Ayo pats my paw in thanks, then immediately puts a dome ward over the five rescued shifters. It’s designed to keep out anyone who wants to hurt them as well as any elemental magic, and provides decent temporary protection. Jay has shifted into his bear form but is staying put for now, and the lynx shifter is intheir animal form too, ears flattened as they bare their teeth at Milo.
Ayo gives me a thumbs up then makes a shooing gesture, so the three of us dragons head back to the loading bay and use our magic to try to absorb the heat and suppress the flames inside. We need to give Raj and his pack as much time as possible to get themselves and anyone else out. I’m putting a lot of trust in those charms to protect them, and even though I’m confident their shields will hold, part of me wants to just storm in there, find them all, and carry them out of harm’s way.
I have to trust them to do their jobs, though. Even though the blaze is rapidly spreading, and black smoke is billowing out from the warehouse.
They’ll be fine. My hoard will be fine. Ayo’s wards are rock solid.
Before I can start worrying too much, Raj, Kit, and Skye appear from the loading bay. There’s an unconscious female fae slung over Kit’s shoulder and her wing is repeatedly hitting them on the back of the head—something the cheetah looks decidedly unimpressed with. Raj is carrying a male fae, and Skye drags a limp, handcuffed Nyoka out, the mage’s shoulder bumping the edge of the wall when Skye is less than careful with him. Ethan appears a minute later carrying Lance and puts him down a safe distance away.
Unfortunately.
Everyone’s attention suddenly snaps to Ayo, so I turn to see what’s happening as Ethan rushes over to him. Ayo’s hand is clamped over his mouth and his eyes are wide as he stares at Nyoka lying unconscious next to the tranqued fae. Ethan holds his mate and scents him, so the rest of us leave the alpha to look after him while we get back to work.
Raj jogs over to me. ‘There are a lot of unconscious fae trapped in the basement. Will you lift them out of the holes in thefloor so we can get them to safety faster? I can show you where to look.’
Hmm, do I actually want to save the people complicit in everything that’s been going on down there, including kidnapping and torture? Not really. I’d much rather leave them down there and let nature take its course, especially when I have a hoard to retrieve. But I really will do anything for my treasure, and if he wants me to save them from a fiery death, so be it.
I crouch down next to him and hold my leg out. If he’s insistent on going back into the heart of this mess, this is the safest way.
He hesitates for a split second before running up my leg with cat-like grace. He settles into position where the base of my neck meets my shoulders, then pats my scales hard enough for me to feel.
My dragon gives a low vibration, pleased our treasure is finally where he belongs, although it’s tempered by anxiety for our hoard.
Back inside, Cal and Jet are trying to manoeuvre a couple of unconscious fae out of one of the larger cracks. The area isn’t on fire yet, but there are flames dangerously close to them. Sure enough, Raj pats the right hand side of my neck, indicating he wants me to go that way.
We quickly establish a system. Raj shows me where he wants me to search, I lift out any fae I find, then Jet, Cal, and Ethan take them to the loading bay doors. Ayo seems to be holding it together now he’s gotten over his initial shock at seeing Nyoka, and he levitates the fae from the loading bay outside to where Skye and Kit are guarding everyone.
I have to admit I’m surprised by how many fae were down there. I only recognise Aire, Ember, and a few other supervisors I didn’t interact with, yet there must be nearly thirty. Did Raj realise the operation was this big before today? I certainly didn’t, but then I’m not the pro.
By the time we finish, the flames are licking up the walls, devouring the remaining boxes, and consuming everything flammable in the warehouse despite Milo and Zara’s best efforts. Blue flashing lights appear outside, the recognisable red glint of multiple fire engines visible as well.
Everyone tenses. If there are human firefighters on those crews, it’s going to be hard to explain some of this.
As the others make their way outside, I turn to check on my hoard again only for my blood to turn to ice. The admin office is completely engulfed in flames, despite the fact that it wasn’t even on fire when I last checked a few minutes ago. Which means I have only minutes before Lance’s office above suffers the same fate, and if the walls burn, the ward Ayo set will have nothing to anchor to and will fail.
My hoard is in danger.
My dragon roars.
Chapter Twenty-Four
BRYN
I stomp over and reach for the tiny door to Lance’s office, ripping it off the hinges before dropping it out of the way. I’m obviously too big to get inside, so I find a clear space to crouch down and hold my leg out. Raj understands immediately. The moment he’s safely on the ground, I shift to biped form and run through the flames, sprinting up the stairs into Lance’s office and exhaling at the sight of my undamaged bass guitars.
Now, how do I get eight of them outside without any of them catching fire?
Raj rushes in after me. ‘Shit, your hoard. What can I do?’
He’ll be able to see them now, because the glamour on them has gone. They’re beautiful and mine and in real fucking danger.
‘Help me carry them out.’ Ordinarily I wouldn’t trust my hoard to anyone, but he’s my future mate.
‘I’ll radio for help. We need more hands.’ He taps a button on his headset before I can stop him, and I decide to let it happen. He’s right; we don’t have time to carry them out on our own.
I take the first two basses off the wall, wanting to hug them and caress them and check them for damage, but that will have to wait. When I hand him the first two he takes them carefully before racing out. I’m reaching for the next when Milo and Jet rush in, Milo back in biped form as well. My dragon really doesn’t want them to touch our pretties, and I hesitate.
Milo’s hands move rapidly. ‘I’ve told Jet that this is your hoard. We’ll both be extremely careful.’
