Page 20 of Ignite the Infernos

I rub small circles between my pecs as though it will stimulate the connection that’s on the verge of blinking out.

“Come on,” I growl, begging for one hint . . . just one.

“What’s wrong?” Ogdan demands as he storms in behind me, his hair sticking every which way.

“Ever,” I answer with excited determination.

“What about her?”

“She’s blocking the bond.” The thin filament of magic I feel in my chest disappears altogether. And I growl out my frustration.

“Didn’t we know that already?” Ogdan hedges, confused but trusting that whatever it is I’m doing, I have my reasons.

I shake my head, my eyes frantically scanning the map. “We suspected it, but now I know. Ever just did something to it—I’m assuming by accident, because she shut it back down almost instantly. Fuck!” I snarl, frustrated, but I don’t give up.

And then my gaze catches on something. A patch of rolling dunes in the northwest part of the deadlands, but more specifically on three peaks that form a perfect triangle. I tap on the space and turn to Ogdan.

“What do we know about this area?”

Ogdan taps on the unit connected to his forearm and starts scrolling through the information that floats above his arm. “We’ve had regular patrols of dragons and drones in that sector, but they haven’t clocked anything that would indicate a camp or any kind of dwelling. Nothing other than animal tracks and shifting dunes due to wind.”

I pull up the red markers indicating dead leads and focus on the three dunes. There’s a red dot dead center, and I click on the indicator to pull up the tracking report. I scan through the notes and then pause on the sentences that state, Source of lead has disappeared. Drone observed nothing of note in the designated area.

So a drone didn’t find anything, but would a dragon say the same? I study the three dunes for another moment and then pull their coordinates.

“This is where we search next,” I order, unsure if I’m onto something or just chasing my tail.

“Consider it done,” Ogdan replies easily. “We’re set to finish with this part of the grid in a day or so, but I can start relocating equipment and a few of the loam hounds. I’ll have Herm and Blay fly them over first thing.”

I nod and blow out a tense breath. This could mean nothing, or maybe it’s the exact break we need.

Chapter 11

Ever

MY FIST CONNECTS WITH THE PUNCHING bag, and a loud pop reverberates across the sand. The shock of the hit vibrates up my arm in a soothing, familiar way, and I instantly feel as though I can breathe again. I begin circling the bag, landing a combo of jabs, crosses, lead hooks, and other punches, all while dodging imaginary counterstrikes. I get my legs involved after a few rounds, and the training area fills with the satisfying sounds of pops and snaps while I work through my thoughts and expel aggression.

I have a dragon mark, but I can’t shift.

Pop-pop-pop-snap.

I can feel my affinity, sense my dragon without any barriers, and yet no reveal. Thwack-thwack-thwack, snap.

What.

Pop-pop-thwack.

The fuck.

Snap-thwack-snap.

Is going on?

Pop-snap, pop-snap, thwack-thwack-thwack.

I work relentlessly as I search what I know for answers, but annoyingly, there’s nothing definitive to cling to. It’s all nailing jelly to a tree, and while the Syphons have accomplished a lot on nothing more than that, I’m getting really fucking tired of always running headfirst into the dark and hoping for the best.

“I thought I’d find you out here,” a gruff voice declares behind me.