Page 70 of Bad Blood Alpha

The lab was laid out in the middle of the vast room below them, exactly as she and Flynn had seen it in her vision. Her sister was still sitting strapped to the chair in the center of the lab, lit by the glow of the machines. She was slumped over now, as if she were passed out.

God, please, not dead. Kira opened her mind, trying to hear her, but for the first time in months, she’d gone silent.

Behind her was the huge cage with the great dragon in it. He was quiet as well, lying on the cage floor, the silver muzzle still enclosing his jaws. One eye was cracked open, glowing a dull muddy green.

She could see a sheen of magic around the cage. It had some kind of force field surrounding it, to contain the dragon’s power and prevent him from escaping. The muzzle was magical as well—it probably kept him from Changing, or breathing fire. Or both.

Flynn crawled up next to her, leaning in. “That’s one fucking big dragon,” he said. “I hope to hell he can shift, because if he can’t, it’s going to be a lot harder getting him out of that cage.”

“There’s always Plan B.”

Flynn gave her his famous crooked grin. “Yup. Plastic explosives on that side wall. Caitlyn can fly up and put them on the outside.”

They both turned to look for Caitlyn. She was on the other side of the balcony, looking through a window to something down below.

She turned slowly to look at them, her face pale. In a moment, Flynn and the others were all at her side.

Below the window was the Council Chamber. A huge domed amphitheater, with tiers of dragon-sized stone platforms marching down to a central dais.

The platforms were filled, but not with dragons. The whole room had been turned into an encampment. Hundreds of men in leather slept next to braziers holding magical fire, or cleaned weapons, or repaired armor.

And all of them had orange glowing eyes.