Driven by pure instinct, I crash through the floor above my head, shifting into full dragon form as I launch myself into the sky, and within seconds, I’m on my way back home to get my brothers. Maggard has Mac, and gods of fire, he must have Xazedose too. If the rumors are true, he’s going to kill them both.
Flying as fast as possible, I make it home in record time, landing with a thud that raises the soil in the courtyard at the compound. Naked, half-shifted, and filled with desperate rage, I run toward Lord’s house as every door opens and my brothers rush to my aid, followed by their curious mates.
I stumble, falling into Lord’s embrace when he reaches me.
“Tino! Gods, what happened? Where’s Mac? Where’s Montrose?”
I open my mouth to speak but all that comes out is fire and smoke, my skin still rippling with scales. The adrenaline of flying like that, of losing them, hits me all at once.
“Calm,” Lord says, stroking my hair as we kneel together, surrounded by my concerned brothers. “We’ve got you, Tino. Tell us what happened.”
I take a few gulps of air to calm myself and push my dragon back enough to speak. “He… Maggard… he found us. He took them.”
“He took Mac?” Nico bellows, his voice a mixture of human and dragon.
“Oh no,” Lake says. “He took your mate too?”
I look up, my eyes flickering from human to dragon as my chest tightens like there’s a vise around my heart. “He must have been tracking us. We led him straight to the hoard room and the dagger.” I turn my gaze to my oldest brother. “He took them, Lord.”
Lord nods, his face hard. “We’ll go get them. Okay? You’re not alone, brother. We’re here.”
His words offer a tiny bit of comfort, and my dragon retreats slightly. “He’s going to kill them.”
“He won’t,” Dempsey says in his soft voice. “Remember what Monty told us?”
“Who the fuck is Monty?”
“Oh dear,” Lake says. “Monty, Montrose, Xazedose.”
I huff a breath, clearly unable to deal with simple nicknames right now. Unable to deal withanythingother than getting my mate safely back in my arms. “I don’t remember what he said.”
“He said Maggard is into torture,” Dempsey continues, scrunching his nose as Hemingway rubs his back. “It’s, like, his thing. I know that’s crappy too, but it could mean it buys us a little time. He won’t kill them right away.”
I grunt in pain at the thought of what Maggard could be doing to hurt them. “That’s not comforting,” I growl between clenched teeth.
“Look at me, Valentino.” Lord cups my face, using his stern voice that can cut through any noise. “Focus on me.”
My chest heaves with smoky breaths for several seconds until I’m finally able to exhale and slow my racing heart.
“Good. Dempsey is right. Let’s focus on that.”
“We’re gonna need backup,” Draydon says. “Trust me, demon realm trips are hard, even for supes.”
“Yeah, I did it once,” Arson says, shivering. “Never again.”
“Right,” Lord says. “Can someone call Dahlia, please?”
“On it,” Hemingway says.
I fall back, planting my bare ass in the cool grass. It helps me focus even more. I’m not alone. I have my brothers and Dahlia, and together, we’ll find them.
“He’s my mate,” I whisper. “Lord…”
“I know.” He squeezes my shoulder. “He’s a demon too. He has some defenses.”
“I think that’s why I’m freaking out. Why didn’t he just blip them out? Something’s wrong.”
Lord frowns, nodding. “Maybe. We’ll find them though.”
