Dragon Marked_ Supernatural Prison #1(90)

He exhaled lightly, but still more forceful than he usually breathed. “I’ve lived a long time and heard many stories about the rise of the king, but there is some truth to the thousand years. It was said that all dragon marked need to be in the mountain at the time of the rising. If they aren’t, there is a trigger inside the mark energy that will bring about their destruction.”

Great! That was just great.

“The dragon king was pretty big on his ‘You’re either with me or against me’ motto, and he must have figured that any not at Drago when he rises … well, they’d be against him.”

Of course they were. No wonder they’d cut his head off, he was crazier than the Four.

“Is he just supposed to just rise on his own?”

Louis stared off for a few moments, his face blank. “No,” he finally murmured. “There has to be a sacrifice, and there’s a ritual, but I don’t know what it entails.”

If Louis didn’t know, I wondered if anyone did.

“Why are these two women freeing the dragon marked?” I asked him, needing to understand.

His features hardened. “I have my suspicions, but in reality my guess is as good as yours.”

I was thinking that maybe there were some out there who knew the ritual, and I couldn’t figure out if they were freeing the marked for that reason or if they were looking for someone.

Entering the outer zone of the town, we started to move with the masses of people. When that siren rang, everyone responded, no matter what they were doing.

Which probably explained some of the states of undress I was seeing around me. There were naked shifters, who’d clearly been out for a run, and then a few couples who were clad only in their underwear. Of course they’d had time to grab clothes – not to mention the bins were scattered everywhere – but we really didn’t sweat nudity the same way the human population seemed to. Besides a few shy exceptions, most of them wouldn’t have thought anything of their appearance. Certainly not enough to stop and look for clothes.

The city center was already half filled. There were too many of us to fit into the town hall so we’d congregate out here around the fountain. Louis and I started to move closer to the front. Not that I thought being near the Four was a great idea, but I wanted to find my family and I knew the council leaders would be at the forefront. We didn’t have to push, people moved aside for us – okay, mostly Louis, but a girl could dream.

Power, glorious power.

At least the tingles of his cloaking had died right down to almost nothing. After a few minutes of dodging the crowds, my nose crinkled at all of the scents assailing me. I noticed my father standing off to the right. That was where we needed to go. I lowered my head, ready to plow my way through the last few meters. I was almost there when Louis grabbed my arm and halted me.

“I’m not sure what is going to happen right now,” he said, keeping his voice low. “If it goes down in the way I hope, then everything will be fine, and you won’t have to worry. But if things skew off track, you need to listen to my instructions and follow each one, without question. You will just have to trust me.” He dropped a kiss on my cheek. “I’ve got to go and check on something now, but I’ll find you again.”

I was opening my mouth to ask him what the hell he was talking about, when he disappeared. Like literally, into thin air. Burnt umber coated the inside of my nostrils, the scent filling my senses. He’d used some pretty powerful magic just then.

Pushing down the tendrils of icy fear and worry, I stomped the rest of the way. I was just about at my family when a figure caught my eye. He was tall, casting a shadow as he stood off to the side of the fountain. Despite the fact that there were supernaturals everywhere, he stood in his own space. Melly. He had both arms by his side, fists tightly clenched. He was staring at me through the crowd and his expression was hard. This wasn’t exactly anything new, but in that extended moment the huge shifter reminded me of something … or more importantly someone – the bear who had attacked me inside Vanguard. He’d worn the same expression, and said I was collateral damage in a war I knew nothing about. I’d just assumed that was to do with Jonathon, but what if it hadn’t been, what if there was more to Melly’s hatred of me?

I was distracted from my thoughts by Mischa grabbing my hand and dragging me across to the edge of our group. When I turned my head back to the spot again, the bear shifter was gone. So freaky.

Jonathon leaned in close to me.

“Are we all good?” he asked. I could see by the serious expression and hard blue eyes that he was stressed.