There was no physical trail. Mint killed scent, and the ground was soaked anyway. It didn't matter. Thebond between us was electric now, every twitch of Tash's emotion mapped against the current running through my veins.
She was moving. Still scared but less so now. I let Caden out.
The shift came so clean and fast it was almost beautiful. Skin splitting, bones warping, scales rippling into existence. My wings unfurled with a snap loud enough to shake the branches overhead.
I dug my claws into the mud, lashed my tail, and launched. The first rush of air was ice, like diving into winter. My wings caught, lifted, threw me up and over the trees.
Below, the world slotted into place. The mess at the road, the woods, the lines of panic drawing me south, maybe ten miles, maybe more. I didn't care about being seen in the pre-dawn light. I just had to get to Tash.
I banked right, following the burn in my head.
The farther from the car I flew, the louder the signal came from her.
Human brains use words, plans, logic. Dragon brains use fire and emotion, and Tash had those in spades.
She was out there clawing her way to freedom, and every spasm of her fear made the world clearer. I closedin on it, slicing the air with my wings, hunting for movement.
Caden hissed to himself, scanning every hollow, every shadow. We soared, dipped, snapped at the air, searching.
Movement. There.
A crack in the canopy, not far from an old creek bed, miles from the nearest house. Down below, another flash of movement. Someone tiny, battered, shoving through the brush like she was pursued by monsters breathing down her neck.
Tash.
She kept moving, stumbling, then she went to ground under a massive hemlock.
I dove, hard and hit the ground with enough force to send dirt flying everywhere. I twisted back to human with my next breath.
"Natasha," I called.
The woods held their breath. Then she broke cover with a sob. She sprinted, half-tripping, straight for me and slammed into my chest.
I wrapped her up, locking her in, head to chin, heart to heart.
Every muscle in her body jumped. She was soaked, scraped raw, and shaking badly.
For a moment she just sobbed, shoving her face into my neck, fingers clawed deep in my shoulders.
I held on and waited. Nothing in the world could've pulled me away.
She gasped, finally. "How? How did you find me?"
I lifted her chin, brushing mud from her jaw. Her cheeks were streaked with dirt and tears, and her skin was so cold I could feel the tremor even through my dragon heat. I cupped my hands around her face to warm her.
"You called me." I set my forehead to hers. "I'll always find you, Tash. Always."
She shook in my arms, every breath jagged and harsh. I rubbed her back with one hand, the other keeping her hair out of her face. The smell of mint lingered on her skin, but she was soaked and covered with mud. Most of it had been washed away or covered up. Not that I cared at this point. It would take a hell of a lot of mint to drag me away from her.
"They were waiting. On the road. They forced me off. I tried to get away, but they were too fast." She stopped, shuddering so hard her teeth clacked.
I squeezed her shoulder, let her hang on. "Take your time, sweetheart. You're here. They'll never touch you again."
She sucked in air. "They had mint. Not just gum,leaves too. Rubbed it on my skin." She grimaced, fighting for words. "They were going to use me as bait. Warn the girls!"
The urge to murder them all went white-hot. Caden clawed at my insides, ready to burn the world down. But I kept it calm for her.
"What else did they say?" I asked. I needed to get all the information she could remember while it was still fresh.
