He whirled around right as I reached for the key loop on his belt. My hands dropped to the loop, and he dipped down to his other side—for his pistol.
I yanked for the loop at the same time I tugged at the pin for the flash-bang grenade—and then shoved it right into him.
His boot thudded into my chest, and I staggered away. The keys clattered to the ground, right as the flash-bang exploded.
I slammed down to the floor, winging my arm over my face. A crack sounded in the air, and light flared, along with another flash that sizzled around me. Sparks zapped at my skin, and I cursed. White spots filled my eyes, and I blinked as I fumbled forward, hoping to land on the keys.
Any moment, more Alpha Blue could be arriving, and we’d be fucked. We needed to get out, and soon.
My hand landed on cool metal, and I yanked it.
Just as it tugged in the opposite direction.
“Fuck,” I swore, trying to tighten my grip, even as I squinted and blinked. Trying to get my vision back again.
“Get off,” the man growled, but a second later a thump sounded, and the tug went lax. I teetered backwards, the keys in hand as I caught a flimsy glimpse of a man on the ground and Sofia looming overhead. Lightning crackled around her like a living entity.
I scrambled backwards on the floor, the keys jangling in my grip, until I hit the bars with a thump.
“Good job, sunshine,” Ursuline said, their voice so steady and tender. My heart squeezed tight. Fuck, I hadn’t been sure I’d ever hear them call me that again. Their tentacle slipped around the key loop, and seconds later they were undoing the lock to their cell.
It opened, and I pushed myself up to crash into their arms. They squeezed me tight to their chest, and I sucked in a shuddering inhale. The warmth of them surrounding me, the scent of currants, of the sea, the way their presence quieted something inside me—Ursuline was all I wanted. Their tentacle curled around my thigh, and I clutched them a little tighter, as if we could merge into one.
“Sorry to cut this reunion short, but we need to jet,” Mal called over.
I stepped back at once. Right. In the middle of an Alpha Blue holding cell.
Sofia and Mal stood upright, but I noticed the three Alpha Blue guards did not. They lay on the floor, and despite their all-black attire, I caught the dampness on a shirt here, an uncomfortable twist of a limb there.
“Only one of them is dead. The other two are incapacitated,” Sofia said. “Whether they survive or not will depend on timing. But they’re not our problem.”
“We need to get out,” Ursuline said, grabbing my hand and gliding toward the entrance. I stumbled at first but then hastened to catch up. Mal and Sofia barely breathed hard after taking out three Alpha Blue guards, and an air of deadliness simmered around them. They’d handled these armed, trained men with ease. My stomach roiled at the awkward placement of one guy’s neck, his eyes vacant. The sight imprinted on my brain as I rushed past.
When we broke into the cool forest air, all four of us headed toward Sofia’s car at a record pace. My shoes kicked up dirt, my steps springing off the loam. Unlike on the way here, I claimed the back seat with Ursuline, while Sofia hopped into the driver’s side and Mal in the passenger’s.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” She turned the engine on and circled around down the path.
All it took was one glance at the road ahead of us to see the obvious problem.
Two Alpha Blue vans rolled our way.
Oh fuck. I clutched Ursuline’s hand, and they exchanged a worried glance with me. My heart thudded hard. No matter what happened, the fact we’d reunited, the fact I’d found them—it mattered.
The tension in the car skyrocketed as the vans barreled toward us.
“What can we do?” I asked. “If you can pivot around them, we can try the main entrance.” If any of the people I knew were manning it, I could probably sway them to let us go. Maybe.
“You ready?” Sofia asked, glancing at Mal.
“Of course,” he said, flashing a charming grin. “Happy to oblige.”
With that, Mal cracked open the car door, while we were moving, and he rolled out.
A shout of surprise lodged in my throat.
One second a scaled dragonkin tumbled onto the ground, and the next he began to expand. His tail extended, his body grew larger, more dragonlike, and his face transformed into a maw. Massive wings expanded from his back with a powerful flap, and he rose above the car. I plastered my face to the window, just to catch a glimpse of the magnificent black dragon that now hovered above our car.
I’d never seen one up close before, and the sight knocked the breath from my lungs. All black shining scales, deep obsidian claws, and the same clever eyes that belonged to the man who’d been sitting in the car. His legs and arms were poised as he sailed on his wings above us, the wicked arch of them mesmerizing.
