It takes a moment for me to realize that the skies are dark. They were not dark earlier, not when I claimed her.
My Clau-dah.
No, I realize. Claudia. That feels right. Dainty and elegant but strong, like my mate.
I reach for her, seeking her small, soft body. Memories of our recent mating flood my mind, and I growl low in my throat with pleasure. Claiming her was the greatest joy I have ever experienced, and I revel in the thoughts of her sweet form under mine, the scent of her filling my lungs, the taste of her on my tongue. Already I am hungry for her again. I reach out with the mind-link even as I reach for her body. I must have fallen asleep after giving her my venom. I’ve heard stories of it draining the strength of a drakoni because our very essence is shared. Claudia has no essence to share back with me, so perhaps that is why I have been unconscious for so long.
But my mind is crystal clear and bright, a sign that the bond is true.
My searching hands do not find Claudia nearby, though. I sit up, flaring my nostrils in the hopes of picking up her delicate scent. Did she walk away?
But the only scent of her is hours old and faint.
She is not here.
I sit up, all weariness forgotten. Claudia? I ask, testing the mental link between us that is established with a mating.
No response. I can feel the tether between us, but she is too far away to receive my thoughts.
Too far away?
Rage flashes through me, hot and fast. Had another male snatched my female while I slept? Unthinkable. A claimed mate is off-limits, even in the madness-crazed minds of the drakoni. No one would dare. Claudia is mine. I have claimed her. She is mine to protect. Mine to cherish.
Mine.
I roar my outrage, bellowing my fury to the skies. I flash into battle form and launch myself into the air, ignoring the crumble of the ceiling as I push my way through it and the way rocks fall to the ground far below. It does not matter if I destroy the entire building. All that matters is getting to my mate.
I climb higher into the skies, my wings beating furiously. There is no other dragon nearby, no sense of her scent, but instinct guides my mind. With the mating bond between us, I can lock on to her mental tether and find her. I close my eyes and let it guide me.
Claudia will come back to me, no matter how many I must attack to free her.
She is mine to protect.
19
CLAUDIA
My head hurts. I rub at my temples, squinting at the bright lights overhead. The hard plastic seat I sit on feels a little too rough against my sensitive skin, but complaining will get me nowhere. My captors—because I can’t call the mayor or the captain anything but that at this point—aren’t interested in me or my comfort. I didn’t think they’d let me just waltz out of here with Amy, but I also didn’t think I’d be grilled endlessly, either. They want to know more about dragons. How they eat. How they sleep. How they talk. No matter what I tell them, they have more questions. I’ve been here for hours on end. Maybe even all night.
And still, no one has brought me my sister.
I’m exhausted. I haven’t slept in forever, I’m tired, smelly, and feverish. My head is pounding something fierce, and these lights shining in my face are just making everything worse. “I want my sister,” I tell them for what feels like the millionth time. “I need to see her.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible until—”
Claudia!
The call is so strong that I jerk to my feet, startled. “Kael?” His voice is so clear it sounds as if he’s in the room with me.
“Miss Jones?” the captain says, giving me a puzzled look. It takes me a moment to realize I’m still standing in the tiny barracks room with the mayor and the captain.
Yet Kael’s voice was so clear… I rub my temples again. “Sorry. I think I’m just tired.”
“We’d really like to know more—”
Claudia! Possessive triumph coats his voice, rich and syrupy sweet, and I stare at the walls. I don’t see him…but I can hear him. How is this possible? “Wh-what?”
I am coming for you.
“Um. Do you guys hear that?” My voice is shaking. I think I’m losing my mind. I’m actually holding a conversation with Kael and imagining him coming for me. I’ve officially snapped.
They exchange a look. “Hear what?”
“Nothing. I think.”
Your thoughts are delicious, purrs Kael in my mind. Bright and pure. I am glad you are my mate, Claudia. You fill my soul with joy.
It’s weird, but it actually sounds like he’s coming closer. I press a hand to one ear, then the other, checking for listening devices or something. There’s nothing, though. His voice is coming from inside my head. I glance at the ceiling anyhow, as if it might somehow reveal a big golden dragon hovering over my shoulder. “How is it that I can hear you?”
“The dragon?” the captain asks, voice rising in alarm. “Where is he?”
You are mine, Kael says inside my head. We are linked now that we have mated and I have claimed you.
The fuck? Linked? I don’t want to be linked. No one asked me if I had an opinion on being linked.
You’re unhappy. I do not like that. Why are you displeased?
Uh, because you didn’t ask me? Shit, now I’m responding in my head.
I asked you. I said your name and you responded by putting your mouth on me and—
That’s not the same thing! That wasn’t asking for permission to open a channel in my head! I don’t know at this point if I’m saying the words in my mind or saying them aloud. Things are blurring together.
How was I to ask for permission if we could not speak? But now we can. Satisfaction rolls through his mind. Now you can share your thoughts with me all day and all night.
Yeah. Great. I don’t want to share anything at the moment, though. I’m still mad.
The mayor shouts something at me, and additional soldiers file into the room, guns in hand. I clutch my head, distracted between the sound of Kael’s insistent voice and whatever the mayor’s shouting at me. “Can you be quiet for a second? I can’t think!”
I am coming to the human hive to get you.
Oh shit. My eyes go wide. “You’re coming here?”
“He’s coming here?” the captain roars, panicked. “Sound the alarm. Ready the bunkers! Go go go!”
A klaxon goes up—the dragon siren.
“How is she talking to him?” the mayor asks. “Is she bugged somehow?”
“He’s in my head,” I tell them, pushing my hands against my scalp as if that will stop my brain from freaking out. The blare of the siren is mingling with Kael’s heavy thoughts, and it’s all pressing in on me. “I can’t think with all this noise—”
“What’s he saying?” the captain demands. He moves to stand inches away from my face, his eyes intent. “We need you to tell us exactly what he’s saying.”
The siren blares, long and loud, and I can hear the stomp of feet overhead as the militia readies. Kael’s going to walk right into an army, and I’m leading him to it. I don’t know what to do. I need to stop him before he gets too close, because I don’t want him to die.