by Zoe Chant
The stranger also wore jeans and a T-shirt, but no armor. If he had any weapons, they weren’t visible. His clothes didn’t fit well; either they were too big for him, or he’d recently lost weight. He wasn’t just lean, like Shane, but too thin for his frame; when he leaned over, his collarbones stood out sharply. His eyes really were black, not dark brown; she couldn’t tell the irises from the pupils. Beneath his eyes, his pale skin was smudged with shadows dark as bruises.
Something about the man reminded her of Lucas when he’d walked into the throne room after he’d been poisoned with dragonsbane, or of Nick when he’d taken her hand to pull the trigger: as if he was performing a task with sheer willpower, and would collapse the instant he was done. But she wasn’t sure what had given her that idea. Shane’s friend was too thin and looked tired, but nothing in his movements or expression betrayed illness or injury.
Who was he, anyway? Nick obviously didn’t know anything about him other than that Shane trusted him.
Shane filled a syringe. Nick eyed it with alarm. “I can’t —”
“It won’t put you to sleep,” Shane said. “Believe me, you don’t want us to splint your leg without something for the pain.”
“Yeah, okay.” Nick let Shane give him the injection.
Shane and the dark-eyed man set to work bandaging Nick, then put a sling on his arm. By then the injection had taken effect. The lines of pain in Nick’s face had smoothed out, and he didn’t even wince as the men gently straightened his leg, then bound on a splint. Finally, they wrapped him in the blankets. The way Shane and his friend worked together, passing each other instruments without having to be asked, reminded Raluca of how Ellie and Catalina had examined her after the ball.
“Hal and the team are mopping up,” Shane said to his friend. “They’ll be here in a minute. Come back to the office with us, and you can meet everyone.”
The man hurriedly stood up. “No. No. I have to get going.”
Shane got up as well. “What do you mean? You’re here. I thought you’d come to stay.”
“No, I came because a couple days ago, I had a sense that you were in danger,” his friend replied. “There were some problems, it’s not important, but I couldn’t get here right away. By the time I arrived, the sense of danger was gone. But I tracked you here to make sure. You seemed to be doing just fine on your own, but your buddy was hurt. So I went to him.”
“You can sense if I’m in danger?” Shane sounded surprised.
His friend shrugged. “Got me. This was the first time. Actually, I wasn’t sure it was you. I could just feel that someone in this direction was in trouble, and I figured it had to be you or Catalina. You’re the only people here who I can track. It wasn’t her, was it?”
Shane shook his head. “She’s fine. She’s still in training.”
“Then it was you. What was going on three days ago?”
“Nothing.” Shane’s face was hard to read, but he seemed troubled. “I wasn’t in any danger. I wasn’t even on a job.”
His friend’s skin had always been pale, but at that, it went white. “Oh, that is just what I need. If my power’s misfiring —”
“Then you should stay!” Shane caught his friend’s arm. “I’ll help you. We’ll all help you!”
The dark-eyed man extracted his arm from Shane’s grip. “I’m fine. But your teammate needs you. Stay with him.”
With that, he vanished into the shadows. Shane took a step after him, then visibly forced himself to stop. Speaking more to himself than to anyone else, he muttered, “He’s not fine. He looks like he hasn’t slept or eaten in weeks.”
“So did you, when you joined the team,” Nick said. “You got better.”
“That’s because I joined the team.” Shane’s whole body was tense with frustration. “He won’t take my help. And he’s got nobody else.”
“Who is he, Shane?” Raluca asked.
“I can’t say. It’s his secret. I hope some day he’ll come in from the cold and tell you all himself.” Shane shook his head, as if forcing himself to focus, and settled back down beside Nick. “Never mind. Hang in there, Nick. We’ll get you out of here once the fighting’s over. It shouldn’t be long. I think everyone’s done but Lucas.”
He was right. All had gone quiet except for the sound of approaching footsteps. Hal and Rafa and Destiny came running up. Destiny’s arm was bitten, Rafa was limping, and Hal’s face was bruised, but none of them seemed seriously hurt. They crouched down around Nick.
“Nick!” Destiny exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! We were trying to protect you. I have no idea how Price got past us.”
“Price is good at that,” Nick said, then corrected himself. “Was.”
Rafa looked worried, but tried to put on a joking tone. “I let you out of my sight for one minute...”
Hal said, “Ellie and Catalina are waiting out of the danger zone in an ambulance they... uh... borrowed.” Before Nick could protest, Hal added, “Just to take you to Protection, Inc. I’ll call them in as soon as it’s safe.”
“Isn’t it safe now?” Nick asked, frowning.
“I don’t know. Lucas is still up there... I think.” Hal shaded his eyes, peering up at the sky. Raluca followed his gaze. Lucas and Grigor still appeared to be fighting, but they were so far up that Raluca couldn’t see any details. Hal didn’t seem able to see them at all. “Wish we had someone else who could fly.”
He does, hissed Raluca’s dragon.
“You do,” she said.
Nick stiffened in her arms. “Raluca —”
Hal shook his head. “No. You’re not a fighter. It’s too risky.”
“Nick needs help.” Raluca had spoken impulsively before, but as she went on, she knew the truth of her words. “Lucas may also. And if Grigor escapes him and dives to attack you, none of you will even be able to see him coming. Nick saved me, and all of you helped me. I wish to help you now.”
Hal frowned. Raluca could see that he agreed with her reasoning, but was reluctant to let her risk herself.
“I am a free woman now. My choices are my own.” Then Raluca turned to Nick. “But if you wish me to stay with you, I will.”
Nick took a deep breath, then squeezed her hand. “I’ll be fine. Kick his sorry ass right out of the sky. You know you want to.”
“You really are two of a kind,” Hal said. “All right. Go for it.”
Shane took Raluca’s place, both moving carefully so they didn’t jar Nick. Raluca bent to give him a light kiss, then stepped away from them all.
She let her heart fill with the pure desires of a dragon.
Honor.
Gold.
The open sky.
And vengeance, her dragon hissed.
The dark alley dissolved into silver sparks. Raluca’s blood burned within her, but with a painless heat rather than the agony of dragonsbane. Her wings stretched out, her talons emerged, and a furnace roared inside her. With a sudden leap, she was aloft, her wings beating hard as she arrowed straight upward, toward the distant fighters overhead.
Raluca had always been a very fast flyer; it was only that which had allowed her to catch Nick before he could hit the ground. Few dragons could have done the same. Her speed enabled her to quickly reach the heights where the gold and brass dragons fought.
Once she was close enough to see them, she understood why they were still in the air. Grigor wasn’t fighting Lucas, but trying to evade him and fly down to the alley. Lucas was flying below him, blocking him at every turn with slashing claws and bursts of flame. But while Lucas was bigger and able to prevent him from flying down to attack his friends, he wasn’t fast enough to catch Grigor. Neither dragon was injured, but both were obviously weary.
Raluca, however, had been flying for mere minutes. She was still fresh. And she was faster than Grigor. Both dragons, intent on their fight, didn’t see her until she was almost upon them. Raluca caught Lucas’s eye, then darted upward.
Grigor, his attention divided, he
sitated for a fatal moment, allowing himself to get trapped between Lucas below and Raluca above. In that instant of indecision, both dragons struck.
Lucas lunged up as Raluca dropped down, folding her wings and landing with her full weight on Grigor’s back. She dug her talons into his wings, pinning them to his sides. Before Grigor could twist to flame either of them, she bit down on his neck, not piercing his skin but holding his head in place with the threat of it.
Lucas’s golden wings beat hard, his muscles straining as he bore the weight of them both. Raluca felt Grigor tensing his legs, no doubt to claw Lucas’s back. She bit down harder. He retracted his talons, and let Lucas lower them both to the ground.
They landed with a jarring thud. Raluca spread her wings, lifting off, and dragged Grigor off Lucas’s back. She stayed on top of Grigor, pinning his wings and keeping her teeth locked on his neck, as Lucas became a man in a whirlwind of brilliant sparks.
He wore a plain button-down shirt and black slacks, neither tailored nor expensive, and no jewelry at all. His golden hair, chiseled features, and perfect posture were the only elegant things about him. Raluca was puzzled, then remembered that he had been undercover. Like the rest of his team members, he obviously hadn’t had time to change.
Lucas got in a huddle with his teammates while Raluca waited, uncertain what to do. Then Destiny handed Lucas an odd-looking gun.
Lucas aimed the gun at Grigor and said, “You can let go of him now.”
Raluca sprang off him. The instant she did, Grigor leaped into the air. Lucas fired the gun. It made a soft popping noise rather than a bang. In mid-air, Grigor became a man with a yell of pain, and fell about ten feet down. He hit the ground with another yelp.
Hal pounced on him and handcuffed him, then yanked him to his feet. “Rafa, call Ellie in.”
As Rafa pulled out his phone, Raluca thought of human things — her concern and love for Nick, her pleasure and relief at Grigor’s very literal downfall, and her plan to buy shoes without high heels, immediately — and became a woman.
Her first glance was to Nick, who was still sitting up with his back against Shane’s chest. He managed a smile as she ran to his side. “You were amazing. I knew you could beat that asshole.”
Hal hauled Grigor closer. Her cousin was bruised, scraped, and limping, and looked furious. “How dare you use my own dragonsbane gun on me!”
Destiny laughed. “Finders keepers.”
But Lucas glared at him. “How dare you try to murder my friends and usurp the throne of Viorel!”
Hal gave Grigor a shake. “You’re done with murder. And you’re not getting the throne. Price is dead. Fiona is delivering the rest of your crew to the nearest police station. The cops know us here, and they’ll believe us when we tell them what happened — minus the shifting, of course. Especially when we’re turning over wanted gangsters and international assassins. They’ll all be in jail for a long, long time. As for you, I’ve got just one question. Did Constantine have anything to do with this?”
Grigor’s indignant expression seemed completely sincere. “No! I loathe the man. And I want to be a real king, not a puppet. He’s the last person I’d ever conspire with. Or even speak to!”
“Excellent,” Lucas said. “In that case, the two of you can share a cell for the rest of your lives.”
Nick looked at Raluca. “Is that enough vengeance for you?”
Raluca imagined Grigor and Uncle Constantine, locked up forever in a dark, dank dungeon, with a drop of burning dragonsbane always on their skin to prevent their escape. Worse yet, with no company but each other. She smiled. “It is. In fact, this will give me revenge on my uncle as well. Their loathing is mutual.”
Nick started to chuckle, then cut himself off, wincing. “Good. They deserve each other.”
Lucas gave Hal a plaintive glance. “I may lock him in Protection, Inc. for the night, may I not?”
“Lucas, of course I’m not asking you to fly to Europe tonight,” Hal replied. “You just got back! Lock that asshole in a bedroom for as long as you like.”
“Take Raluca’s clothes out first,” Destiny said.
“Nick...” Lucas gracefully knelt down, then paused, as if uncertain what to say. It was odd to see him caught in an awkward moment, when he had been so assured when Raluca had seen him last. Finally, he said, “I am sorry I came too late to protect you.”
Nick seemed taken aback. “You came just in time.”
“In the nick of time,” Rafa suggested. Destiny punched his arm.
“In that case, I’m glad,” Lucas said, ignoring the others. “I only wish it had been sooner. I hope your wounds heal quickly.”
“They will,” Nick said. Then he too paused, making Raluca realize that the awkwardness was mutual. Then, determinedly pushing past it, he added, “I’m glad things are about to get even worse for fucking Constantine. He deserves it for what he did to you.”
“Thank you, Nick,” Lucas said, with surprise but no more self-consciousness. Then he turned to Raluca. “You were magnificent. And I’m very happy to see you again.”
“Thank you. I’m happy to see you as well.” She’d never loved Lucas as a mate, but she looked forward to having him as a friend. He’d always been kind to her, even when she’d taken her helpless anger at their unwanted engagement out on him. “I hope we can fly together soon under more peaceful circumstances.”
“I look forward to it,” Lucas said, smiling. “Please don’t think America is always like this. That was the first time I’ve ever fought in the sky.”
Raluca smiled, then stood up and turned to Grigor. “I have something I wish to tell you. Before you are conveyed to your wretched dungeon, I wish you to repeat it to everyone you see.”
“I will ensure that he does,” Lucas said. “And I can also repeat it, if you wish.”
“I do.” Raluca drew in a deep breath, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Renouncing the crown was not a girl’s whim, but a woman’s true desire. I do not want to be queen. I will never want to be queen. Look at me now. Truly look at me.”
Raluca followed Grigor’s appalled gaze from her sequined miniskirt to her black leather corset. Both were torn and blood-stained, not that she cared. But her disreputable state probably helped to drive her point home.
“This is what I want.” Raluca made a wide gesture, encompassing Nick, his team, and all of Santa Martina. “This is my home. These people are my family. And this man is my mate.”
She knelt by Nick and kissed him gently on the lips. He responded with surprising enthusiasm. She hadn’t expected him to have that much energy, but either he was feeling better or he really wanted to help her with her demonstration. Raluca was drawn into the kiss, returning his passion with her own until she momentarily forgot why she was kissing him and where she was. They only broke off when Nick ran out of breath. When Raluca looked up, she was satisfied by Grigor’s incoherent sputterings of horror, outrage, and disgust.
“That is all,” Raluca said.
Nick added, “And tell them that if anyone wants to mess with my girl, they’ll have to go through me and my team first.” He indicated the body of the black wolf. “Ask Price how that worked out for him.”
Grigor was still spluttering with impotent outrage as Lucas transformed into a dragon, unceremoniously grabbed him in his talons, and flew off with him.
An ambulance pulled into the alley, sirens wailing and lights flashing. Catalina and Ellie jumped out, carrying a stretcher. Hal ruffled Ellie’s blonde hair as she passed him, and she glanced up with a quick smile.
“There you go, Nick,” Hal said. “They’ve come to take you home.”
Nick’s eyes glistened at Hal’s words. He blinked hard and didn’t reply.
Hal briefly rested his hand on Nick’s shoulder. Then he and Shane helped Ellie and Catalina lift Nick on to the stretcher. Nick reached out, catching Raluca’s hand.
“Shane, go in the ambulance,” Hal said. “Raluca too, of course.
The rest of us will meet you there. If any more of us get in, you won’t have room to turn round.”
Raluca climbed into the back of the ambulance with Nick, trying to keep out of the paramedics’ way without letting go of his hand. Hal hadn’t been joking; it was a tight squeeze.
Catalina took the driver’s seat while Shane and Ellie tended to Nick in the back, driving fast yet smoothly as the siren wailed.
“How did you find us?” Nick asked.
“We got an alarm when your phone broke,” Shane said. When Nick looked puzzled, Shane went on, “Fiona put it in the last time she fixed up our phones. If one breaks, it sends an alarm to the others, along with the last location it was in.”
“I thought that didn’t work,” Nick said. “Hal stomped on a phone to test it, and nothing happened.”
Shane shrugged. “It didn’t work reliably. She installed it anyway, just in case. Lucky for you, it worked this time. Lucas had just come in, so he took Hal and Destiny and Rafa, because they were closest. Hal called Fiona and me. We drove in, then snuck up from behind.”
The ambulance slowed, blocked by an enormous truck. Catalina flicked a switch, and her voice boomed out over a bullhorn. “MOVE TO THE SIDE. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE. GET OUT OF OUR WAY!”
The truck swung aside as if it was embarrassed, and Catalina resumed darting in and out of traffic.
“Catalina drives like you,” Raluca said to Nick, partly because it was true and partly to distract him from all the needles Shane and Ellie were sticking in him. “Don’t you wish you had a siren and flashing lights, too?”
Nick seemed to welcome the distraction. “What I’m really jealous of is her bullhorn.”
“Oh, God, don’t give him any ideas,” Ellie remarked.
“F-bombs would resound up to the very clouds,” Raluca said.
Nick grinned up at her. He was very pale, but clearly feeling better. “Speaking of f-bombs, I heard the one you dropped on those assholes in the alley.”
“No way!” Ellie exclaimed. “Did you really?”
Shane’s ice-blue gaze fixed on Nick in mock disapproval. “You’re a bad influence.”
Raluca tried not to blush. She had thought Nick had been unconscious when she’d screamed at the gang. “I was very angry.”