Destiny In Flames: A Hot Paranormal Dragon Shifter Saga (Hidden Realms of Silver Lake Book 4)

by Vella Day

  By the time he arrived back at the pottery shop, Declan was almost out of breath from flying so fast. As soon as he landed, he shifted and rushed inside. Inhaling to calm down, he strode to the back. Magnolia, Acacia, and Poppy were there waiting for him. He didn’t see their fourth sister, Primrose, but she was probably nearby.

  “Declan, I’m sorry to hear about Finn’s sister,” Magnolia said.

  “Thank you.”

  She ran a gaze up and down his body. “She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

  Did that mean they were mates? “Yes.”

  “Then we’ll do our best. Have a seat while Acacia, Poppy, and I make a scale for you.”

  “A scale? What will that do?”

  “You’ll see.” After Magnolia located a small bowl, she gathered some hairs from the brush and ground them up. Acacia added what looked like herbs, and then Poppy said a chant in a strange tongue. With their backs to him, he wasn’t able to see what they were doing exactly, but Declan remained quiet, not wanting to break their concentration.

  When Magnolia spun around, she held up a clear scale. “Let’s take this outside.” He recalled they had made something like it for Birk when he’d wanted to be able to sense his mate, Lily.

  Acacia handed him back Chelsea’s hairbrush, and he stuffed the handle in his shirt pocket, the brush head sticking out.

  Once outside, Magnolia asked him to shift. “I’m going to wedge this scale in over your heart. If you draw near to Chelsea, the scale will heat and pulse white.”

  That sounded good, but there was one flaw. “How close do I need to be to her before it works? I don’t know where she is, and the realm is large.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know how close you need to be.”

  He worked hard not to show his disappointment. These four sisters had been amazing in the past, and he hoped Magnolia was merely being humble. “I appreciate you trying.”

  Declan shifted and then leaned over to allow Magnolia to place the scale where it needed to go. When she put her palm over his heart, heat singed him.

  “This will keep the scale in place—forever. I hope you find her.”

  So did he. Knowing that time was critical, he took flight for Sandalwood Lake on the off chance Sanditra was holding Chelsea captive there. He could only hope Danita’s intel was correct.

  Keeping low to the ground, Declan kept his sharp eyes peeled for a house that matched the description Danita had given them. Because the dense foliage blocked a lot of his view, he had to make a pass around the lake twice. As he was about to give up on finding Chelsea today, something white peeked through the trees. The scale on his chest wasn’t pulsing or heating, so maybe this would be a wild goose chase. Nonetheless, he needed to check it out. Given its location, he had to go on foot.

  After finding the most open space, he landed and then shifted. That speck of white he’d seen from above was now hidden somewhere in front of him. A house implied there’d be a road, so that was where he headed.

  Once on the road, Declan took off at a run, searching for Chelsea. He’d seen several homes on the lake, but he doubted Sanditra would be so bold as to hold someone captive where others might notice.

  He was halfway around the lake when his scale flickered. Holy shit. This was the right place. Declan stilled, not wanting to give away his presence. As quiet as he could, he continued down the road. Heat seared him, and he slowed. Through the trees, a white house appeared.

  Thank you, Acacia, Magnolia, and Poppy.

  If he could have remained in his dragon form, he would have cloaked himself. As he neared, he darted tree to tree, stopping at random intervals to avoid being heard. When he came within a hundred feet of the house, he spotted a wolf tied up outside with a silver collar around its neck. Between Finn’s description and the fact his scale was bright white, this had to be Chelsea. It took all of his control not to charge toward her.

  As much as he wanted to call out, he didn’t dare. First, he had to figure out how he was going to free her without the dark witch stopping him. Whether she was inside right now was anyone’s guess.

  After a bit of thought, he decided to run in, grab Chelsea, and hightail it out of there. If Sanditra was inside, and she tried to stop him, he’d shift and fight her on the ground. He’d never heard of a dark witch being able to withstand flames.

  “Chelsea,” he whispered.

  The animal didn’t even lift its head. Either his scale was faulty, or someone was drugging her. The collar might be making her weak too. Declan inhaled and sped toward her. Just as he reached Chelsea, he bent down to untie the rope from around her neck, when the front door opened.

  “Well, well, it took you long enough, Declan.”

  That voice! It sounded so familiar, but the woman saying the words was foreign to him. He stood, unsure of how she knew him. “Sanditra, I assume?”

  She smiled. “You assume right. How clever of you.” Her tone dripped of sarcasm.

  He stood and faced her. “Seems you have something of mine.” Technically, Chelsea didn’t belong to him, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t want to forge a bond with her.

  “Is that so? What do I have?”

  He didn’t buy her innocent act. “This wolf is really a shifter.”

  She made a grand gesture of covering her mouth. “I had no idea.”

  Declan didn’t need to put up with her bullshit, dark lighter or not. “I’m assuming the collar is preventing Chelsea from shifting. Remove it now! If you don’t, I will make your life a living hell because I’m not leaving here without her.”

  Sanditra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I will if you hand over Kaleena.”

  The concept was so preposterous, the blood nearly drained from his brain. “Over my dead body.”

  She smiled. “That can be arranged.”

  Declan had enough. He lifted his arms and transformed them into claws. Just as he was about to shoot fire at her, an ache raced through him so fast that his muscles caught on fire. He couldn’t move. What the hell?

  “Goodnight, Declan.”

  His vision blurred and then turned black. Blind, his muscles gave way, and he collapsed.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Declan came to, it was dawn, and Chelsea wasn’t anywhere around. Neither was Sanditra for that matter. Fuck.

  How the hell had she been able to paralyze him? He hadn’t been shot with a dart. She must have put a spell on him. Crap. His admiration for his sister grew. How had she managed to survive someone as powerful as Sanditra and for such a long time? As for Danita, she was truly amazing.

  Needing to find Chelsea, he rose and then staggered. Lowering his hands to his knees, he dropped his head, trying to clear it. That bitch would pay if it was the last thing he did. One thing was certain, he needed more help to find Chelsea. When he did, he would take down that dark lighter.

  Because his scale wasn’t pulsing, he assumed Chelsea wasn’t nearby any longer, but he checked around back just in case. He even tested the front door, but it was locked. The interior was dark, implying no one was there. Where were they? He wouldn’t figure it out by standing around and feeling sorry for himself that was for sure.

  Moving as quickly as he could, Declan shot down the long driveway. As soon as he found a clearing, he took off and headed straight for SinCas. He could only hope a few of the Guardians were around to help.

  During the trip back, he monitored his scale to see if perhaps he could find Chelsea, but unfortunately, it never flashed. On top of the building, he landed harder than usual. His muscles were still not working right.

  After a quick check of a few offices, he realized it was too early for anyone to be at work. Needing guidance, he called his dad and explained the situation.

  “She paralyzed you?” His dad’s tone was a cross between disgust and disbelief that his son couldn’t stop her.

  “Yes. I hadn’t realized how powerful Sanditra is.”

  “I’ll gather the troops. Where are you?
”

  “At the office.”

  “Hold tight,” his dad said right before hanging up.

  Within an hour, many of the Guardians had shown up. Perhaps the most important one was his sister Kaleena. She of all people would understand the dark lighter the best. Along with Kaleena came Finn, Thane, Stone, Tory, Griffin, Nessa, and Declan’s dad. The others were either needed at the mine or were battling the fires on the edge of the province.

  If this group couldn’t find Chelsea and take down Sanditra, no one could. Once they were all seated, he, Kaleena, and Finn brought the others up to speed.

  “What’s your plan?” his dad asked.

  Declan huffed out a laugh. “I don’t have one. Thanks to Danita, I found Chelsea, but now that Sanditra knows we’re trying to locate her, she’ll be more careful.”

  “I could draw her out,” Kaleena said. “She wants me.”

  “No!” Finn, Declan, and three others shouted in unison.

  Finn placed a hand on Kaleena’s arm. “We are not exchanging one hostage for another. You know what happened the last time.”

  “Yes, but you all will be there.”

  Declan shook his head. “If anything happened to you, I’m convinced Finn would kill me, even if we get Chelsea back.”

  Kaleena snapped her fingers and then smiled. “I have just the answer.”

  The room silenced. “What?” Declan asked.

  “Who’s up for some morning coffee?”

  “What the fuck? Chelsea is being drugged and taken somewhere and you want to drink coffee? We have plenty here.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  His sister was acting crazy. “You know I do.”

  “In order not to overwhelm the coffee shop, how about if only you, Finn, and I go to Angelique’s place?”

  Tory shook her head. “You are not leaving me out of this. I want to help too. You are my twin, and someone has to make sure you don’t sacrifice yourself.”

  “Fine,” Kaleena said, waving a hand and then smiling.

  “I could use a strong cup right now,” Declan said, “but how will our going there accomplish anything?”

  “Angelique is our ace in the hole.”

  Declan pushed back his chair. “Fine. We’ll report back—hopefully, with a plan.”

  Because it wasn’t that far they hopped in Tory’s car and headed over. Kaleena was holding something back, but he figured she’d tell them when the time was right.

  The shop was about half full when they arrived. Most of the clients were sitting at the counter drinking coffee and snacking on pastries or croissants.

  “That’s Angelique,” Kaleena told Declan.

  “I’ve seen her before. I take it she’s a good friend.”

  “Yes. She’s also a very powerful white lighter.”

  They grabbed a booth near the back. “More powerful than Sanditra?” Declan doubted that.

  “I hope so.”

  Tory slipped out of the booth. “I’ll order four coffees.”

  They told her their preferences.

  Declan was sitting across from his sister and Finn. “How do you know Angelique?” he asked Kaleena.

  “I came in here for some coffee one day, and the moment I spotted Angelique, I recognized her strength. From there, we’ve become friends.”

  He figured there was more to it, but perhaps she didn’t want to discuss it in the restaurant. Tory ordered their coffees and then spoke to the owner. Angelique followed Tory back to the booth. She pulled up a chair and sat at the end. “Chelsea is missing?” Angelique said, worry coloring her tone.

  “Yes.” Once more, Declan gave a brief rundown of what happened.

  She shook her head. “That’s horrible. Chelsea was in here recently. I recognized her from when Kaleena and she stopped by. Something at work had upset her.”

  “Did she say what?”

  Angelique hesitated. “Apparently your ex-girlfriend stopped by and was a bit snippy with Chelsea.”

  Fuck. “Sabrina is like that, but she has nothing to do with this. I don’t suppose you’ve met her.”

  “No, and I’m glad I haven’t.”

  Kaleena reached out and placed a hand on Angelique’s. “Is there anything you can do to help?”

  “I haven’t been here long, but I do have a few contacts who might know something.” She pushed back her chair. “Give me a few hours. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

  As soon as she left, Declan studied Tory, Kaleena, and Finn. “Do you believe her?” he asked his sister.

  “Yes, but even if I didn’t, it’s not like we have a lot of options,” Kaleena said.

  Very true. A waitress carried over a tray of coffees and set them on the table. Tory held up her drink. “Here’s to finding Chelsea.”

  “Here, here,” they all said in unison.

  After they finished their coffees, they headed back to SinCas. He couldn’t help but wonder who Angelique would be talking to. Was there a secret group of white lighters that he knew nothing about? If so, why didn’t Kaleena know about them?

  Hell, even if there were such a group, would they have knowledge of Sanditra’s whereabouts?

  “Now what?” Finn asked as Tory pulled onto the road.

  “We wait to hear what Angelique finds out,” Kaleena said. “You guys get back to work while I wait at SinCas. I don’t want to be too far away if she contacts me.”

  “I’ll stay too. There’s nothing urgent at the mine for me,” Declan said.

  “Me neither,” Finn chimed in.

  “I appreciate it.”

  Kaleena reached across the seat and cupped Declan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

  “Let’s hope. You saw what Sanditra did to Danita. And she has powers to fend off the dark lighter. I can’t imagine what Sanditra will do to Chelsea.”

  “I want to find her as much as you do,” Finn said, “but if Kaleena trusts Angelique, I do too.”

  Declan nodded. “I’ll give her two hours. Then I’m going back out to look for Chelsea.”

  Keeping her eyes on the road, Tory snapped her fingers. “Maybe we can ask Delisa Contreau to help.”

  “Who’s that?” Finn asked.

  “She was the one who was able to connect with Kaleena through me when Kaleena was in the castle cell. Because our twin link was strong, Delisa could hear what was being said and what the place smelled like. She also could feel Kaleena’s pain.”

  “It can’t hurt to try.”

  Declan dragged a hand down his jaw, the acid burning a hole in his gut. “We know that Sanditra has her. I imagine Chelsea will be in some pain if the collar contains poison. I don’t know what else she can tell us. I say we wait for Angelique to contact us and then call Delisa as a backup.”

  “Sounds good,” Tory said, though she sounded disappointed.

  His sister parked, and everyone entered the SinCas building. On his way up to the top floor, he called his dad and filled him in.

  “What do you know about this Angelique woman?”

  “Just that she’s Kaleena’s friend—and a powerful white lighter.”

  “Are we certain she’s not in cahoots with Sanditra?”

  His father was talking nonsense. “We would have sensed her darkness—or at least, Kaleena would have. I’ll wait to learn what she has to say first before I do anything. Don’t worry, I’ll take a lot of backup this time if I head out.”

  “Let me know,” his dad said.

  “Will do.”

  Declan tried not to be impatient while waiting two hours, but he failed. He found Finn in Kaleena’s office. “Maybe we should go back to the coffee shop and wait there. It’ll save time if Angelique learns something.”

  “What about me and Tory?” Kaleena asked.

  “You can’t come with us during the search, and Tory would be valuable to Sanditra too.”

  “I never get to have any fun.” His sister shot him a pout, but the worry lines around her eyes had decrease
d.

  Finn slapped his thighs and stood. “The two of us it is.”

  As they headed out the front door to go to the coffee shop, Angelique was walking toward them. “Angelique. How did you know where to find us?” Declan asked.

  “I have many talents.”

  “What did you find out?” Declan asked.

  “I know where Chelsea is. How about gathering the troops and we can discuss the plan?”

  “Where is she?” Declan demanded.

  She squared her shoulders and faced him. “Plan first.”

  Arguing would only waste time. He held up his palms in surrender. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The plan seemed simple enough. Declan, Finn, and Angelique would fly to a house that Angelique claimed held Chelsea—a different one from before.

  As soon as they told Thane what was going on, he insisted on helping, claiming he wanted to add his fighting prowess to the already powerful duo of Declan and Finn. Declan suspected his younger brother wanted to go because he found Angelique highly alluring.

  Declan pushed back from the conference table. “Everyone ready to free Chelsea?”

  “Let’s get her,” Angelique said with a smile. She really did seem to want to foil Sanditra.

  All four of them climbed the steps to the SinCas rooftop. Thane had volunteered to carry Angelique. Thankfully, she didn’t balk at his method of transportation.

  “We’ll lead,” she said to Finn and him. “I know where this place is.”

  That worked for him. “Let’s go.”

  The three of them shifted. Thane picked up Angelique and took off. In the hopes that Declan’s scale would flash, they flew close to the ground. Sure enough, when they neared a clearing, heat pulsed over his heart.

  A second later, Declan dove toward the ground, and Thane and Finn followed. Once they changed into their human form, they headed in on foot.

  Angelique held out her hand to stop them. “Declan, you and Finn go in first. Thane and I will follow behind.”

  “Sounds good.” Because it was possible that Sanditra would paralyze him again, he motioned for Finn to go around back. Whether Finn could sneak up on her was anyone’s guess.