s loyalty because he nodded. Both were men of few words, but sometimes they just weren’t needed.
“Excellent!” Saige placed both of her hands on her mate’s chest and rose on her toes to plant a kiss on the grumpy dragon’scheek. He blushed. My heart panged again with thoughts of Palmer. Ugh. I wondered where she was right at that moment. Did she think about me at all, or had it really meant nothing? “Come on, Misha!” Saige turned and then shouted over her shoulder at the rest of our group, “Try to get an area cleared out for when we get back!"
"I'll be back," Sloane announced, and I watched over my shoulder as he took off in a dead sprint toward a small opening in the trees. In the blink of an eye, a massive dragon exploded into existence and took to the skies. His scales, deeper than the darkest night, rippled with the glow of molten fire pulsing beneath them. His dual nature, dragon and pyro mage, coexisted together and amplified his power. He was majestic as fuck and I stared wide eyed as his enormous form disappeared into the clouds as he went to gather the other dragons we'd need.
"Holy fuckin' shit," I whispered, transfixed by what I'd just witnessed.
Talon stood next to me, nodding in awe. "Bro is badass."
"We need to clear this area," Rhodes said, gesturing to the space around the oak tree. "Five dragons are going to need room to maneuver."
Talon cracked his knuckles, a manic grin spreading across his face. "Finally, something I can smash."
‘Try not to enjoy it too much, brother,’I projected into his mind, though I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.
We spread out, working to create a suitable space. Ash and I made quick work of the larger debris, while Rhodes calculated the precise diameter we'd need for the dragons to form an effective circle around the cauldron.
"The timing will need to be perfect," Ash said as he helped me move a fallen log. "One dragon out of sync could ruin the whole batch."
I nodded, wiping sweat from my brow, careful not to smear the paint on my face. "Rhodes and I will coordinate the intervals. We've done enough experiments to know exactly when the compound starts to destabilize."
The sound of laughter interrupted our discussion, and we turned to see Saige and Misha. He had an enormous cast-iron cauldron in his hands, and Saige was animatedly explaining something to him when she tripped on a tree root.
Talon was there in a flash, catching her before falling was even a real possibility. "Milady, please allow me to help. Gods forbid your dragon man returns to find you in this state." She took his hand, and he grabbed his chest dramatically. "He'd roast us like demon kabobs!"
Saige laughed breathlessly and placed a hand against her chest, which caused Talon to panic further, his face rapidly losing color. He held a finger over her lips. "Shhh, milady. None of that. You have to conserve your air."
Wide green eyes met mine as she nodded, bewildered by my brother's antics. I just shrugged. "I mean, he is kind of right."
"Now then, milady, just sit down right here on this log. We'll do the rest!" Talon guided her to the log in question and blinked at her expectantly until she finally lowered herself down. Grinning ear to ear, he clapped once and went back to his tasks, though he kept throwing looks over his shoulder at the poor woman.
For some reason, this brought Palmer to life in my head once again, and I found myself wondering what she would've done to Talon if she were in Saige's position. I had to stifle a laugh when I imagined the absolute brawl that would've ensued over any one of us trying to boss her around… but now was not the time for such daydreams.
I examined the cauldron as Misha set it down in the center of our cleared space. The metal was thick and marked withancient runes that seemed to pulse with latent magic. "This is perfect," I said, running my fingers along the symbols. "These enhancement runes will help contain and focus the energy."
A shadow passed overhead, and we looked up to see Sloane returning with four other dragons. As they landed, the ground trembled beneath their weight. I felt a flutter of excitement in my chest. This could work. This had to work.
The pieces were falling into place, but as I helped position the cauldron, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were racing against more than just time.
Chapter eight
Palmer
The club that had been empty just an hour ago was now filled with people. All kinds of people, as though they’d quite literally waltzed in here off the street. They stood perfectly still, facing forward, their eyes glazed over with an unnatural green sheen that made my stomach turn. These weren't Scorpio's usual mindless puppets—there was something different about them, something more sinister in the way they moved in perfect unison to look at us.
"Shit," I breathed, instinctively pressing closer to Jasper.
"Their minds," Jasper whispered, his hand tightening around mine. "I can feel him in there, controlling them all at once."
