Page 4 of Hidden Fate

Ev, go,he connected, his face twisted with concern.

A few of the remaining warriors paused, and a woman called, “Thorn and the girl are getting away!”

Tap into your dragon, Thorn connected and ran even faster. In a second, he caught up to me.

With no time to lose, I replicated what I’d done earlier. My dragon surged forward and connected with me, lending my legs extra strength.

My skin tingled as we rushed toward the thick line of oaks and red cedars.

Something whistled behind me. My breathing quickened, and I braced for the prick of the dart. My dragon surged, guiding me to zigzag instead of continuing in a straight line.

Fear squeezed my chest and the bond as my emotions and Thorn’s melded together. He was moving in the same pattern, and neither of us was hit.

Footsteps sounded to our right, heading toward the clearing. Probably more warriors.

My knees wanted to buckle, but my dragon roared. If we fell, Thorn and I would be captured. I gritted my teeth and pushed through the discomfort.

The footsteps stopped.

Falkor asked, “What in thehellis going on?”

“Where is everyone?” Ladon piped in.

The two guards were awake. It felt like a lifetime ago since we’d knocked their asses out back where we’d found them with Theron, Sol, and Wyvern.

“Uh…the king is dead, and the warriors are fighting each other over who should be king,” one answered quickly. “We’re going after the girl and Thorn.”

“What do you mean, warriors are fighting against Drake?” Falkor bellowed, a hint of hysteria in his tone.

Of course he wasn’t focused on the king’s death but on people acting against Drake. I wondered if that was because he was Drake’s guard now or if there was more behind it.

We were gaining distance from them, and I was more than okay with that. Let Falkor and Ladon distract our pursuers.

Their voices grew fainter, and I almost cried with relief when Falkor commanded, “We can worry about the girl and Thorn later. With the king gone, it’ll be easier to catch them. We have to make sure no one hurts Drake.Heis thefutureand protecting him is our priority.”

He was right. With the king deceased, there was no one left to keep Drake in check. All the injured and old dragons would be openly hunted, the same as we were. But that was a problem for later. Right now, we needed to get away.

Something was brewing in Thorn, but as the scents of Saphira, Errol, Brenton, Tyson, Vlad, Cassidy, Sol, Wyvern, and Theron thickened in the air, I didn’t have time to decipher it. We were close.

A few minutes later, we ran around an oak tree and found them with Hydra. As soon as we came into view, Cassidy and Saphira let out huge breaths, their shoulders relaxing.

Cassidy murmured, “Thank gods. We were about to come looking for you.”

Brenton held Tyson in his arms, and Saphira and Errol flanked him.

“Sorry,” Thorn murmured as we stopped in front of the others. That emotion I’d sensed had morphed into guilt and disgust, weighing heavily on our connection. He was struggling, and Ihatedthat I wasn’t sure how to help him. I didn’t want to pry while we were still in danger.

I studied my mate for the first time since he’d picked up King Arman. Blood from the king’s wound drizzled down his bare, muscular chest and streaked his body. Bile churned in my gut. Carrying his father’s body was something he shouldn’t have had to do.

Saphira looked toward my mate, and a growl emanated from my throat before I could stop myself. Her gaze was firmly on the king, but it was still way too close to my mate’s naked body. I hated that he was exposed to another young, attractive, and veryunmatedfemale.

Surprisingly, Wyvern snarled as well, and Saphira glared at him.

We were all experiencing heightened emotions, and we needed clothes,stat.

“Let’s leave.” Vlad cleared his throat and glanced at the area behind Thorn, avoiding looking at me.

I kept my gaze set from everyone’s shoulders up. There were some things you could never erase from your mind—like seeing your in-laws naked.

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