That was less than a month away.
“How is that supposed to happen?”
Braxton shrugged. I could feel the movement along the mattress. “I don’t know, no one seems to. Something to do with the dragon marked, and a sacrifice.”
During our history lessons, I remembered the teacher explaining that there were words – or an incantation – supposedly inscribed on the walls of his tomb. Of course this was hard to prove since no one had been able to enter the Drago tomb since the king was interred.
“So, from the original four quads, is the shifter a dragon?” I asked.
Braxton’s hands were gently running along my arm now, the movement soothing. “No, they’re old enough that if he’d been a dragon he’d have been killed.”
We lay together in compatible silence for a while before eventually I went back to my own bed. I needed to get some sleep if I was going to make it through tomorrow.
The dream hit me hard and fast that night. It was the same one I’d had all those weeks earlier, with Mischa and the dragons. I fought against the pull again, and again with the attack – death, fire, heat, and pain filled the world. I found myself jarring awake. I managed not to scream but my whimpers were pretty damn loud.
Braxton was crouched beside my bunk, one hand resting on that space between my breasts and throat, his warmth filling my heart and offering comfort.
“Wh-what time is it?” I croaked out. I couldn’t orientate myself without the sun, and there were no interior lights on yet.
“Still early, you were thrashing around for a while. I was waiting for you to wake.”
In that moment I was vulnerable, half asleep, half in the dream world. I couldn’t suppress the emotion like I normally would.
“I’m afraid, Brax.” I let the words slip through my bared teeth.
His hand flexed on my chest. I could see it was an involuntary movement, he didn’t even seem to notice he’d done it. “I won’t let anything happen to you in here. I promise.”
I closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath before meeting his unwavering gaze again. “Not just about being in here, more about the future. The mark – even though it’s spelled, it’s going to come back and find me. Secrets don’t stay hidden forever. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to be hunted.”
I didn’t want to ever find myself on the opposite side of a war with anyone I loved. My dreams continued to indicate that it was going to reach a point where I had to choose between my twin sister and something else.
He was opening his mouth to answer when the long, yellowed light bulb above us flickered to life. The fake illumination spread around the dark spaces and suddenly the world felt a little more exposed. I knew today was not going to go as well as yesterday. Everyone who had ever gunned for my father was going to be gunning for me today.
“Twenty minutes until shower time,” Braxton said as he gritted his teeth. “They don’t separate us, even in the bathroom, but unless you want me in the same stall as you … well, you’ll be out of my sight for a bit.”
I found myself having to work very hard to hide my thoughts right then. Holy fuck me. Braxton in the shower, water running over those delicious planes of hardened muscle. Too much for a sexually deprived wolf shifter … way too much. I could not be trusted with naked male parts right now.
“I’m sure it won’t have to come to that,” I kind of blurted.
His lazy grin was enough for me to want to throat punch myself. Clearly I had not hidden my emotions very well.
“I don’t think I can remember the last time you blushed, Jessa.” His dimples assaulted me as he stood stretching out his giant frame.
I swung my legs over the side, flipping him off at the same time. Yeah, I totally nailed that comeback. Stupid dragon, throwing me off my game.
It felt like an hour – pacing the cell in an agitated manner – for the silver-threaded barred gates to slide open. They were on some sort of automatic locking system which opened every door at the same time. Braxton and I waited until the majority had left and were heading down the long corridor. We joined the back of the crowd, and again he had my hand clenched tightly in his own. Just before we reached that large double-barred door which led out into the circular area, the group veered off to the right, through a smaller door that I hadn’t noticed yesterday.
Another corridor: the walls were rock near the start, but as we walked along slowly morphed into tiles. The walkway opened up and I realized it was one large shower room, massive and square, with rows of showers down one side, hundreds of them, each with a curtain that could be pulled between them for separation.