Nix pushed open a double-egress door at the end of the hallway and…
Cells and cells and cells of prisoners. Students.
BROTHER, Ryker thought.
Ryker raced forward, following the familiar scent like it had lassoed his throat andpulled. Ryker reeled in front of the cell that his dragon instinct led him to. Ryker’s brother.
“Cal,” Ryker pushed with his mind to speak telepathically, a special ability of dragons.
His brother Cal did not hear him. Hunched over, Cal stared, emotionless, nearly catatonic, at the ground of his cell.
As if Nix could read Ryker’s mind, she approached Cal’s cell first.
She ripped open the barred door, the metal becoming flimsy, bendable mush under the intensity of her flames. She leaned down and touched his neck.
She whispered into his ear something Ryker could not hear, but Cal’s shoulders unhunched, untensed.
Cal looked up as Nix snapped off his bewitched collar. Cal’s lips parted, and his golden eyes—the ones their mother gave both Cal and Ryker—watered. He whispered hoarsely, “Goddess…”
Ryker fell to his knees, and Cal’s gaze swung to him.
“B-Brother,” Cal cried and tackled him into a hug. Ryker’s own face was wet—whether from his or Cal’s tears, he did not know. He held his brother, spoke calming promises using their telepathic dragon bond, and stared at his mate.
Ryker stretched his mind and called out to his father and other brothers, “We have him. We found him. He is safe. But we need you here.”
Nix deserved his entire family to back her when she faced the council.
“Fuck, baby.” Bael whistled. “You found Cal Infernox. The whole damn dragon clan will be behind you now.”
Ryker pulled away from his brother to look at Nix and slam a hand over his heart. Cal did the same, sensing this was his new sister-in-law.
Ryker heard his father reply back in their mind-link, “We are coming, son.”
Bael’s white teeth flashed as he grinned. “If Kellan and the council were scared of dragons before, they’ll shit a brick when they realize what’s coming for them.”
“We need to get all of these people out of here and back to their families,” Nix stated. “And then…I deal with the council.”
CHAPTER 44
The second Kellan saw Nix enter the teachers’ lounge parlor, where Lemmuns had told the council to meet, his eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet. “Nix!”
Right behind Kellan’s dark leather wingback chair, Adar and Elle stood and gaped at her dramatic entrance. Lucky for them, Nix was no longer naked as she had been in the cells.
Bael had returned from Hell, after dropping Lemmuns off, holding a black chainmail dress for her. The dark, scale-like, flexible metal material served as armor, impervious to the hottest of Hellfire. Thus, Bael said there was a chance it would not burn off Nix the way all other clothing did when her body lit with flames.
Following Nix into the room were her mates and…students. Missing students, now found.
Nix walked calmly, her hellfire chainmail dress clinking softly against her skin, to where the council sat in a half circle. She stopped, standing a few feet away, and asked plainly, “Did you know?”
The council consisted of Kellan as president and several others, including two fae, a tengu, and a griffin shifter. All men.All meant to represent the best interests of the very diverse species of winged shifters.
They squinted at Nix in confusion. Did the council even know who or what she was? Had they been told anything about her resurrecting her dead classmate at the morning assembly?
“Did you know about the missing students?” she repeated.
Kellan scoffed, but his gaze nervously glanced back and forth at the range of shifters standing behind Nix. Nephilim, dragons, harpies, zhenniao shifters. All of them radiated anger and anticipation for vengeance from being held captive.
“Oadess, what is your daughter talking about?” One of the council members snapped, “I don’t have time for this.”
