Page 14 of Red Marked

Her eyes grow hopeful. “There was talk of a group…of a female among them. Maybe they were looking for us.”

And maybe they were feral males on the hunt.

“We will have to wait and see. If it was a search party, you will need to keep up your strength. You should try to eat a few bites of food.” I nudge the bowl toward her, feeling guilty.

I have long since lost hope of ever returning home. I don’t want to give Koa false hope, but I do need her stronger.

I won’t have her wasting away on my watch. Or losing the whelp.

She wipes her face with the back of one hand, her breath still uneven.

“Try to eat, please.”

She nods and takes the bowl. She puts a piece of meat in her mouth, chewing slowly.

I breathe a little easier as I watch her eat each mouthful.

I stay until the bowl is mostly empty.

“Get some rest,” I tell her.

Koa nods. “Thank you.”

Then I head back out to Scarlet.

“How is she?”

“Not great.” I sigh. “I wish we had rescued her sooner.”

“Me too. We got lucky with Savanna and Caldera.”

I nod. We got to the other two Draig she-dragons immediately. That feral male had Koa for a whole week before we could get her away from him. By then, the damage had been done.

“The only consolation is that we killed that fucker,” Scarlet spits, her face red with anger.

“I wish we could have taken our time.” I feel white-hot rage bubble up inside me. “I don’t think that Koa should be left alone.”

Scarlet’s eyes flick to me. “Do you think she might…?” She bites her lip.

“I don’t know.” I frown. “She’s in a bad way. I don’t want to take any chances.”

Scarlet jumps to her feet. “I’ll go and sit with her. We’ll take turns watching her.”

I watch Scarlet walk away.

6

Flint

The ground crew is already moving before we touch down, checking straps and unclipping the rigid bar from the carriers.

I land and shift, pulling on the clothes I left in my locker on the pad before we left earlier.

Brian and another groundman work the male’s harness free, buckle by buckle.

We now have three feral males. It was a good day, but my mind is elsewhere. I hope Dr. Pryce has some answers for me.

Rift shifts a few feet away, rolling her shoulder out with a wince. Atlas lands last, folds his wings, and shifts.