He stops when Daegan glares at him.
Shaking his head, he says, “Whatever. We were about to go out looking for you. Rhydra’s hiding upstairs, but she was getting impatient. As was I. If I knew you assholes were just at an orgy, well… this evening would have been a lot different.”
“Let’s go up and have a talk,” Daegan says, his expression cold and determined.
“Okay.” Raef glances at the bar. “Can we grab drinks to bring up? I’ve had a day.”
“I’m good,” Daegan answers, taking my hand and squeezing it.
“Same.”
Raef quirks an eyebrow as he eyes our interlaced hands. “Okay. Let’s go then.”
Chapter 60
“Should we just leave town now?” Rhydra stands in Raef’s room at her full, intimidating height, hands planted firmly on her hips. We’ve just caught them up on everything that happened today. Well, we didn’t tell them every detail. Some things are meant to remain private.
“In the middle of the night?” I don’t do a good job of masking the fear in my voice.
“We’ve had to do it a few times lately. It’s not much more dangerous than being hunted in this town,” Raef tells me.
“What about those damn things that chased us down on the way back from Wraithmere? Those were horrifying.”
“We actually haven’t ran into too many beasts lately. Not sure why…” He flashes Rhydra a look. “Obviously, I’d still rather sleep in a nice bed in an inn, but if they’re looking for us…”
“We’ll stay shifted,” Daegan assures me with soft eyes.
“Are you sure? You guys don’t usually…” Shifting is an incredibly vulnerable act for them. They don’t like to do it in front of anyone if they can help it.
“Oh, we do it all the time around each other,” Raef cuts in. “We just don’t like it in front of outsiders. But you guys are family now, and the situation sort of demands it.”
“It’s not so bad,” Rhydra says with a glint in her eyes. “You’ll see.”
I glance at Daegan again.
He nods, giving me a thin smile. Then he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.
He hasn’t let go since we got up here. And yes, everyone has noticed, but no one has said a word about it. It’s the least of everyone’s concern right now, unfortunately.
“Which means you better start formulating a plan soon, Sand. We’re getting closer to your home.” Raef sits on the bed, tossing a roll of bread between his hands as he looks at me expectantly.
“I’ve been thinking about it…” I mumble. There’s really not a great time to do this crazy stunt, and time is precious. I’ve been considering just winging it and hoping that we can travel through the castle undetected. Kezra should be a great help with that. She can go undetected easily and scout ahead. But I don’t want to say that out loud just yet. I’m still hoping I’ll think of something better before we get closer.
“We’ll figure it out.” Daegan gives me another reassuring smile.
~
The horses are no longer needed since Raef and Daegan are going to be shifting into their dragon forms, so we leave them behind and sneak out of town on foot. We’re headed toward a very small village just on the outskirts of Ellyar. I’m becoming increasingly nervous the closer we get.
We have to succeed. There’s no other option.
It’s another level of dark outside of the town. As I look back, the light orbs look so small in the distance. Like tiny little fairies in the night.
“Okay.” Daegan stops and hands me his bag. “You’re going to have to climb. Either up my tail or I can lean my shoulder down. Your choice.”
I suddenly feel nervous, realizing Daegan is about to turn into a terrifyingly massive creature right before my eyes. Though it is incredibly dark so I’ll probably miss half the show. I’ve only seen his dragon form one other time, but I remind myself that even then, I wasn’t afraid of him. The same Daegan was behind those eyes.
“Well, I’ve never climbed a dragon before…”
