“If you scream, I will crush your windpipe,” Orion warns, his voice so cold and deadly that my skin prickles even though the threat was not directed at me.
The dragon shifter just continues staring back at him.
“Nod if you understand,” Orion orders.
The guy nods.
While still keeping his hand around the man’s neck, Orion eases his grip slightly so that he will at least be able to breathe. And speak.
He sucks in a deep breath as soon as the pressure on his throat is gone.
“Where is your clan leader?” Orion demands.
“The—” He coughs and clears his throat before trying again. “The main temple.”
“You’re going to take us there. Now.”
“Okay.”
The lack of resistance shocks me, but I’m glad to finally have something go our way, so I don’t dare to comment on it. Otherwise, Mabona might decide to hit me with a whole string of bad luck just for the hell of it.
Orion keeps a commanding hand around the guy’s throat as he starts leading us into their city. The moment we leave the cover of the trees, apprehension pulses through me. Even though we have a hostage, I feel incredibly exposed just walking through the open like this.
But I know that Orion doesn’t want to waste time. He’s calculating and in control, so he doesn’t make any stupid mistakes, but I can still feel that awful sense of stress radiating from him. It’s so palpable that it almost makes the air vibrate.
So I say nothing as Orion lets the dragon shifter lead us right through the city instead of sneaking around it.
A gasp rips through the air.
Followed by another.
Then the reaction is spreading across the soft grass like a plague. Everywhere I look, dragon shifters in golden robes whirl around and gasp at us as we stride through their city. They yank up their hands to their mouths in shock, gaping at us.
But they do… nothing.
Just like when Orion took our captive in a chokehold, the normal response that our actions should be met with is entirely missing.
Uneasiness slithers down my spine as I flick my gaze from side to side, waiting for some kind of giant trap to be sprung orfor them to suddenly launch a massive attack on us. They far outnumber us. So if they do attack, we’re screwed.
But they don’t.
They all just watch as we walk through their city with one of their own as a hostage.
My mind spins. What the hell kind of clan is this?
All the shifters watch us in stunned shock as we walk up to a massive building in the middle of the clearing. The round, layered building is almost twice the size of the others, and the peaked dome at the top has beautiful gold inlays that gleam in the sunlight.
I flex my hand, trying to dispel the nervous worry, as we reach the large open doors. Through them, one massive room becomes visible.
“Selena, watch the left,” Orion says. “Isera, the right. I’ll keep my eyes open for… My eye open for…” Agony flits across his beautiful features for a second before he clears his throat and simply finishes with, “I’ll watch him.”
Our captive, who is oblivious to Orion’s recent loss, just looks up at him and says in a gentle voice, “There is no trap, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Sounds exactly like something someone who has set a trap would say,” Isera mutters under her breath.
To my surprise, it makes Orion let out a short breath of amusement. Some of that awful tension bleeds from his shoulders, and his more normal sense of power and authority settles back over him.
“Where is your clan leader?” he demands, now sounding like his usual self again.
