‘Hi, Mum.’ I’m still bitter that she cut me out of her life for so long, yet here I am, drinking in every detail.
Her hands tremble more than mine do as she signs a little frantically. ‘Bryn, it’s so good to see you. I wish I was calling for better reasons.’ She glances to the side, and I realise my dad must be in the room with her. ‘Zara has packed a bag and run away. Is she with you?’
My heart stops, my dragon raising his head with a low warning vibration. I remind myself that Lance is in custody and my sister is older and hopefully wiser now. I’m sure she’s fine.
But what if she’s not?
‘No, I haven’t seen her since Sunday morning. When did she leave?’
‘Sometime in the night.’ Mum nervously glances off camera again. ‘We found out about her training with you and Milo for her exam. There was an argument.’
Mum doesn’t have to say that Dad started the argument. It’s not hard to guess.
‘She knows she’s welcome with us.’ I have to hope that she flew to our flat and is safe with Milo. I won’t know for sure until I can get off the phone and call them, though.
Before Mum can sign anything else, the phone is snatched up and my dad’s scowling face and cold blue eyes fill the screen. I read my name on his lips and decide I don’t have the timeor the patience for the inevitable argument. He’ll blame me, just like he always has.
I hang up and call Zara, but it doesn’t connect. That makes sense if she’s turned her phone off so our parents can’t track her. I call Milo next, but he doesn’t answer.
I switch straight to the tracking app we agreed to use, finding his phone at our flat. He would normally be at work by now, but he might be working from home if she’s turned up there and is potentially refusing to go to college.
I’m sure they’re completely fine, but there’s an itch under my skin and my dragon is nudging me, telling me I need to urgently fly home and make sure. Memories of that phone call from Mum years ago threaten to come rushing back, not helped by me telling Raj the whole story last night, even though I remind myself it’s not the same. Zara’s older, she knows she can come to us, and I really fucking hope she has the common sense not to run off with an internet stranger again.
Fuck it. I need to check.
I shove my phone into the pocket of the joggers I borrowed from Raj’s bag, run upstairs just long enough to snatch my keys from the bedside table, then climb out the window onto the scaffolding without stopping to put on a T-shirt, socks, or boots. One of Dante’s crew startles half way down a ladder but I ignore him, leaping off the scaffolding and shifting in mid-air. I flap my wings to gain altitude, rising to meet the ominous grey clouds, then head for the neutral zone.
I probably set a personal best as I race for the Southern Quarter. I shift in mid-air and land neatly on the roof between the plant pots before sprinting for the stairs. As soon as I reach my flat, I insert my key in the lock only for the door to swing open before I can turn it. I yank it out and rush in, my heart racing and stomach dropping when I pick up the scents of at least six fae.
The moment I reach the living room someone grabs me from behind, so I widen my stance, bring my leg behind theirs, thengrab them around the knees and yank them off their feet just like Cal taught me. Ember lands on her back, losing her grip on me.
I catch movement out of the corner of my eye so I cover my skin with scales, spinning and bringing my arm up to block the blow from the baseball bat Aire is wielding as she comes in from the hall. It splinters against my arm, shards flying in every direction. Ember jumps to her feet and moves to the other side of me with fireballs in her hands, her black and orange wings spread wide.
They must have been hiding in the bedrooms. Waiting for me? Milo and Zara’s scents are old and if they were here they’d have come through by now, so did they leave before the fae broke in? Or manage to escape? But if that were the case Milo at least would have called me to warn me.
My blood heats at the sinking realisation that the most likely outcome is that the other four fae I can smell somehow managed to kidnap my siblings.
I retract my scales just long enough to sign with fierce hand movements. ‘Where are my brother and sister?’ I immediately bring my scales back, muscles tensed, prepared to fight.
Aire smirks, her murky grey magic building in her usually dormant wings. ‘Exactly where we need them to be.’
It’s the kind of ridiculous non-answer I’d expect from a fae. My dragon agrees, building fierce heat inside my chest. I can’t fully shift in here without destroying several flats and destabilising the structural integrity of the building, which also means I can’t access my fire because I can only do that in my fully-shifted form. I want to reach for my phone and surreptitiously call Raj, but I can’t use the touchscreen with scales.
My eyes widen as Aire and Ember combine their magic to create a fire tornado behind Aire in the narrow hallway. It can’t harm me, but it whips through the small space and into the living room, setting everything in its path alight. I back away towards the French doors so that I have more room tomanoeuvre and hurriedly urge my dragon to absorb the heat and suppress the flames before the fire spreads to the rest of the building. It’s difficult with only a partial shift—absorbing fire is far easier in my winged form—but I keep going until my scales are glowing red hot and the magic in Aire and Ember’s wings is fading.
They finally run out of power, thank fuck. Although there are some serious scorch marks, cracked glass in the French doors, and thick smoke everywhere, all the small fires around the room are out. We’re definitely going to need new furniture, and my sketch of the Muroyi manor might not be salvageable, but I have bigger things to worry about right now.
My chest heaves and smoke puffs out of my nostrils as they close in on me. They can destroy our possessions, but they won’t win. Bringing a fire fae to a dragon fight is like a mosquito trying to bite a vampire.
‘Your brother and sister were much easier to capture.’ Aire sneers.
My heart stops before beating double-time. Despite coming to the conclusion that the fae probably have them, I don’t want to believe what she’s signing. I mean, how would that even be possible? Milo might be a nerdy accountant but he’s still an adult dragon, and Zara isn’t incapable. Are six fae really enough to have captured them?
No, my siblings probably escaped without their phones and haven’t found a way to contact me yet. Aire’s just using them to lure me in.
I’m sure they’re fine. They have to be.
Aire raises her eyebrows. ‘Oh, you don’t believe me? Show him.’
