Page 27 of Hidden Fate

I wasn’tsure how long we were in the bedroom, but eventually, the guys came inside the house and waited in the living room. About thirty minutes ago, Emily had given birth to a boy, and I’d stayed with her longer to make sure she didn’t go into cardiac arrest. During that time, her heartbeat had grown stronger, her dragon magic swirling inside and healing her. Even though she was healing, her husband had scooted a chair next to the bed, where Emily could see the baby while he held him.

That had been one hard labor.

The front door opened and shut, and Thorn’s discomfort flowed into our bond. Someone must have come in.

Glancing at Emily and her mate, whose name I’d learned was Mikah, I said, “I’m going to check on things out there.”

Before they could respond, a woman shouted, “What in thehellare they doing here, Edna?”

Thorn connected,We’ve got to go. Now.

Dazed, I hurried out the bedroom door, the irony not lost on me.

Even when you did something nice, sometimes…it didn’t matter.

CHAPTERNINE

As I steppedinto the hallway, I found a middle-aged man and woman standing at the top of the stairs, their attention on the living room. The woman’s indigo eyes were locked on my mate, who was standing in front of the television, with Vlad and Theron flanking him and Saphira moving to stand in front of him.

The woman’s reddish-brown hair was pulled into a haphazard bun with several tendrils curling around her face. Her white shirt was wrinkled, and her jeans had a coffee stain on them despite the early hour.

The man beside her was similarly disheveled. His ice-blue eyes had dark circles under them, and his dark blond hair was unkempt. Though the woman was the one who’d asked the question, the man seemed even unhappier.

Edna strolled out of the kitchen and squeezed past the couple into the living room. She lifted her hands. “Katla, I need you and Volos to calm down. If it weren’t—”

“Calmdown?” Katla scoffed, a vein bulging in her neck. “You have the very man who steals dragons in this house with my son and his wife! How the hell am I not supposed to be frightened? My sweet daughter-in-law is in there, near death after giving birth. We came here to check on her, and we find this instead?” Her voice trembled.

Theron and Vlad inched closer to Thorn protectively.

No one had updated them. Maybe telling Katla that everyone was okay would calm her. I said, “The baby was born safely, and Emily’s going to be okay.”

Volos and Katla jerked their heads toward me, the man’s face blanching further. He rasped, “That’s the king’s heir’s kidnapped fiancée. She’s here with the dragon thief?”

Thorn snarled, his jaw clenching. “She isnothis.” His anger soared between us, so powerful that it was palpable to everyone.

Yeah, that plan hadn’t worked. If anything, I’d made the situation worse.

“You took all the dragons and kidnapped her because you wanted her for your own.” Katla shook her head, taking a few steps away from Thorn and bumping into her mate. “And now you’re going to take all our dragons.”

Smoke trickled from Thorn’s nose as his pupils slitted.

“Son,” Vlad whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You have to remember that Drake will twist the story in his favor and pit others against you.”

“Not everyone is privy to what you did for my son,” Theron added, trying to ease the tension.

Saphira snorted and rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her disgust. “If that were the case, do you think he would’ve been sitting here in the living room when you arrived? Or standing here now, letting you run your mouth? Seriously?”

I mashed my lips together to hold in my laugh. Leave it to her to spell out their stupidity.

“Maybe he just got here.” Katla crossed her arms, but her words lacked conviction. “He hasn’t started.”

“Thorn and Everly”—Edna gestured at us—“are the only reason that Emily and your grandson are alive.”

Some of Thorn’s anger ebbed.Though Edna is backing us, you need to be ready to go. We can’t risk someone bringing the warriors here. Not after everything we’ve been through.

I hated that he was right. I wanted to keep an eye on Emily a little while longer, but we’d already stayed too long, especially since Edna had informed us that the warriors were heading this way. Further, Edna had set the strict condition yesterday that we needed to leave by dawn.

“Grandson?” Katla whispered dreamily.

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