“Lie down. You’re exhausted.”
Slowly I walk to the opposite side of the bed, remove my shoes, and climb under the covers. He strips down to his boxers and climbs in beside me. But he doesn’t touch me, just closes his eyes.
I try to fight sleep. I want to fight it. I want to run. But the consequences if I did would fall on Vivian, just as I will suffer if she tries to escape. I’m only human and a physically weak one at that. My joints ache from the stress of the day, and I pray to God this doesn’t throw me into another flare.
No, if I’m going to survive and escape Roman, I’ll have to do it using my mind. I believe in my soul that if I give Connor enough time, he’ll come for me. I don’t trust Roman, and I want to stay awake, but in the end, the endless fatigue and exhaustion is too much. I fall into a sleep so heavy I don’t even dream.
Chapter Thirty-Six
CONNOR
Ipass through the lighthouse that marks the portal between Cardinal Island and Earth and dial Seb before I’ve even made it out of the building. My heart is pounding so hard I barely feel the ache of my wounds.
“Where is she?” I bark as soon as he answers.
“Morwyn said you’d be another day.”
“Fuck Morwyn. Where is she, Seb? Were you able to track her?”
He groans. “Have you ever in your life followed a rule?”
“Seb! She’s in trouble. I saw things down the bond. We have to get her out of there now!” I reach down the bond again but feel nothing. My dragon twists anxiously inside me.
Seb seems to hear the distress in my voice now because he says, “We’ve tracked them to his property onthe Rhode Island coast. But it’s tricky. The place is defended like a military base.”
“Give me the address.”
“You can’t go in there alone, Connor. You’ll never make it out.”
“Give me the address, Seb.” He does, thank the creator. “Thank you. I can’t ask for your help. It’s too dangerous, and if I die, the brotherhood needs you to lead.”
“Fuck off, you prick. I’ll see you in Rhode Island as fast as I can call in the others.”
“Creator bless us.” I disconnect the call and grab my key, cloaking myself and launching into the sky. Pain branches out from my wounds, and I acknowledge that Morwyn was probably right about me needing another day to heal. Then I remember that fucker Roman kissing Fiona. Touching her. And when the magic of the key opens a portal to Rhode Island in the sky, I fly faster through it.
I find the house on a rocky beach surrounded by about five acres of heavily patrolled land. Blue-uniformed security guards with visible weapons pepper the property as the early-morning sun splashes across the saltbox architecture of the mansion. Even if we can use our camouflage to get past the guards, there’s a lot of square feet of space in that house. No telling what’s going on in there. I land on a neighboring rooftop and am relieved when Seb, Remus, and Ellison, dressed in their fighting leathers, appear beside me.
“What’s the plan? Aside from admiring Ellison’s asson the rare occasion it’s not covered by a suit jacket?” Seb asks through a wry grin.
Ellison flashes him an obscene gesture.
I give a low growl. “There’s no cover, there are guards everywhere, and we don’t have eyes or ears inside,” I say. “Oh, and this place is laden with dragon-killing weapons.”
Remus grunts. “If we had more time, I could find some humans to bug the place.”
“Not waiting. I’ll go in the front door if I have to,” I grit out.
“And be shredded to pieces the moment someone with a ring senses you through your illusion,” Ellison says.
“Then I’ll shift, bite the head off every guard, and burn the entire place down.” My skin tingles, and I get to my feet, ready to be a one-dragon wrecking crew.
Seb rolls his eyes. “You do that and you’re libel to kill Fiona. You have no idea what room she’s in or if she’s locked up or not. You start a fire or start knocking down walls and you could kill her.”
“He’s got a point,” Remus says, rubbing his laughing-devil tattoo.
Ellison draws his phone from his pocket, thumbs the screen, then lifts his eyes to me. “Tell me I’m your favorite brother.”
“Why? What did you find?”
