by G. Bailey
Get the collar off, my dragon demands.
If I could, I would, I growl back, and she huffs, letting me have control because there is no choice here. I pull myself up to stand shakily and look over at Melody in her cage through the bars.
“Where is Korbin?” I ask, pretty much hoping her answer isn’t what I am expecting her to say.
“They took him too,” she answers like I expect her to. I grab the bars, trying to shake them before resting my head against them in frustration. I was stupid to risk talking to Hallie, and now my dragons will pay for it.
“At least they didn’t take you,” I finally reply to Melody.
“No, they don’t need me to control you,” she replies emotionlessly. “It’s nearly time. You can save them.”
“Time for what?” I look up, meeting her eyes as I ask her.
“Fate,” she quietly replies and steps back, disappearing into the shadows of her cage.
“Come back! You can’t just say that!” I shout at her, but there is silence for a reply. Damn seers.
I pace around my cage for what feels like ages, knowing every moment, my dragons are in danger. I don’t know how long it has been, but suddenly the walls and ground shake, knocking me to the floor, and my head slams against the ground. The lights flicker before the room goes pitch black, and I hold my hands over my head as the ground shakes more. When I open my eyes, the lights are flashing and flickering, and there is a loud alarm blasting somewhere nearby.
“Melody? Are you okay?” I shout, worrying when I don’t hear her for a while as I pull myself up off the floor.
“I’m good. Just a little shaken,” she shouts back as I hold onto the bars, just in case. I look around, seeing that my door has come off the hinges a little in the shake. I go over to it and pull at the gap, making it a little bigger and bigger before I can climb out. I fall out the door just as the ground shakes again, and I hold my hands over my head as pieces of the ceiling fall. When the shaking subsides, I sit up, pushing my dusty hair out of my face, blinking as I look up to see a woman my age standing in the corridor entrance. She has long brown hair, glowing blue eyes and a leather outfit on that reminds me of some kind of assassin or something.
"Who are you?" I ask the woman, who tilts her head to the side and smiles.
"Winter—well, I'm kinda the queen—but it doesn't matter right now as you don’t have to call me anything but Winter. Sorry, totally mumbling. We need to get going," she pauses as we both hear a long growl that oddly sounds like a wolf. A very scary and unhappy wolf. A few screams follow after the growl which worry me a little while I still have this collar on.
“What was that?” I slowly ask her, feeling like the woman looks familiar somehow, and I’m not sure why. Why does her name sound familiar? The ground shakes again, and we both duck as more ceiling falls near us, the sharp rocks hitting my arm. Winter just gets up, shaking the dust off and answering my question like nothing happened.
“Jaxson, my mate, is dealing with the guards. Let’s just say they should be scared, he is pissed off since one of them tried to shoot me. Anyways, Dabriel and Wyatt are sorting out the other buildings since we got a tip about this place,” she says with a grin. "Let's go, we have people to save, right?" she asks as she walks over to me and holds out a hand. I slide my hand into hers as she helps me stand up, and we both look behind us as Melody walks over, brushing off dust from her clothes.
“Time to go. Nice to meet you, Queen Winter. My sister’s soon-to-be close friend,” Melody says, walking around us like we aren’t even here and never stopping as she speaks. Winter frowns at her and looks back to me.
“How did she know my name?” Winter asks.
“My sister, Melody, is a seer. I’m Isola, by the way,” I say, figuring I might as well introduce myself before we walk to where Melody waits for us by the door. Winter slides two daggers out of her belt, looking between Melody and me like we are strange. If anything, Winter seems strange to me…or just very brave. I’m not sure which yet.
“Here, you need a weapon,” she offers one of the daggers to Melody, who waves a hand. “Give it to Isola. I don’t need it.” Winter shrugs and hands it to me, and I accept it. If a seer says you might need a weapon, you find a weapon.
“Is everyone in this building seers? My mates and army have got our people out, but you guys were the most protected, so it took longer. They really didn’t want to let us in here,” Winter explains as we walk into the war zone of the main room where most of the screaming is coming from. There are wolves everywhere of different colors and sizes, there are people shooting fire, and angels flying around the room, fighting with the hunters who are having no luck shooting them. A massive black wolf picks up a hunter in its mouth like it is nothing and throws the hunter across the room with his other paw. Damn. I jump back when a man appears right in front of us. The man looks like a Greek god with his long blond hair and his black cloak clipped at his neck. The man doesn’t even seem to notice us as he looks at Winter, assessing her in a loving way. I know that look because it is how Dagan, Kor, Elias and Thorne look at me when they are worried about me. Right before becoming all overprotective.
“Atti, did you work out how to get the collars off?” Winter asks the man, apparently called Atti, who grins at her in a cheeky way.
“Of course I did! What do you take me for, love? It only took me a few attempts to get it right,” he replies, laughing.
“Yes, I’m sure the ones you tested it on where not thankful for your attempts,” she replies, arching an eyebrow as he pulls her into his arms, and I look away as he kisses her. I spot my uncle as he snaps the neck of one of the hunters and picks up a little girl with white hair, before running out the room with her.
“It was only two of them, and these guys are stronger than they look,” he replies, laughing, and Winter shakes her head at him. They are in the middle of a war zone and making jokes. Whatever these people are, they are weird.
“Isola, do you want your collar off?” Winter asks me, pulling away from Atti and gently touching my arm to get my attention.
“Is it safe?” I ask Atti instead of answering her, and he nods.
“Perfectly,” he replies, and I nod, knowing I don’t really have a choice if I want this thing off me. Atti steps closer and holds his hand on the collar on my neck. It burns for a moment before it makes a loud beeping noise and unclicks. Atti pulls it off for me, and I rub my neck, loving the feeling of being free. Atti steps away from me as snow starts falling from my hands, and my eyes must be turning silver.
We find them and get revenge. I don’t have to reply to my dragon, knowing that we are on the same page. I close my eyes and try to sense my mates, knowing Kor is most likely with them. It takes me a few moments to realize that something is still blocking me from actually finding them, but I know they are near.
“Thank you,” I tell Atti and Winter. They look between each other and back to me like I’m a puzzle to figure out, but I ignore them and look to Melody. “Where are they? I know you can find them when I can’t.”
“This way,” Melody nods her head to a door, like she was waiting for me to ask. I grit my teeth and run after her, only looking back when I hear footsteps to see Winter and Atti following after us.
“We are coming with you, for back up. I don’t know why, but I think you might need us,” Winter replies, but I don’t have time to reply to her as I turn and run after Melody who is heading for a door. She stops, suddenly spinning around, and kicks the door open in one fluid movement that looks badass, before running in with me right behind her. The room is a long corridor, full of wooden white painted doors. Melody doesn’t pause, heading straight for the third door down and kicking it open. There are screams as I follow Melody in, and I watch as she punches one of the hunters in the face, and they fall to the floor with a smack. One of the other hunters tries to run past us, but I grab the back of his coat, calling my ice and freezing the hunter from top to bottom.
“Oka
y…that was freakin’ cool, Isola,” Winter says in awe, but my eyes widen as I look around the room. Dagan, Kor and Thorne are all in one cage, strapped to the wall by metal grips. There is various tubing taking blood from their arms and likely pumping some sedative into them to keep them half asleep. Each of them looks up when we walk in, their faces each covered in bruises and cuts. They look like someone has beat the shit out of them.
“Get them out. I have to find her,” Melody tells me, but I barely hear her or see the hunters running down the corridor behind us as I head for the cage. I grab the bars of the door, freezing the parts near the lock until they snap. I step back to copy my sister’s move, spinning and kicking the cage door which falls to the floor with a bang.
“I could have just found the key,” I hear Atti almost sarcastically say behind us as I get to Korbin first. “But that works too.” I pull the tubing out of his arm, holding my hand over the bleeding for a moment until it naturally heals. I pull the metal straps off his arms and then his legs, and he pulls me into an embrace the moment he is free. I breathe in his fire scent as I wrap my arms tightly around his neck and try not to break down just yet. We are so close to being free, and I can only let anger rule me right now.
“You okay, doll?” he asks me, and I nod. Kor follows my gaze over towards Atti and Winter who are pulling off Dagan’s and Thorne’s straps. “Who are your new friends?” he asks me quietly.
“Winter, who is apparently a queen, but I don’t know what of, and her friend, Atti. They saved me, so they are my friends now. I owe them,” I explain to Kor, and just like that, I can see any hostility towards them gone. They saved me, and dragons always respect those who they owe a debt.
“My mate, Atticus, actually. I am the queen of the supernaturals, but just call me Winter,” Winter chimes in as I get to Dagan who she has just undone. I wrap my arms around Dagan, silently seeking his comfort, and he squeezes me tightly in response. I meet Thorne’s eyes over Dagan’s shoulder as Atti undoes his collar.
Time to get out of here, Thorne speaks in my mind, and to my surprise, Dagan is the one that replies as he can apparently now hear us. I love how we are all bonded now.
Not before we kill the hunters that put us here.
Chapter Fourteen
Isola
“So, blondie can make ice from her hands, what else can you guys do? What do you call yourselves?” Atti asks as he gets Kor’s collar off as we wait, and we are finally all free then. “I would suspect a version of witches, but you don’t seem like a witch like me.”
“Isola…” Hallie whispers, stepping through the door before I can answer Atti. Melody steps in behind her, and they are holding hands which surprises me into silence. Dagan doesn’t seem too surprised as he protectively wraps an arm around my waist. I always knew Melody and Hallie were meant to be together, but after everything Hallie has done, this is hard to swallow. I look between them, ignoring the gentle shake of the ground behind us and the distant screams, growls and scent of fire in the air.
“Seriously, Melody? We can’t trust her,” Dagan growls. “She was the one that put us in here in the first place! Her father runs this place and tortured us!”
“We can trust her! I love my sister, and I would never put her in danger if I had any choice!” Melody exclaims, wiping a tear away and looking over at Hallie. “Hallie, please explain everything while the witch king takes off my collar.” Melody leans over, kissing Hallie’s cheek before letting her go to walk to Atti.
“How did she know what and who I am?” Atti asks Winter as I stare at Hallie like she is the only one in the room.
“Apparently, she is a seer and knows stuff,” Winter replies as Hallie nervously puts her hands together and steps forward towards me. Dagan lightly growls, pulling me back, but I put my hand on his chest and shake my head at him.
“First, you should know Melody has been visiting me for months in a faded, almost ghost like form. She told me everything. I am so sorry for what Michael almost did. If I could bring that bastard back to life, I would, just to murder him more painfully next time. I fell in love with Melody, and I knew one day we would get to be together…just not like this. It was just an instant thing, a feeling of finally belonging and being happy with her. Melody is my world…and you have always been my best friend,” she whispers. “I hate my father, but after my mum died in Paris, he went insane. I didn’t have a choice but to pretend to be on his side. I couldn’t do anything but pretend.”
“I don’t remember you pretending anything when you shot me,” I reply, not knowing if I can trust Hallie or not.
“Yes, even then. I shot you to save you, funny enough,” she tells me, completely confusing me.
“I don’t feel like you saved me at all,” I retort. “All you did was get us stuck in here and my dragons tortured. You did nothing that saved me at all. Winter saved me.”
“I didn’t know you were going to come through that portal when you did. I wasn’t expecting it when you all came in and everyone saw you. There were hunters everywhere around that portal, and I knew we could never have fought them all off. I had to pretend I hated you, even when it broke my heart to see the betrayal in your eyes as I pulled the trigger,” she whispers. “You have to believe I didn’t want to shoot you. You’re my best friend.”
“You shot your best friend? That’s not cool,” Winter says, clearly only hearing the end part of the conversation as she steps to my other side. Melody—now free of her collar—goes to Hallie and they link hands. I glance at the bag on Melody’s shoulder, where her orb just sticks out, knowing she must have stopped off for that too. When Hallie and Melody look at each other for only a moment, I see the love and adoration on both their faces. I don’t doubt for a second they love each other, but it’s hard to swallow that Hallie did all this because she was trying to protect me.
“Hallie has protected you for a long time. She even hid Bee from them all, and took her somewhere safe,” Melody tells me, changing everything. If she really kept Bee safe all this time…I might actually believe everything. Why would she do that otherwise? I glance at Dagan, then Thorne and Kor who seem just as shocked as I feel.
“You saved Bee?” I whisper, looking back at Hallie, feeling tears prickling my eyes.
“Of course I did. My father couldn’t have seen Bee because who knows what he would have done to her. I took Bee to Jules at the nursing home. Jules and all the old people there love her,” Hallie explains. That sounds like my Bee. I miss the little spirit.
“She is okay?” I ask, remembering how weak she seemed when we came through the portal.
“Bee and Jules, both of them are okay, just weak for different reasons. I know it will take time for you to forgive me…but I am so sorry. I just did what I could to keep you safe, and Jules helped me call the supernaturals, because she clearly has her own secrets, to tell them about my father’s work,” Hallie says, looking down at the ground. I step away from everyone and go to Hallie, wrapping my arms around her as I wonder how Jules knows anything about supernaturals. She cries silently as we hug, and I pull away as I know we have other things to do. Hallie is right, it will take time for me to trust her again, but we are on the right track now.
“Sorry to interrupt, but my witches have got everyone out. We should go now so they can destroy the buildings,” Atti says to us all. “I can make us move outside if everyone holds hands.” I look at Winter, who nods her encouragement and holds a hand out to me as she holds Atti’s hand. I slide my hand into hers, and Dagan, Kor and Thorne place their hands on my back while Hallie and Melody hold my arm. A cold wash of magic, much like going through a portal, drifts over my skin, and I close my eyes. As I open them, we are stood in a forest, with five buildings in the distance, which I bet is where we were being kept. I let go of Winter’s hand as I see Graves getting into a car with some other hunters in the distance, a low growl slipping from my lips as my dragon locks onto her target. My hands drip with ice as anger burns throughout me.
<
br /> “You want to see what we are?” I turn and ask Winter with a grin. She nods, looking a little confused. I run forward, letting my dragon take over after a few steps, everything turning white as I shift. I roar as I spread my wings out, knocking down trees and hearing gasps behind me.
“You’re a freakin’ dragon!” I hear Winter shout in amazement.
“We rescued dragons…that is cool. Where is Jaxson…the wolf isn’t the biggest creature on Earth anymore. He will fucking love that,” I hear Atticus say, followed by his loud laugh. My dragon focuses on the car as it speeds away down a path, ignoring anything else.
Graves will not escape. Let’s hunt, I tell my dragon and she takes off into the sky, heading straight for the car like there is nothing else in the world.
Human will die for touching my mates, my dragon growls as she swoops down, catching the car in her claws and flying up with it like her prey. My dragon looks down at the car as she hovers in the air, seeing Graves’s panicked face in the window as he tries to escape, and the driver jumps out of the car, falling to his death. My dragon looks over to see Dagan’s and Korbin’s dragons next to us, and they fly for the buildings. They shoot fire, setting the buildings alight and roaring proudly. My dragon doesn’t even need my instruction; she flies us over the biggest building, hovering with the car just above it.
Bye, asshole, I mutter, seeing Graves’s terror-filled eyes as my dragon lets the car go, and it falls into the fire. Some part of me feels bad for killing Hallie’s father in front of her, but when my dragon finds her, standing next to Melody, she nods with a firm gaze. He didn’t deserve to live or have a daughter like Hallie. My dragon roars loudly, the sound echoing around the forest, and we hear cheers from the people on the ground. I shoot a stream of ice all around me before my dragon lands us back in the forest on top of the ice and snow. I shift back and stretch as I stand up tall. Winter and Atticus run over as Dagan’s and Korbin’s dragons land behind me and then shift back. All the dragons and other supernaturals in the forest run out too, with my uncle not far behind them, his hand holding the little girl’s and Jonas’s hands. I nod at him, thankful that he got the children out safely, by the looks of it. I stare at all the ice dragon children in the crowd, knowing that when Dragca is safe, they will return to their home, and I won’t be the only ice dragon left. As I look around, taking in everyone’s smiling faces, I notice one missing.