by Vella Day
Here goes.
The inside smelled of mold and what she could only guess was urine. It was quite disgusting.
Focus.
No guard was in sight, which helped Lily to relax. The first turn couldn’t come soon enough. It was a left.
So far so good. After many more turns, she spotted the metal box on the wall that contained the keys, and she let out a breath. She hadn’t taken any wrong turns—so far.
Moving quicker now that she’d made it without any incident, she continued. Voices sounded, and she plastered her back against the wall. The last thing she needed was for a guard to run into her—literally. If he did, she feared she might let out a moan and give away her position.
Two men rounded the corner and one man chuckled, totally oblivious to her presence. Thank you, Fay.
After making many more turns, she finally rounded the corner and spotted the jail cells. She did it! Her heart pounded as Lily glanced to each of the cells, trying to place the faces from the pictures. Not everyone would be saved. Some deserved to remain there.
One second she was congratulating herself on her achievement and the next she went flying, the force on her back driving her to her knees. With tremendous effort, she held in a shriek.
“What the fuck was that?” a deep voice said, sounding royally pissed.
Oh, shit. Lily crawled to the wall and slowly rose to her feet, praying they’d have no idea what the man had hit.
“What happened?” a second man asked.
“I don’t know. It was like I hit a wall.” The man who’d run into her scanned the cells.
“It was probably one of those fucking white lighters playing a trick on you,” the other man said.
“Probably.”
The guard who’d knocked her down swung his arms around, but thankfully she was out of his reach. The second guard nudged him. “Come on. The prince wants a report.”
When both of them strode past the cells and disappeared from sight, Lily wasn’t sure she could go on. Why in the hell did she think she was able to pull this off when the Guardians hadn’t been able to?
She stuck her hands in her pockets and felt the three pieces of paper that had the instructions written on them. She studied those in the cells. All were thin, drawn, and quite filthy. Oh, my. Lily had to help them. Inhaling deeply to calm down, she had to hold in a cough. The mold and stench of unwashed bodies was assaulting her.
I can do this. I want to make Birk proud.
Lily walked up to the cell where the woman Kaleena had befriended was being kept. Lily retrieved the instructions from her pocket, and then slid the invisible piece of paper through the bars. The moment she released it, the paper appeared.
Danita stilled and then smiled. It was as if she understood what was happening. She picked up the paper, read it, and then nodded. Thank goodness for white lighters. Magic was second nature for them.
Because Lily feared those who wouldn’t be saved would make a fuss, the instructions made it clear that those she was helping were to say nothing—only nod if they understood what they needed to do.
Once all three received their instructions and agreed, Lily needed to open each cell door. Without that step, nothing would work. Starting with Danita’s cell, Lily stuck the first key in the lock and twisted it. Of course, the cell door became invisible once the key touched it, making it harder to work. Nothing clicked. Too bad Lily couldn’t tell if she’d used the wrong key or if the locks had been changed. On her fifth attempt, the lock finally turned, and relief rushed through her.
As soon as Lily removed the key, the door appeared. Lily looked right then left, to make sure no other guards were coming. “Stay here while I unlock the other doors,” she whispered. Once more, Danita nodded.
After a few mishaps, Lily finally had all three doors opened. The man inside the cell farthest from Danita’s was shaking. Lily wasn’t sure if it was because he had no idea what was happening, or because he’d been abused and was weak. Lily grabbed his hand and led him out. Thankfully, he became invisible.
“Close the door,” she whispered.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Now be quiet, and whatever you do, don’t let go.”
He squeezed her hand as if to let her know he understood. She opened the second door. This time, the frail woman was smart enough to grab hold of the man’s hand. She moaned a little and then followed unseen.
Oh, shit. “Pick up the paper so there is no evidence,” Lily whispered.
Back they went to the first man’s cell.
“Hey,” yelled one of the prisoners who she wasn’t supposed to help.
Shit. He couldn’t see her or anyone else, but he could hear her. She then remembered that the door had squeaked when she’d pulled it open. Lily could only hope the man holding her hand didn’t respond.
“I heard his cell open. Who are you?” the prisoner called out again.
“Shh.” Lily hadn’t meant to give away her position, but she couldn’t help it.
“I know you’re there. You’ve got to help me. I’m here against my will. Please. Open my cell.”
Damn. He wasn’t one of the ones who deserved his freedom. As much as Lily was tempted to help, she had to free Danita and then get the hell out of there before the guards came.
The problem was that Danita had a set of cuffs on her wrists like the ones they had used on Kaleena when she had been held captive.
She stepped from the cell, but then grunted. Damn. As much as Lily wanted to move fast, she couldn’t chance someone letting go.
Footsteps sounded. “Hey, what’s all the yelling about,” one of the guards said to the man in the cell.
“I think someone escaped,” he said.
Lily’s muscles froze. She moved her train of people against the wall, but from the resistance, one of the prisoners wasn’t able to move as quickly as she would have liked. It was probably Danita. Thankfully, none of them said anything.
The guard ran down the length of the cells. “Hey,” the guard shouted. “Three of the prisoners have escaped. What the fuck?”
She and her crew made it around the corner and couldn’t see what the second guard was doing—but she could hear the panic in their voices. Very slowly, she moved sideways edging her way farther from the corner. If they could make it to the first turn, they might be safe.
“Spread out,” a second guard shouted. “They couldn’t have gone far.”
Oh, how had Lily believed she could pull this off—even with an invisibility amulet?
One of the women at the end of the line moaned, and Lily stilled.
“I’ll look down this corridor,” the first guard said.
“I’ll check out the other one,” the other guard called out. It was where they were.
With their backs against the wall, Lily thought it best not to move in the hopes he’d travel down the middle of the hallway. Given these were white lighters, he probably figured they could cloak themselves. It might be why he was waving his arms, hoping to run into one.
Please don’t let him find us.
What seemed like an eternity, the guard returned and swept past them. Lily prayed that Birk and the men weren’t out there freaking, wondering what was taking so long.
Once the guard was out of sight, Lily squeezed the man’s hand. He in turn must have passed on the signal that it was time to move. As much as Lily wanted to walk quickly, she had to take care not to stress the escapees.
They were probably halfway to the exit, when a female voice rang out. Lily stopped and looked behind her. Crap. Danita was on the ground, head down, and very visible.
“Grab her hand,” Lily demanded of the woman who had been holding it.
“Sorry,” Danita whispered. “I tripped.”
A moment later, Danita was invisible once more. Better understanding what weakness could do to a person, Lily waited until the man squeezed Lily’s hand before she continued. This time, she walked even slower.
They grumbled their response. She touched the door to open it, and it immediately disappeared. Lily led her entourage outside. All three whimpered, probably because of the fresh air and warmth of the sun on their faces.
The Guardians had to be somewhere and had hopefully seen the door temporarily disappear. Lily looked up, hoping to see some colorful dragons, but she didn’t spot anyone. Damn.
One moment she was shielding her eyes against the sun’s glare, and the next she was up in the air. Oh, no. The three prisoners were now visible. Lily struggled. How had this dragon known where she was? Whoever he was. Was it Birk, her brother, or some Royal Guard?
When she lost sight of the escaped prisoners, she clasped the dragon’s talons harder. If this wasn’t Birk, she had to let him know she’d been taken. Lily rubbed the ring, and the dragon slowed and headed to the ground.
He set her down on shaky legs and then shifted. When she saw it was Birk, she ran to him.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry to have scared you like that.” He hugged her and kissed her hair.
“I thought it might be you, but I couldn’t be sure,” she said, her chin trembling.
“You are amazing.”
She didn’t feel so amazing right now. The prisoners had been the brave ones, trusting her like they had. Wanting to be seen again, she pressed the amulet to her heart and recited the words. When she became visible, Birk smiled. He kissed her lips lightly. “You taste good.”
Silly man. “How did you know where I was just now? I was invisible.”
“Because I was close by, the tracking device allowed me to hone in on you. What you didn’t see was how slowly I approached. I didn’t want to barrel into you.”
“Thank you.” All of this was too much to grasp. “I can’t believe we did it.” Her chin trembled and a few salty tears trickled down her cheek.
“All that matters is that you are safe.”
“What about the escapees?” she asked. “Where are they?”
“They will be taken someplace safe.”
“To the mine?”
Birk smiled and dragged a knuckle down her cheek. “No, we can’t chance them seeing our facility, but rest assured they will be well taken care of.”
“Thank you.”
“Ready to head back to SinCas?”
Lily tried not to show her disappointment. She wanted to clean up and snuggle with Birk. “Why do we need to go there?”
“We always debrief after a mission.”
A mission. She liked the sound of that. She’d run a mission. “Then fly away, dragon-boy.”
Chapter Seventeen
Birk could tell Lily wanted to go home and relax, but her knowledge of what occurred inside the castle could help others in the future. Had his dad not asked him to take her to SinCas to fill everyone in, Birk would have given in to her wishes.
Once there, Birk escorted Lily down the stairwell and into the conference room. As soon as they stepped inside, party streamers sounded and horns tooted.
“Whoa. What’s going on?” To his surprise, almost everyone in the family was there—except for those taking care of the former prisoners.
His dad came up to Lily and hugged her. “Congratulations. You did a great thing today, young lady.”
Lily tightened her grip on Birk’s hand, acting as if she wasn’t comfortable with the praise. “I couldn’t have done it without Fay and the Four Sisters, as well as the rest of you.”
Laird smiled. “It was mostly you. Come on and take a seat. We can debrief in a moment.”
Lily looked up at Birk. “I can’t believe they did this. No one has ever thrown a party for me before.”
The excitement in her eyes and voice made up for all the agony she’d put him through since she started on this mission. “Me neither. Let’s get something to drink,” he said.
“Just water for me. Right now, my adrenaline is surging through me so fast, if I had coffee or an alcoholic drink, I’d be pinging off the walls.”
“Water it is. Sit down and I’ll bring it to you.”
While he fixed the drinks, his mom carried over a cake and handed Lily a knife. “You want to do the honors?”
“Sure, but what would you have done if the escape had failed? Would you have hidden the cake?”
Birk set the drinks in front of her.
His mom smiled. “Failure wasn’t an option. We’re Guardians, remember?” She winked.
For the next hour, Lily answered their questions, most of which came from Kaleena. “You said Danita was weak?”
“Yes, she was wearing metal cuffs, like the ones you said you’d worn.”
“Asshole Royals.” She shook her head. “And here I thought with Rathan dead, the evil would stop. I hope Declan takes her to the Four Sisters so they can remove those poisonous restraints.”
“I’ll text Declan now.” Birk pulled out his phone and sent a short message. “Done.”
After Lily told everyone as much as she remembered, Birk pushed back his chair. Lily’s skin looked a bit pale, and her shoulders were slumped. “I think Lily would like to rest.”
“Of course,” his dad said. “Once I have the full update from Declan about the condition of the prisoners, I’ll let you know.”
After they congratulated Lily once more on a job well done, Birk escorted her out. “Food first or shower?”
She chuckled. “For someone with a good sense of smell, I’m surprised you have to ask. How about I shower and we order in some burgers?”
“It’s a deal.”
The trip back to his place took mere seconds. Lily seemed tired but happy when he set her down. Once in his condo, she headed straight for the bathroom.
“How do you want your hamburger cooked?” he called after her.
“Medium rare. And order some fries, please. I’m in the mood to live dangerously.”
Birk chuckled. The person he’d first met had been shy and tentative. After this successful mission, Lily was more exuberant than ever.
The water turned on in the shower, and as much as he wanted to join her, he figured she needed the time to decompress and think about what really happened. Having someone run into her had scared not only her, but Birk as well. Until they finally mated, Birk was not going to let her out of his sight.
Once he called for their dinner delivery, Birk waited for Lily to finish cleaning up. A few moments after the water shut off, the doorbell rang. He paid for the meal, and then placed the food on the table. A second later, Lily walked out, dressed in cute pink pajamas and drying her hair with a towel.
His animal went wild. Birk’s skin nearly became covered in ruby red pulsing scales.
“Something smells amazing,” she said, seemingly unaware of how much he wanted her.
Birk smiled and motioned to the table. “Sit and let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Lily pulled out a chair and sat across from him. “How can you be so hungry? You ate three pieces of cake at the party.”
He laughed. “Dragons are always hungry.” And this dragon is particularly hungry for you.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” She couldn’t have read his mind.
“For being so supportive. I know you must have been crazy with worry the whole time I was inside the castle.”
“Only a little.” Birk had hidden in the woods, far enough so as not to be seen by any guard, but close enough should he sense she was in danger.
He curled his fingers around his glass, not wanting her to see that he’d bitten his nails down to the quick during the hour long escape. Birk wasn’t used to standing by while someone he loved put herself in danger. He kept telling himself that Lily needed to do this. Her selfless act spoke volumes for who she was as a person. While he didn’t picture her doing battle once they ma
ted—despite the fact she would possess great power like her brother—she would be a valuable asset to the Guardians.
“You’re lying,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Am I? How do you know?”
“Your eyes turn dark when you aren’t telling the truth.”
Really? No one had ever told him that before. Lily laughed, stuffed a bite of hamburger into her mouth, and chewed. Once she finished, she leaned back. “You would be a lot happier in life if you didn’t worry so much. How many times were you tempted to rush into the castle and save me—even though I wasn’t in trouble?”
“About once every minute.”
She chuckled. “See? I know you well.”
Lily had his number all right. Seeing her so calm after what she’d accomplished said a lot about her. He dug into the meal and relaxed for the first time in a while.
“If you want to shower, I can clean up here,” Lily said.
He probably did need to wash. “I’d appreciate that.”
Birk loved how comfortable she seemed around him now. It was almost as if they had mated. As she dumped the paper bag in the trash and placed the glasses in the sink, he stepped into his room and discarded his clothes. Once the water warmed, he ducked under the hot stream and washed away all the worry that had built up in his system. Just as he’d finished rinsing, his bedroom door opened.
“Lily?”
Of course it was her. It wasn’t a dragon shifter. With the water running, he couldn’t be sure what she was doing until the bathroom door opened and a naked Lily stepped in. Instantly, his teeth sharpened and his scales glowed.
Mate, mate, his dragon chanted.
He wanted Lily worse than anything, but she wasn’t ready for mating. Today was the first time she’d experienced what life with him would be like—full of danger and adventure. While she did exceptionally well, she needed time to come to grips with everything, and what could have happened if something had gone wrong.