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And Nikki wanted Jane to stay on Stonefire. Not just for Kai, but for the clan as well. The female had grand ideas of how to help the dragon-shifters. If Jane paired up with Melanie and Evie, the trio of humans would become unstoppable.
Her dragon chimed in. Stop fretting. Kai is ready for any situation, not just the easy ones.
I know that, but it’s been nearly twenty minutes. Something should’ve happened by now, unless Jane’s contact is unreliable.
Then Kai and his team turned away from the open field surrounded by trees and changed directions. From experience, Nikki knew there was a lake nearby. But would Kai really take them away from the leaked location?
Her dragon growled. Look.
Sure enough, Kai touched his back talons together, which meant to follow. Even if the knights had cracked the dragon signals, they wouldn’t think anything of the order.
Yet Nikki’s gut told her the order was for her, Aaron, and the others too.
Looking around, she spotted Aaron about ten feet away. Careful to move without making a sound, Nikki approached Stonefire’s second-in-command. Aaron frowned, but she motioned for him to lean down. When his ear was in front of her mouth, she whispered, “We should follow him.”
Nikki moved her head and Aaron whispered back, “The plan is to stay here. Unless you received a different order from Bram or the DDA, we should stay in position.”
Nikki replied, “I mean no disrespect, Aaron, but I’ve been working with Kai for nearly two years. He wants us to follow. There’s a lake nearby. The dragons are tired and need a rest. If the knights are aware of dragon training patterns, they’ll know to wait until the dragons rest at the lake before they attack.”
Aaron moved to study her, his brown eyes scrutinizing her own. Finally he moved back to her ear and whispered, “Take two others with you and follow him. I have a spare two-way radio in my pack and can call the DDA if need be.”
With a nod, Nikki moved through the forest, tapping Seb and another Protector, Brenna, to follow her. Since Nikki had seniority, they obeyed without question.
They moved as quickly as they could without making much noise. A car engine turned over in the distance. Meeting Seb and then Brenna’s eyes, she mouthed, “Dragon Knights.”
They had no hope of catching them on foot, but Nikki wasn’t about to give up. She’d trained in this forest for years and knew every shortcut they could take to reach the lake.
As she blazed a path, Nikki only hoped they could make it in time. Kai might be skilled, but without DDA support, Kai and his team could be taken if the knights had any sort of weaponry.
Picking up her pace, Nikki pushed away her doubts. If there was an attack, Kai would hold off until help arrived. She would radio the DDA n
ow, but a false alert might damage the tentative trust Stonefire had earned with the agency.
No, Nikki needed to be 100 percent certain the knights were near the lake, so she pushed herself harder. The dragon hunters had bested her once and Nikki wasn’t about to allow the Dragon Knights to win.
~~~
Kai stood on a rock at the edge of the lake and kept one eye on his team and his other eye on the trees. Even though the ten dragons on his team were all well-trained and seasoned fighters, he still didn’t like putting them in danger. If the knights had a gun that could shoot electrical blasts, they could all be taken out in a matter of seconds.
His beast grunted. Stop worrying. You’re not acting like yourself.
Kai was tempted to brush off his dragon’s words, but decided to tell the truth. Our possible future with Jane is riding on the success of this mission.
She will stay.
He paused and added, She’d better. After having her fire and sass in our life, I don’t want to go back to the way it was.
At least you’re admitting it now. That’s progress.
Bloody dragon. Do you have to throw everything back in my face?
Of course. Otherwise you’ll get too cocky.
Before Kai could reply, an engine in the distance caught his attention. Motioning for his team leader to take charge, Kai jumped into the air and beat his wings until he had a clear view of the surroundings.
One road wound through the forest to the lake. Yet the road was empty.
The engine noise drew nearer.
