I didn’t land on the floor, I know that much.
Once more, I’m cushioned in a dragon’s wing, this time not wrapped around me so much as forming a hammock beneath me. As I twist to the right, I discover that the keeper kept his humanoid form while dragon wings must have shot out on either side of his torso. I’m caught in one wing while the moving shapes on the other side of him indicate that the three panthers landed in his other wing.
The keeper’s dark eyes flash in my direction as the panthers and I roll out of his wings and into the black smog.
As safe as we are, I’m terrified for both Anarchy and Lucian right now.
I don’t know what that blast was or how they could have survived it.
As fast as I can, I find my feet and launch myself through the smoke, a cry on my tongue. “Anarchy! Lucian!”
Riot, Rumble, and Strife are right beside me as I plow across the room, waving my arms and trying to clear the air so I don’t crash into anything.
The explosion must have flung us all the way back across the living area, because the first furniture I reach is the lounge chairs. All are upturned, their upholstery singed, as if a flash of fire blazed across them.
I dart around them while the panthers leap over them, but we’ve only made it a few more steps when there’s a rushingsound from behind me. An impossibly strong drag of air sucks me backward, my bare feet sliding on the floor for several paces until I skid right into the keeper’s chest.
“What are you—?” It takes me a glance upward to understand that he’s inhaling, pulling the black smoke into his chest to clear the air.
Despite the frustrating and panic-inducing delay, I understand why he’s doing it. Without visibility, I’m racing into dangers unknown and it’s not as if I can use my sense of smell right now—the only scents I can discern are lavender and burning magic.
What’s more, we can’t exactly open a window and let the smoke out. I don’t know nearly as much about humans as I need to, but smoke billowing from a window means fire and I’m sure they won’t like fire. I learned that much from all the knights-killing-fire-breathing-dragons fairy tale books that my jailer brought me.
Even so, the panthers fight the pull, extending their claws and catching hold of the lounge chairs, ripping partway through the cushions in their effort to retain their progress across the room.
The keeper’s left arm has wrapped around me, holding me against his chest. His dragon wings have disappeared, but his skin has a sheen to it, as if he’s wearing translucent scales.
He stops inhaling, at which point the air settles around me and the panthers drop to the floor.
Even though the keeper’s breaths have cleared most of the smoke from the room, it’s still hazy up ahead.
“Stay close,” the keeper rumbles in my ear before he releases me.
Up ahead, I can make out the kitchen table where it’s tipped on its side, its top pressed to the cupboards on the left side of the kitchen. But where the haze is the thickest, I can only just makeout the silhouettes of two figures lying on the floor in front of the far kitchen cupboards, and… something doesn’t look right.
I move cautiously forward while the keeper remains on my heels and the male panthers join me on my way, their steps slower now, as if they, too, are wary of what lies ahead.
My heart remains in my throat.
I don’t understand why the keeper’s dark magic exploded so violently, and I don’t understand why the silhouettes ahead of me look so wrong…
I pull to an abrupt stop as the haze of energy finally disperses and the scene ahead of us becomes clear.
My lips purse in confusion.
All I can manage is a soft, “Huh?”
Lucian lies on his back on the floor, his broken wing pushed up against the cupboards, while his good wing is spread out across the floor in our direction. His arm on this side is lifted off the floor, his palm facing up, hovering as if he doesn’t know what to do with it.
Straddling him, her naked legs on either side of his waist, is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Long, pale-lilac hair cascades down the woman’s back in waves that roll past her narrow waist. She’s tall and slender and she’s holding Lucian’s other hand in both of hers.
She brushes the tips of his fingers across her lips while her mouth curves into a sultry smile. Her focus is entirely on him, and in fact, she seems oblivious to our presence.
Until she looks up, I won’t be able to see clearly the color of her eyes, but her chin is delicate, her cheekbones high but softly rounded, and her skin is pale like the moon in a beautifully dark sky.
