Page 52 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
“I would disagree.” Henry’s voice was a harsh whisper as I pulled back and found the man in question facing the bars, his large arms gripping above him as he watched me with a concern that nearly masked his fury.
I saynearlybecause I could see the darkness there, and it was only growing. I crawled towards him, forcing myself to stand up despite being shaky. I squeezed his hand, his normally charcoal eyes practically black, and his hair messy and damp from laying on the stone flooring. Unlike Croy, Henry was only dressed in a pair of pants, his shirt gone and exposing the bruises on his body.
I hated that. I hated that so, so much.
The worst part, though, was his glasses. They were cracked, and the frame was twisted. I frowned, somehow feeling as though that was far more upsetting than the injuries on him. It shouldn’t have been, but seeing his broken glasses and knowing he was having issues seeing was the last straw.
I looked around the space, trying to not focus on it. To my one side was my cell and several others, and to the other was a massive cell where all the dragons had been put. The one I had been pulled out of.
“How long has it been since I passed out?” I asked quietly.
“A little less than two hours, right, Croy?” Marco asked, and the man nodded sharply. I met my mate’s gaze and realized that out of everything that had happened, it was possible that this was the tipping point for Marco. He seemed almost petrified, unmoving, and his eyes were like frozen chips of ice as they ran along my form, his emotions locked down more than even on the jet.
We’d been so close to finally having a moment of peace.
“Marco.” I put out my hand and he was immediately there, intertwining my fingers with his as he let out a slow exhale and pressed his forehead to the bars, overshadowing me completely. I could smell his familiar scent underneath the damp odor of these cells, and it was nearly as comforting as his dragon, who was rumbling under the surface of his chest. I put my hand on his chest and tried to infuse some calming energy into the entire room, knowing it’d probably be no help but feeling the need to try.
“We are going to get out of here,” he snarled in a promise. “I swear to you, Maya, I will not let him do this to you again.”
Ah, he was aware of Malcolm then.
“Tous,” I corrected, rising up on my toes, ignoring the surge of pain in my ankle from when I’d fallen on it, trying to get in between my mates and the guards. His fingers brushed over my arms as I eyed the rest of the group, my stomach dropping to the floor.
“The guards targeted him first.” Marco moved slightly so I could see Atlas. “They are somehow draining our magic, so the healing process is slow.”
Atlas’s massive form lay unconscious on the stone floor, blood still pooling around him, his face nearly unrecognizable. I could feel his life force, but it was weak, and his dragon was practically reaching out to me as I fought the urge to ram into the bars or try to squeeze through. I needed to make sure he was okay. I wanted to kiss every inch of his hurt body until he offered me that smile that lit up his gold eyes. The one that would tell me that he was okay.
I stumbled back and ran my fingers through my hair, feeling suddenly like I was going to lose it. When I had woken up the first time, I had known they were injured, but I hadn’t realized it was this bad…
“Firefly.” Ledger’s voice held a thread of dominance. He left his brother, who was taking care of Sai on the floor, to come up to the bars. He was shirtless as well, his shirt used to wrap Sai’s injured side.
“What’s wrong with Sai?” I barely got out.
Anani offered me a look filled with pain. “He fought really fucking hard against them, but whatever magic they have, that shit nearly burned him from the inside out. He is stable, both of them are, but…we need to get them out of this fucking cell. I have no idea how long we can maintain this.”
I could see panic in his gaze, but more than that, I could see something else more concerning—fear. I had a feeling what it was regarding, and I was surprised no one had brought it up.
I had marked Anani, and while the beautiful connection between the group and I was alive and almost electric-feeling…it meant that at any moment, I could go into heat.
Not here. Not here. Not here.All I could do was pray.
My eyes trailed over Sai’s gorgeous face, which was tilted to the side, his dark, burning eyes hidden from me. His bare chest was covered in wrappings made from the boys’ shirts, much like Atlas. His dragon, however, unlike Atlas’s, was pacing, restless inside of him, his breathing going from fast to slow in intervals that scared the heck out of me. I turned from them and looked back at the girl who was holding Bella and eyeing my men in obvious fear.
“What’s your name?” I asked quietly.
“Ember,” she murmured. Bella licked her bruised face as the girl offered her a sweet smile. I made a note to make sure that we got her a kitten as well when we took her from this place.
I hadn’t realized how fundamental Bella was to my healing, but it was clear now, and I would do anything I could to ensure that Ember didn’t grow up feeling the same way I did…although I had a feeling that it may be a bit late to some extent.
“Ember.” I walked over to her and sat down, facing her cross-legged so we were on the same level. “How long have you been here? Specifically in this cell?” Last time we had talked, I’d been so out of it that I hadn’t been thinking straight, and even now, I didn’t feel like I was fully there.
“In this cell…” She looked around and shrugged. “I’m not sure. We get changed around so often, it’s hard to remember. I have been here for years, I think…at least several winters.”
I frowned. “We?”
Ember’s eyes filled with tears as she turned to look at the other cells. “You didn’t think we were the only ones, did you?”
Oh no. My knees nearly broke in realization as I really looked at the other frames in the cells near us. The one next to us contained another three girls, the oldest offering me a terrified look. She appeared maybe eight at most, with two girls that looked like her sisters, both younger than five. Tears grew in my eyes as a group of kids shifted in the cell next to them. Young boys.
“Dragons,” Marco hissed. “I couldn’t feel their magic because it’s so weak, but they are fucking dragons.”
My fingers ran over my heart as the final cell revealed a girl that had to be my age. Her chin was raised defiantly, but her eyes were shaded with so much pain that I felt choked by it. This is what my gut had been telling me about…and I knew now that they weren’t the only ones.
All at once, the reality of our situation hit me. We had to do something. We had to make sure this place could never be rebuilt. We would burn it to the ground and make sure that it couldn’t be reborn, that the evil growing here was something of the past. If it was the last thing I did, I would make sure all of these kids were released from their captivity. I would make sure my mates and Bella survived as well.
I would sacrifice anything to ensure it.
