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Illren nods, accepting the assignment though he has no ties to the FUA.
Enzo slumps forward, eyes drooping and shoulders sagging. He’s broken into a sweat. I stand up, setting my hardly eaten bowl of chili aside to help Enzo. He seems to be in a trance, so I lay him back on the bed beside Oliver, making sure to keep Oliver’s hand in his. I’m assuming he has to be making physical contact for his magic to work since that’s what I’ve always seen him do.
“Did you see anything else, Nora?” Nick asks when I sit back in my chair. “Something that might tell us what their plan is or why they went after him?” He’s gritting his teeth, barely controlling his anger. I almost feel bad for Galina and Sabin once Nick gets hold of them.
“Money,” I say, with a sigh. “They spoke of a bounty—two million dollars. But they weren’t supposed to kill him. The bounty said he was wanted alive. They tried to capture him in his human form. They shot him with liquid gold.”
A fierce snarl rips through the room, and then the energy around Nick stirs as he shifts into his partial form. Smoke puffs from his nose, and his eyes blaze with fury. “Those sadistic bastards! Gold is our biggest weakness—like silver to a shifter. It burns through our systems, rendering our magic useless. It’s cruel. Torture.”
I cross the room to Nick and place my hand on his cheek, trying to bring him down from his rage. “He fought back,” I promise. Nick covers my hand with his and closes his eyes. He takes several deep breaths before opening them again and meets my steady gaze.
“They must not have hit him with enough of the gold, because he managed to shift and fight them back. He blasted one of them with his ice and nearly killed the second man in a physical fight. But with the third one helping and the lake frozen over so he couldn’t escape, it was just too much.”
I gulp, not wanting to admit the next part, but Nick can tell I’m holding back. “Just tell me,” he says through gritted teeth, a growl still in his voice.
I sigh. “They were angry that he was killed. They argued about it. They were afraid they wouldn’t get paid now, and that they might have to go after you. They needed a live dragon. Instead, they took as much of his blood and scales as they could, hoping that the client would accept it and they could at least collect a partial bounty considering they lost their comrade.”
Nick growls again. His eyes are still the vertical slits of his dragon. “I’m going to kill them. I’m going to rip their heads off and feed them to the redcaps. I’m going to—”
“Nick,” I say softly, placing my hand on his arm. “We need them alive. We need to figure out who set the bounty before more try to collect on it. With Christov gone, you’re the only dragon left on this continent. Two million dollars might just make someone brave enough to come after you.”
Nick’s eyes flash again, and he starts physically radiating fear. It’s a trick he can do in his partially shifted form. I have to breathe through it in order not to panic. “I’d like to see them try,” he growls.
“Well, I wouldn’t.” I gently squeeze his forearm to gain his attention. “I know you want blood, but you’ll have to settle for justice. Go bring them in, and we’ll interrogate them. Then we’ll send them to the supernatural prison for the rest of their miserable lives.” When his eyes narrow, I add, “Or we’ll kill them and feed them to a bunch of sadistic faeries.”
He seems much more pleased with that option and flicks his gaze to Illren. “You ready?”
Illren gives him a frightening smile. “Always.”
“Be careful,” I say.
Both men look insulted by the warning.
“There are two of them, they’re pissed, and they need a dragon. They’ll capture you if they can,” I say stubbornly when Nick frowns. I shoot Illren a warning look. “Watch his back.”
Illren nods. “With my life, Mistress.”
I feel mildly better. “You be careful, too. Remember, he’s not the only one with a price on his head.”
Illren scoffs as if he thinks he’s indestructible. Before I can argue with him, Parker steps up and places a hand on my shoulder. I’ll look after both of them,” he promises. “With three of us, they’ll be outnumbered, and remember that Nick is adragon. A fire-breathing monster with impenetrable armor and the strength of fifty men. He’s not exactly helpless.”
I sigh and let Parker pull me against his chest. “Sorry. I know. But I still worry.”
Parker kisses my forehead. “We’ll be safe.”
His lips on my skin do wonders for calming my nerves. “You’d better. I can’t handle more than one of you being hurt at a time. Oliver is bad enough. I won’t survive much more.”
Parker brings my face back to his and claims my lips in a soft kiss. “He’ll pull through this, Nora. And we’ll be back soon.”
He follows Nick and Illren out of the room. I watch them go until Rook pulls me back into his arms. I lay my head on his chest and let him hold me. “Everything will be okay. We’ll figure this mess out.”
His arms rove over my back, soothing my frayed nerves enough to relax my tight muscles. I let out a long sigh, and my eyelids droop.
A second pair of hands grips my shoulders and starts massaging them. “You’re exhausted,” Charlie murmurs. “Why don’t you go with Rook and lie down. Let him help you relax and get some rest.”
Warmth spreads through my body at the thought of relaxing with Rook. It sounds heavenly, and something ignites inside me, but my thoughts quickly turn back to Oliver. I pull my face out of Rook’s chest and glance at my sorcerer. Charlie follows my gaze. “Don’t worry about Oliver. Terrance, Ren, and I can look after him for a while.” He turns to face me and cups my cheek, then he surprises me by pressing his lips to mine. The kiss is delicate. It’s soft and sincere and melts me just a little. When he pulls back, he smiles tenderly at me. “Go,” he murmurs, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Let Rook take care of you.”
Rook takes my hand as if following Charlie’s orders and gently pulls me from the room. We head wordlessly toward his bedroom. I keep thinking I should be nervous—I haven’t been in Rook’s room since we moved him in—but I’m shockingly calm. Rook loves me. He’ll look after me.
