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“What will they do to him?” Freya asked.
Nima clenched her fists. “If they’re torturing my dragon—”
“They’ll treat him well,” Zoltan said, hoping that was the truth. “Most likely, they will be good to him in order to win him over to their side.”
Nima snorted. “Xiao Fang is a good boy. He’ll never side with them.”
Zoltan took a deep breath. If Xiao Fang resisted, Master Han might resort to threats and even torture. The boy had to be rescued before that happened. “We’ll save Xiao Fang. But right now, we have a chance to save the other children. And the eggs. We have to grab that chance before it’s too late.”
Winifred sighed. “He’s right.”
Lydia nodded. “We have to do whatever is necessary to keep them safe.”
The queen tapped her fingers on the arm of her throne. “And where do you propose to take our dragons? If this demon is so powerful, what place on earth will be safe?”
“We have a place,” Zoltan said. “It’s called Dragon Nest Academy.”
With a gasp, Nima jumped to her feet. “There are dragons there?”
He shook his head. “It’s named after the founders, Roman and Shana Draganesti. It’s a school for hybrid and shifter children, where they can be safe and free to be themselves. It seems quite fitting that Dragon Nest would become a safe haven for your dragons. You are, of course, welcome to live there with the children and eggs.”
Nima’s eyes narrowed. “Then you will take me with you to this Dragon Nest? I must continue to be the dragons’ guardian.”
He nodded. “Of course. With your permission, we will start the evacuation tonight.”
Nima heaved a sigh. “I don’t suppose we have any choice.”
“How are the babies doing that Emma took?” Tashi asked.
“Very well,” Zoltan replied. “I saw them in Tiger Town before coming here. Emma was feeding one a bottle.”
“What was wrong with them?” Nima asked.
“Apparently, after years of incubating inside the eggs with their lungs closed off, they needed some help getting their lungs to work. Leah inserted a tube down their throats and pumped some air inside. That was all it took.”
Nima heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
He stepped outside the cave and called Angus on his sat phone. A group of Vamps materialized by the entrance to the cave. It had been easy to find volunteers to teleport Nima, the two remaining dragon children, and the five eggs across Europe to the school located in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains of New York. After leaving Dragon Nest, the Vamps would continue to teleport westward, following the moon, until they made it back to China.
Jack had volunteered, so they could stop in Venice, where he would visit his wife and new baby. Connor had volunteered, so they could stop in Scotland. Ian’s wife and daughter lived at Dragon Nest, so he wanted to go. Robby and Jean-Luc had offered so they could stop in Texas to see their families. Phineas wanted to drop by Wyoming to see his wife and twins. J.L. was going so he could visit family in San Francisco.
Their first stop would be Zoltan’s castle in Transylvania. As soon as the sun set there, they moved out.
The rest of the Vamps teleported back to the monastery to gather up all the weapons and any surviving supersoldiers. Later, they would return to Tiger Town to do their death-sleep. The shifters would remain in Frederic’s valley and Beyul-La on the lookout for Darafer in case he made a surprise visit. With Nima gone, the men were free to guard both valleys.
Another hour passed by the time Zoltan had a chance to drop by Neona’s house and drink two more bottles of spiked blood. He picked up the black jewelry box and teleported back to the clinic at Tiger Town.
Neona was resting with a sleeping Norjee curled up at the foot of the bed. “How did it go?” she whispered. “Did they take the dragons away?”
“Yes. How are you doing? How was your X-ray?”
“Good. I’m going to be fine.”
“That’s good.” He perched on the edge of her bed and opened the jewelry box. “I brought these.”
She smiled. “But we’re not married yet.”
“I don’t care.” He removed the lady’s ring and slipped it on her finger. “This place is crawling with male were-tigers, and they’re probably all in heat. And then there are about thirty soldiers in this room with you. I have to make sure they know you’re taken.”
She snorted. “They’re unconscious.”
“But they’re dreaming of you.”
Her eyes softened. “Is that so?”
“Yes. Every man dreams of the perfect woman, and that’s you.”
She sighed. “I love you, Zoltan. And I love this ring.” She held her hand out to admire it. “It fits perfectly.”
He tried putting on the man’s ring, but it wouldn’t go over his knuckle. “Damn.”
She leaned close. “I just love a man with really big hands.”
He glanced at her. “Are we talking about sex again?”
She gave him a coy look.
With a groan, he glanced around the room. “Dammit. We can’t do anything tonight.”
“We can tomorrow.”
“It’s a date then. Climax number eight. And nine.” He leaned over to kiss her brow. “Till tomorrow.”
He gave Norjee a pat on the shoulder, then teleported to his castle. The evacuation team had arrived safely with Nima, the children, and the eggs. The Vamps were drinking bottled blood in the kitchen. The eggs were nestled in soft blankets in laundry baskets. Domokos had ordered some pizza, which the children were enjoying. Nima was turning the kitchen faucet on and off, apparently mesmerized by the wonders of modern plumbing.
Zoltan teleported to the jewelry store, but to his surprise, he ended up in the village square. How the hell? This was the first time he’d ever missed a mark. He walked over to the jewelry store and strode inside. A second surprise. J.L. was there, attempting to talk to Janos.
“Oh, thank God you’re here,” J.L. told him. “I can’t make this man understand what I want.”
“Possibly because he doesn’t speak English,” Zoltan muttered.
“I pointed at the watches and said your name,” J.L. explained. “Freddie has been bragging about a watch you gave Neona, so I thought I’d give her one just like it. And Rajiv wants to get one for Freya. But this guy keeps trying to sell me these Hello Kitty things. I told him there’s no way you would give your girlfriend something that cheap.”
Zoltan’s jaw shifted. “It was all he had in the store at the time.”
“You mean—you gave—”
“Yes. And Neona loves it.”
J.L. snorted. “Could be worse. You could have gotten it as a free prize out of a cereal box.” He turned to Janos and smiled. “Yes. Those two.” He handed over a credit card.
“What can I do for you, my lord?” Janos asked in Romanian as he rang up J.L.’s sale.
Zoltan opened the jewelry box. “I need this ring resized.”
Janos’s face lit up. “Then you are getting married? We will have a countess at the castle?”
Zoltan nodded. “If everything goes well.”
J.L.’s phone buzzed and he answered it. “I understand.” He hung up and sighed. “That was Angus. Russell just reported in. Darafer took the dragon shifter to Master Han’s camp in Myanmar. Three hundred soldiers are now marching toward Beyul-La.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
The next evening, Zoltan woke up in his bed at the castle. He quickly shaved and showered. Tonight the Vamps and shifters would need to decide how to handle Master Han’s army of three hundred. And if all worked out well, he’d find time for the date he’d promised Neona.
In the kitchen, he drank a bottle of blood while he packed an ice chest with more blood. There were chocolate chip cookies left over from feeding the dragon children. Neona and Norjee might like them. Then he recalled Zhan, her pet leopard. He tossed some tuna into a plastic container. The ice chest was stuffed full when he teleported back to Beyul-La.
And missed. He looked around. He was in Frederic’s valley, close to the rock wall.
Damn. Was the Living Water doing this to him? He couldn’t afford a mistake like this in battle.
